Here’s a round-up of recent posts and articles about Bobby Dollar and The Dirty Streets of Heaven.
The Dirty Streets of Heaven will be available on September 4th and may be preordered now from:
The Wertzone Reviews The Dirty Streets of Heaven
Posted by Adam Whitehead
Williams’s move into urban fantasy has been like a shot of pure storytelling adrenalin. The Dirty Streets of Heaven moves like a whippet with its tail on fire… The Dirty Streets of Heaven (****½) is Williams in top form, delivering a page-turning, highly inventive, fun read and his best book in a decade.
Lit Reactor: Reinvention and the “Genre Trap”
Column by Rajan Khanna August 14, 2012
I’ve been reading Tad’s books for many years and The Dirty Streets of Heaven is one of my favorites in recent memory. It’s also something of a departure for him. … This isn’t a bad thing, by any means. The Dirty Streets of Heaven is a good book. And many writers find it invigorating and refreshing to continue to try new ideas and push the boundaries of what they’re doing.
Science Fiction Book Club: Featured Selection for September
Even a master of the epic needs to spread his wings now and then. Tad Williams is an SFF legend for his sprawling science-fiction and high-fantasy sagas such as Otherland and Shadowmarch. But he’s heard urban fantasy’s gritty, sexy siren song, and now he’s serving up something a little more down and dirty—starring an angel, a she-devil and spiritual urban warfare!
Geek Syndicate Reviews The Dirty Streets of Heaven
by Clover Winton-Polak
A very promising start to an exciting new series from one of our greatest modern F/SF authors.
Fantasy Book Review on The Dirty Streets of Heaven
Reviews by Michelle Herbert and Jasper de Joode
Tad Williams has made his urban fantasy come alive with characters who are well-rounded with reason and direction, resplendent with a rich history and back story.
–Michelle Herbert, 9.5/10
From its great introduction to its full-tilt gun action and great character/world building The Dirty Streets of Heaven is rock(ing)-solid! All I can say is, “How many nights do I have to tick off for book 2 to be released?â€
–Jasper de Joode, 10/10
Graeme’s Fantasy Book Review: Which cover would you go for?
Graeme Flory and commenters weigh in on the two different covers.
British Fantasy Society Reviews The Dirty Streets of Heaven
Reviewed by Catherine Mann
The Dirty Streets of Heaven is a good read and an impressive urban fantasy that is steeped in noir and features various original ideas. The story is well written and the pace shifts nicely between action and investigation, Earth and the afterlife. It introduces a familiar type of character and takes a cynical view at a traditionally black and white situation. The conclusion promises future installments that should open the concept up and introduce yet more originality and ambiguity. I’ll be awaiting the next book with interest.
Amazon Vine Reviews (Early Reviews on amazon.com and amazon.co.uk)
“This is a gripping read. Bobby Dollar isn’t your average gumshoe with a penchant for a pretty face…and his world isn’t the sleazy world of Chandler, Hammett, or McBain… he is American, but you can’t have everything, heh heh.
Our Mr D is in fact Doloriel, an angel advocate and once-upon-a-time soldier of Heaven… the equivalent of Heavens Commandos, no less.
His task is to greet the newly deceased and defend them at their Judgement against his opposite number from…the Other Place. Which exists and isn’t the place you want to be sentenced to because there is NO appeal. And the Other Side play dirtier than the Mob… I couldn’t put this thing down until I’d cleared the mysteries, heard the explanations, and seen the final twists (oh yes, there’s more than one!).”
“This book is a big meaty thriller, with a complex and meticulously executed plot, a devastating romance, sly humour and some very real horror (if you stop to think about it). Excellent stuff!”
“I am looking forward to buying the next books in the series as Tad Williams is a gem of a writer. Funny and pacy, this book is an absolute cracker and that’s from someone who has read a lot of fiction in my time. Touches of genius abound with witty one-liners on every page, making the story and its characters beautifully illustrated and a varied a bunch as you could ever wish for from the highest angels to the Princes of Hell.”
Epic Book Reviews on The Dirty Streets of Heaven
Posted by Dylan Book Reader
If The Dirty Streets of Heaven were a ride in an amusement park it would be the one that everyone would want to ride. Honestly, this story was a thrill ride from start to finish and it never once let up or became boring…. So, if you are a fan of Tad Williams—and even if you’re not—this novel is required reading. This is urban fantasy at its best. I even recommend The Dirty Streets of Heaven to fans of the crime/ mystery genre because of how it reads.
Genre Go Round Reviews on The Dirty Streets of Heaven
by Harriet Klausner
This is a wonderful fantasy in which heaven and hell are not good and bad but filled with gray matter. Bobby is terrific as he recognizes that both sides in the eternal war are collectors with Hell more open with their BHAG than Heaven is. With an exciting investigation and an end of days feel to the storyline, The Dirty Streets of Heaven is a serious version of Albert Brooks’ Defending Your Life but with the Rip Torn advocate telling the tale of life in the afterlife bureaucratic judicial system at a time when all hell (or heaven) breaks out.