Spademan used to be a garbage man. That was before the dirty bomb hit Times Square, before his wife was killed, and before the city became a bombed-out shell of its former self. Now he's a hitman.
In a New York City split between those who are wealthy enough to "tap into" a sophisticated virtual reality for months at a time and those left to fend for themselves in the ravaged streets, Spademan chose the streets. His clients like that he doesn't ask questions, that he works quickly, and that he's handy with a box cutter. He finds that killing people for money is not that different from collecting trash, and the pay is better. His latest client hires him to kill the daughter of a powerful evangelist. Finding her is easy, but the job quickly gets complicated: his mark has a shocking secret and his client has an agenda far beyond a simple kill. Now Spademan must navigate the dual levels of his world-the gritty reality and the slick fantasy-to finish the job, to keep his conscience clean, and to stay alive.
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| Love this cover! |
So, spoilery, obviously Spademan survived the first book because the second book is here and stars him! (If you think that the first book sounds intriguing, I'd encourage you to stop reading this review and go pick it up. Don't want to spoil it for anyone! Ugh, now I remember why I don't review sequels that often, but I love this series and wanted to share!) :)
So Spademan is still alive, and after narrowly escaping with his life the first time, is back to his normal job. Killing people with a box cutter for money. The change this time around is that he's a family man. Persephone (a name I love, that would probably never actually give to anybody) and her baby are stowed safely out of reach from the fanatics who have anger from the breakdown of her dad's megachurch. Spademan is out on a "job" when his intended target tells him something very disturbing. It was always the assumption that when you were "plugged in" to thecomforting virtual reality that was created, you were safe. You could be killed in this alternative world, but all it would do was force you to wake up in the real world. Lesser, Spademan's target and someone who becomes an important part of the book, says that he saw someone die in the "limn". And it was permanent.
This lures Spademan into a world of cops (some dirty, some good), a shadowy "off the books" political figure, an alluring nurse, and a host of other characters, some from the first book. Everything isn't as it seems and Spademan knows that it's not in his best interest to trust anyone. But he can't do it all himself. What will that cost him?
Also there's a character that lives in the Cloisters of New York City. Apparently it's still beautiful and impressive even without the art in it. #NewYorkCityBucketlist. Anyone been and want to tell me about it and make me jealous?
Favorite sentence in the book:"Power is often built on the back of ruin". (True that)
What I like about this book: I love the writing. The sentences are crafted like you're reading them in Spademan's head. It's like stream of consciousness except it makes sense and doesn't drive you crazy. Our man is "just" a garbage man, but he's smart and clever and surprisingly kind for a professional killer. It's not that long, about 300 pages, and it moves fast! You regret there isn't more (well until the next book, right Adam Sternbergh, RIGHT?) It bums me out that it kind of ends on a cliffhanger, but what are you gonna do, authors gotta eat :) A 3.5 out of 5 stars from this girl!
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| Book was provided for free in exchange for an honest review from Blogging for Books |
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