It can be a little difficult to get back into the Sandman Slim world because James Stark's circumstances have a tendency to change radically in each book. On the other hand, it does keep things fresh. In this edition, he starts out working for Thomas Abbott, the augur of the Sub Rosa Council, to investigate a missing boy and some council members who may have ties to Wormwood. Stark's having trouble adjusting to a relatively stable existence, made worse by the problems of no longer having access to the Room of Thirteen Doors. Things don't stay calm for long, and a chain of events involving angels, a mysterious weapon, and an old flame of Vidoc's culminates in finding a new way to go back to Hell, with all of the grisly humor of the previous books in the series. And once again, at the end, Stark finds himself in a drastically different position at the end of the story.
Overall: A
The Perdition Score will be published on June 28.