Petrified Dreams

 

My standard book review for writers I follow usually runs something like this:

If you are a Joe Lansdale fan, all you need to know is that Petrified Dreams, the next — and likely last — Hap and Leonard novel is out.

If you aren’t a Lansdale fan? You should be. Nobody else writes quite like Joe, he’s terrific, tells punch-in-the-gut stories, and since he’s also a long-time martial artist, I like that, too. I am most fond of Hap and Leonard, been reading about them for decades, but that’s not all Lansdale does, there are a bunch of books available.

If you are going to start with the Hap and Leonard books — which feature a white liberal redneck and a black gay Republican — go back to the first one and read forward to the new one, you’ll appreciate the experience more.

Warning: Joe’s stuff is not for the faint-hearted nor weak-stomached. Along with mysteries, he also writes horror, and some of that latter seeps into his other stuff — human monsters rather than supernatural ones. He’s done books, short stories, television, comics, and his works have been made into a TV series and several movies.

Part of the new Hap and Leonard novel takes place in the Louisiana swamps, and speaking as a native of those parts, he nails both the setting and the characters. The villain here is seriously nasty, maybe the worst one Hap and Leonard ever faced, and it is an E-ticket ride.