In the penultimate installment of Richard Kadrey’s electrifying Sandman Slim series, "Ballistic Kiss" brings the antihero James Stark back to the infernal streets of Los Angeles. As the city teeters on the brink of supernatural chaos, Stark finds himself in the eye of a storm that connects the restless spirits haunting Little Cairo to a decades-old Hollywood mystery. With the world as we know it under threat, Stark, wielding the enigmatic power of the Room of Thirteen Doors, delves into the dark underbelly of the city to unearth secrets that stretch back to the 1970s and the enigmatic disappearance of a minor actor. But the ghosts of the past are not the only specters Stark faces; his entanglement with Janet, a fearless woman drawn to the edge of death, leads him to The Zero Lodge, a society flirting dangerously with the finality of mortality. As Stark navigates the perilous intersections between the living and the dead, "Ballistic Kiss" weaves a tale of intrigue, betrayal, and undying courage. The stakes are higher than ever as Stark’s investigation draws him into a deadly game against forces that threaten to unravel the very fabric of Heaven and Earth. With the city’s fate hanging in the balance, Stark must confront not only the ghosts of his past but the possibility that the battle for the soul of Los Angeles could herald the end of an eternal war in the heavens. Richard Kadrey masterfully escalates the tension, delivering a heart-pounding adventure that solidifies Sandman Slim’s legacy as one of urban fantasy’s most compelling protagonists.