Sandman Slim, for newcomers, is a half-angel half-man Nephilim, who in the previous two novels of this series, has been dragged into Hell. There he spent over a decade fighting for Satan's amusement. Once free and back in our world, specifically Los Angeles, he set about killing demons and vampires, and thwarting an invasion by zombies. As astute readers will have already worked out, this isn't the kind of novel where there's a lot of introspective shoe-gazing. In fact there is barely time to draw breath. Therein lies the problem, for those readers who want a more rounded, perhaps more complex type of characterisation. Not that Sandman Slim is without character, indeed he is a fine action lead, it's more a case of the character being exactly as outlined, and no more. Fine, for readers going in with their eyes open, who are looking for blood drenched urban fantasy involving magic, demonology, a literal talking head, and a gritty modern noir feel. Perhaps less of a thrill for those hoping for more glimpses behind the scenes. The story is presented first person style, through Sandman Slim's eyes, and so by the nature of the character and the helter skelter events in which he is involved, there's not always sufficient room for in-depth detail. As a nod to new readers, the author does include a brief summing up of events detailed in Sandman Slim's previous two adventures, but it's pretty basic stuff.

These small grumbles aside, Richard Kadrey does a decent job of imagineering man as Nephilim with a memorable supporting cast. At turns twisted, crude, individualistic, and exhilarating, Aloha From Hell extends the Sandman Slim franchise with more of the same. The novel will work best for those who like ass kicking anti-heroes, without the kind of complications that might slow things down. Kadrey's best triumph, perhaps, is that his work shares one distinctive quality with the Sopranos; characters that should be thoroughly detestable are written in a way that makes readers like them.