This is my least favorite thing Kadrey has written. It's not awful, but I don't like knowing where the story is going to end up when I'm only a third of the way into the book and this one telegraphed all the way.

I was actually relieved for it to be over. ( )

This story is probably more YA than adult. featuring a YA heroine and to be honest I got half way through and kinda lost interest. Then I went back to it and it just flowed.
Zoe loses her father and her mother and her move to the big city to live. She finds herself adrift and then she finds a record shop that seems to give her a line to her father but the cost is a bit much. But the temptation is high.
It's a different style of storytelling from his usual, there's less sark and more teen angst. I prefer the Sandman Slim stories but this was an interesting read. ( )

Dead Set by Richard Kadrey wasn't what I expected.

The basic plot summary is very much in keeping with Kadrey's métier:

A teenage girl starts having strange dreams after her father dies. She's in turmoil, she and her mom fallen on hard times, their life turned upside down. She discovers a record store with a room full of records which contain the lives of dead people… including her father's. There's an imaginary brother she relies on who only appears to her in dreams, and an underground world full of dead people, monsters and myth.

It's the kind of dark, fantastical setting Kadrey is so good at. Literally underground, too, like most of his settings. Dead Set gives us a compelling main character, a satisfying story, and takes on important themes.

So, too, Dead Set has all the attitude and swagger, the sense of outsiderness, and it drips with a punk aesthetic.

So far—typical Kadrey.

But Dead Set is written with a markedly different tone than much of his other work. Kadrey's Sandman Slim novels and books like The Everything Box are black comedies, overtly humorous, even ridiculous: Douglas Adams meets Clive Barker, in a James Ellroy setting, with a strong vein of snark running through it.

Dead Set isn't a comedy. There's no snark. What Kadrey delivers in this novel is a sincerity and an earnestness which caught me off guard.

Moreover, the teenage female protagonist puts this work into the realm of YA fiction—I can easily picture teenagers reading and relating to this book.

Sincerity and earnestness suit Kadrey just as well as snark and grim comedy. It's rather wonderful to see him take on such a different writing style and pull it off. It's a testament to his talent. ( )

I pretty good book, that flirts with being a YA novel, but ultimately is mostly intended for adults. In typical Kadrey fashion, it deals with some pretty deep issues in a way that feels real and accessible. It all makes some sort of tenuous coherent sense and is fun and somewhat thought provoking. Well worth the read. ( )

Dead Set by Richard Kadrey is set in very crazy world of the dead. The girl in the story finds a record store, the man has a record that lets her hear her deceased father's life. There is more to the bargain. Much more. It is a creepy read and I loved every minute! I don't want to tell more but it is certainly exciting! ( )