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    The Dirty Streets of Heaven: Volume One of Bobby Dollar
    Unavailable
    The Dirty Streets of Heaven: Volume One of Bobby Dollar
    Unavailable
    The Dirty Streets of Heaven: Volume One of Bobby Dollar
    Audiobook15 hours

    The Dirty Streets of Heaven: Volume One of Bobby Dollar

    Written by Tad Williams

    Narrated by George Newbern

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Bobby Dollar is an angel-a real one. He knows a lot about sin, and not just in his professional capacity as an advocate for souls caught between Heaven and Hell. Bobby's wrestling with a few deadly sins of his own-pride, anger, even lust.

    But his problems aren't all his fault. Bobby can't entirely trust his heavenly superiors, and he's not too sure about any of his fellow earthbound angels either, especially the new kid that Heaven has dropped into their midst, a trainee angel who asks too many questions. And he sure as hell doesn't trust the achingly gorgeous Countess of Cold Hands, a mysterious she-demon who seems to be the only one willing to tell him the truth.

    When the souls of the recently departed start disappearing, catching both Heaven and Hell by surprise, things get bad very quickly for Bobby D. End-of-the-world bad. Beast of Revelations bad. Caught between the angry forces of Hell, the dangerous strategies of his own side, and a monstrous undead avenger that wants to rip his head off and suck out his soul, Bobby's going to need all the friends he can get-in Heaven, on Earth, or anywhere else he can find them.

    You've never met an angel like Bobby Dollar. And you've never read anything like The Dirty Streets of Heaven.

    Brace yourself-the afterlife is weirder than you ever believed.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateSep 27, 2012
    ISBN9780756408459
    Unavailable
    The Dirty Streets of Heaven: Volume One of Bobby Dollar
    Author

    Tad Williams

    Tad Williams is a New York Times and London Sunday Times bestselling author of fantasy and science fiction, with novels translated into more than twenty languages and a global readership. He hosted a syndicated radio show for over a decade, co-created the first completely interactive television program, and is currently involved in film, television, comic books, computer games and other multimedia projects. He and his family live in California.

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    Reviews for The Dirty Streets of Heaven

    3.5/5

    262 ratings27 reviews

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    • 3/5
      This seems really different for TW. The characters were great, I especially loved the demon's Outside appearances. I enjoyed the story, but was bored in a couple of spots... Which actually is normal for me in most TW books. Overall liked it, although I prefer the epic series he writes. Definitely would recommend to Urban Fantasy readers.
    • 5/5
      Another great book from Tad. Full of suspense, humor and bad assery. I love Tad's work and this book brings all of his skills into play. I
    • 2/5
      Oh, man. I barely managed to finish this book; I am loathe to DNF a book, but this one sorely tempted me. Alas, I made it through. I don't know if the style actually got better (aka irritated me less) or if I just gave up and let the book wound my readerly soul.I liked a couple things: Caz, the complicated romantic relationship, Sam.I couldn't stand: The protagonist. The protagonist's "voice." The irritating way the protagonist kept telling me stuff he'd already told me just in case I wasn't paying attention earlier. The protagonist. Can you tell I don't like Bobby Dollar? It's hard to love a book when the main character, who is also the narrator, hurts you like fingernails drawn across the proverbial chalkboard.Far too clever for its own good. I won't be reading more books about Bobby Dollar, public defender of the final kind.
    • 4/5
      If you enjoy urban fantasy and detective novels then you will probably enjoy this book. Dirty Streets is a little bit of both.

      This fits right in with my Dresden, John Taylor, and Shaman Bond reads! I am looking forward to the next one in the series with great anticipation.
    • 4/5
      fun story, pretty good narration. I would recommend this book
    • 1/5
      Although he’s not particularly trustworthy, Bobby Dollar, an advocate for souls caught between Heaven and Hell, is an angel. One with a few sins of his own. Judgment is a court, Heaven is a bureaucracy, Hell cares only about power. But, much to the consternation of both Heaven and Hell, the souls of the dearly recently departed are disappearing. What will Bobby need to fix this?Unlikable characters populate this urban fantasy that doesn’t deliver on so many levels. Readers looking for a showdown between Heaven and Hell will be disappointed. Perhaps it’s a confrontation not materializing because there are at least two more Bobby Dollar stories. Whatever the reason, readers may find this urban fantasy more unsatisfying than rewarding.
    • 4/5
      In the war between heaven and hell, some angels and demons are lawyers who will argue for your soul. But then the souls start disappearing and Bobby Dollar was there for the first one. Very creative, well written and fun. Think pulpy detective who is actually an angel...mind you, not very saintly. I am looking forward to reading the second in the series.
    • 3/5
      This is an example of what I choose to call the “worldly angel” sub-genre of urban fantasy that takes place in our contemporary world and draws on the Christian mythos of Heaven and Hell, demons and angels (fallen or otherwise). In Williams’ version, both Heaven and Hell draw their agents from among the spirits of dead humanity. Thus, the main character Bobby Dollar is an angel who started out as a human – although he’s not permitted to remember his human existence. His role is that of advocate, which means that he argues before the higher-level angels, who are the judges, on behalf of the souls of the recently deceased in an effort to win them entry into Heaven. That’s his job. But when one of these recently-deceased souls simply vanishes, things get interesting.Fair warning: This is apparently the first book of a trilogy. Its ending resolves the immediate conflicts but leaves significant things dangling. I should also warn that there is some fairly explicit sex. I could have used less detail on that, but it didn’t seem overtly exploitative in the sense that it fit the needs of the story. There is also quite a lot of violence and mayhem. If you like that sort of thing, this is definitely a book for you. I found it a bit excessive, especially since there were human witnesses to a lot of it which meant that a lot of cover-ups would have been needed – an issue that was barely touched on.While it’s always clear that Bobby is working on the side of right – that he cares about humanity, for example – a lot of his behavior, and his language, is not very angelic. That’s a large part of the fun of this book. There’s a certain amount of dark humor and the thoughts and dialog of the angels are often hilariously irreverent. I cared about the central character and there were lots of other interesting characters, too, and plenty of action. The set-up was novel within the sub-genre, and the story certainly held my interest. I probably won’t read the sequels, partly because of the sex/violence factor, but also because I thought Williams pulled too many things out of a hat at the end of the book. One thing in particular really bothered me: I’ll try not to spoil anything for anyone who wants to read this book, but if an author is going to hide something in a given location and needs the thing to show up chapters and chapters later, he/she should be sure to make it plausible that the location would still exist after everything that happens in between.
    • 3/5
      I wanted to like this book much more than I did. While I didn't dislike it, nonetheless it failed to live up to its potential. Too many plates spinning at once, not enough payoff when the big reveal occurs. Williams is long-winded at times, and the "wise guy" narration felt forced at times. My biggest complaint with the book was the way the female characters (all two of them) were depicted. The women were not well developed and mostly existed to boink the main character. Caz could have been really interesting, and I hope that she has more to do beside frolic in bed with Bobby in the next book.
    • 5/5
      This is a modern day urban fantasy with as you can guess, angels and demons. It hits just the right balance between too-good fantasy and gritty, dark fantasy, not too much of either. The 'hero' of the story is an angel named Dolorial, or his street name of Bobby Dollar. Angels appear to be normal humans when seen around town, but are tougher and stronger than normal humans. Dolorial is an advocate, an angel that speaks for the dead when they are judged immediately after death (no judgement at the pearly gates here). Things start to get strange when a soul disappears while Bobby is advocating. The story is mostly an urban fantasy detective story, as Bobby sets out to find out what's going on with the missing souls and ends up in the middle of a huge conspiracy. Mr. William's writing is excellent, the pace of the book is fast but not too fast and his characters are compelling. Unless you object to his 'objective' views of religion, which while somewhat Christian don't really favor one religion over another, there's nothing less than excellent about this book. Sure, at times it isn't 'realistic', but its a fantasy novel with angels and demons, what would be realistic about that? I enjoyed this very much.
    • 4/5
      The Dirty Streets of Heaven is quite different from what I had previously read by Tad Williams which was his Memory, Sorrow, & Thorn epic fantasy series. However, what was familiar was the solid storytelling, excellent world & character building and dialog. This was an angel themed urban fantasy unlike most that I've read recently. Williams' imagining of the inner workings of Heaven and Hell were quite original and intriguing as well as including a fast moving plot that is not lacking in action or suspense. The Dirty Streets of Heaven definitely has all the ingredients for an exciting urban fantasy This almost had a noir feel to it with the heirarchy of both heaven & hell almost set up like a Godfather movie.

      Angel Doloriel aka Bobby Dollar is a fast talking, snarky cynic who spends his days advocating for souls caught on the brink of heaven and hell. He finds himself in the middle of a dangerous situation that is likely far beyond his ability to handle and he's not really sure how he got there or how to get out of it. This first novel in the series introduces a quite array of quirky characters who were as abrasive as the dirty streets the title refers to, but satisfyingly so.. I've seen this compared with Jim Butcher's Dresden series and I would agree that fans of that series may want to check out this series.

      I'm excited to follow Bobby Dollar's (mis)adventures in the upcoming sequel Happy Hour in Hell which should be released September 3! I would absolutely recommend this to fans of urban fantasy, noir fantasy, detective novels, and as I said above, fans of the Dresden Files.
    • 2/5
      I can't say this book was all bad. For instance, it had a great world: it was really intriguing to read about the way demons and angels fight about the souls of people and their afterlife. The different types of angel there are, the way heaven works and the way angels on earth work, all good. The general story, with a mysterious object that was stolen and missing souls, also good. Whenever this was what I was reading about, I was enjoying myself. Unfortunately, the nice bits covered at most half of the book. The other half was chases followed by shoot-outs followed by chases followed by fights. I'm fine with a little of that, but this was just way too much. It was boring and served no purpose that I can see. I already know angels and demons fight. It didn't put the story forward. And it wasn't exciting either, like I said, it was boring. Besides that, anyone who cares about a decent depiction of women should leave this book be. There are some female angels, who even have some good ideas during a fight, but they get very little page time. The other woman in the book (there are not that many) is a demon. She's evil, strong and powerful. And then we find out SPOILERshe's really not evil, she's a poor battered woman who falls in love with the main character. Despite all that, I like the fact that they get together, but there's no question that the woman is the emotionally challenged one here. Well, that's going a bit far, perhaps, but she's the one who attacks the angel because he seems to be judging her. And she's the one who goes back to her abusive boyfriend. And presumably needs to be saved from him in the next book.
    • 2/5
      I like the idea of an angel/demon based urban fantasy, but this story didn't turn out to be particularly interesting in either its characters or worldbuilding. It feels a little too similar to the Dresden Files, and I think it missed out on an opportunity to give angels any really interesting otherworldly qualities. Somehow even when heaven and hell were facing problems they've never faced before, (a scary concept) the stakes felt low. I guess chase scenes seem less interesting when none of the characters can actually die.

      But the mystery aspect of the plot is pretty exciting at times, and teases at expanding the idea of the afterlife in interesting directions for the rest of the series. I doubt I'll continue reading, but more because the style bored me than because it was particularly bad overall. If you like urban fantasy with a gritty mystery element then you'll probably find something to enjoy in this one.
    • 4/5
      The Dirty Streets of Heaven is quite different from what I had previously read by Tad Williams which was his Memory, Sorrow, & Thorn epic fantasy series. However, what was familiar was the solid storytelling, excellent world & character building and dialog. This was an angel themed urban fantasy unlike most that I've read recently. Williams' imagining of the inner workings of Heaven and Hell were quite original and intriguing as well as including a fast moving plot that is not lacking in action or suspense. The Dirty Streets of Heaven definitely has all the ingredients for an exciting urban fantasy This almost had a noir feel to it with the heirarchy of both heaven & hell almost set up like a Godfather movie.

      Angel Doloriel aka Bobby Dollar is a fast talking, snarky cynic who spends his days advocating for souls caught on the brink of heaven and hell. He finds himself in the middle of a dangerous situation that is likely far beyond his ability to handle and he's not really sure how he got there or how to get out of it. This first novel in the series introduces a quite array of quirky characters who were as abrasive as the dirty streets the title refers to, but satisfyingly so.. I've seen this compared with Jim Butcher's Dresden series and I would agree that fans of that series may want to check out this series.

      I'm excited to follow Bobby Dollar's (mis)adventures in the upcoming sequel Happy Hour in Hell which should be released September 3! I would absolutely recommend this to fans of urban fantasy, noir fantasy, detective novels, and as I said above, fans of the Dresden Files.
    • 4/5
      The Dirty Streets of Heaven by Tad Williams

      I'm giving this book high marks, but they are high marks that come with a qualifier. If you like this type of book, you will like this book in particular. The problem is finding the right shelf for this type of book. Urban fantasy? yes, that's part of it. But something of the mystery genre mixed in, specifically the noire detective novel. But with a supernatural twist to it too. Supernatural noire mystery. Ya, it's a pretty small bookshelf.

      Jim Butcher's 'The Dresden Files' were previously the only other volumes filling that slim shelf. And I love those books. And as quickly as Jim Butcher births those slim volumed paper babies, there's still time between them. And like the addict that i am - the junkie addicted to first-person wise cracking detectives who don't play by the rules and always get the dames - I've been itching for a new one.

      The Dirty Streets of Heaven fills that niche nicely. Starring Bobby Dollar, the angel with a few bad habits who doesn't trust anyone and throws out one-liners so bad they make the entire English language weep, this story has all the right ingredients. You've got your convoluted mystery that our hero is pulled in to, your cast of colourful characters both heavenly and hellish, your sub-mystery that may or may not have something to do with the main mystery, and you literally have a "and then she walked into the room" moment.

      Williams gets all these things right. It's hard to believe this is the first novel he's written like this. I only have two complaints.

      The first is the pacing near the end of the book. I might have been set up for this one. Someone had warned me that the chase scene near the end of the book seems to drag a bit. So maybe I was anticipating it. But I'm going to have to agree. Without giving anything away, there's a segment where our bad ass angel is being chased by badder-asser things. It seems to fall into this roving cycle of "hey we've got you, there's no way out" and then "ha ha, i found a way out, you're chasing me again!". The pacing just felt a little off here. It didn't ruin the book by any means. But in a story where pacing is so important it definitely stood out.

      My second complaint would be the ending. It wasn't bad, but it was a smidge too much "tune in next time to follow the adventures of Bobby Dollar" for me. By this time I was hooked, so I will be picking up the next book. But still, a tighter, more complete ending would have made me happier.

      In short, if you like The Dresden Files, or Noire mystery in general, you're going to enjoy this book. If you aren't sure, it's worth picking up and trying. It's a fun book, fast paced, and well written.

      If you couldn't get into, or even disliked, the Dresden Files, you probably aren't going to enjoy this one either.
    • 3/5
      Angels and demons advocate for the soul of each dead person; when the angels win it’s Heaven or Purgatory, and when the demons win it’s eternal damnation. Bobby Dollar is a hardboiled combat vet turned angel advocate, and my main reaction was that Williams was trying too hard for the noir narrative, even as the setting (sunny California) and the plot (corruption on high, lots of threats and beatings from bruisers, femme fatale with her own agenda despite her incredible attraction to our narrator) fit the bill to a T. Also, I was just creeped out by the narrator’s constant comparisons of his demonic lady love to a child, e.g., “With her youthful, wide-eyed face and long white-gold hair cascading over her naked shoulders she might have been a portrait of Alice that Reverend Dodgson would have kept locked away and shown to no one”—this, right after an explicit sex scene. Not my thing.
    • 5/5
      Das Christentum hat Recht gehabt - zumindest in einigen seiner Grundannahmen: Es gibt Himmel und Hölle, und Menschen werden nach ihrem Tod für ihr Leben gerichtet, um die Ewigkeit entweder im einen oder im anderen Reich zu verbringen (oder aber erstmal einige Zeit im Fegefeuer zu läutern). Dabei kämpfen die Vertreter der Hölle und die Engel um die Seelen der Verstorbenen. Ein solcher Anwaltsengel ist Doloriel, in seinem Erdenkörper bekannt als Bobby Dollar. Auf der Erde benimmt er sich vielleicht nicht immer "engelhaft", aber er macht seinen Beruf gern und gut, und verhilft seinen "Klienten" häufig zu einem himmlischen Leben nach dem Tod - bis einmal eine dieser frisch gestorbenen Seelen nicht da ist. Sie ist weg, und es setzen sich folgenschwere Ereignisse in Gang: Für Bobby Dollar, der plötzlich von Himmels- wie Höllenvertretern verdächtigt und gejagt wird, wie auch für die gesamte Welt, denn der Krieg zwischen Himmel und Hölle droht erneut auszubrechen. Das Buch hat mich äußerst positiv überrascht: Es ist sowohl spannend als auch lustig geschrieben, und dabei durch die dargestellte "Jenseitswelt" und ihre Verknüpfung zum Diesseits wahnsinnig interessant. Hier wurden die "Genres/Themenbereiche" Theologie, Actionthriller, Komödie und Krimi in einen Eimer geworfen, einmal kräftig geschüttelt und heraus kam das beste Buch das ich seit langer Zeit gelesen habe. Es lässt sich auch als Einzelband vernünftig lesen, aber natürlich bleiben noch Fragen offen, und ich freue mich auf deren Beantwortung in den Bänden 2 und 3!
    • 4/5
      The Dirty Streets of Heaven is quite different from what I had previously read by Tad Williams which was his Memory, Sorrow, & Thorn epic fantasy series. However, what was familiar was the solid storytelling, excellent world & character building and dialog. This was an angel themed urban fantasy unlike most that I've read recently. Williams' imagining of the inner workings of Heaven and Hell were quite original and intriguing as well as including a fast moving plot that is not lacking in action or suspense. The Dirty Streets of Heaven definitely has all the ingredients for an exciting urban fantasy This almost had a noir feel to it with the heirarchy of both heaven & hell almost set up like a Godfather movie.

      Angel Doloriel aka Bobby Dollar is a fast talking, snarky cynic who spends his days advocating for souls caught on the brink of heaven and hell. He finds himself in the middle of a dangerous situation that is likely far beyond his ability to handle and he's not really sure how he got there or how to get out of it. This first novel in the series introduces a quite array of quirky characters who were as abrasive as the dirty streets the title refers to, but satisfyingly so.. I've seen this compared with Jim Butcher's Dresden series and I would agree that fans of that series may want to check out this series.

      I'm excited to follow Bobby Dollar's (mis)adventures in the upcoming sequel Happy Hour in Hell which should be released September 3! I would absolutely recommend this to fans of urban fantasy, noir fantasy, detective novels, and as I said above, fans of the Dresden Files.
    • 3/5
      It has taken me nearly 6 weeks to finish this book. That is about 5 weeks longer than most books. Why? It's well-written and the concept is interesting but... well... it just lacks something. There is not enough suspense, and there is too much "battling" going on - every chapter has the main character in this book's version of a "car chase" where he escapes by the skin of his teeth, but the bad guy isn't stopped, just temporarily thwarted, so in the next chapter, the main character will have someone to chase him again.I needed the story itself to move forward, and the character to grow or change a bit... neither really happened, and when there was a change or a growth, it was followed by yet another "battle" scene... I'm not a 14 year old boy who gets excited when a monster chases someone down a street, so having this happen so frequently did not engage me in the story.And I think Bobby was the only one who hadn't figured out who was behind everything by the end of the book.
    • 3/5
      It seems career-icidally ambitious to try to lay out the politics and personalities of heaven and hell. Not only do people get touchy about that kind of thing, it's really hard to spread some subtlety over Good and Evil. If someone's going to try, though, Tad Williams seems like a good bet. It's not clear how well he's succeeded with this first book, but I'll be reading the others to see how the eschatology plays out. My main disappointments are personal--I just don't care much for the hard-boiled softie meets wrong girl storyline, no matter who's writing it.
    • 3/5
      Our Review, by LITERAL ADDICTION's Guest Reviewer - Michelle M:I have never really read a book about angels so I was definitely interested in reviewing this book. Although a little too detailed in some areas I did enjoy the story line. Heaven is a lot like our government in many ways and this is where I found there were too many details and I wanted to skip ahead. When a soul breaks away from the body it was in, an advocate from Heaven and Hell tell a judge the "good and bad" about this person so it is decided where they shall go following their death. This is where Bobby Dollar comes in. Bobby Dollar is not your average angel, he cusses, drinks, loves women and is always getting himself into sticky situations. I honestly found him quite funny in a lot of the book and that was refreshing. The fact that he is an angel but in his "human" body and an average "bad boy" was a interesting concept. After a soul goes missing, Bobby questions the actions of both Heaven and Hell and it tends to bring some interesting characters to his door. You have his friend who can only talk while in pig form, a demon Countess that he is infatuated with and a guy that is a wanna be rapper/wanna be sidekick. I tend to think of Urban Fantasy books as having a lot of action, this one didn't have as much as I would have liked. I would recommend this book to an Urban Fantasy lover and overall I give this book a 3 Skull rating.
    • 4/5
      This feels like a new kind of cross-genre book – detective story & adventure story all given a fantasy setting – and it makes for a fun read.Bobby Dollar is an angel, but no ordinary angel. He lives on earth, he inhabits a human body and seems to have some very human vices and limitations. In short we can identify with him. He is a pretty average guy, good at his job, conscientious (well, fairly), and likes to hang out with his mates in a seedy drinking establishment called The Compasses.Bobby’s job is that of advocate. When someone dies, he rushes to the scene and tries to make the case for the recently deceased soul to be permitted to enter Heaven; he will, of course, have to counter the arguments put forward by his Hellish counterpart – the advocate arguing for the soul to be sent to Hell. But one day, the soul in question is missing – and Bobby finds himself caught up in a web of intrigue which threatens his own eternal soul.I haven’t read Tad Williams before, but I do read quite a lot of sci-fi and fantasy, so I approached this book with interest. It certainly has an unusual setting, but once you take that on board (as with any fantasy you simply have to go with the flow), it’s a fairly standard detective adventure, with an intriguing love interest thrown in for good measure. Bobby Dollar is an interesting and empathetic character; I found myself identifying with him and wanting to know what happens next – so I was certainly drawn into the story, and this is why I have given it 4*s.However, I do agree with an earlier reviewer that there is a lot of exposition about Heaven, and a lot of it is merely telling you what Williams is NOT going to tell you – for instance, Bobby doesn’t know why angels don’t remember their past lives, and he doesn’t know why he prefers being on Earth to being in Heaven (isn’t heaven supposed to be where everyone wants to go???) – which gets sort of irritating.I guess much of this will be explained in subsequent Bobby D adventures; and although this story does come to an ending of sorts, there are certainly plenty of plot lines left open enough to make the reader want to come back for the next instalment.Will I read more in the series? Probably. But I won’t be rushing out to get them.
    • 5/5
      I loved it! Couldn't stop reading! Can't wait for more.
    • 4/5
      Just finished this high-speed book. I had the pure imagination of a multi-part tv-show running inside my head. I like the protagonist Bobby Dollar (Angel Doloriel) who isn't really an angel expected. Too, the problems he has to deal with are strange, quite human, but the enemies are from hell.I think this novel is quite different to Tad Williams' other books, but I love them all.
    • 4/5
      Tad Williams is one of my favorite epic fantasy writers. His Memory, Sorrow and Thorn is a classic of the genre, and rivals Tolkien for depth, development, and characters. So I was intrigued and excited by his latest - of all things, a mashup of noir detective fiction and urban fantasy with angels and demons. Guess what? It works, and works pretty well. The world is as well developed as ever, the plot's as noir as it gets, and the characters are his usual well-done. Now, it's nothing ground-breaking; urban fantasy's been done lots lately. But if you're looking for an accomplished example of how it should be done, I'd start here.
    • 5/5
      This is a Rip-Roaring Trip through the fields of Heaven with a quick detour across Purgatory back to the gritty side-streets of Earth. Tad Williams still remains one of my favorite authors and he doesn’t disappoint with this foray into urban fantasy. The first thing I was surprised at was the number of pages in this book. Not the typical Williams storyline but still had the descriptive elements that I’ve come to enjoy. It’s these exact elements that really help me jump into the story and get to know the people inside. Bobby Dollar is one of the characters you wish you could have a drink in a pub with and really listen to what he has to say. The human qualities are really striking and mask the fact that he really is an Angel. The take on Heaven and Hell and everything in between was mind-bending and I especially liked Hell’s Prosecutors. All is not what it seems and this is a common theme throughout the whole story.Dollar is always on the run from the next baddie or Hell-beast while somehow invoking human emotions and concepts such as love, doubt, and passion. He can’t seem to get a break from demons, hellbeasts, angels, or spirits, makes you really feel for the guy and root for the underdog.There are a lot of otherworldly visitors and that never ceases to fascinate me. Everything you thought was real is turned upside down, inside out and sideways. When you think you get an answer, another question pops up. I would recommend this to urban fantasy fans. There are action scenes, love scenes, and surreal moments. It is what I always look for in a book and sometimes have difficulty finding. It really is a complicated case of Good vs Evil and you begin to wonder whose side you are on. The grey area between doesn’t seem so wrong.I give this book 5 fairies for the complex array of supernatural elements, human emotions, and action packed scenes that keep you turning the pages and running through the book with Bobby Dollar.Some of my favorite Dollar quotes:“Outward appearances only seem to be important to earthbound types like me, staggering around in meat bodies all the time, living mostly in three dimensions.”“There is no greater bliss than ignorance.”“I called them bosses or employers, but unless you’re in the mob or an army under fire your bosses can’t usually kill you when they get pissed at you, and no other bosses but mine and my opponents’ can have your soul jerked out of your body and sent to the deepest fiery pits to suffer for eternity. Unless you work for Wal-Mart.”“Jude is like one of those favorite books where you find something new every time you open it.”“Either way, by the time the preliminaries ended a whole lot of nothing had been said, but the massive ballroom stank with the odor of violent subtext.”
    • 4/5
      I've finished reading Tad Williams' new book, "The Dirty Streets of Heaven", due out for general consumption in September of this year. It is an ARC (uncorrected proof) of the book which I was graciously given to read and review by Tad's wife Deborah Beale (who writes the Ordinary Farm YA books with Tad). Reading the book has been like running into an old friend and spending the day catching up. There are only a few other authors who give me that feeling - C. J. Cherryh, Patricia A. McKillip, Charles de Lint, Guy Gavriel Kay. This book is different from his last solo outing (Shadowmarch, Shadowplay, Shadowrise, Shadowheart) in that it is a contemporary fantasy involving angels who advocate for the souls of the dead and the demons who advocate for the other team. It's grittier than one would expect a book about angels to be, but the grittiness is reasonable in context. And it's also a mystery about a lost soul and the murder of a demon advocate. For me that's two pluses - urban fantasy and mystery combined.The book is the first of a new series. Although most of the questions that come up in the course of this story are answered by the end of the book, there is one question, in two parts, that is left unanswered, and it is that question, I think, which will tie the series together.