The Dead Take the A Train

Extraordinarily interesting characters—a self-destructive demon killer, her estranged best-friend/crush that has fled her abusive marriage, her apocalyptically ambitious ex, a high priest to tech gods, etc. Interesting new setting Kadrey has created, and his gift for describing gore, violence, and mayhem is unmatched. It ends up being a big much for me, but I appreciate that he does it very, very well, and there's a good chance I'll probably keep going with the series.

I received a free copy from Tor in exchange for my honest review.

This was a wild, gory, swear-filled adventure and I'm here for it. I'll say, I typically don't read books with a lot of gore or body horror - it's not my thing. I did not realize this book was going to be so friggen disgusting. That said, I think it really worked in the world Khaw and Kadrey created. I was cringing and saying "ew" outloud though, so just be warned if, like me, this usually isn't your thing.

Even with the detailed descriptions of nasty shit, I was having a great time. Julie is one of those "down on their luck, morally grey" protagonists, which I love to see. Sometimes you want to smack her, sometimes you're cheering for her - it's great. I also usually show more enjoy books that incporate magic/monsters/demons into our modern day life, so this checked another box for me. The opening scene takes place in a club, with a bachelorette party, and it hooked me immediately. Unexpectedly, this book also focuses on the...corporate side of making deals with demons. I can't recall reading anything quite like that before and I feel like a lot of thought went into the design of how a corporation would make deals with and make use of demons. There's also magic that humans have access to, which I would love to learn more about in the second book.

I'm really excited for the next book, even though this one just came out. I honestly hate that I have to wait! But I will definitely be re-reading this book before I dive into the sequel and, despite the gore, I'm looking forward to it. show less

Imagine an acid trip having a baby with a Fellini movie during a blood drive after the lights go out. That's how I sum this one up quickly. It's gory, full of amoral characters, uber-odd monsters, and magic, with a most flawed protagonist. All of it works quite nicely, but don't forget to look under the bed before turning the lights out.

Series Info/Source: This is first book in the Carrion City duology. I got a copy of this to review on ebook through NetGalley.

Thoughts: I enjoyed this a lot. It has a very Nightside (by Simon Green) feel to it. Lots of crazy eldritch horror stuff going on here and many intriguing characters (that aren't exactly likable but are very intriguing). The book has Kadrey's grittiness with Khaw's horror elements; the characters are all flawed but fun to read about.

The book follows Julie who lives hard and does ample drugs and alcohol. She is trying to make a living taking out all the magical nastiness but keeps getting screwed over by people. Then her best friend Sarah shows up and Julie gets drawn into some true eldritch horror craziness.

I did show more get an eGalley of this for review and noticed quite a few editing errors; like mixed up word order, missing words, and mixed up punctuation. Hopefully those will be fixed in the final book.

I liked the gritty tone to this and the quirky characters. The plot takes some seriously weird turns, so you never know what to expect and I like that. I found the "magic system" somewhat confusing and was a bit confused by what magic was actually being practiced here. Then there are angels and demons involved along with other strange eldritch powers and it's a little tough to follow how it all fits together. However, if you just sit back and accept all the weirdness it's a fast-paced and fun ride.

I really enjoyed the characters; they have a quirkiness similar to Green's Nightside series but I found them to be more engaging and personable. They all have intriguing histories and good depth to their character. I liked that Julie grew throughout the book as well.

My Summary (4/5): Overall I really liked this. There were some rough edges both in technical editing, and things like the magic system and plot being a bit hard to piece together and make sense of. However, I think all of this was more than offset by the quirky characters, intriguing world, and fast-paced craziness. If you are looking for a urban fantasy horror with some eldritch weirdness and odd characters that are surprisingly easy to love and engage with, I would highly recommend this. I am looking forward to reading the second book in the series. show less

This was such a fun ride! You are dropped right into Julie's world - full of monsters and things that definitely go bump in the night! I felt it was easy to catch up as Julie gives you the ins and outs of her job and her life. I loved the snark and the gore. I did this as an audiobook and I thought the narrator was wonderful! Just as the cover (which I LOVE!) implies, this one is trippy in all the best ways. I will definitely be looking for book 2 when it arrives!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

A delightfully gross urban fantasy/horror story with engaging characters, good pacing, great editing. Packed with excellent description, action, and dialogue. Some cavernously wide loose ends and the finish, and intentionally so with a sequel planned, it was nice to see smaller plotlines closed off neatly at the finish. Looking forward to the follow-up.

There aren’t actually any NYC subway scenes in this book, sadly, which features an evil law firm in the vein of Wolfram and Hart with just a little bit of the Laundry Files (yes, we support eldritch horrors, but the ones that eat us more slowly than the other kinds). Julie, the protagonist, starts out dissipated with drugs and alcohol but sobers up quickly as her friend/crush Sarah arrives in town with an abusive spouse on her heels; meanwhile, Tyler, Julie’s evil ex, is trying to use her demon-slaying talents to rise in the law firm’s hierarchy. It ends too rapidly and with lots of sequel fodder, but it was fine while I’m waiting for more Stross.