THE DIRTY STREETS OF HEAVEN
The first book in the Bobby Dollar series
Tad says: “THE DIRTY STREETS OF HEAVEN has now officially dropped. Tad is happy.”
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Here are some recent reviews of The Dirty Streets of Heaven:
BASTARD BOOKS — Mihir’s Thoughts: The Dirty Streets Of Heaven by Tad Williams
My first impression after finishing the book was that this was unlike any other Tad Williams book I’ve read so far and that’s one of the best things about it. Tad Williams is one of my favorites and all his fans know his style of developing the story and characters, what this entails is that the start of most of his books is a bit on the slower side. Not The Dirty Streets Of Heaven as it quickly opens up the world settings and pushes the reader in a noir-ish world of angels, demons, and mankind. Featuring Bobby Dollar as the quirky narrative voice, the tale is very much a mish-mash of a noir detective story with urban fantasy…
The Dirty Streets of Heaven is a fantastic tale from the mind that gave us the Otherland series. Read this one if you want a good tale that mixes the styles of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett with those of Jim Butcher and Tim Pratt. For its said that you’ve never met an angel like Bobby Dollar. Read The Dirty Streets Of Heaven to find out why…
amazon.co.uk Best Books of the Month
Tad Williams departs from his usual genre and style to venture into the world of urban fantasy with this adrenaline-fueled new series featuring Bobby Dollar. An advocate angel who fights for the souls of the recently deceased, Bobby is also a cynic who isn’t entirely trusting of his heavenly superiors or his fellow earthbound angels. His cynicism turns out to be advantageous when, for the first time in history, a soul goes missing from the zipper — the place in between Heaven and Hell. Tasked with finding the missing soul, Bobby’s investigation uncovers ancient conspiracies and political turmoil on both sides. With a hint of detective noir, a colourful cast of characters and fast-paced, witty dialogue, The Dirty Secrets of Heaven is a fantastically fun read.
News and Sentinel: Crime noir takes an otherworldly air
By Amy Phelps — Book Review, Parkersburg News and Sentinel
New York Times bestselling author Tad Williams takes crime noir in a different direction with a story about angels in The Dirty Streets of Heaven… The angels aren’t exactly angelic in this wickedly good start to a new crime noir series. This one kept me up all night reading to see what twists and turns Bobby will have to navigate next.
Official sffworld.com Book Review
by Mark Yon for sffworld.com
But what Tad brings that’s new to the party is Bobby’s world, a wonderfully realised background that is teeming with ideas, just dropped in briefly before getting back to the task in hand. It’s the sort of thing Robert A. Heinlein was very good at: Tad here is very, very good.
This is light years away from Tad’s medieval-mannerisms of Memory Sorrow and Thorn and Shadowmarch, so much so that, had I not been told, I wouldn’t have said they were the same author. Many critics of Tad’s earlier work, (of which I’m not one, incidentally), talk about their over-complexity and enormous length. In comparison, Dirty Streets is tightly written, fast paced, contemporary, and definitely more adult. The characters smoke and drink, sleep around, curse and complain – much like you and me, except with the added responsibility of doing the Lord’s (or the Opposition’s) work. I’m sort of reminded of Black Sabbath’s album cover to Heaven and Hell here.
I had my concerns about this one: I needn’t. Impressive stuff from a brilliant author, and easily one of the best urban fantasies I’ve read in a long, long while. As much as I like The Dresden Files, Jim Butcher’s definitely got his work cut out for him to keep up with this one. Dresden, watch out: there’s a new guy in town.
THE SPECULATIVE SCOTSMAN
Posted by Niall Alexander
At the end of the day, The Dirty Streets of Heaven is a little on the thin side, both figuratively and literally, but for as long as it lasts, it’s fine fun. If you’ve ever read a John Connolly novel, or the Sandman Slim series, you’re apt to find it slightly overfamiliar, yet even then the similarities are initial and more importantly superficial. Once Williams finds his feet, and by the end he has, The Dirty Streets of Heaven stands as compelling as any of its many contemporaries, such that its slated sequels — Happy Hour in Hell and Sleeping Late on Judgement Day — will be required reading for this critic.
io9 FALL PREVIEW — THIS FALL’S MUST-READ SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY BOOKS
by Charlie Jane Anders
The Shadowmarch author turns his hand to urban fantasy, about a flawed angel named Bobby Dollar who judges newly deceased souls — until a soul goes missing. Adam Whitehead said this novel “moves like a whippet with its tail on fire.”
THE WRITING BUG — The Dirty Streets of Heaven Book Review
Post by Dylan
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. This again proves that Tad Williams, whether he is writing a languid epic fantasy or a rip-roaring urban fantasy, is a master at pacing…
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.