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Before I started the Sandman Slim series I wrote Butcher Bird, a book that also told the story of a trip to Hell and a meeting with Lucifer. I started building a library of books on mythology, folktales, Christianity, Kabbalah, and outré science. Some of these ideas ended up in Butcher Bird. They've all ended up in Devil Said Bang and the other Sandman Slim books. For anyone interested in where I get some of the information that ends up in the novels, here is a list of 12 books from my library. The list is by no means exhaustive, but the books are easy-to-find titles, and they're all places to start for anyone interested in the ideas in the Sandman Slim universe.

One quick note: while I've studied the ideas in these books, I've never once hesitated to throw out accepted canon or mythology and substitute my own if I thought it would make my books better.

1. The Devil: A Biography by Peter Stanford
2. Fallen Angels by Bernard J. Bamberger
3. From the Ashes of Angels by Andrew Collins
4. The Origin of Satan by Elaine Pagels
5. The History of Hell by Alice K. Turner
6. Encyclopedia of Heaven by Miriam Van Scott
7. The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels
8. Kabbalah for Beginners by Rav Michael Laitman
9. String Theory for Dummies by Andrew Zimmerman Jones
10. The Oxford Companion to World Mythology by David Leeming
11. The Dictionary of Imaginary Places by Alberto Manguel and Gianni Guadalupi
12. Penguin Dictionary of Symbols by Jean Chevalier and Alain Gheerbrant

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Richard Kadrey has published seven novels, including Sandman Slim, Kill the Dead, Aloha from Hell, Butcher Bird, and Metrophage, and more than 50 stories. He has been immortalized as an action figure, and his short story "Goodbye Houston Street, Goodbye" was nominated for a British Science Fiction Association award. A freelance writer and photographer, he lives in San Francisco.

Books mentioned in this post

1. 
   Devil Said Bang (Sandman Slim Novels #4) Richard Kadrey Used Hardcover $17.50
   
2. 
   Butcher Bird: A Novel of the Dominion Richard Kadrey Used Trade Paper $10.50
   
3. 
   The Dictionary of Imaginary Places:... Alberto Manguel Used Trade Paper $13.95
   
4. 
   The Oxford Companion to World Mythology David Leeming Used Trade Paper $13.95
   
5. 
   String Theory for Dummies (For Dummies) Andrew Zimmer Jones New Trade Paper $19.99
   
6. 
   Kabbalah for Beginners Michael Laitman

   

   New Trade Paper $7.00
   
7. 
   The Gnostic Gospels Elaine Pagels Used Trade Paper $6.50
   
8. 
   The Encyclopedia of Heaven Miriam Van Scott Used Trade Paper $2.50
   
9. 
   The History of Hell (Harvest Book) Alice Turner

   

   Used Trade Paper $7.95
   
10. 
    The Origin of Satan Elaine Pagels Used Trade Paper $8.00
    
11. 
    From the Ashes of Angels Andrew Collins New Trade Paper $24.00
    
12. 
    Fallen Angels: Soldiers of Satan's Realm Bernard J. Bamberger New Trade Paper $18.75
    
13. 
    The Penguin Dictionary of Symbols Jean Chevalier

    

    Used Trade Paper $13.00
    

Richard Kadrey is the author of Devil Said Bang (Sandman Slim Novels #4)