Monday, January 10, 2011

Sandman Slim Is A Guy's Urban Fantasy!





Urban fantasy tends to be for women readers. There’s always a romance or sex somewhere around the corner. Guys can read these books and enjoy them. Sometimes we get a bad rap because guys are accused of focusing on sex.


That’s just not true, folks. When I set down to read a book by one of my favorite authors (Robert B. Parker, Robert Crais, Lee Child), I’m waiting on the violence. I know at some point the wheels are going to come off and my hero is gonna go Neanderthal. I gotta admit, I can’t wait, and I usually turn those pages with a big smile on my face. My thirteen year old loves his Deadpool comics for the same reason. It’s hardwired into our genetics. That, and a love for snappy patter, a cutting remark, and blistering sarcasm.

We’re guys. We can’t help ourselves. Civility and a calm demeanor are simply borrowed clothes. We’re at our best when we get to run au naturel. We want to see the bad guys pay a price for their sins, and we want that payment to be in a terrific beatdown while screaming trash in their bloody ears.

Ahem.

Okay, lemme check myself. I was rolling with the guy moment. This week Green Hornet comes out and I just finished reading Richard Kadrey’s first Sandman Slim novel. Got the second one loaded up on my Kindle, so I’m gonna find a weekend soon to sit down and read that one as well.

In the meantime, I’m glad to discover there are still writers out there that write for people with the Y chromosome. Genetically, the Y may be one of the less useful chromosomes, but we still have our needs. Richard Kadrey is my newest favorite writer, and Sandman Slim is now one of my favorite heroes.

If you haven’t find his books yet and you own one of those much-maligned Y chromosomes, do yourself a favor and find these books. You’ll thank me.

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