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I'm going to keep reading these Sandman Slim stories. But it gets tiresome that Sandman Slim gets so grouchy with everyone even the people who are clearly his best friends.

This volume was all about zombies and I've never been into zombies.

At least he's still got the talking head that he's actually becoming more friends with.

Maybe in [b:Aloha from Hell|10439703|Aloha from Hell (Sandman Slim, #3)|Richard Kadrey|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1302271758s/10439703.jpg|15344305] there will be a talking mouse.

It's about talking dogs. So I had to read it.

But it's very sad.

And more about philosophy and Greek gods than anything else really.

It did seem to catch what it could really be like if a bunch of dogs became conscious and could start talking to each other and even understand humans.

And it's set in Toronto, so that's cool.

I finished this at 3am last night and today I've just been wising that I had the sequel, [b:Stiletto|25695756|Stiletto (The Checquy Files, #2)|Daniel O'Malley|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1433883952s/25695756.jpg|24809605].

It's focussed on a British secret service agency that specializes in paranormal threats, and so there are some parallels to [a:Charles Stross|8794|Charles Stross|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1355510574p2/8794.jpg] Laundry series. But it's different. The magical threats might be a bit lighter, but what's inside the people might be darker.

Anyway it's different, but fun. I normally turn the light off at 11, and just couldn't stop last night.

I'm liking this series more with this second book. Somehow this one was more fun than the previous, [b:The Fall|767326|The Fall (The Seventh Tower, #1)|Garth Nix|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388890758s/767326.jpg|2795422]. Given how much I love Garth Nix's more recent books, I think this is a good demonstration of improvement with practise.

This was a fun, light read.

But I have some complaints.

a) It should have been called "Searching for a Dragon" because there was only one dragon they were looking for.

b) And that dragon didn't do much.

c) Plus there were some cats who meowed in a meaningful way, but they didn't speak. Which is hardly fair when the squirrels in the enchanted forest are famous for giving good advice about quests.

This sort of scratched the itch I've had from not having a new [a:Jim Butcher|10746|Jim Butcher|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1400640324p2/10746.jpg] novel about Harry Dresden to read.

An interesting difference from the Dresden novels is that the magical world isn't the fairy realm, but instead is heaven and hell from Christian mythology.

No talking animals, I'm afraid to say, but there is a disembodied head that will probably be entertaining in future novels.

Two things bugged me about this book:

1) The main guy, James "Jimmy" Stark, finds out that people are calling him Sandman Slim about halfway through the book and we never find out why. It seems like it's because someone decided "Sandman Slim" would be a good title for a book.

2) It seems that because Stark aka Sandman Slim has been through a lot, he has to be a jerk to everyone. It got tiresome.

This was kind of like a light episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I have some logical issues with the ending, but I guess the answer would be "it's magic".

If you're into the Narnia books, [b:The Magicians|6101718|The Magicians (The Magicians #1)|Lev Grossman|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1313772941s/6101718.jpg|6278977], [b:The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making|9591398|The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making (Fairyland, #1)|Catherynne M. Valente|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388179691s/9591398.jpg|6749837], [b:Wildwood|10431447|Wildwood (Wildwood Chronicles, #1)|Colin Meloy|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1393683769s/10431447.jpg|12905469] or any of the other stories of children who find themselves in magical lands, this is a must read.

This story is also thought provoking on living with abuse.

I really like Madeline Ashby's books and was hooked on this one from the first page.

For some reason, I thought this one was a sequel to [b:vN|13033939|vN (The Machine Dynasty, #1)|Madeline Ashby|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327673811s/13033939.jpg|18197447] and [b:iD|16127258|iD (The Machine Dynasty, #2)|Madeline Ashby|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1362599589s/16127258.jpg|21951359], but it is not.

There are no talking rodents, but how much I liked the main character made up for that.

Oh, and bonus, it has Newfoundlanders. I don't think I've ever read a sci-fi with Newfs.

I really like Madeline Ashby's books and was hooked on this one from the first page.

For some reason, I thought this one was a sequel to [b:vN|13033939|vN (The Machine Dynasty, #1)|Madeline Ashby|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327673811s/13033939.jpg|18197447] and [b:iD|16127258|iD (The Machine Dynasty, #2)|Madeline Ashby|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1362599589s/16127258.jpg|21951359], but it is not.

There are no talking rodents, but how much I liked the main character made up for that.

Oh, and bonus, it has Newfoundlanders. I don't think I've ever read a sci-fi with Newfs.

I didn't enjoy this as much as I've enjoyed books in other series by Garth Nix, but it went quickly and I like his other stuff so much that I'll read the next one.

No talking animals of any kind so far.

If you haven't tried Nix, I recommend starting with:
- [b:Sabriel|518848|Sabriel (Abhorsen, #1)|Garth Nix|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1293655399s/518848.jpg|3312237],
- [b:Mister Monday|47613|Mister Monday (The Keys to the Kingdom, #1)|Garth Nix|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1298425074s/47613.jpg|1243291], or
- [b:Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz: Three Adventures|12479311|Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz Three Adventures|Garth Nix|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328658168s/12479311.jpg|17463822]

Ms Valente writes beautifully. I love her Fairyland books.

But this story is bleak and that's not what I'm looking for.