An admitted sci-fi/fantasy nut, I often harp on the importance of world-building. Richard Kadrey, author of the bestselling Sandman Slim series and the upcoming The Everything Box, doesn’t just build worlds, he inhabits them.
Watch Kadrey’s nighttime tour of the LA locales featured in his books. This guy is all in and genre fans are better off because of it. The Everything Box trades some of the pulpy noir of the Sandman Slim series for fast-paced, whimsical fantasy while still maintaining his signature blend of irreverent humor, page-turning action, and an interminable sense that SOMETHING is writhing, squirming, or lurking around every corner.
The story centers on Coop, a wise-cracking, unassailable purloiner of magical objects, as he takes a job acquiring a long-lost doomsday device…and another job to undo the mess from THAT job. Added involvement from a wide-range of bumbling occultists, shadow agents, ghosts, ghoulies, and other oddities ensures things definitely do not go according to plan. Fast-paced, hilarious, and exceedingly clever, this is another home-run for Kadrey.
As Halloween looms, Richard Kadrey serves up a perfect treat (mixed with some equally-pleasant tricks) for fans of his Sandman Slim series as well as work by Christopher Moore and Matt Ruff. The Everything Box goes on sale 4/19/2016. For more information on Richard and his work, visit his website at www.RichardKadrey.com.
-Chris