Bobby Dollar series

Bobby Dollar series, aka Angel Doloriel series by Tad Williams.

Genres and Sub-Genres[]

Noir fantasy thrillers

Series Description[]

at least one soul has gone completely off the grid, leaving behind a Heavenly Host’s worth of questions, and poor Bobby stuck right there at ground zero with no answers. Worse, one of Hell’s prosecutors is killed in the same location, suggesting that who—or whatever’s—behind this has some serious mojo. In a preemptive attempt to gather information, Bobby seeks out the Countess of Cold Hands, an enigmatic, beautiful, all-too-dangerous agent of Hell who definitely knows more than she’s letting on. And, well, things get interesting.

Bobby’s quest to uncover the truth behind the dead demon and the missing souls (plural now) takes him even further into a bizarre conspiracy that threatens to spark an all-out war between Heaven and Hell. Bobby, wielding the semi-suicidal white knight foolhardiness of your typical hard-boiled hero, stops at nothing to learn the truth. Whether he’s defying a Duke of Hell, bucking orders from his own superiors, fraternizing with the enemy, running from assassins, going off the grid altogether, or learning just who he can and can’t trust, one thing’s clear: strange things are afoot, and the status quo between Heaven and Hell stands to be disrupted in a major way. What is the Third Way, and how will it change everything? ~ The Dirty Streets of Heaven by Tad Williams | Tor.com

Primary Supe[]

Angels

What Sets it Apart[]

Follows an angel whose job it is to plead for souls told with a Noir style.

Narrative Type and Narrators[]

First person narrative told by Angel Doloriel, also known as Bobby Dollar.

Books in Series[]

Bobby Dollar series:

The Dirty Streets of Heaven (2012)
Happy Hour in Hell (Sept 3, 2013)
Sleeping Late on Judgement Day (2014)

Shorts, Anthologies and Guides[]

3.5. "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlepig" (Nov, 2014) ~ 49 page novella

World Building[]

Setting[]

San Judas — fictitious California city

Heaven:
Hell:

Places:[]

Celestial City
Palo Alto
Shoreline Park
Spanishtown
Bayshore
San Francisco
Terentia ?
Redwood River
Southport
Northern California
Pandemonium: capital of Hell

Supernatural Types[]

✥ Angels, demons, souls, Heaven, Hell, she-demon, Beast of Revelations, monstrous undead avenger, soul-sucker, Babylonian demon, demon soldiers, hellhounds, Sumerian creature, were-pig, , , ,

Glossary:[]

Third Way: A covertly created alternative to Heaven or Hell.

Groups & Organizations:[]

The Highest:
The Adversary:

World Description[]

✤ Heaven, Purgatory and Hell exist in a continuous battle, although at the moment it’s a Cold War type of co-existence. God exists, as does The Devil. In this existence there is a societal order, from Principalities to guardians, archangels and advocates. Each person when they die has their soul judged by a judge, and there are representatives for either place who argue their case. Bobby (aka Doloriel) is one of these: an advocate angel on the side of Heaven. How he became one, who and where he was ‘before’ isn’t clear: but he does what he does, as best he can. Bobby’s given the task of keeping an eye on a new Guardian, who’s not typical. Moved from Records—Filing, Haraheliel (ironically nicknamed ‘Clarence’, which should amuse movie fans of Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life) seems to be unusual: an angel with moral standards who takes things personally.

Heaven exists, but the blissful people there have no idea of their previous life. There is a strict hierarchy of society, on both sides. The advocates don’t know anything about whom they were ‘before’, and if killed can usually be resurrected in another body, though the process can be painful. Bobby and his best friend Sam served in the army together: known as ‘the Harps’, they are a sort of SAS-type squad who bring the term ‘fighting the good fight’ to another level. . . . There is some odd stuff, from the gruesomely unpleasant punishments doled out to agents of the Opposition who fail in their work to the cursed informant that Dollar uses who just so happens to take the form of a were-pig from midnight to sunup. ~ Goodreads Reader | Mark

✤ A twist on the eternal war between Heaven and Hell. Violent confrontations are prohibited, instead angels and demons fight for human souls in a supernatural court of law that is held immediately after a human death, an event commonly known as Judgement. Heaven in TDSH was like a government where bureaucracy reign supreme, while Hell was like a corporation where power is the only thing that matters. The story heavily takes place in a fictitious California city where Bobby live and work. The rest of the time, it took place in Heaven ~ Goodreads

✤ Hell: An immense, treacherous, sprawling series of levels, which get worse the further you go down. At the top: where the powerful demons make their homes, and Bobby’s ultimate destination. At the bottom: the unspeakably awful prison of the Damned. In the middle: the not-so-pleasant suburbs for the working-class demons, and so on. ...

The Grand Duke of Hell bargained with an as-yet-unidentified angel to create something outside of Heaven and Hell altogether. Through no fault of his own, Bobby came into possession of a feather from said angel, which could be a key to revealing its identity. Naturally, everyone wants that feather, either as evidence, blackmail material, untapped power, or more. And that paints a huge target on Bobby’s chest. ~ Tor.com

Protagonist[]

Bobby Dollar (aka Doloriel) is an earthbound angel, an advocate who lives among us when he’s not arguing on Heaven’s behalf for the souls of the deceased. He’s a tiny, flawed cog in an immense, unfathomable bureaucracy, and that’s just the way he likes it. He does his job, he gets to drive a fast car and enjoy Earthly experiences, and he gets to stick it to Hell every time he wins a case. It’s a system that works. That is, until the unprecedented happens, and a soul actually goes missing. ~ Tor.com

Bobby Dollar (aka Doloriel) is an angel, his role here on earth is to advocate for the souls caught between heaven and hell. As a result of this, Bobby knows about sin, in fact, he wrestles with a few himself; pride, lust and anger. Whether it’s pride or just instinct, Dollar can’t trust his superiors or his fellow earth bound angels so when souls start disappearing, things are bound to get bad; end of the world bad. Goodreads Reader

Sidekick[]

Name: Gob and Riprash — What: — Sidekick-to: Bobby Dollar — About: — Book First Seen In:

Characters Chart[]

Characters	What	About
Bobby Dollar	earthbound angel	aka Doloriel; angel advocate for souls of the newly deceased
"Cas", Casimira	she-demon;	Countess of Cold Hands; becomes Bobby's girlfriend; tries to rescue her from Hell in bk-2;
Monica	Angel	Bobby's former love interest and fellow advocate angel
Eligor	Grand Duke of Hell	holds Casimira captive in Hell;
Walter	angel	old angel friend whom Bobby never thought he’d see again; tried to warn him about one of Bobby’s angel superiors; now Walter shows up at the local bar, can’t remember anything;
Smyler	Gollum-like demon	undead psychopath stalking Booby through Hell;
Lady Zinc	nobility of Hell	Bobby encounters her in Hell;
Gob		Bobby's sidekick
Riprash		Bobby's sidekick
‘Clarence’, Haraheliel	new Guardian	an angel with moral standards who takes things personally; Bobby’s given the task of keeping an eye on him;
Fox	a fixer	Asian, flamboyant

To expand the table, in Edit–Visual mode, right-press on a Row of the table or Column (Control-press on a Mac)—choose add Row or Column.

Author[]

Tad Williams

Website: Tad Williams
Genres: Fantasy, SciFi, Urban Fantasy

Bio: Tad Williams has held more jobs than any sane person should admit to—singing in a band, selling shoes, managing a financial institution, throwing newspapers, and designing military manuals, to name just a few. He also hosted a syndicated radio show for ten years, worked in theater and television production, taught both grade-school and college classes, and worked in multimedia for a major computer firm. He is co-founder of an interactive television company, and is currently writing comic books and film and television scripts as well as novels. Tad and his wife, Deborah Beale, live in the San Francisco Bay Area with their children and far more cats, dogs, turtles, pet ants and banana slugs than they can count.

Full Bio: About | Tad Williams

Contributors[]

Cover Artists[]

Artist: Kamil Vojnar — (Books 1 & 2 only) ~ Sources:

Bibliography: Cover: The Dirty Streets of Heaven, DAW Publishing
Bibliography: Cover: Happy Hour In Hell, DAW Publishing, USA

Artist: Rhett Podersoo (books 2 & maybe 3)

Bibliography: Cover: Happy Hour in Hell, UK–Hodder & Stoughton
Publication Listing: Sleeping Late on Judgement Day, UK–Hodder & Stoughton

Other Contributors[]

Audio Book Narrator: — Source:
Editor: — Source:

Publishing Information[]

Publisher: DAW Hardcover
Author Page:
Bk-1: Hardcover, 406 pages, Pub. Sept 4th 2012 by DAW—ISBN: 0756407680
Bk-1: Paperback, Collectors Ed., 441 pages, Pub: Jul 2nd 2013 by DAW—ISBN: 978-0-7564-0790-2
Bk-1: Paperback, 441 pages, Pub: Jul 2nd 2013 by DAW—ISBN: 0756407907

Bk-2: Hardcover, 400 pages, Pub: by DAW—ISBN: 0756408156
Bk-2: Paperback, 446 pages, Pub: July 1st 2014 by DAW—ISBN: 0756409489
Bk-2: UK-Hardcover, 416 pages, Pub: Sept 26th 2013 by Hodder & Stoughton—ISBN: 1444738607
Bk-2: UK-Pperback, 416 pages, Pub: March 27th 2014 by Hodder—ISBN: 1444738623

Bk-3: Hardcover, 439 pages, Pub: Sept 2nd 2014 by DAW—ISBN: 075640889X
Bk-3: Paperback, none yet , Pub: by DAW—ISBN:
Bk-3: UK-Hardcover, 320 pages, Pub: Sept 2nd 2014 by Hodder & Stoughton-UK—ISBN: 9781444738650
Bk-3: UK-Pperback, 448 pages, Pub: Sept 11th 2014 by Hodder & Stoughton-UK—ISBN: 1444738666

~ Sources: Goodreads & ISFdb

Book Cover Blurbs[]

✤ BOOK ONE BLURB—The Dirty Streets of Heaven (2012): Bobby Dollar is an angel—a real one. He knows a lot about sin, and not just in his professional capacity as an advocate for souls caught between Heaven and Hell. Bobby’s wrestling with a few deadly sins of his own—pride, anger, even lust.

But his problems aren’t all his fault. Bobby can’t entirely trust his heavenly superiors, and he’s not too sure about any of his fellow earthbound angels either, especially the new kid that Heaven has dropped into their midst, a trainee angel who asks too many questions. And he sure as hell doesn’t trust the achingly gorgeous Countess of Cold Hands, a mysterious she-demon who seems to be the only one willing to tell him the truth.

When the souls of the recently departed start disappearing, catching both Heaven and Hell by surprise, things get bad very quickly for Bobby D. End-of-the-world bad. Beast of Revelations bad. Caught between the angry forces of Hell, the dangerous strategies of his own side, and a monstrous undead avenger that wants to rip his head off and suck out his soul, Bobby’s going to need all the friends he can get—in Heaven, on Earth, or anywhere else he can find them. You’ve never met an angel like Bobby Dollar. And you’ve never read anything like The Dirty Streets of Heaven. Brace yourself—the afterlife is weirder than you ever believed. ~ Goodreads

✤ BOOK TWO BLURB—Happy Hour in Hell (Sept 3, 2013): I’ve been told to go to Hell more times than I can count. But this time I’m actually going. My name’s Bobby Dollar, sometimes known as Doloriel, and of course, Hell isn’t a great place for someone like me - I’m an angel. They don’t like my kind down there, not even the slightly fallen variety. But they have my girlfriend, who happens to be a beautiful demon named Casimira, Countess of Cold Hands. Why does an angel have a demon girlfriend? Well, certainly not because it helps my career. She’s being held hostage by one of the nastiest, most powerful demons in all of the netherworld - Eligor, Grand Duke of Hell. He already hates me, and he’d like nothing better than to get his hands on me and rip my immortal soul right out of my borrowed but oh-so-mortal body. But wait, it gets better! Not only do I have to sneak into Hell, make my way across thousands of miles of terror and suffering to reach Pandemonium, capital of the fiery depths, but then I have to steal Caz right out from under Eligor’s burning eyes and smuggle her out again, past demon soldiers, hellhounds, and all the murderous creatures imprisoned there for eternity. And even if I somehow manage to escape Hell, I’m also being stalked by an undead psychopath named Smyler who’s been following me for weeks. Oh, and did I mention that he can’t be killed? So if I somehow survive Hell, elude the Grand Duke and all his hideous minions and make it back to the real world, I’ll still be the most hunted soul in Creation. But at least I’ll have Caz. Gotta have something to look forward to, right? So just pour me that damn drink, will you? I’ve got somewhere to go. ~ Goodreads | Happy Hour in Hell (Bobby Dollar #2) by Tad Williams — Reviews, Discussion, Bookclubs, Lists

✤ BOOK THREE BLURB—Sleeping Late on Judgement Day (2014): The conclusion of Tad Williams' brilliant Bobby Dollar series. Bobby Dollar thinks he's seen it all - after all, he's been to Hell and back again. Literally. But he has another think coming. Sleeping Late on Judgement Day will find Bobby back in his adopted hometown of San Judas, California, trying to stay out of trouble... and failing. His love life is still a mess, there are one too many people who have it out for him, and drowning his sorrows in a nice glass of whisky won't keep the demons at bay forever.

Bobby's going to have to pull himself together and make a few tough decisions before time runs out. The problem is, time could run out at any moment. In the final Bobby Dollar novel in Tad Williams' groundbreaking epic fantasy trilogy, fallen angel Bobby Dollar will finally be force to confront the one problem he can't talk his way out of: his own. ~ Goodreads | Sleeping Late on Judgement Day (Bobby Dollar, #3) by Tad Williams — Reviews, Discussion, Bookclubs, Lists

First Sentences[]

The Dirty Streets of Heaven (2012) — (Prologue) I was just stepping out of the elevator on the 43rd floor of the Five Page Mill building when the alarms began going off—those nightmarish, clear-the-building kind like the screams of tortured robots—and I realized I'd pretty well lost any chance at the subtle approach. — (Chapter One) Let me go back to the beginning, It'll make more sense then. Not a lot of sense, but more than it probably does tight now.
Happy Hour in Hell (2013) —
Sleeping Late on Judgement Day (2014) — (Prologue) I hadn't attended a trial in Heaven before—not in person. — (Chapter One) The wood was stacked higher than the heads of the catcalling spectators.

Quotes[]

Bobby Dollar Series ~ Shelfari
The Dirty Streets of Heaven Quotes by Tad Williams ~ Goodreads
Sleeping Late on Judgement Day Quotes by Tad Williams ~ Goodreads
Tad Williams Quotes (Author of The Dragonbone Chair) ~ Goodreads

“the road to Heaven is paved with bullshit and busy work.” ― The Dirty Streets of Heaven

“It's amazing the stupid things I say sometimes. I mean, you could start an entire branch of scientific research about the stuff I say that gets proved wrong while I'm still busy saying it.”

― Tad Williams, The Dirty Streets of Heaven

Read Alikes (similar elements)[]

Heaven and Hell

Other Similar:

Noir / Males leads:

Trivia[]

~ ranked on Goodreads | Best Urban Fantasy SERIES (347 books)

Awards[]

Notes[]

External References[]

Books:

Bibliography | Tad Williams ~ author
Bobby Dollar series by Tad Williams ~ Goodreads
Tad Williams - FF
Bobby Dollar - Series Bibliography ~ ISFdb
Bobby Dollar Series ~ Shelfari
Bobby Dollar | Series ~ LibraryThing
Angel Doloriel / Bobby Dollar series by Tad Williams ~ FictFact
Tad Williams - Summary Bibliography ~ ISFdb

World, Characters, etc:

Bobby Dollar Series~ Shelfari

Reviews:

Interviews:

Author:

Community and Fan Sites:

Tad Williams' Message Board