The Dirty Streets of Heaven is the first book in what will apparently be a three-volume urban fantasy series. (Then again, Williams' Shadowmarch series was going to be a trilogy too, and we know how that turned out.) Urban fantasy is a subgenre we're seeing a lot of lately, but it can still be entertaining if done well. Williams usually does things quite well, so I was looking forward to this novel. It did not disappoint, though it did seem to be a little away from what we usually get from this author. I have read several but not all of Tad Williams' books, so I can't speak with absolute authority, but here's what seemed different:
Length of the book. I checked the length by going to the Amazon blurb on the hardback edition, since I don't relate well to kilobytes (I bought this in e-book form). I found that the book is listed at 400 pages -- practically a novella in the Tad Williams dimension.
Narrative in the first person. Williams hasn't much used this previously, at least in books of his that I've read, so this alone gave it a different flavor. It also appears to have led Williams into more attempts at humor, of the sarcastic comment/wry reflection/pop culture reference kind so frequently associated with first person narrative as encountered in private eye and private eye-SF/fantasy fusion novels. The first person style in general reminded me a little of Roger Zelazny, in books like the Merlin -- second Amber -- series, among others. First person also seemed to move the story along more quickly.
Chronology. He starts the book with a flash forward into the midst of a brief, intense action sequence, then returns to the actual starting point of the story and works his forward to that action scene, which occurs in the first half or third of the book. This sort of reminded me of Liz Williams, though of course a lot of writers have done similar time twists. Tad Williams' renderings of various lords and princes of Hell, intriguingly done, reminded me even more of Liz Williams.
Hero's friend. The hero has a friend/comrade in arms named Sam. About halfway through the book I realized that I was picturing Sam Axe, the engaging character played by Bruce Campbell in the Burn Notice TV series. Once I caught on to this, I decided to stick with it through the rest of the book, and it worked pretty well. If the angel Sam is derivative of the TV character, the author certainly isn't trying to hide this, since he used the same name.
Sex scenes. Romantic interludes in Tad Williams novels tend to be few and far between, and very well handled when they do appear. That was true in this case also, but the scenes seemed more explicit than I remembered from his previous work. Though my memory may be less than perfect.
So, the book itself: Briefly, since other reviews and the product description generally cover it, the book uses as a framework the current popular conception of Judaeo-Christian beliefs, with Heaven above for the good, Hell below for the bad, purgatory for the rest of us, and angels and devils running around here on Earth, mostly in physical, kill-able bodies, mucking everything up. This is a sort of Saturday Evening Post panel cartoon vision of theology; no attempt is made to engage early Christian beliefs, such as that we lie dead in the grave until Judgement Day, when we are subject to a physical resurrection (if we are saved), or other arcane Christian ideas. This straightforward theological structure works well enough for what Williams is trying to do, and it's possible that the concept will be expanded in later volumes.
The hero is Bobby Dollar, an advocate angel, formerly a military angel, who lives in an earthly body. Something is rotten in Denmark -- or anyway Earth, Heaven, and Hell -- and Dollar, trying to perform his angelic job, gets innocently sucked into it. The story is a fast-moving, roller coaster ride of action, violence, uncertain allies, monstrous hellish individuals, coldly terrifying higher angels, intrigues and double-crosses on both sides of the good/evil line (Heaven has its dirty secrets too, as the title implies), and fiery sex between Dollar and a female aristocrat of Hell, the beautiful Countess of Cold Hands.
Recommended for all these qualities, and if you're going to be similar to anyone, Roger Zelazny, Liz Williams, and Sam Axe are not bad choices. Five stars for being totally entertaining. I enthusiastically await the next installment.
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Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2012
- Reviewed in the United States on October 19, 2012
Top reviews from other countries
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- M. BowesReviewed in the United Kingdom on February 22, 2024
Enjoyed immensely, different style to Otherland.
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MarieReviewed in France on December 30, 2012
Une touche de Raymond Chandler et un affrontement anges/démons
