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Another Coop Heist #2
The Wrong Dead Guy
A special agent for a supernatural task force hunts down a runaway mummy bent on raising hell in this adventure by a New York Times–bestselling author.Coop, a master thief sort of gone legit, save the world from an ancient doomsday device—heroism that earned him a gig working for the Department of Peculiar Science, a fearsome top secret government agency that polices the odd and the strange.Now Woolrich, Coop’s boss at the DOPS, has Coop breaking into a traveling antiquities show to steal a sarcophagus containing the mummy of a powerful Egyptian wizard named Harkuf.Coop pulls off the heist without a hitch. And it’s not his fault that when DOPS opened the sarcophagus they didn’t find the mummy they were expecting. Well, it was the right mummy, but it wasn’t exactly dead—and now it’s escaped. Being a typical boss, Woolrich blames his underling for the screw-up and wants Coop to find the missing Harkuf, pronto.Digging into Harkuf’s history, Coop thinks the mummy is hunting for an ancient magical manuscript that will help bring his old lover back to life. Which wouldn’t be so bad if she wasn’t a warrior sorceress hell-bent on conquering the world with undead armies.Coop would very much like to run from the oncoming chaos. It’s one thing to steal a mummy, but another to have to deal with head-hunting bureaucrats, down-on-their-luck fortune tellers, undead mailroom clerks, and a rather unimpressed elephant. Unfortunately, there’s nowhere to run. If Coop wants the madness to stop, he must suck it up and play hero once more. But if he manages to save the world AGAIN, he’s definitely going to want a lot of answers—and a raise.Praise for The Wrong Dead Guy“A goofy, flamboyant, and breathless horror adventure by one of the genre’s sharpest creators.” —Kirkus Reviews“[The Wrong] Dead Guy is a riot. It’s just plain dangerous fun.” —NPR“[Kadrey’s] plotting is as deft as ever, weaving eight broad story arcs into one overarching narrative that’s entertainingly unpredictable.” —Publishers Weekly
435 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 28, 2017
209 people are currently reading
1917 people want to read
About the author
Richard Kadrey
131 books3,547 followersRichard Kadrey is a writer and freelance musician living in Pittsburgh, best known for his Sandman Slim novels. His work has been nominated for the Locus and BSFA awards. Kadrey's newest books are The Secrets of Insects, released in August 2023; The Dead Take the A Train (with Cassandra Khaw), released in September 2023; The Pale House Devil, released in September 2023.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 219 reviews
February 15, 2021
Actual rating: 3.465468 stars.
Okay, so this one was not as hilariously hilarious as the first book in the series. Okay, so it actually was(a little), but Kadrey tries so bloody shrimping hard to be funny sometimes that it ends up getting old, falling flat and not being so funny at all. Also, there were too many sub-plots that added very little to the story and slowed the pace down .
But. Kadrey does get bonus points for rivaling Tom Holt in the Wacky as Fish Department (WaFD™). “Prove it!” you say? Why, with pleasure, my Tiny Decapods, with pleasure. Let's see, what do we have here? Well, manic-depressive iPods, for a start. And bloodsucking ostriches. And ambitious dead people. And wastebaskets that become hellmouths. And well-staffed rodent retirement community. And desk squids. DESK. SQUIDS.
My baby!!
What else, you ask? Well Egyptologists-turned-robotic-tentacled-octo-cats-with-television heads (don't ask). And glow-in-the-dark guinea pigs. And homicidal three-thousand-year-old dead guys in their underwear (yum), aka “bones and beef jerky wrapped in tissue paper” (yum again). And despotic vegetables. And velociraptors with guns. And foil scimitars. And “real-life holy-shit Boris Karloff mummy curses.” And mind-reading acts with pigs (I told you not to ask). And Shamu the hamster. And Agent Night vs. Agent Knight. And Macho Taco Guy Lombardo. And the Kraken Zap energy drink. And elephants that double as spoiler spoiler spoilers.
Yeah, I know, some people would argue that none of this makes any sense. Some people may actually very well be right. But you know what? If this story made any kind of sense, it wouldn't be half as funny as it is (which wouldn't be very funny indeed, since the story is sometimes not-so-funny at all, as I may or may not have already mentioned up there ↑↑). Also, if this story made any kind of sense, it wouldn't be Another Coop Heist. So ha! to you and stuff .
· Book 1: The Everything Box ★★★★★
P.S. The story also gets bonus points for being written by my boyfriend Sandman Slim's daddy, just so you know. You're welcome and stuff.
Okay, so this one was not as hilariously hilarious as the first book in the series. Okay, so it actually was
But. Kadrey does get bonus points for rivaling Tom Holt in the Wacky as Fish Department (WaFD™). “Prove it!” you say? Why, with pleasure, my Tiny Decapods, with pleasure. Let's see, what do we have here? Well, manic-depressive iPods, for a start. And bloodsucking ostriches. And ambitious dead people. And wastebaskets that become hellmouths. And well-staffed rodent retirement community. And desk squids. DESK. SQUIDS.
My baby!!
What else, you ask? Well Egyptologists-turned-robotic-tentacled-octo-cats-with-television heads (don't ask). And glow-in-the-dark guinea pigs. And homicidal three-thousand-year-old dead guys in their underwear (yum), aka “bones and beef jerky wrapped in tissue paper” (yum again). And despotic vegetables. And velociraptors with guns. And foil scimitars. And “real-life holy-shit Boris Karloff mummy curses.” And mind-reading acts with pigs (I told you not to ask). And Shamu the hamster. And Agent Night vs. Agent Knight. And Macho Taco Guy Lombardo. And the Kraken Zap energy drink. And elephants that double as spoiler spoiler spoilers.
Yeah, I know, some people would argue that none of this makes any sense. Some people may actually very well be right. But you know what? If this story made any kind of sense, it wouldn't be half as funny as it is (which wouldn't be very funny indeed, since the story is sometimes not-so-funny at all, as I may or may not have already mentioned up there ↑↑). Also, if this story made any kind of sense, it wouldn't be Another Coop Heist. So ha! to you and stuff .
· Book 1: The Everything Box ★★★★★
P.S. The story also gets bonus points for being written by my boyfriend Sandman Slim's daddy, just so you know. You're welcome and stuff.
March 23, 2017
“Really, Cooper, you’re in good hands. We can’t afford any more employee homicides until the next fiscal quarter,” said Woolrich.
“If you try just a little harder, I think you can be even less reassuring.”
Coop is back! And this time, he’s left his days of thievery behind for a day job with the Department of Peculiar Science. He’s involved in yet another race against the clock to save the world just replace the box with a mummy and its undead army. When Coop and his team are instructed to steal a mummy from a museum, the plan, of course, does not go according to plan and Coop ends up being cursed by the newly awakened mummy, Harkhuf, they were supposed to steal. On the sidelines, Coop’s nemesis from the first installment, Nelson, is stirring up trouble at work by stealing office supplies and just being a general nuisance but is clearly leading up to something big.
The Wrong Dead Guy is yet another thrilling tale of humor and sarcasm, but it felt like the subdued version of the jokes already told in The Everything Box. Coop’s wit also proved to be infectious because every major and minor character seemed to sound exactly like him, making this wide cast a bit hard to differentiate at times. The one new bizarro character that proved to be quite a laugh was Dr. Lupinsky, the deceased Egyptologist that inhabited a robotic octopus and a cat that was constantly requiring new batteries. (Because that’s what happens when you mess with the wrong sort of magic.) Which brings me to what I love most about Kadrey’s stories: they all include these outrageously preposterous tidbits that make them so uniquely him. There isn’t very much room to breath, plot-wise, because of the non-stop action so take a big deep breath before diving into this one. You won’t want to put this one down till it’s all said and done.
I received this book for free from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
“If you try just a little harder, I think you can be even less reassuring.”
Coop is back! And this time, he’s left his days of thievery behind for a day job with the Department of Peculiar Science. He’s involved in yet another race against the clock to save the world just replace the box with a mummy and its undead army. When Coop and his team are instructed to steal a mummy from a museum, the plan, of course, does not go according to plan and Coop ends up being cursed by the newly awakened mummy, Harkhuf, they were supposed to steal. On the sidelines, Coop’s nemesis from the first installment, Nelson, is stirring up trouble at work by stealing office supplies and just being a general nuisance but is clearly leading up to something big.
The Wrong Dead Guy is yet another thrilling tale of humor and sarcasm, but it felt like the subdued version of the jokes already told in The Everything Box. Coop’s wit also proved to be infectious because every major and minor character seemed to sound exactly like him, making this wide cast a bit hard to differentiate at times. The one new bizarro character that proved to be quite a laugh was Dr. Lupinsky, the deceased Egyptologist that inhabited a robotic octopus and a cat that was constantly requiring new batteries. (Because that’s what happens when you mess with the wrong sort of magic.) Which brings me to what I love most about Kadrey’s stories: they all include these outrageously preposterous tidbits that make them so uniquely him. There isn’t very much room to breath, plot-wise, because of the non-stop action so take a big deep breath before diving into this one. You won’t want to put this one down till it’s all said and done.
I received this book for free from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
April 19, 2017
I love Kadrey's Sandman Slim series. This one I can't take anymore. The conversation is frivolous, excessive and meaningless. I was bored and annoyed.
March 18, 2017
More craziness and unbounded snarkiness from Richard Kadrey. Coop, Giselle, Morty and a cat/TV/octopus hybrid are tasked with stealing a Egyptian mummy named Harkhuf from a third rate museum. Meanwhile, an incompetent security guard accidentally revives it, and becomes enslaved in the mummy's search for its mate. Coop is now semi-legit, working for the Department of Peculiar Sciences, a governmental agency with really cool gadgets. Often amusing, the book suffers for its failure to provide adequate backstories and not really connecting characters or subplots. And I am still not quite sure how Harkhuf was thwarted.
July 3, 2018
I really wanted to like this, since it has pretty much everything I love in books, but I just couldn't slog through it. This might be book burnout talking, but this book just seemed to try too hard. The funny dialogue was over the top, and the parts of the plot that I came to read about just didn't show up. This entire book felt like it was trying to be a lovechild of Dirk Gently and The Dresden files. In theory, that would be awesome. In execution...this just didn't work for me.
June 28, 2019
Shockingly, I think I liked this book better than the first! *GASP* I am madly in love with this cooky, over-the-top, series! It's bizarre, absolutely hilarious, and snarky as hell. I love the topsy turvy plot, unpredictable characters, and overall experience of continually laughing at the ludicrous attributes of the story.
March 9, 2017
Here's the deal: I love Richard Kadrey. I love his wit, his creative genius, his way with words. Here's the rub: The Wrong Dead Guy is not his best work. There's a lot of running around, extra characters as plot devices, and snark overdose.
I love the opening, it's my favorite part of the book: breaking into a safe to steal...office supplies. It's witty and cheeky and a great set-up that reminds us what Coop did for a living and how he's screwing his new employer using those very skills. Then a couple chapters later, the book wanders over to a group of entitled millennials trying to save the animal kingdom one hairbrained plot at a time. That would have made for a great parallel to Coop's story but the millennials disappear. There's a mummy with the ageless plot of trying to rule the world, one thrall at time. And I still don't know what those two guys in the basement of DOPS actually are doing in the book, but they are kind of amusing. It should read well, but it doesn't and I'm bummed to even admit it.
One thing that drove me nuts was the overkill of waaaaay too many similes or metaphors or whatevers:
"Coop felt more like a giraffe in a sports coat chasing it's own tail."
"...the tired-looking rent-a-cop pointing at him hungrily, like the last eclair in a gas station donut bin."
"Trying to understand it was like trying to push soup up an escalator."
And, my favorite:
"You're like a basket of kittens dragging a boxcar of dumbbells up a ski slope." That one made me actually get up and find a highlighter pen. There was another one about feeling like a ham sandwich in a blender but you get the idea.
The book still has some of the snappiest dialogue and, despite the similes or metaphors or whatevers, some truly creative imagery. He's still the king of weird and I'll still read his work and I'll always love it but...this just wasn't his best.
I love the opening, it's my favorite part of the book: breaking into a safe to steal...office supplies. It's witty and cheeky and a great set-up that reminds us what Coop did for a living and how he's screwing his new employer using those very skills. Then a couple chapters later, the book wanders over to a group of entitled millennials trying to save the animal kingdom one hairbrained plot at a time. That would have made for a great parallel to Coop's story but the millennials disappear. There's a mummy with the ageless plot of trying to rule the world, one thrall at time. And I still don't know what those two guys in the basement of DOPS actually are doing in the book, but they are kind of amusing. It should read well, but it doesn't and I'm bummed to even admit it.
One thing that drove me nuts was the overkill of waaaaay too many similes or metaphors or whatevers:
"Coop felt more like a giraffe in a sports coat chasing it's own tail."
"...the tired-looking rent-a-cop pointing at him hungrily, like the last eclair in a gas station donut bin."
"Trying to understand it was like trying to push soup up an escalator."
And, my favorite:
"You're like a basket of kittens dragging a boxcar of dumbbells up a ski slope." That one made me actually get up and find a highlighter pen. There was another one about feeling like a ham sandwich in a blender but you get the idea.
The book still has some of the snappiest dialogue and, despite the similes or metaphors or whatevers, some truly creative imagery. He's still the king of weird and I'll still read his work and I'll always love it but...this just wasn't his best.
Read
November 7, 2022Zaobiđite
February 6, 2022
Notes:
Yay for libraries!
Good narration and okay story. I love Kadrey's Sandman Slim series and the humor there, but I don't find most of the haha's to be all that funny in these books.
Yay for libraries!
Good narration and okay story. I love Kadrey's Sandman Slim series and the humor there, but I don't find most of the haha's to be all that funny in these books.
April 1, 2018
3 Stars
The Wrong Dead Guy was an impulse grab at the library. I did not realize it was a sequel. Having read it, I would not say that it was necessary to read The Everything Box first. Most of it was recapped. The only thing I was confused on initially was what the Marilyns were.
This is a humorous Urban Fantasy. The main character, Cooper, is a former thief working for a government agency that specializes in supernatural/paranormal events, items, and creatures. The main plot is about an ancient cursed mummy who is accidentally brought back to live who then proceeds on a murderous rampage to bring his former love back to life. If that plot sounds eerily familiar, then you’ve probably watched The Mummy. Although the similarities end there.
The story was humorous but extremely silly, even absurdist at times. Although I did chuckle often, after a while the humor got a bit stale. I could practically hear the recorded laugh track with each of the zippy one-liners. And the farther I got into the story, the more I realized that all of the characters delivered the same type of quips. That made them sound the same rather than having distinct character voices. It was rather like they were all auditioning for open mike night and each asked the same friend to write their jokes. If you pulled a line of dialogue randomly, I highly doubt I would be able to tell you which character said it. Actually, most of the characters’ names are already sliding from my memory.
The heist elements were disappointing. There is no zing in your caper if you have magical gadgets that override all electronics and a crew member who can mind control anyone in the vicinity. Where is the fun in that?
This is not a book you would read for stunning character development or complex characters. The plot was messy at times. There were too many separate plot lines that did eventually converge but not in a very satisfying way. So it felt like some of the subplots (and the characters in them) were filler and primarily unnecessary.
The worldbuilding was nothing astounding either. It is possible that there was more worldbuilding in the first book. But there were several things that I was still uncertain about by the end of the book. And the story teased a lot of things that sounded more interesting than what was actually going on in the story. Most of those were mentioned in passing and never brought up again. I definitely would have liked to delve deeper into the world.
Overall, The Wrong Dead Guy was a humorous yet generic read, but I probably will not continue the series.
RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 4 Stars
Writing Style: 3 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 3 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 2 Stars
Level of Captivation: 4 Stars
Originality: 2 Stars
The Wrong Dead Guy was an impulse grab at the library. I did not realize it was a sequel. Having read it, I would not say that it was necessary to read The Everything Box first. Most of it was recapped. The only thing I was confused on initially was what the Marilyns were.
This is a humorous Urban Fantasy. The main character, Cooper, is a former thief working for a government agency that specializes in supernatural/paranormal events, items, and creatures. The main plot is about an ancient cursed mummy who is accidentally brought back to live who then proceeds on a murderous rampage to bring his former love back to life. If that plot sounds eerily familiar, then you’ve probably watched The Mummy. Although the similarities end there.
The story was humorous but extremely silly, even absurdist at times. Although I did chuckle often, after a while the humor got a bit stale. I could practically hear the recorded laugh track with each of the zippy one-liners. And the farther I got into the story, the more I realized that all of the characters delivered the same type of quips. That made them sound the same rather than having distinct character voices. It was rather like they were all auditioning for open mike night and each asked the same friend to write their jokes. If you pulled a line of dialogue randomly, I highly doubt I would be able to tell you which character said it. Actually, most of the characters’ names are already sliding from my memory.
The heist elements were disappointing. There is no zing in your caper if you have magical gadgets that override all electronics and a crew member who can mind control anyone in the vicinity. Where is the fun in that?
This is not a book you would read for stunning character development or complex characters. The plot was messy at times. There were too many separate plot lines that did eventually converge but not in a very satisfying way. So it felt like some of the subplots (and the characters in them) were filler and primarily unnecessary.
The worldbuilding was nothing astounding either. It is possible that there was more worldbuilding in the first book. But there were several things that I was still uncertain about by the end of the book. And the story teased a lot of things that sounded more interesting than what was actually going on in the story. Most of those were mentioned in passing and never brought up again. I definitely would have liked to delve deeper into the world.
Overall, The Wrong Dead Guy was a humorous yet generic read, but I probably will not continue the series.
RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 4 Stars
Writing Style: 3 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 3 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 2 Stars
Level of Captivation: 4 Stars
Originality: 2 Stars
February 18, 2017
The Wrong Dead Guy is the sequel to The Everything Box by author Richard Kadrey and it is just as wild and wacky. Coop has given up his criminal ways (sorta) and has gone legit (sorta). He is still a master thief but now he does his thieving for the Department of Peculiar Sciences or DOPS. His latest assignment is to steal a mummy named Harkhuf. Unfortunately, turns out this mummy is not quite as dead as expected and his magic is as old and powerful as he is. Not only that but Harkhuf intends to bring back his lost love, a warrior queen who is even more powerful than he is, after which, together they will create an undead army to conquer the world. Now, it’s up to Coop and friends to save the world once again.
The Wrong Dead Guy is all kinds of quirky, chaotic, and funny as well as fast and furious and I enjoyed every hilarious minute of it. It ends on a bit of a cliffhanger which means another installment and I am already in anticipation mode.
Thanks to Edelweiss and Harper Voyager for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review
The Wrong Dead Guy is all kinds of quirky, chaotic, and funny as well as fast and furious and I enjoyed every hilarious minute of it. It ends on a bit of a cliffhanger which means another installment and I am already in anticipation mode.
Thanks to Edelweiss and Harper Voyager for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review
May 20, 2020
This was pretty entertaining. Definitely not as dark as the Sandman Slim series, this follows the adventures of the sarcastic thief "Coop" who ends up stealing mystical items. I would start with the first one if you were going to read this series.
September 11, 2025
I said the first book was like if X Files, Oceans 11, and Good Omens had a baby. If that's true, this book is basically if that baby met its crazy aunt "Welcome to Nightvale", weird uncle "Ghostbusters", and odd cousin "The Mummy". All around pretty fun but the ending felt a little predictable.
July 26, 2017
The Wrong Dead Guy is book #2 in the Coop Heist series and a terrific sequel to the Everything Box. Richard Kadrey whose Sandman Slim series has garnered the author very well deserved praise, takes a far more irreverent tone with this new series. But beware, this is dark humor at its best,
Coop is a master thief and one that specializes in stealing supernatural artifacts. After being caught and then released to basically save the world, Coop now works for the Department of Peculiar Science. Now Coop breaks into places for the government. For which he is paid a meager wage and threatened with imprisonment on a daily basis. Coop's boss, Woolrich, sends Coop to steal a sarcophagus containing an ancient Egyptian wizard known as Harkhuf from a museum. It goes smoothly and that should have been the first clue that bad things were coming.
Because when they open it up they didn't find the dead mummy they were expecting to. What they found is a live mummy and he is pissed. Harkhuf escapes and it falls on Coop to find him and bring him back. Only Harkhuf is a wizard and Coop is still only a thief. What Harkhuf is after is a manuscript that will bring his old lover back to life and together they plan to destroy the world. Now Coop has to find a way to stop them before he is blamed for everything and sent back to jail. If Coop can save the world again, this time, he is definitely going to ask for a raise!
Kadrey's Sandman Slim series had the audacity to humanize demons and angels and God and the Devil. In his new Coop series, Kadrey shows us a lighter side to the supernatural as his hero is as lovable a loser as you can find. Coop can't help but stumble over himself and though he usually is trying to do the right thing, it tends to always go wrong. He is also the ultimate expendable character. Often sent into situations that have no hope, Coop manages to find a way or just luck into them.
With a cast of characters that are as offbeat as they are outrageous, The Wrong Dead Guy is just a whole lot of fun.
A terrific read.
Coop is a master thief and one that specializes in stealing supernatural artifacts. After being caught and then released to basically save the world, Coop now works for the Department of Peculiar Science. Now Coop breaks into places for the government. For which he is paid a meager wage and threatened with imprisonment on a daily basis. Coop's boss, Woolrich, sends Coop to steal a sarcophagus containing an ancient Egyptian wizard known as Harkhuf from a museum. It goes smoothly and that should have been the first clue that bad things were coming.
Because when they open it up they didn't find the dead mummy they were expecting to. What they found is a live mummy and he is pissed. Harkhuf escapes and it falls on Coop to find him and bring him back. Only Harkhuf is a wizard and Coop is still only a thief. What Harkhuf is after is a manuscript that will bring his old lover back to life and together they plan to destroy the world. Now Coop has to find a way to stop them before he is blamed for everything and sent back to jail. If Coop can save the world again, this time, he is definitely going to ask for a raise!
Kadrey's Sandman Slim series had the audacity to humanize demons and angels and God and the Devil. In his new Coop series, Kadrey shows us a lighter side to the supernatural as his hero is as lovable a loser as you can find. Coop can't help but stumble over himself and though he usually is trying to do the right thing, it tends to always go wrong. He is also the ultimate expendable character. Often sent into situations that have no hope, Coop manages to find a way or just luck into them.
With a cast of characters that are as offbeat as they are outrageous, The Wrong Dead Guy is just a whole lot of fun.
A terrific read.
August 29, 2023
The Wrong Dead Guy
by Richard Kadrey
Another Coop Heist #2
Urban Fantasy Mystery Humor
Scribd Audio
Ages 16+
Coop is a master thief with the gift of not being affected by magic. Now gone legit, he works from the Department of Peculiar Science, a top-secret government agency that hides those things regular people have no reason to know about.
Ordered by his boss, Coop, and a few friends and a chaperon, heads to a museum to obtain the mummy of a powerful Egyptian wizard named Harkhuf, but unknown to them, during their perfect heist, they woke up the mummy. Now Coop has to fix his mistake or go back to jail, or his boss will have Coop's head on his wall.
Sadly, this one was not as good as the first in the series. Yeah, there were some funnies, but I was not laughing out loud, so nobody around me thought I was insane.
I did love the odd monsters, including squids, and mice with ears, but there were other things that were so off the chart that in a way ruined the story. I also feel that all of the characters weren't described in enough detail, or any highlights of their backstories given to make the reader connect with them.
Something else that took away from the story was the two side 'filler stories' that took place inside the Department. One had something to do with Coop, and the other not really. Yeah, they were funny, but when those stories came up, it took me a while to figure out which side plot it was. There were also three other side plots outside of the department that merged a lot better with the main plot, though they also felt like filler.
Hopefully, if there's another book in the works, it will have more monster hi-jinks.
3 Stars
by Richard Kadrey
Another Coop Heist #2
Urban Fantasy Mystery Humor
Scribd Audio
Ages 16+
Coop is a master thief with the gift of not being affected by magic. Now gone legit, he works from the Department of Peculiar Science, a top-secret government agency that hides those things regular people have no reason to know about.
Ordered by his boss, Coop, and a few friends and a chaperon, heads to a museum to obtain the mummy of a powerful Egyptian wizard named Harkhuf, but unknown to them, during their perfect heist, they woke up the mummy. Now Coop has to fix his mistake or go back to jail, or his boss will have Coop's head on his wall.
Sadly, this one was not as good as the first in the series. Yeah, there were some funnies, but I was not laughing out loud, so nobody around me thought I was insane.
I did love the odd monsters, including squids, and mice with ears, but there were other things that were so off the chart that in a way ruined the story. I also feel that all of the characters weren't described in enough detail, or any highlights of their backstories given to make the reader connect with them.
Something else that took away from the story was the two side 'filler stories' that took place inside the Department. One had something to do with Coop, and the other not really. Yeah, they were funny, but when those stories came up, it took me a while to figure out which side plot it was. There were also three other side plots outside of the department that merged a lot better with the main plot, though they also felt like filler.
Hopefully, if there's another book in the works, it will have more monster hi-jinks.
3 Stars
April 30, 2020
When I first started “The Wrong Dead Guy”, with its alternate vision of Los Angeles filled with spirits, hexes, & mooks (reanimated dead used for menial jobs) I thought, “Oh, what fun. Sort of China Mieville meets Monty Python.” I soon discovered I had severely overestimated it. It was trying too hard to be funny, which can be the twin brother of obnoxious. “Humor” basically revolves around every character giving snarky answers to each other. And I’m not talking Dorothy Parker, Algonquin Roundtable snarky, but more on the level of Leo Gorcy & the Bowery Boys. A little goes a long way. It also was a mish mash of pop culture references from different eras not always making sense with the 21st century it was supposed to be in. Finally, last night, after getting more than halfway through it, I gave up. It was never really boring, but often irritating. There is perhaps a benefit of the doubt I should give it, in that it is a follow up to another book, “The Everything Box.” Maybe if I had read that first it would prepared me to the characters & the world they inhabit. Unfortunately or fortunately, I have better things to do & read than to explore that theory.
August 22, 2020
This was my first collision with this author, and I thought to myself, "If this works, I'll have a large new set of books to read!"
Well...probably not.
I've got to admit it sounded good, what with octo-robots, mummy curses, phony fortune tellers, vengeful zombies, crazy cowboy stolen car salesmen, etc...
Added to this is one of the funniest opening chapters I've ever read.
The trouble was, the epic zaniness went on unmitigated for another 400 pages. This proved to be well beyond my amusement/tolerance levels.
If you love lightweight goofiness in mega-doses, this is the author for you.
Well...probably not.
I've got to admit it sounded good, what with octo-robots, mummy curses, phony fortune tellers, vengeful zombies, crazy cowboy stolen car salesmen, etc...
Added to this is one of the funniest opening chapters I've ever read.
The trouble was, the epic zaniness went on unmitigated for another 400 pages. This proved to be well beyond my amusement/tolerance levels.
If you love lightweight goofiness in mega-doses, this is the author for you.
October 27, 2024
I love this weird little alcoholic shithead thief and the magical world he inhabits. While ultimately the culmination of the book felt like someone juggling three mulligans in front of a firing squad, it can’t be denied that this is a fun time and a wild ride.
Devastated that there aren’t more in this series. Def recommend.
Devastated that there aren’t more in this series. Def recommend.
May 1, 2021
I've read this author's Sandman Slim series, so I was curious about what other kind of books he wrote. I love a good thief story involving heists and pulling off the impossible, and this book does just that. And it's funny, which is something that I always love in a book.
September 8, 2019
It's hard to make me laugh out loud when I'm reading, but this did. I really hope there are going to be more of these books.
September 18, 2021
I'm a huge Kadrey fan, especially the Sandman Slim series which I though was brilliant - this book however, is another story entirely. I made it 60% through before giving up. There's a narrow line between vicously clever, and sophomoric - and this books falls on the wrong side. The humor just didn't seem fresh and the story and dialogue tended to dumb rather than clever. Maybe it's me, but this book seems a dud - I hope it's not the sign of a trend.
September 17, 2024
Delightfully chaotic and absolutely fast-paced, this one hits the gas fast and doesn't relent until the last page.
August 10, 2024
Weird humour. A reluctant hero. Snarky. What's not to like?
The audiobook narrator was top notch and it was a messy book but rough edges and all :)
The audiobook narrator was top notch and it was a messy book but rough edges and all :)
January 11, 2019
3.5, if not really close to 4. It’s massively entertaining, but didn’t benefit from being read very, very slowly with all kinds of interruptions. Had I read it at a stretch, I’m sure it would’ve made a 4. Just a bad book-to-life match for the part few weeks.
July 19, 2017
The level of absurd in this book is a thing of beauty. I love that Kadrey uses an ancient Egyptian character other than a pharaoh or Imhotep, lol. How he found Harkhuf I don't know.
November 11, 2016
The Wrong Dead Guy is utterly hilarious. I don't know whether Richard Kadrey is an alien or merely a genius. Who else would think of such an amazing assortment of hijinks and heists? Captivated from the start, I wavered between laughing out loud and gaping in incredulity. What starts as the simple theft of a mummy leads to a cascade of bizarre activity. From invading a museum dressed as clowns to stealing a library by turning it into an elephant, Coop does what is necessary to save his own skin and save the world. After all, it just wouldn't do to let a 3000 year old mummy take over the world.
To give you an example of the weird and wonderful things you will find in The Wrong Dead Guy, I've made a short list.
A pocket sized elder god
An undead mailroom manager intent on revenge and world domination through control of the mail
A mummy reawakened by mustard from a hamburger and his newspaper craving thrall
A car salesman/cowboy/con with a penchant for guns and making commercials with exotic animals
Two washed up psychics in search of a comeback and a talk show
Mice with ears on their back and a set of not so bright animal rights revolutionaries
A menagerie of monsters, ghosts, and miscellaneous bizarre beings
For cat lovers like me - A scientist cat ghost in a television on eight robotic legs, and a girlfriend intent on adding a feline member of the family
It isn't easy being a thief working for the Department of Peculiar Sciences, especially if you want to stay alive and not end up a mail room mook.
I loved this novel, and the ending - magnificent! If you like comedic science fiction, Richard Kadrey can't be beat.
5/5
I received a copy of The Wrong Dead Guy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
--Crittermom
To give you an example of the weird and wonderful things you will find in The Wrong Dead Guy, I've made a short list.
A pocket sized elder god
An undead mailroom manager intent on revenge and world domination through control of the mail
A mummy reawakened by mustard from a hamburger and his newspaper craving thrall
A car salesman/cowboy/con with a penchant for guns and making commercials with exotic animals
Two washed up psychics in search of a comeback and a talk show
Mice with ears on their back and a set of not so bright animal rights revolutionaries
A menagerie of monsters, ghosts, and miscellaneous bizarre beings
For cat lovers like me - A scientist cat ghost in a television on eight robotic legs, and a girlfriend intent on adding a feline member of the family
It isn't easy being a thief working for the Department of Peculiar Sciences, especially if you want to stay alive and not end up a mail room mook.
I loved this novel, and the ending - magnificent! If you like comedic science fiction, Richard Kadrey can't be beat.
5/5
I received a copy of The Wrong Dead Guy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
--Crittermom
September 19, 2017
So, I rated the first of these a strong 3 to 3.5. This one is coming in as a very weak 3. I was entertained and intrigued by the first third of the book. And then it got overly complicated with too many characters, too many sub-plots, and not enough connecting them all. And then the ending comes and it's all over in like a page. And the editing is awful! Just dreadful. So many errors. I should probably drop my rating just because of that.
It did have some good quotes, though.
"Cops deal with crooks and have to fill out forms when they shoot people, which they don't like doing," said Giselle. "Armed security are basically velociraptors with guns."
'Coop kept an eye out for approaching mummies and cats. "I don't really not like cats. They just give me the willies."
"Because of Shamu?"
"No. Because they always seem to know something I don't. Like if you're playing cards, a cat looks at you like you're always laying down the wrong cards. It's unnerving."
"So much for your alleged poker face," said Giselle mockingly.
"I have a great poker face. But cats have a better one. Never play Texas Hold'em with a tabby."'
It did have some good quotes, though.
"Cops deal with crooks and have to fill out forms when they shoot people, which they don't like doing," said Giselle. "Armed security are basically velociraptors with guns."
'Coop kept an eye out for approaching mummies and cats. "I don't really not like cats. They just give me the willies."
"Because of Shamu?"
"No. Because they always seem to know something I don't. Like if you're playing cards, a cat looks at you like you're always laying down the wrong cards. It's unnerving."
"So much for your alleged poker face," said Giselle mockingly.
"I have a great poker face. But cats have a better one. Never play Texas Hold'em with a tabby."'
July 17, 2018
I read Richard Kadrey books because I like his turn of phrase and acerbic characters. Even though I find these books to basically just be Sandman Slim all over again (But at least the protagonist isn't a living God unlike the later Slim books) I really didn't find this one engaging. The writing was... sloppy. There's one chapter near the end where the protagonist is being roughed up and thrown into an office to meet an authority figure and I literally counted 7 paragraphs in a ROW that ended with a witty simile. Its like Kadrey has a whole notebook full of witticisms and he needed to do a purge.
It was a fine inoffensive read, but I put it down for about 3 months because I got bored and only really finished it for the same reason. Meh.
It was a fine inoffensive read, but I put it down for about 3 months because I got bored and only really finished it for the same reason. Meh.
November 12, 2016
Richard Kadrey sets up another amusing adventure compromising colorful humans and non-humans associated with the Department of Peculiar Science. Rising to the highest bar in entertaining fiction, Kadrey introduces the reader to a hired hand of small thieves bent on stealing a mummy from a local museum. When the wrong mummy is stolen, and has now become a homicidal fossil on the loose with vast magical abilities and an unknown agenda, the reader is strapped in for a comically absurd ride. The excellence of Kadrey's imaginative concoction shines like a desk squid surrounded by brand new silver crucifixes.
September 8, 2019
I bought this book on a whim, not knowing it was a sequel. Because of this, I definitely missed out on some of the intricacies of certain character relationships. Although some context would have helped me, I still think this book would have been given three stars. While the plot is original, all characters and dialogue felt rehashed from different television shows. Most jokes fell flat, some horses were beat to death, many attributes were attributed to characters brashly. This is not to say it was a bad book. It had its clever moments. I definitely couldn’t tell what was going to happen next. I give this book props for being very original in plot. Decent read
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