Product Description
Hyenas marks the always-welcome return of Joe R. Lansdale's most indelible fictional creations: Hap Collins and Leonard Pine. Once again, the embattled but resilient duo find themselves enmeshed in a web of danger, duplicity, and escalating mayhem. The result is a tightly compressed novella that is at once harrowing, hilarious, and utterly impossible to put down.

The story begins with a barroom brawl that is both brutal and oddly comic. The ensuing drama encompasses abduction, betrayal, robbery, and murder, ending with a lethal confrontation in an East Texas pasture. Along the way, readers are treated to moments of raucous, casually profane humor and to scenes of vivid, crisply described violence, all related in that unmistakable Lansdale voice. An essential addition to an already imposing body of work, Hyenas shows us both the author and his signature characters at their inimitable best. It doesn't get better than this.

Hyenas also includes the bonus Hap Collins short story, "The Boy Who Became Invisible". ... Read more

Product Description
The Reverend Jedidiah Mercer returns with the re-release of the highly influential pulp novel, Dead in the West, and four stories, one never before collected, one brand new. Contained herein are the Reverend's adventures with zombies, ghouls, werewolves, Lovecraftian monsters and kobolds. Western action blends with grisly horror and ribald humor for a super collection of shoot-outs and fang-outs, claws and crawling horrors, and lessons about an angry, unforgiving god and methods for killing nasties of all kinds.

In Dead in the West, the Reverend faces a resurrected American Indian out for vengeance. Not only is the man back from the dead, he's brought back others as servants, and they are angry, hungry little devils when there is an absence of light. Plenty of surprises, laughs, gross-outs and slimy horrors, with a slam bang ending. This novel inspired numerous writer to cross the West with Horror, Action, Humor, and a wobbly moral sensibility.

This first adventure of the Reverend sets up all the others, which include:

'Deadman s Road.' The Reverend, on his mission from God, encounters a ghoul who waits on a dark road for travelers so that he can feed his belly and his crippled soul.

'The Gentleman's Hotel.' The Reverend encounters a town, empty except for the lone survivor of a stage coach attack. Together, they face ghosts and werewolf Conquistadores who can not only transform into toothy adversaries, but also into dust and moths and are a real pain in the ass; all of it results in one hell of a cross-draw, dagnabbed, hair belly confrontation.

'The Crawling Sky.' In an isolated cabin the Reverend and an unwilling partner face a Lovecraftian horror with a nasty attitude and mind blowing abilities.

And finally, in 'The Dark Down There,' the Reverend and an unlikely partner, a three hundred pound lady named Flower, battle kobolds who cannibalize miners and serve a Queen that at a glance could pass for spoiled tapioca pudding. The Reverend even manages a glancing chance at a kind of backwoods romance. ... Read more

Product Description

Master of mojo storytelling, spinner of over-the-top yarns of horror, suspense, humor, mystery, science fiction, and even the Old West, Joe R. Lansdale has attracted a wide and enthusiastic following. His genre-defying work has brought him numerous awards, including the Grand Master of Horror from the World Horror Convention, the Edgar Award, the American Horror Award, seven Bram Stoker awards, the British Fantasy Award, Italy's Grinzane Prize for Literature, as well as Notable Book of the Year recognition twice from the New York Times.

Sanctified and Chicken-Fried is the first "true best of Lansdale" anthology. It brings together a unique mix of well-known short stories and excerpts from his acclaimed novels, along with new and previously unpublished material. In this collection of gothic tales that explore the dark and sometimes darkly humorous side of life and death, you'll meet traveling preachers with sinister agendas, towns lost to time, teenagers out for a good time who get more than they bargain for, and gangsters and strange goings-on at the end of the world. Out of the blender of Lansdale's imagination spew tall tales about men and mules, hogs and races, that are, in his words, "the equivalent of Aesop meets Flannery O'Connor on a date with William Faulkner, the events recorded by James M. Cain."

Whether you're a long-time fan of Joe R. Lansdale or just discovering his work, this anthology brings you the best of a writer whom the New York Times Book Review has praised for having "a folklorist's eye for telling detail and a front-porch raconteur's sense of pace."

Customer Reviews (2)

Lansdale's humor
What's in here is excellent; "Bubba Ho Tep" and other stories show why Lansdale has become such a cult favorite.Wry sensibilities mixed with an amazing imagination.Lansdale isn't for the faint of heart, as his long story about the Galveston hurricane and Jack Johnson make clear.My only complaint is that a couple of novel excerpts are included instead of, perhaps, any excluded short stories or a short novel (or novella) in its entirety.Very much worth your while, though.

MoJoe Gets the Hifalutin Treatment:One of the Best Lansdale Anthologies Yet
Anyone who knows anything about Joe R. Lansdale knows that his very best is included here. And if you're new, well, you're going to find out. Years ago, when I didn't even know who Joe was, I came across the free story "Fat Man and the Elephant" on Joe's site (after having been referred to him by Andrew Vachss's site). I don't want to ruin the story for people who don't know the details of it, but suffice it to say: It's the very best of the kind of stories that mix elephant poo, racial tension and overcoming racial divides, and downhome Southern entrepreneurism. Come to think of it, this brings up an issue that is very often true with Lansdale: this is the only story of its kind. There's nothing else out there like "Fat Man and the Elephant"; its cast of characters, its plot, and its overarching theme are so unique that it deserves to be called on of Joe's "best-of"s. I could talk about all these, but I'll merely mention a couple more. "Mister Weed Eater" is a wicked tale about evil existing in the guise of the helpless; and, though events are sickening and sad, you'll laugh at least once every page in spite of yourself and in spite of the woe that's the major element of this story. Joe's magnum opus is "Bubba Ho-Tep," a scatological masterpiece (I'm serious, here, folks) that is one of the most tightly written, word-for-word thought out story that I honestly think I've ever read. It is undoubtedly one of the few popular genre fiction (I'm assuming that since we've graduated to admitting a Zombie Genre, that there's a Mummy Genre now) pieces that have ever made me realize that it's writer is for real. Again, it's word-for-word mastery. "The Big Blow," "Tight Little Stitches in a Dead Man's Back," "Night They Missed the Horror Show," and "The Magic Wagon" are all Lansdale classics: the big ones. "The Pit" has been anthologized several times and selected by fine writers in the modern realistic, horror, and mystery fields. "A Fine Dark Line" and "The Big Blow" are pieces that, honestly, I have to say I would have traded for others. Joe has stories that, in my opinion, beat these at every turn. That's not to say that they're not worth reading. Fans who are new to Joe are likely to be impressed with these. "White Mule, Spotted Pig" is the truly Southern fried piece here. It is a hilarious rampage through crazy south of the Mason-Dixon line hilarity and inanity. Although I know I'm risking sounding like a blabbering fan boy, it is one of the best of his newest pieces. All in all, this book is a great look into Joe Lansdale's world. Granted it is an introduction to it, but I promise that, for those of you who are new, it would lead on to the rest of his works. This book is also introduced by the inestimable Bill Crider, rather famous for his own yarns. I don't see how new or old fans alike could go wrong with this collection. I think it'll be the best of Lansdale's best-of anthologies since Electric Gumbo: A Lansdale Reader, which, is undoubtedly the one that Sanctified and Chicken Fried has to beat. But it's title alone is already upping the ante for this University of Texas Press release. And, hey, it's supposedly portable. Great for taking to the bathroom, sneaking under the pillow when you're supposed to pleasing your better half, or sitting in a hot, closed tent breathing in elephant crap. In other words, based on the stories that's included alone, it's great stuff. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (6)

Just OK
Great imagination as you would expect from Joe, but in the end I thought it was just OK. Had a great beginning and a fantastic last paragraph, but the in between just seemed to float around.

Could make an interesting movie. And every time I go to the drive in with my wife, I'm instantly reminded of the Popcorn King and Cannibalism.

The Complete Drive-In
This is an excellent book. I read it in a week. I had a very hard time putting it down also!
LOVED IT!!!

Cannibalism, gore, and the Popcorn King - another night at the picture show
A collection of three cult novels that form one larger story arc, The Complete Drive-In is an absolute must read for horror fans, particularly those with tastes that lean towards the grindhouse. A night at the local drive-in movie theater (on horror marathon night) is interrupted by a most unusual comet, and afterwards the night never seems to end. Tensions start to rise, people start to die, bodies start getting eaten, and then the Popcorn King comes along...and we're not even through the first of the three books. Lansdale has made a spectacularly wonderful little work that's equal parts pitch-black comedy, gruesome horror tale, fascinating adventure, and incredible display of imagination, all while juggling some seriously low-class roots and a taste for the gross-out. It's an absolute blast, and while the end is a little bit of a letdown, it's definitely not enough to ruin the book; it just doesn't quite live up to what's come before. But I really can't recommend this enough if you've got the taste for it (heh) - it's manages to both embrace the genre and have some fun with it, and it's a joy to read.

Good Book
This was a good book. This is my first Joe Lansdale book and was not disappointed. I would suggest getting "The Complete Drive-In" so that you get the whole story. At times in the book, its like the author was on some hallucinagenic drugs but overall a good story.

Joe R. Landsdale rules
Collected 'Drive-In' stories.Joe R. Landsdale is one of the greatest writers alive today.This guy could make the weather interesting if he wrote about it.Seriously.Check him out. ... Read more

Product Description
Imagine a jam-packed drive-in on a Saturday night. You're kicking back in your car with the popcorn and enjoying a good old-fashioned scary monster movie when, suddenly, the drive-in itself becomes the movie, with all its attendant thrills--and dangers. Previously published.Amazon.com Review
"There is a certain glee in my work," says JoeR. Lansdale. "But for me, it heightens the horror." TheDrive-In: A B-Movie with Blood and Popcorn and its sequel (TheDrive-In 2)--both well known to Lansdale fans--are back in thiswelcome omnibus edition. The story is about a bunch of affectionatelydescribed characters in small-town Texas who go to a horror-moviemarathon at the local drive-in. While they're watching The ToolboxMurders, a bright red meteor with a toothy smile swoops down andtraps them in the drive-in for all time. Then the fun begins: endlessre-runs of the same movies and fights over concession food, followedby anarchy, religion, cannibalism, bodily transformation, crucifixion,mad bikers, and a supernatural Popcorn King. It's not just silly,though; it's social commentary. The lesser (but equally surreal)sequel further explores the end-of-the-world scenario. As Lansdalehimself says, "The Drive-In is quirky as hell. It's kindof a cult book, and it's not for everybody." The Drive-Inwas nominated for a 1989 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (19)

Skip The Second Feature......
I've had this double-dipping paperback on my shelves for almost a decade now, siting unread, until my friend Peteee started asking questions about Lansdale's newest Orbit Drive-In book, THE DRIVE IN: THE BUS TOUR......So I figured "Self, what better time to crack that puppy open then right now?" So it was written, so it shall be done!

Well, it's done, and all I can say is (And I'm paraphrasing the great existential philosopher Eric Cartman, here...) "What's the big deal?"

THE DRIVE-IN centers around a, you guessed it, drive-in. Various & sundry Texans are trapped there when a group of extra-dimensional filmmakers snatch The Orbit Drive-In from our reality, plop it God-only-knows-where, start some weird stuff, and sit back and film the ensuing hijinks. Which include cannibalism, regurgitated popcorn eating, rape, dismemberment, B-movie watching, nude guy sitting on another nude guy's shoulders getting hit by lightning and fusing together, and other such fun doings. THE DRIVE-IN 2 features the survivors plopped into ANOTHER b-movie setting, the Jungle movie.

OK, first things first: Lansdale has an addictive writing style. I could read his dialogue forever and still be laughing my butt off at least once a paragraph. The problem is, these books feature what they call in Hollywood, a "High concept", which means that the story is seriously out-there. It's weird, for weirdness' sake. The concept is entertaining, and would have made a GREAT short story.
Not a novel.
Certainly not 2 novels, and if the first 30 pages of the 3rd book are any indication, not three novels.
To make matters worse, the second book made me feel like Lansdale was sitting at home laughing at me for reading it, because NOTHING HAPPENED FOR THE WHOLE BOOK.
NOT.
ONE.
FREAKING.
THING.
The survivors build a house, and a woman comes driving down the road. She tells them her story in a loooooong flashback.
In the middle of THAT flashback, we get ANOTHER character's flashback, which is even longer.
Then they talk.
Then they go off to the big showdown, which lasts ONE PAGE.
Oooo-kay.
These books are touted, according to the cover copy of the 3rd book, as brilliant social satire.
I must have missed all of that. I just read some weirdness that was tolerable because Lansdale has one hell of a gift for dialogue.

Trapped In The Drive In Theatre?That Sounds Pretty Cool!!!
Ths book introduces the reader to a group of four teenage boys who spend their Friday nights at the Orbit Drive In Movie Theatre. A meteor passes overhad and allcontact with the outside world is ceased. What happens next is a study of the "Group Dymnamics" of people who are thrown togther in a situation with no escape. My Socology Professor at Univesity would have loved this book!!! This book takes me back to my wild, misspentyouth at the Drive In Movie Threate where for $3.50 you could see two movies (that used to be called a "Double Feature" for all you youngpeople readingthis) and at Intermission you could risk food poisining by eating a soggy hamburgr from the Concession Stand. "Cold beer and hot nights" as Billy Joel once sang!!!

I just wanted
I just wanted to jump on the bandwagon of clapping this book on the back. Six stars!

Doesn't get much weirder
The quintessetial B-movie in fiction form. This novel is so out there, at first i didn't think i could suspend my disbelief enough to enjoy it, but once i did, what a ride. Imagine if you asked your ten year old nephew to come up with a scary story, that's about what this book boils down to, sheer nonsense, but it works beacuse Lansdale's writing is superbly funny and entertaining. ... I long for another installment in the drive in series, but for now we'll have to settle withthe comic book adaptation.

Great pulpy stuff from the Texan master...
Joe Lansdale often writes tales that requires the reader to be able to suspend disbelief and this one is a prime example. The tale follows 4 teenagers who become trapped in a drive-in by a mysterious force-field. From then on things become more and more chaotic; biker-gangs, cannibalism, religious fanatics, hippies, the popcorn king are but a few of the things you will encounter while reading this.The second novel is just as good although radically different. I don't think I will ever be able to forget the character of poppalong cassidy. It says a lot that such a wild and unconventiional book as this one is still in print after all these years. Don't miss this one; very entertaining and you'll laugh your pants off. ... Read more

Product Description
Hap Collins and Leonard Pine find mucho trouble, this time in Mexico, when they come face to face with a nudist mobster, his seven-foot strong-arm, a octogenarian knife-touting fisherman, and, somehow, an armadillo.  When Hap Collins saves the life of his employer's daughter, he is rewarded with a Caribbean Cruise, and he convinces his best friend Leonard Pine to come along. However, when the cruise sails on without them, stranding them in Playa del Carmen with nothing but their misfortune and Leonard's new ridiculous hat, the two quickly find themselves drawn into a vicious web of sordid violence. When they return to East Texas, they find that trouble has beaten them back, and when trouble's around it doesn't take long for Hap and Leonard to find it. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (19)

Like Carl Hiaasen and a Gallon of Moonshine
There's a bit of guilty pleasure in reading Joe Lansdale's Hap and Leonard - a curious blend of cynical humor and improbably zany predicaments as the odd couple from east Texas engages in another episode of righteous crusades and sordid violence.But what really holds this venerable series and its whacky pair together is Lansdale's rapier dialog - cutting prose with country bred sensibility and barn yard color; vivid portraits of places inhabited "cockroaches big enough to work in an iron foundry," and with guys who "laugh at what amuses wolves" and can "disappear faster than sweat on an Eskimo's lip."Pick up any Hap and Leonard, thumb to any page, and as sure as "sex and chicken processing are two of life's great mysteries," you'll turn up another gem of Lansdale's offbeat wisdom.

"Captains Outrageous" is the 6th Hap and Leonard, and the last before a seven year hiatus ending with last year's "Vanilla Ride."Like "Rumble Tumble" before it, the violence and bloodshed movaround to the rendering wagon.Both Hap and Leonard are working security for the local chicken processing plant when Hap intervenes to save a teenage girl from a grisley death - barely - delivered by a drug-crazed assailant.Turns out the girl is the daughter of the factory's owner, who shows his gratitude by giving Hap $100,000 and some time off to enjoy it.Hap and Leonard decide on a Caribbean cruise, which predictably goes from bad to disaster, leaving the pair stranded in Mexico.From there it is your usual (for Lansdale) collection of a Mexican nudist gangster and his gargantuan assassin, machete-yielding cops and the "old man and the sea."As Hap and Leonard struggle to get back to Texas, Hap's pining for Brett, and the usual cast of Texans show up to lend a hand.But home is no respite and ... look, you get the idea.More of the same and deliciously so - another installment of pop crime's most unlikely heroes penned by one its cleverest and under-read authors.Fans of the series will not want to miss it, while for the uninitiated, while these all stand alone, going back to start with the brilliant "Savage Season" is a good bet.

Lives up to most of the hype
I was looking for a mystery with a comic touch and this delivered.It is my first Landsdale book and I plan to try others in the Collins and Pine series.I actually laughed out loud several times.The author keeps the story moving and even though the main characters have some superhero characteristics you can ignore that and sit back and enjoy the fast moving story.A realistic take on Mexico doesn't hurt.All in all a good read.

Good stuff
Joe Lansdale is one of the few writers who can make me laugh till I cry. That's a rare gift, and he did it to me again with this book. Here, Lansdale keeps it going with his dynamic duo, the fairly happy-go-mostly-unlucky Hap Collins and Leonard Pine. In this story, Hap becomes a hero, gets rewarded, and he and Leonard take a cruise. To make a long story short, they end up in Mexico, where they meet a fisherman who owes a great debt; his beautiful (and dutiful) daughter; a walking gargantua, and a nudist Mexican gangster who'd like nothing more than to make a big bowl of gaucamole, with Hap and Leonard as the main ingredients.

Captains Outrageous is truly outrageous and fun. I'll be looking for more from this very talented author.

An ugly story that killed my soul
I picked this up because it was supposed to be funny."Joe R. Landsdale is sure to keep you laughing," said the quote from Publishers Weekly right on the cover.So I figured I'd give it a try.

Man, this is one mean-spirited, depressing piece of fiction.There is so much violence, cruelty, and negativity in these pages that I could only get halfway through it.I guess I'm just too sensitive because I can't have characters being tortured, beaten, and abused in graphic detail and then just turn around and laugh at some stupid joke.

And the jokes aren't even very good.

Sadistic tale
I think like many book series, you can't start mid-series. I read many glowing reviews of this book and most of them mention the previous books. Coming into this fresh (I'd not heard of Joe R. Lansdale), the characters and the plot seemed very thin, although the earlier books probably established these elements. When I first started the book, it seemed like a strange amalgam of political correctness, graphic violence, and Fletch-like irreverence. As the story progresses, however, dreadful scene piles on dreadful scene until the book comes across as truly sadistic.

There is an ugly American (Billy) who seeks to humiliate a Mexican girl in the most unpleasant and crude matter. The reader endures many pages of this behavior. I suppose these scenes are intended to justify Hap and Leonard brutally assaulting this guy again and again and again. Finally, Hap literally spreads his own feces on Billy's face, beats him, and makes him stand in the corner. And then does it again. This comes in a scene right after our "heroes" discover a girl that's been dismembered with a machete. The reader is treated to an explanation of where the individual pieces of the girl are located about the hotel room. The graphic violence continues up until the final chapter of the novel.

Oh, did I mention that the book opens with a brutal beating of another girl whom Hap saves?Unfortunately for the girl, Hap doesn't save her until after she's been repeatedly raped, had her face "stomped in," her nipple bitten off, jaw crushed, teeth knocked out, and lost an eye.

Wow. Is this a fun read? I guess it's not my cup of tea.

... Read more

Product Description

Product Description

Customer Reviews (12)

porC repmuB
I borrowed this book from a guy I used to work with...well, forever ago. He assured me that I would love it, because he knew how much I enjoyed horror stories. I took it home and, on glancing at it, was actually pleasantly surprised to see something familiar on the list of short stories: one of the tales had actually been published in this INCREDIBLY age-inappropriate book I read in 4th grade. That put me in a good mood, because I had fond memories of the piece in question just scaring the crap out of me.

Annnnnd then I started to read the rest.

Frankly, the author seems very...well, full of himself. He goes for shock in the way of Carlton-How-Is-This-Guy-Seriously-A-Published-Author Mellick III. The God of the Razor in particular was just absolutely, absolutely awful. His writing style leaves much to be desired, and I never really walked away from any one of these stories -- even that old favorite -- particularly satisfied or wanting more.

Not worth the buy. Not even a little.

Not Lansdale's best, but not unforgivable.
Since reading Mucho Mojo in early 1995, I have followed Joe R. Lansdale's work religiously.I found myself drawn to his politically incorrect humor, boundless imagination, and the simple fact that he understands how REAL working people live.As long as he keeps on writing, I'll keep on reading.For better or worse.

And when I say worse, I mean this little (199 pages) collection right here.It's not that these stories are bad - well not a large portion of them -, it's just that they are weak when compared to JRL's later work.But that's understandable when you consider that most of them were written early in his career.It's painfully obvious that for the better part of the 1980s, he had yet to discover his own writing style.Then again, doesn't every great writer have this problem early on?

Getting back to the stories, most of them are very short (26 stories, 199 pages) and leave too little room for development.Some of them ("Fish Night" and "The Fat Man"), as JRL will tell you hisownself, are homages to Ray Bradbury that seem to draw a little too heavily upon the latter writer's influence.Others are the type of short-short fiction that is popularized by writers like Frederic Brown and Richard Christian Matheson.Unfortunately, they are marred by predictability and shaggy dog endings.And one story here ("Billie Sue") is just flat out awful.If I were an editor that was unfamiliar with Lansdale's work and I was handed this story, I would say "Don't quit your day job."

But there are times even in this slightly disappointing collection that JRL's brilliance shines through."In the Cold, Dark Time" hauntingly depicts a near future war in which American children are forced to take up arms."Pilots" is a brutal full throttle tale about a group of badly disfigured young men who murder truck drivers because their Air Force dreams were crushed (among other things) by a drunken trucker.My favorite story in the collection is the last one - "Master of Misery".Here a disgraced kickboxer flees to the Caribbean to escape the tragic outcome in one of his matches only to be manipulated into another fight.

It pains me to give such a low rating to anything by Lansdale, but when the quality of his later work is taken into consideration, I have no choice.Out of all his collections, I would probably recommend this one first and then work your way into books like Writer of the Purple Rage and Mad Dog Summer: And Other Stories.As far as Bumper Crop goes, there are far better books from Lansdale. And there are far worse books from other authors.

Workmanlike
I don't grade on a curve and give every book a 5 start rating.
The author says that Bumper Crop means the overage from a good crop.These stories basically did not make the author's cut for a previous collection.That explaination nails the collection right on.They are fine stories, with a bit of a low rent Lovecraft feel to more than a few of them. I used the book for bedside reading but it would work as travel reading just as well.I read and enjoyedone of the author's Texas buddy tales and decided to try his horror stories.As I say this isn't memorable but it's a good read.

Nice Companion Piece to High Cotton
While I haven't read "High Cotton" yet, I have read most of the stories in it.As had I read most of the stories in this anthology."Bestsellers Guaranteed" and "By Bizarre Hands" collected the majority of Lansdale's fiction back in the day, and it is from these two books where the majority of these two books come.I think he focuses on novels now, and I'm not sure how much short fiction he has published in the last decade or so.Rather than simply reprinting them with a new introduction, Lansdale and editors put these two collections together.

That's fine with me... There are some new attractions.Lansdale includes a new introduction to each story.His introductions are often so funny I wish he would compile a collection of intros and other nonfiction."A Fistfull of Stories" collected a good bit of his nonfiction, for those who are interested.I enjoyed this collection, as it had been so long since I'd read most of the stories I had forgotten many of them.I look forward to the next mainstream Lansdale story collection which, hopefully, will contain a majority of new material.

Glimpses at greatness.
If High Cotton could have been titled The Best of Joe R. Lansdale, then Bumper Crop's revised one would be The Early Stories of Joe R. Lansdale.I have been a fan of Lansdale since 1982 or so, back when he was beginning to see regular print in the pages of Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone Magazine -and it is nice to have those short shorts that I remember so clearly (The Dump, Chompers, etc.) finally collected into a book format.Most of the stories in this collection were written fast, or before Lansdale had discovered, refined, and polished his blackly comic and ruggedly vulgar writing style, so those expecting the artistic heights found in High Cotton will be confused or disappointed.These are the stories that contained the flickers and hints of the greatness that was growing within Lansdale's writing.Highly recommended. ... Read more

Product Description
Dead in the West is the story of Mud Creek, Texas, a town overshadowed by a terrible evil. An Indian medicine man, unjustly lynched by the people of Mud Creek, has put a curse on the town. As the sun sets, he will have his revenge. For when darkness falls, the dead will walk in Mud Creek and they will be hungry for human flesh. The only one that can save the town is Reverend Jebediah Mercer, a gun toting preacher man who came to Mud Creek to escape his past. He has lost his faith in the Lord and his only solace is the whisky bottle. Will he renew his faith in himself and God to defeat this evil or will the town be destroyed? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

An entertaining, but expensive read
Joe Landsdale's pulp fiction/B movie homage "Dead in the West" is an entirely servicable and entertaining story, filled with black magic, buxom babes, guns, demons, zombies, and an alcoholic holy man with a penchant for violence.When it comes to the pulps, these are all very good things indeed!

I bought the book and finished on a lazy Sunday, reclined in my favorite chair.I enjoyed the story for what it was worth, but, well, felt strangely cheated out of my $19!For that price tag, 148 pages is a SLIM read, especially with margins as wide as those in this book.

Long story short: you will most likely burn this through book in a few hours.And when you do, if you think it will merit multiple readings (I didn't) then you'll probably get your money's worth out of this.But for $19, I think you should try to borrow this book from a friend or library, and spend your money on something more rewarding instead.

Thumbs up.
First chapter starts off a slow, contemplated putting the book down half way through it. Second chapter picks up considerably. The book continues this momentium throughout. Overall a fun read.

Cowboys and Indians, Dead Style.
Dead in the West is a yarn about Reverend Jebediah Mercer, a preacher who has lost his faith and has come to Mud Creek, an east Texas town that has a curse on it.Not so long ago the townsfolk unjustly lynched an Indian Medicine man and butchered his mixed race wife.Before he died, the Medicine man cursed the town and now the dead have come back to life to extract revenge on Mud Creek's citizens, whether they were involved with the lynching or not.

Overall, the story is a very fast read and fairly entertaining.Good mixed genre stuff; it is more than just a step above "Dead West", a graphic novel that is quite similar to this work.In that story, we have the last surviving member of a tribe extracting revenge on the town of Lazarus for wiping out his tribe.A mysterious stranger comes to town and ends up getting mixed up in things, just like Reverend Jeb in this book.

One of the key differences is that this story is much more fleshed out and we are given some detailed characters, including the Reverend, a young stable boy he befriends, the town doctor, and his beautiful daughter.Reverend Jeb is a tortured soul who is trying to find his faith again and felt that he was called to this backwoods town by God for some reason and of course, since he is a crack shot and is willing to use his gun, like a sword, to smite the devil, we already know we are going to get some exciting action as Jeb faces off against the living dead as well as the demon possessed Indian that wants revenge on Mud Creek.

Joe Lansdale has a comfortable and tight writing style that makes the story fly by with ease.I read it in a couple of hours and enjoyed most of it.Certainly, there are some classic old west stereotypes with the characters, but that allows you to slip into the story comfortably.Despite the graphic novel mentioned above that is very similar, this work has to stand out as quite creative and unique.A fun time for anyone who enjoys undead fiction and/or old west tales.

A Western Zombie tale
I read World War Z recently and found it to be so enjoyable it put me in the mood for more apocalyptic zombie fiction. I had also recently read Joe Lansdale's "The Bottoms" and found it to be a moving, highly literate coming of age story. So I thought, "why not combine the two experiences and read a Lansdale zombie story?" So I ordered this book from Amazon based upon the other reviews and read it last night.

Hmmmm. This wasn't a literate novel like The Bottoms. In fact, it isn't even a novel. At 147 pages, with sparse text on each page, I am not even sure it stretches to novella. There is also little character development; the figures in the book are just stereotyped character sketches. There's the hard-drinking gun-toting preacher who doubts in God, the redneck town bully, the native indian curse, the elderly, good-willed town doctor, his beautiful daughter, the bullied teenager in need of a father figure, and the sheriff tormented by his failing to uphold justice through a lapse in character. The story is a pulp dime-store book and the cover art depicts it well. Now despite what may seem like a list of shortcomings, as long as you aware of what you are buying, I can see how this would be a pretty enjoyable read especially for the younger set. It has the feel and lfavor of a book directed at pre-teens or teenagers. Yes, the characters and story are simple, but if you are hankering for a fast-paced, quick read about zombies battling it out with dead-eyed gunslingers on a mission from God, then this one will hit the spot. The book doesn't pretend to be anything but what it is, an enjoyable pulp combining the zombie and Western genres for a fun little novella. It's kind of pricy for what you get, but if you can pick it up used and like these genres, you'll enjoy this romp.

I prefer denser stories with more development. If you do as well, then let me heartily recommend World War Z if you want a zombie book, or if you want literature let me recommend The Bottoms, a book hauntingly reminiscent of an updated To Kill a Mockingbird. If you like pulps though, I thought this was a reasonably decent one.

Zombie in the Old West
Lansdale seemlessly blends motifs of the horror and western genre in this very short, fast-paced book.

However, I felt that Lansdale is trying to shock a little too hard in some of his passages (wait till you find out what kind of emotional baggage the preacher is carrying around), but also makes it seem a rather casual aspect of the plot.

The "zombies" have an interesting fusion of mythology attached to them and certain parts of the story seem to prefigure "From Dusk Till Dawn".

A great book and an excellent example of how the horror western can succeed when written like this. ... Read more

Product Description
Florida Grange, Leonard's drop-dead gorgeous lawyer and Hap's former lover, has vanished in Klan-infested Grovetown while in pursuit of the real story behind the jailhouse death of a legendary bluesman's blackguard son. Has she been murdered too? Fearing the worst, Hap and Leonard set out to do the kind of investigating the good ole boy cops can't - or won't - do themselves. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (19)

Continuing Disappointment
I discovered the author through Captains Outrageous and thought where has this author been all my life.It turns out he has been busy writing mediocre books. This is a drawn out tale about the pair being in themiddle of a racist town investigating a racist murder for most of the book. They finally get to the bottom of things as a flood comes along and washes away all the bad guys and the evidence of their extrajudicial efforts.For about 20-30 pages toward the end after the heros get beaten up the old byplay resurfaces but it doesn't last.It's just a reminder of what the author could do when he was on his game. I see comedy is an option for a tag for this review.They must be kidding.

A gorgeous lawyer and former lover who has vanished in Texas as she was investigating a mysterious jailhouse death
Joe R. Lansdale's THE TWO-BEAR MAMBO also enjoys professional reader Phil Gigante's smooth voice as it packs suspense and humor into the story of two who search for Florida Grange, a gorgeous lawyer and former lover who has vanished in Texas as she was investigating a mysterious jailhouse death. Tension and intrigue mount in a satisfying audio story.

Good enough to make me want more
Two-Bear Mambo was my first Lansdale novel.The characters are wonderful and the dialogue is reminiscent of Robert S. Parker's Spenser and Hawk. I live in Texas and am very familiar with East Texas - the location of Hap and Leonard's escapades.I can smell the piney woods of East Texas when I read the book. The plot was not as complex as I have come to love in James Lee Burke novels.There was enough in this novel, however, to make me want to read more.I just ordered Vanilla Ride.

Dark Days
Joe Lansdale again shows off his unique talent in "The Two-Bear Mambo", third in the cynically funny series of homespun east-Texas yarns featuring arguably pop fiction's most bizarre and unlikely crime fighting pair: Hap Collins and Leonard Pine.

As with "Savage Season" and "Mucho Mojo" before it, the action and laughs never take a pause, but also serve only as a thin veneer over serious themes of racism and bigotry.This time around, Hap and Leonard pick up where "Mojo" left off - complete with yet another crack house fire of not-so-curious origin.The plot thickens when our heroes pack their sack lunches into Leonard's wreck, and with Hank Williams crooning on the cassette deck, head out for Grovetown, a redneck enclave run - at least unofficially - by the Klan. And the last place on earth where very black, and very gay, Leonard wants to be.But Hap's old flame Florida Grange has gone missing trying to budt a mystery surrounding some undiscovered recordings of a legendary local bluesman, tangled up with the suspicious jailhouse "suicide" of his mostly worthless son.Hap and Leonard, hardly seasoned investigators, stumble around Grovetown un-welcome and, with little to show for their efforts, soon find themselves predictably over their heads, out manned, out witted, most definitely out-gunned, and out of luck.

As Lansdale's superb series progresses, it also becomes darker and weightier.Never a stranger to violence, Lansdale tightens the thumbscrews in this one, taking head-on difficult and uncomfortable themes.Unlike the mostly unmitigated swagger of Hap and Leonard in the first two installments, Landale's sardonic slang exposes some very real fear and vulnerability hear, lending some realism to plots - and main characters - that could easy slide down a slippery slope to pure fantasy.Like the classic storytellers of this and prior generations, Lansdale again demonstrates that wisdom isn't synonymous with an unabriged dictionary-class vocabulary.

funny but lacking a bit as a stand-alone novel
I picked this up as an audio-book in my library, without realizing that this was part of a Hap-Leonard series. It's a story of two friends, one white and straight and the other black and gay, trying to find a missing friend in the most racist town in the country.

Looking back, I wish that I had started with the first novel in the series. This novel was very funny, and the writing was earthy, graphic, irreverent, and engaging. The reader of the audio-book was excellent, doing a variety of voices as well as any reader that I can recall. At the start of the novel, it took me a while to get to know Leonard and Hap, and appreciate their friendship. It was as if the author expected you to have read the other books in the series, and this just picked things up where the series had left off. The plot was not especially interesting, and the secondary characters were humorous stereotypes who often made me smile but did not come alive to me. If you love this book, it will be because you already like Hap and Leonard and you want more of them. Leonard is a great character, and by the end of this, I began to appreciate Leonard and Hap as a twosome.

As a stand-alone novel, this was only fair to me. Judging from other reviewers, this might be much stronger novel if you go into this already knowing the main characters. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Mojo Men:League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Gone Raw and Flammable
Where Joe R. Lansdale's Zeppelins West was a wild and glorious romp, its sequel, Flaming London, is a much more controlled and philosophical novel. That being said, it's got more scatological material (poop jokes, hole jokes, colon references, lots of flatulence, tons of doo, etc.,) than any other work in literature than, perhaps Ben Jonson's "On the Famous Voyage" (Poem CXXXIII from Epigrams). Though less highfalutin, Lansdale's a lot more fun than Jonson. So there. The only surviving characters from Zeppelins West are Ned the Seal (whose diary relates approximately half the story), Sitting Bull, and Cat. The new characters added to this tale of Martians and vicious pirates invading earth through time rips (somehow this mixture actually works, believe it or not) are tremendous:Samuel Clemens (aka Mark Twain, drunk and down and out and not selling a thing in the Casbah [Tangiers]); H. G. Wells (an idealistic divorcee who's lost in his own world that ultimately is the only hope for them all); Rikwalk (a giant Martian / Extraterrestrial ape hero that's as pitiable and powerful as King Kong); the unforgettable Steam Man of the Prairie (ten thousand tons of Martian-stomping steel); and Jules Verne (who, in the end, may or may not have saved the day; we just don't know). The book's winning virtue is Ned's humor, self-deprecation, and good-willed sarcasm. Lansdale's prose wins its reader over with its down-to-earth take on all things heroic (Rikwalk's desire to help humanity in spite of his nihilistic loneliness) and things all too human (Mark Twain's explanation to John Feather that good cursing makes all language universal). All in all, this is an excellent off-kilter but (at the same time) finely polished adventure. As to art work, Tim Truman's painted cover is magnificent, his interior illustrations are pretty good (though his Martian machines were awesome, I wasn't taken with his pterodactyls). As to editions:Even if you're a die-hard Lansdale fan, the only thing the limited edition boxed set (ranging from $55 - $200) gets you is a four-page sketchbook section and a yellow faux snakeskin slipcase. There is, however, one rather cool picture of an octopus-inspired Martian with a Giger-type head that's got teeth that would make a shark tearful with jealousy. This is replaced on the cover with a picture of Twain?! I don't understand it, but it's true. I don't know if this one picture makes it worth the extra price. All the other sketches are of variations of the Martian machines and not all that good, to be frank. All in all, if you're new to Lansdale, this is an excellent place to start as long as you realize this is Lansdale, the raw version. If you're a reader of Southern fiction (especially modern Southern Gothic), rip-roaring humor, or the other side of genre fiction, you'll like it. If you're a Lansdale fan, you simply can't afford to miss it. I read it non-stop from start to finish in spite of myself and loved every single minute of it. I mean, how can you go wrong with a book whose first chapter is entitled "Huck Bites It and Mark Twain Moves Out"?! Lansdale's London is as flammable and flamboyant as it gets.

Mojo Men:League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Gone Raw and Flammable
Where Joe R. Lansdale's Zeppelins West was a wild and glorious romp, its sequel, Flaming London, is a much more controlled and philosophical novel. That being said, it's got more scatological material (poop jokes, hole jokes, colon references, lots of flatulence, tons of doo, etc.,) than any other work in literature than, perhaps Ben Jonson's "On the Famous Voyage" (Poem CXXXIII from Epigrams). Though less highfalutin, Lansdale's a lot more fun than Jonson. So there. The only surviving characters from Zeppelins West are Ned the Seal (whose diary relates approximately half the story), Sitting Bull, and Cat. The new characters added to this tale of Martians and vicious pirates invading earth through time rips (somehow this mixture actually works, believe it or not) are tremendous:Samuel Clemens (aka Mark Twain, drunk and down and out and not selling a thing in the Casbah [Tangiers]); H. G. Wells (an idealistic divorcee who's lost in his own world that ultimately is the only hope for them all); Rikwalk (a giant Martian / Extraterrestrial ape hero that's as pitiable and powerful as King Kong); the unforgettable Steam Man of the Prairie (ten thousand tons of Martian-stomping steel); and Jules Verne (who, in the end, may or may not have saved the day; we just don't know). The book's winning virtue is Ned's humor, self-deprecation, and good-willed sarcasm. Lansdale's prose wins its reader over with its down-to-earth take on all things heroic (Rikwalk's desire to help humanity in spite of his nihilistic loneliness) and things all too human (Mark Twain's explanation to John Feather that good cursing makes all language universal). All in all, this is an excellent off-kilter but (at the same time) finely polished adventure. As to art work, Tim Truman's painted cover is magnificent, his interior illustrations are pretty good (though his Martian machines were awesome, I wasn't taken with his pterodactyls). As to editions:Even if you're a die-hard Lansdale fan, the only thing the limited edition boxed set (ranging from $55 - $200) gets you is a four-page sketchbook section and a yellow faux snakeskin slipcase. There is, however, one rather cool picture of an octopus-inspired Martian with a Giger-type head that's got teeth that would make a shark tearful with jealousy. This is replaced on the cover with a picture of Twain?! I don't understand it, but it's true. I don't know if this one picture makes it worth the extra price. All the other sketches are of variations of the Martian machines and not all that good, to be frank. All in all, if you're new to Lansdale, this is an excellent place to start as long as you realize this is Lansdale, the raw version. If you're a reader of Southern fiction (especially modern Southern Gothic), rip-roaring humor, or the other side of genre fiction, you'll like it. If you're a Lansdale fan, you simply can't afford to miss it. I read it non-stop from start to finish in spite of myself and loved every single minute of it. I mean, how can you go wrong with a book whose first chapter is entitled "Huck Bites It and Mark Twain Moves Out"?! Lansdale's London is as flammable and flamboyant as it gets.

Super Reader
A flipper War of the Worlds.


Where the coolest guy is a seal.Yes, literally.

Here he teams up with Mark Twain and Jules Verne, among others.

The problem?A Martian invasion.What else would be good in such a Victorian adventure? (of course, given it is Mr. Lansdale, rather a bit more irreverent tha your usual tales of the era)

Yep, giant talking apes, and mechanical men.

Raybeams, bashing, and throw in a time machine later on for a continuing possibility.

All very silly, but pretty likely to make you chuckle, too.


3.5 out of 5

Lansdale never lets you down...
JRL continues his Philip Jose Farmer like bizarro scifi excursion into the strange with supreme success. Twisted literary humor and good old fashioned appeal, buy this book from one of the most prolific authors ever. Highly recommended.

Flaming London
When you want full-bore weirdness, Joe Lansdale is the go-to guy. Flaming London is the sequel to Zeppelins West (and also to Joe's novella "The Steam Man of the Prairie"). If you haven't read Zeppelins West, you should probably do that before you read any further here because I'm going to tell you that Ned the Seal was about the only survior of the earlier book, although a couple of others put in a brief appearance. In this one Ned teams up with Mark Twain and Jules Verne as they try to save an alternate Victorian earth from the Martian invasion described by H. G. Wells in The War of the Worlds.

Flaming London is a very short novel, but there's a lot going on. It has Martians with tentacles and two anuses, a giant ape, the Steam Man, trips by balloon (and several other gadgets), pirates, the Flying Dutchman, and, well, a lot of other stuff. If you're looking for tight plotting, look somewhere else. What you've got here is action, scatalogical (and other) humor that provides plenty of laughs, and some commentary on the human condition courtesy of a literate seal. You also have one of the most blatant set-ups for a sequel since the heyday of Edgar Rice Burroughs.

Mark Twain may the one of the major characters, but it's Ned the Seal who gets all the best lines. Tim Truman's artwork is a fine complement to the text. You know you need this book, so what are you waiting for? Go get it. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Pure Lansdale magic.
After Buster Fogg has his life literally ripped away by a tornado, he falls in with sharp-shooting Cure-All selling showman Billy Bob Daniels and his assistant Albert.Billy Bob detests Buster every bit as much as Albert adores the boy and, with a wrestling chimp named Rot Toe, the group arrive in Mud Creek, Texas to ply their trade.Things go bad.Very, very bad.The Magic Wagon is vintage Lansdale (1986) and its 155 pages are brimming with his now trademarked humor, violence, and humanity.Highly recommended.

The Myth of Texas
Joe R. Lansdale is a name you should know.

You seldom see a true-bred storyteller anymore.What makes Lansdale so eminently readible is that he never lets a message get in the way of a good story.He enters, says what he has to say, and leaves.I don't know if he sits in a room desperately trying to wrangle these wild tales down into a coherent form.It doesn't matter.The final product flows so smooth you could swear he just made it up off the top of his head.Or recited it from memory.

This is a man you would want to drink with.

THE MAGIC WAGON was published way back in 1986.It's a short little book, only 155 pages.Inside you'll find a tale packed with what you'll eventually recognize as Lansdale's voice.A certain dark humor, a habit of referring to unnamed characters by their defining characteristic ("Blue Hat", "Mule Face"), and overall a mordant understanding of the nature of people.

"Wild Bill Hickok, some years after he was dead, came to Mud Creek for a shoot-out of sorts.

I was there.Let me tell you about it."

A GRAND ADVENTURE INTO THE OLD WEST!!!
Though I've read maybe a dozen or more westerns (Edgar Rice Burroughs, Louis L'Amour, and Larry McMurtry) in my lifetime, I've never been a big fan of this particular genre.I love western movies, but getting me to read a western novel nowadays is like getting me to pay a visit to the dentist's office when I have a cavity that needs filling.Now, as I've said in a number of other reviews, I've become addicted to the writings of Joe R. Lansdale during the last several months.This is one of those rare authors who is so gifted that he can literally write in any genre-horror, mystery, suspense, children's, and even westerns.It's because of his talent and craftsmanship at telling a good yarn that I decided to read THE MAGIC WAGON.I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy reading a western again after so many years away from the genre, but my faith in Mr. Lansdale's storytelling spurred me forward.It's enough to say that by page fourteen, I was hooked line and sinker, and ended up reading this short novel (155 pages) straight through in one setting.THE MAGIC WAGON takes place in 1909 and is the story of Buster Fogg, a fifteen-year-old boy who lost his parents in a Texas tornado. After the burial of his father (his mother was never found) and the local bank calling in the marker on the land that the family house used to set on, Buster decides that it's time for him to start making his own way in life.With an injured leg and a pair of crutches, he sets out on foot for town one morning in the middle of winter, hobbling his way step by step over the icy road.By noon he's ready to call it quits and let the cold take over his worn-out body when a red wagon, drawn by eight mules and driven by a big colored man, pulls up alongside of him.Old Albert, the driver, offers Buster a ride.At first the owner of the wagon, trick-shooting-artist Billy Bob Daniels (he claims to be the illegitimate son of Wild Bill Hickok and is perhaps the fastest man alive with a gun), is against the kid coming along with them, but soon gives in begrudgingly to Albert's wishes.And so begins Buster's journey of adventure and to becoming a man as he travels from town to town on the Magic Wagon with Albert, Billy Bob, the dead body of Wild Bill Hickok, and Rot Toe, the Wrestling Chimpanzee.When they finally visit the small town of Mud Creek, the gunfighter known as Texas Jack Wentworth challenges Billy Bob to a shootout.The outcome of that gun battle will have a dire affect on Buster's life and things will never be the same again for the young boy.THE MAGIC WAGON is the perfect example of what great storytelling is all about.It's filled with memorable characters (both good and bad) that leave a lasting impression.There's humor and tragedy that carries the reader through the gamut of emotions.Few scenes in a novel have affected me as strongly as the one where the tornado whips down onto Buster's home without warning, ripping the barn apart, driving a pitchfork into the chest of his father, and carrying the farmhouse away with his mother still in it.There's also adventure here of the grandest sort.When Old Albert tells Buster about how they came across the body of Wild Bill and almost died in the process, the reader is drawn skillfully into the scene, becoming one with it and experiencing the fear and distrust as everything unfolds into a battle of life and death.Now, I don't know if there were really pistoliers in the old West that could shoot as good and fast as Billy Bob Daniels, but Mr. Lansdale had me believing there was.I felt like a kid at a circus as Billy Bob shot small coins out of the air, split playing cards in half that were turned sideways, and fired a shot that drove a cork into a bottle, knocking out the bottom without shattering the neck.The author also drew clear portraits of how the West really was with its dirty, cow-dung smelling towns, the false myths of dime-novel heroes, and the suddenness of violence and death.Mr. Lansdale projected all of this with a style of writing I've come to know since reading his award-winning novel, THE BOTTOMS.It's smooth, natural, alluring, and very down to earth, capturing the reader in a solid grip that even Rot Toe the Wrestling Chimpanzee couldn't break.Stephen King once wrote that it's the story, not the teller of the story, that's most important.I would put it another way and say that it takes an exceptional storyteller to first capture the attention of the reader or listener, and then from that point on the story takes over.If Mr. Lansdale wanted to, he could easily take over the mantle of western writing that the late Louis L'Amour held for so many decades.But, that would be too restricting for this wonderful author.Mr. Lansdale wants to do it all, and as long as he keeps writing (and it doesn't matter what genre he chooses), I'll keep reading.

Joe R. Lansdale is my hero!
I was referred to this book by a mention of it by author, Howard Waldrop. It is a wild ride indeed! Definitely not your usual western. I believe that Mr. Lansdale is the secret Texas brother (or clone) of Carl Hiaasen. Thosewho enjoy mysteries ,action and bizarre humor will love The Magic Wagon andLansdale's other mysteries.

Lansdale finds his voice
If you enjoy Lansdale's Hap & Lenard stories (Cold in July, Bad Chili, etc.) then I strongly recomend this book to you. I myself am very much a fan of his efforts but didn't really enjoy some of his earlier work.This book however has that style and "voice" that I have come to think of as uniquely Lansdale even though the story takes place in a differant setting from his Hap and Lenard stories.Magic Wagon will probably be most familiar to readers of his western/horror stories popular in his work in comics.However, if like myself, you find you often laugh out loud to his characters quick, ruff and in ya face wit, if you follow along in awe of their knack for finding trouble, this book is a must. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (3)

Wonderful stuff
Joe Lansdale has the stuff. He's one of the most entertaining writers I've ever had the pleasure of reading, and he never fails to make me laugh...no faint praise indeed, since most writers lack that ability. Lansdale has a special mojo (no allusion intended). He simply clicks. The magic comes right to you, right off the page. It surrounds you, sweeps you up like a Texas tornado, whaps your noggin a few times, then drops you, sometimes gently, sometimes not. When the ride is over you're bumped a bit, but you're left with a smile on your face and you've got a hearty appreciation for a good ride.

Many of Lansdale's short stories revolve around people who aren't very nice to begin with (though not at all uninteresting)who have things happen to them that are, uhm...not very good. These events happen in a progressive manner, starting with not so good and ending in downright terrible. (See the stories "The Mule Rustlers" and "Screwup" in this collection and you'll know what I mean). The rest of the stories in Mad Dog Summer are no less riveting, no less entertaining. So read, enjoy, and be amazed.

The longer, the better
As a fan of Joe R. Lansdale, I look forward to each new release with relish. Sometimes, however, these releases are difficult for a man of modest means to acquire, especially when several of Lansdale's works are published by small press publisher Subterranean Press. For a standard hardback release, Mad Dog Summer and Other Stories has a rather high price tag: $40 retail (Amazon and other sellers often offer a discount, but even that is usually not enough).

So imagine my surprise when I came across this signed limited edition collection of eight fiction pieces (four short stories alternating with four novellas, each with an introduction from the author "hisownself") in the library! I couldn't have been more excited, literarily speaking. Mad Dog Summer and Other Stories turns out to be a bit of a mixed bag, however. Although I like Lansdale's short work, in general its more uneven than his novels. The same occurs here: Two of the four short pieces fall short of ideal, which all four novellas are worthy of celebration.

"The Mule Rustlers" is all about taking fictional revenge on whomever stole Lansdale's own mule years ago. It has a lot of the same great features of other Lansdale fiction, but the unfair ending leaves a bad taste. "Screwup," on the other hand, is pure fun to read. A loser gets in over his head and spends the rest of the time just digging himself deeper while trying to get out of trouble. There's not much in the way of backstory or character development, just one event after another leading up to an ironic, but entirely appropriate, ending, but you won't care. (This is the second story Lansdale has written with his wife, Karen. The first, "A Change of Lifestyle," is available in Bumper Crop.)

"Veil's Visit" was written with Andrew Vachss, a practicing lawyer as well as a writer, who wanted the opportunity to fictionally "defend" Leonard Pine (of Lansdale's Hap and Leonard series of novels) of a crime he committed in more than one of those books. It's short and has an obvious agenda, but until the next Hap and Leonard novel comes along, it's do. Later, Lansdale remembers his mother, and how she influenced his life, in "O'Reta, Snapshot Memories." Like the title says, it's not a linear narrative, but the author fills the prose with such genuine emotion that it's easy to get swept up in it.

"Way Down There" combines cartoons with comic books, Jules Verne with Edgar Rice Burroughs, all with that inimitable Lansdale stamp. A special group of friends go to Hell to rescue Satan (it makes sense in the story) and learn a lot about the underworld along the way. It even includes references for further reading, assuming you've got the right kind of library.

I tried to read some Philip Jose Farmer once and just couldn't get into it. But Lansdale calls him his "outright favorite" (though he does admit to Farmer's unevenness) and wrote "The Steam Man of the Prairie and the Dark Rider Get Down" in tribute. It's a sci-fi Western, complete with metal men, talking ape folk, and rips in the space-time continuum right alongside crusty, meat-eating, livestock-screwing people of the land. Throw in astronauts, torture, and a hearty dose of cannibalism, and you got a wild ride that surprises at every turn. After this recommendation, I may just have to give Farmer another try.

"The Big Blow" just may be a perfect story. Set during the Galveston hurricane of 1900, it offers action, sex, violence, cleansing, redemption, and a small dose of history, as it happens to typically Lansdalean characters. Centering around a boxing match between John McBride and "Lil" Arthur Johnson (later to be called Jack), it's a real action piece, its 56 pages flying past like roundhouse punches. The characters and setting feel impressively realistic, and the plot is entirely believable. I had read it once before, when it came around in rotation on the Free Stories section of the author's website, and it's even better the second time around. I could imagine visiting "The Big Blow" yet again, and I'm not much for re-reading.

The title novella is the last piece in Mad Dog Summer and Other Stories. Fans of Lansdale's Edgar Allan Poe Award-winning The Bottoms may recognize it as the inspiration for that novel. It was originally written to order for publication in Al Sarrantonio's Bram Stoker Award-winning 999 anthology, but Lansdale felt that this story of a young boy's search for a serial killer in the Sabine River Bottoms of East Texas during the Great Depression deserved to be expanded.

A warning: if you have any intention of reading The Bottoms, skip "Mad Dog Summer." They're the same story with the same solution. That said, the novella is an ideal way for fans of the novel to revisit the experience without the same time commitment. I got lucky in being able to read Mad Dog Summer and Other Stories, and I wholeheartedly recommend it to fans of the "champion mojo storyteller." It's also a fine place to start for the newcomer, as it gives a look at the author's ability to span genres without losing his own special touch that keeps his readers coming back time and time again.

Yet another great place to start....
Just received this book yesterday and sorting my way through
some familiar and the off the wall gems. When you pick up Joe R.
Lansdale short stories you won't find the same old stories,
you'll find some good life lessons and hard luck, some shock
and laughs and down home tales, usually from a very twisted perspective at times. Always top notch stories. I especially
enjoyed joe's expanded novel several years ago, "THE BIG BLOW", with everybody's eyes wide open to hurricanes(this year) this is a good time
to read Joe's take on the most massive early century hurricane and the story of a boxer's inner battles. The combination is a knockout! Also included is one of my two very favorite Lansdale
yarns, (novella size also) called "Mad Dog Summer", which is about as good a story to read as they come by, Lansdale style.
This is a newer turn Joe's taken off the path over the past several years. Stylized from a generation or two once removed, writing in a vein much like the great Lee novel, "To kill a mockingbird" yet purely all Lansdale, this is an award winning novella(as was the full length fully realized "The Bottoms"(Edgar Award winner) from which this was spawned, a story that you won't soon
forget and I'm glad its the title tale and back out. This should be standard reading in all schools across this country,
its that good,(should have won a Pulitzer for such a compeling
piece of fiction). Even though Joe's moved away from some of his earlier shock and awe tales, he never quite lets us off
the hook when it comes to in your face gritty reality and that to me
has always been one of his greatest gifts, he know how to pack a big punch with his words without going overboard with 1000 page novels (and short stories).These stories are made to be savored and read
many times over the years, enjoy them, I sure am. Its also nice to see Joe pay tribute to his mother and share his views at the
same time. Joe's a BIG supporter of children and it all starts
with good parents-teachers and values, another reason I've always found
his stories to be REAL, regardless of their style.
... Read more

Product Description
Otis Adelbert Kline's final triumphant sword-and-planet epic soars back into print for the first time in almost 50 years!Jerry Morgan accepts his scientist uncle's offer to transport him to Mars for a series of thrilling adventures and exploits featuring terrible monsters, fantastic societies, and gorgeous princesses in the Edgar Rice Burroughs tradition.At last presented in the original, unabridged format last seen in 1934's Argosy Weekly, the new Planet Stories edition of this science fiction classic restores Kline to his place of honor in the sword-and-planet field. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Super Reader
The second of Kline's Martian Planetary Romances again sees a man with reasons to be happy to get the hell out of dodgy planet Earth. This time, Jerry Morgan, a falsely disgraced army officer ends up with his wealthy uncle.

Who just happens to be Richard Morgan (also writing something that just may be planetary romancesque, too, in The Steel Remains).

Richard Morgan happens to have hopefully perfected a way to transport a man to Mars, as opposed to doing the body inhabiting-mentality switching type trick employed elsewhere.

Once he makes it there, Jerry is propelled into sword swinging action, as he becomes embroiled in an interracial conflict and war - and is also caught between two space princesses and their various relatives who would like to see him lose a few vital body parts.

Some great monsters in here, flying beasties, sentient vegetable balls and more, including the trusty dalfs.

Not quite as good as the first, but certainly still up there with Burroughs best few Mars books, by way of comparison.


3.5 out of 5 ... Read more

Product Description
To kill a man, even in self-defence, is no easy thing for a man with a conscience. He has to answer to himself, put the episode behind him, get on with his life. This is very difficult when the dead man's father, a murderous ex-con, is determined to avenge the shooting, no matter what the rights and wrongs. Richard Dane is a small businessman, a family man with a son of his own. Ben Russell, the ex-con, has a very simple proposition: an eye for an eye, a son for a son. But the truth is anything but simple, and before long Dane and Russell, misled and manipulated, are awkward allies in a living nightmare of paranoia and psychopathic sex, violence and corruption.Amazon.com Review
Despite the trappings -- guns, stakeouts, an ex-con, a privateeye, a porn ring, a shootout -- this isn't an ordinary suspensenovel. It's a lean, effective character study about a man who riskshis comfortable life to pursue something half-glimpsed within hispsyche. He feels guilty about his father's suicide, he doubts hisability to raise his own son, and now he's mixed up with anotherfather, whose son has gone into a place of great darkness.A stirringtale in which actions have consequences, and no one is left unchangedby the things that they see and do. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

JOE LANSDALE'S VERSION OF EAST TEXAS NOIR!!!
COLD IN JULY by Joe R. Lansdale is one of the author's earlier novels.The book was first published in 1989, and is just as fast paced, thought provoking, and violent as his newer ones.This is the story of Richard Dane, a nice man with a beautiful wife, Ann, a lovely little boy named Jordan, and is the owner of a framing shop in LaBorde, Texas.Late one night in their home, a strange noise wakes Ann.She elbows Richard awake, and it isn't long before he realizes that a burglar has broken into their house.He grabs a .38 snub-nose revolver from the closet and goes out into the living room to investigate.When he surprises the burglar, the man takes a shot at him and misses.Richard returns fire and kills the intruder.Later, the police tell him that the burglar's name was Freddy Russel.Unfortunately for Richard, the dead man's father, Ben Russel, has just gotten out of prison after serving a twenty-year term.When Ben learns of his son's death, he swears revenge against Richard and his family, promising to kill little Jordan Dane.What neither Ben, nor Richard, comprehend until later, is that both of them have unintentionally been set up by the local police.There's something going on behind the scenes, and it has to do with Freddy Russel's death, along with a cover up that's tied into the FBI.Both men quickly realize that they're going to need some outside help, if they want to solve the mystery.Russel's old friend, Jim Bob Luke (BAD CHILI and CAPTAINS OUTRAGEOUS) who's an ex-Green Beret, a master of the Korean martial art Hapkido, and is now a private eye in Houston, is called in to help find the answers.It isn't long before all three of them begin to understand that the answers they're seeking are going to have a high price.The answers will involve both a ring of people that make snuff movies and death on a massive scale.Before the novel is over, Richard, Ben, and Jim Bob will have to take the law into their own hands, charging in with guns blazing, killing the scum that torture, rape, and murder innocent women for fun and profit.COLD IN JULY, as Mr. Lansdale might say, is true East Texas noir.Filled with plot twists that keep the reader constantly on his/her toes, the journey from beginning to end is one of adventure, edge-of-your suspense, intense violence, down-to-earth humor, and an array of memorable characters that stay with you long after the story is finished.In many ways Jim Bob Luke steals the entire show.He's egotistical, over-confident, fearless, the best at what he does, funny in a redneck sort of way, and as deadly and fast as a striking cobra.Jim Bob certainly needs to have a novel of his own!One thing that I've notice after reading several of Mr. Lansdale's novels is that he writes extremely strong female characters.Ann Dane is not only beautiful and highly intelligent, she's almost as tough in her own way as Jim Bob Luke is.She's not afraid to get down and dirty and to do what's necessary to protect her family.The villains (Freddy Russel and the Mex) are also exceedingly well drawn and are definitely characters you wouldn't want to meet in real life.What I've found with the novels by Joe R. Lansdale is that they're never boring.The author knows how to tell a great yarn that's utterly believable, and he can pen a tale in any genre of his choosing.As I've said before, this East Texas author is a master craftsman at the art of writing.Anything by him is highly recommended.Finding this amazing storyteller is perhaps the best thing that's happened to me this year, and I sincerely hope more readers will eventually become aware of him and his works of fiction.

One of Lansdale's best
While the book starts out reminding the reader of The Executioners by John D Mcdonald, it doesn't take long before Lansdale quickly turns out one of his classic twists and takes you on another ride into the dark.

This is one of the first books that I ever read by Mr. Lansdale and I have been hooked ever since.I recommend it highly.

One of my favorite Lansdale books!
A very entertaining read. Early Lansdale, and you can tell that he's still finding his voice, but it's a lot of fun. Funny dialogue and suspenseful situations. Well worth reading.Good to see where Lansdale came from.

Lansdale learning his chops
This is early Lansdale, and it shows. Some bad dialogue, plot problems, awkward sentences. But you can see where he's going. I'm surprised he managed to get this published at all at the time -- he was lucky.Intereting, but I had a hard time getting through it. A waste of $5, allaround.

Suspenseful & darkly humorous
COLD IN JULY starts out with a bang - literally - when everyman Richard Dane is forced to shoot an intruder intent on robbing and possibly murdering his family. Never having murdered someone, Richard is having ahard time of it. He's replaced the bloodstained couch and painted the wallbut he still can't forget that awful night.

Overwhelmed with guilt, heattends the funeral of the small time crook and is spotted by the deadman's dangerous ex-con father. Dear old Dad is none too happy with hisson's murderer and while he's not dumb enough to come right out and say ithe alludes to what a shame it would be if something were to happen toDane's four-year-old son. An eye for an eye and all that.

This is onlythe beginning of Dane's weird introduction into a world chock full ofbizarre goings-on. Dane's quiet little life will never be the same as hecomes face to face with the darkest side of human nature.

Although COLDIN JULY is by no means a light book - it's dark and as suspenseful as abooks gets - the best thing about it is it's well drawn, flawed charactersand the wickedly funny dialogue. I would excerpt some of my favorite linesbut going back through the book I realize they're all pretty nasty.Lansdale's humor probably isn't for everyone but those who like humorous,earthy dialogue will be in for a good howl. ... Read more

Product Description
Bill has no job, no money and no mother '...his mother was dead and kind of freeze-dried in her bedroom'.She doesn't smell as bad as she used to, but her welfare checks are piling up and Bill doesn't feel smart enough to forge her signature.So he decides to rob a firecracker stand across the highway from his house, for cash and may be a few loud bangs into the bargain. The heist goes horribly wrong and Bill winds up on the run with a freak show.Could it be that Bill's loser days are over?Nope ... ... Read more

Customer Reviews (21)

The very very best of Lansdale!
My first reading of a Joe Lansdale novel was by accident when I wanted to try to find some new mystery writers to enjoy and ordered 'A Fine Blue Line' from a book club. I found Mr. Lansdale's writing and characters so good in that book that I then purchased 'The Bottoms', which was even better if possible. Both of which are murder mystery-suspense novels.

I had never heard of Joe R. Lansdale, a Texas born writer, until I bought those two books and was surprised to find he has a large and loyal cult following as a writer of horror-supernatural short stories and novels, one of which became the popular movie, Bubba-HoTep, about two elderly gentlemen in a nursing home who believe they are really a former US President and Elvis Presley. Although not a huge fan of horror in general, I read that short story and found it very funny and quite frightening and decided to see what else he had written that I might like. I then stumbled upon his Hap & Leonard mystery suspense novels and was hooked. I now have them all and had to look for something more by Joe.

I ran across this older book, Freezer Burn, and finally got a copy of it. I can't say enough good things other than to say it's his very BEST mystery-suspense novel of all and a super great read! So much so that he has now become one of my five top favorite writers of all time, in any genre.

This is the story ( set in Texas, naturally ) of redneck loner, loser, and Mama's boy, Bill Roberts. One day Mom dies and chronically unemployed Bill ( we'll just call him slightly slow )decides he doesn't want to give up her Social Security check so he leaves her rapidly decaying body in a back bedroom with only the ever increasing flies and the Texas heat to keep her company. Bill is always scheming, though, so he and an even dumber buddy plan a robbery of a fireworks stand, a plan that goes incredibly bad, and this is when the story gets downright hysterical! Bill high tails it into the swamp and emerges eventually with a gigantic red and swollen face and head, having been bitten hundreds, nay thousands, of times by those giant Texas skeeters. Appearing to be a real freak of nature, he goes on the run by joining up with a cheap traveling carnival and fits right in! Look forward to lots of laughter as the dialogue and characters ( creepy midgets, pinheads, pumpkinheads, a dog-man and bearded lady, to name a few )are superbly written.

One mystery starts upon Bill's seeing the carnival's main attraction, a sinister bearded man frozen in ice. Is the iceman a genuine caveman, or...perhaps even..... Jesus?? As Bill's envolvement with the charismatic carnival owner and his lush young wife deepens, you will find yourself both afraid, angry, and yet laughing hysterically as the second mystery holds your interest. In fact, I stayed up all night reading this book as it's one of those you just can't put down, and one of my neighbors asked me the next day what was so funny as I had awakened her laughing out loud the night before!!

I will warn you that Lansdale's books are a little graphic, containing a lot of profanity, overly descriptive sexual situations, and violence, but even as a big prude myself, I can look over them all just to read what's between those small literary sins...a delicious, wonderfully rich and crazy tale brilliantly told by a Master. Since then, I talked both my adult sons into reading Freezer Burn even though neither of them are really mystery supense fans. However, now both say it's one of the best books they've ever read and a top favorite for both now, too. My older son's wife was forced by him to read it, as well, and she still talks ( and laughs )about what a great book it was!

HIGHLY recommended!!

Frozen By The Freezer And Burned By The Girl!!!
This movie is about one of life's losers, Bill Roberts. Bill's mother has died andhe doesn't want to forge her signature on her Welfare Checks. Furthermore she has left her house to an Animal Shelter in her Will. Instead of hiring a lawyer and contesting the Will (like any sane person) Bill decides to rob the fireworks stand and is soon caught up in a murder. He flees into the woods and become part of a travelling Carnival where he meets Gidget who is one cold hard hearted lady.Gidget has Murder on her mind and justifies her actions by being self aware that her and Bill are both "Rotten to the core". This book is highly entertaining and I would rank it as one of Joe R. Lansdale's best.

JUST WHO ARE THE FREAKS?
Joe Lansdale is a marvelous writer; I have enjoyed most of the books I've read of his.FREEZER BURN is certainly full of Lansdale's trademark humor and unusual scenarios, but ultimately it loses ground in the story of Bill Roberts and his involvement with Frost's freakshow.The story is filled with sexual innuendo, thoughts, and acts; Gidget is reminiscent of Kathleen Turner in Body Heat, and other femme fatales.Bill comes across selfish and uncaring at times, and when he does care, it's not enough.He's definitely a man ruled by his sexual satisfaction.Lansdale keeps the plot interesting, although the end is basically a downer, and one wonders how else Lansdale could have resolved it...guess this was the only way.Well written but not satisfying.

A HILARIOUS NOVEL ABOUT ADULTERY AND MURDER!!!
First, let me talk for a moment about the writings of Joe R. Lansdale.I'm now totally addicted to this remarkable East Texas author.I think his novel, THE BOTTOMS, is one of the true masterpieces of modern American literature.I love the "Hap/Leonard" series and could read a new novel about these two hilarious and utterly heroic characters every week, if Mr. Lansdale could write the books fast enough.I've read his novellas THE BOAR and THE BIG BLOW and have wondered why a mainstream publisher didn't pick up these two great little books.I've also read his children's story, SOMETHING LUMBER THIS WAY COMES.So far, I've enjoyed every piece of writing by him that I have read.FREEZER BURN is no exception.Though certainly different from the above books, it nevertheless is pure Lansdale at his best.This is the story of Bill Roberts, a low life who simply doesn't know any better.He's been living with his dominating mother for a long time, and when she finally dies, he decides to keep her body in the bedroom so that her social security checks will continue to come in.The only problem with the plan is that Bill is unable to successfully forge her signature on the checks.So, with a handful of checks he's unable to cash, a raucous smell permeating the house, and a couple of cans of beets in the kitchen cabinet left to eat, Bill makes the less-than-lucid decision to rob the firecracker stand across the street on the fourth of July with the help of two equally stupid acquaintances, Fat Boy and Chaplin.Like everything else in Bill's life, the robbery goes terribly wrong.The owner of the firecracker stand is murdered and then Fat Boy (he encounters a nest of water moccasins in the swamp!!!!) and Chaplin are killed in the getaway.Bill hides out in the Bottoms for a day or so, feeding the mosquitoes with his face, avoiding the poisonous snakes, and praying the law doesn't catch up with him.When he eventually comes out of hiding, he sees a carnival in a nearby field and goes to them for help.The owner of carnival, Jack Frost, takes Bill in and allows him to stay until he's completely healed from the mosquito bites, and then offers him a job.This carnival is special.It's filled with freaks: Conrad the Dog Man, U.S. Grant the Bearded Lady, the two-head Buckwheat, pin heads and punk heads, midgets, and the Ice Man.Even Frost has a hand growing out of his chest.The only other normal person (except for a couple of nasty roustabouts) besides Bill is Gidget, the wife of Jack Frost.Gidget-blonde, beautiful, sexy, and as deadly as one of those cottonmouths in the Bottoms-is every husband's worse nightmare.Over a period of weeks, Bill gradually begins to see Frost and some of the other freaks in the carnival as human beings, but it isn't his destiny to be a nice guy.Gidget has other ideas for him.It isn't long before she seduces Bill with her body and talks him into helping her kill Frost so that they can take over the carnival.Of course, like Bill's other endeavors, the plan to kill Gidget's husband will have its drawbacks and pitfalls, and nothing will turn out quite as he expects.FREEZER BURN is definitely not for everyone.I think the reader has to have a rather bizarre sense of humor and a willingness to allow the author to take him/her down a path that may seem somewhat weird to the average person, yet is actually a journey about life and what it means to be different, not to mention what goes around, comes around.This novel is Mr. Lansdale's homage to James M. Cain's THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE, using the themes of lust, adultery, and murder, only with a slightly different twist.Though funny from beginning to end (yes, I have a rather bizarre sense of humor about life), this novel is also filled with poignant insights into how people treat those who are different.I also think that Mr. Lansdale is a firm believer in karma.When people do bad things, it always comes back to bite them in the butt sooner or later.I will say that the finale of FREEZER BURN is a downer; yet, I don't see how the author could've ended it differently.The story could only have one final outcome and still remain true to the very nature of who Bill Roberts and Gidget Frost actually are.If you're looking for a happy ending, this isn't the book to read.If, however, you're looking for a book that will shock you, tickle your funny bone, and make you think about prejudice in all of its sad and unhealthy forms, then this is the one to buy.

Lansdale retells 'Freaks' as a comic roman noir.
Bill Roberts is a laconic and none to smart loser that decides to rob a firecracker stand just across the street because his mother is now dead and stinking up the place and he cannot get the nerve up to forge her social security checks to get the money, which he is just about out of.With two cohorts helping him out, the robbery goes well for about two seconds.Then things go south in a hurry.Four corpses later, poor Bill stumbles out of the swamp and into a traveling carnival Freakshow run by a kind hearted man with a hand growing out of his chest and his femme fatale wife.Hoping to hide out until things cool down in the real world, Bill takes a job there and waits for the proper angles to present themselves.Gidget, the blonde bombshell wife of the show's owner, has some plans of her own as well as some very nice angles to get them done.

Freezer Burn is largely a retelling of the film 'Freaks' as a comedic roman noir.Chock full of unsavory characters that view humane behavior as stupid and weak, this is certainly not a novel for all tastes.Longtime Lansdale fans will be delighted to see him brush up on his darker roots, the ones responsible for The Nightrunners and the black as tar noir nightmare The Night They Skipped the Horror Show.Others used to the trace of nobility found in his most recent work will wonder why he wasted his time telling the tale of such an unlikable sociopath anti-hero.Being a nearly twenty year Lansdale addict I heartily recommend to his longtime fans as well as to those who just like dark hearted noir with a goofball twist. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

I Wish I'd Known...
I wish I'd known when I first owned this short collection that it would someday be selling for such a price!! I'd have bought five copies and retired rich!Vachss and Lansdale collaborated on a few Hap and Leonard short stories... Leonard was finally forced to go to court for burning down the crack house next door (a running joke in some of the Hap and Leonard novels).Vachss, a lawyer in real life, obviously ran with the courtroom proceedings in this humorous venture.

Also included was an excerpt from "Captains Outrageous" and an "interview" with some of the characters from the H & L novels.This was a very short collection, a sideline in the Hap and Leonard series.I would recommend it to fans, but not at such a high price... Where are the reprints?Writers make no royalties from the sales of used books... bring this back into print, please! One of these stories was reprinted in "Mad Dog Summer and Other Stories." ... Read more