Hap and Leonard

Hap & Leonard by Joe R. Lansdale- This book is a compilation of several Hap & Leonard Novellas and short stories about this mis-matched pair of do-good rogues as they lend a hand and meter out justice in East Texas. Soon to be a Sundance Chanel TV show, the stories here capture much of the essence of what these two rascals are up to, and how much trouble they get in to. The first story "Hyenas" details how Hap & Leonard save a man's brother from a crew of bank robbers bent on mayhem. "Veil's Visit", written along with Andrew Vachss, is a stunning courtroom drama where word interpretation becomes important and life saving. "Death By Chili", a short, shows how just talking about possibilities allows Leonard to solve an old almost forgotten puzzle. It is, hilariously, followed by Joe R. Lansdale's own chili recipe. "Dead Aim" finds our boys caught in a web of deceit that puts them at the mercy of the Dixie Mafia. "The Boy Who Became Invisible" and "Not Our Kind" are shorts that give us an insight into Hap and Leonard in their youth. Finally "Bent Twig" shows these two knights, one black one white, rescuing a young girl from a terrible fate. There is also a humorous piece where the author interviews Hap & Leonard and a recollection by Joe R. Lansdale of how this series came about. I enjoyed this book like I enjoyed all the other Hap & Leonard novels and look forward to more. If you were going to describe them, the best title I could suggest is Shit-Kicker Noir. In any event, a great read!

What a great collection. I expected nothing less. I am looking forward to the show, and I think this book will take off like wildfire once people watch. Will post reviews upon release.

What else are you going to give a Hap and Leonard collection other than five stars. That's as high as they go or I'd give it more. I will be reviewing this book on my blog in mid March and will share that review here.

4.5 stars!

Hap & Leonard are hilarious! I loved this collection of short stories which jumped all over the place from serious to sad, hilarious to depressing. As someone new to Hap & Leonard, I found this collection to be a great way to get to know them.

I was already planning to make this my year of Lansdale and this was my first book of his in 2016. After getting to know Hap and Leonard: Hap being a big redneck of a white man, (soon to be played by James Purefoy, previously of The Following), and Leonard being a big, black, gay man and Vietnam veteran, (soon to be played by Michael Kenneth Williams, formerly Chalky White of Boardwalk Empire), I don't know how I can help myself from continuing on with this series-in both book and television form.

If you like Lansdale's horror works, I'm pretty sure you'll like this series too. I've only read this one so far, but that will be rectified shortly. Year of Lansdale, here I come!

Highly recommended to fans of Joe Lansdale and to fans of great buddy stories, in general.

Available for pre-order now here: http://www.amazon.com/Hap-Leonard-Joe...

*Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the free ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. This is it.*

Joe Lansdale is one of the finest authors today, or in my opinion, ever. I have yet to be let down by one of his books, but until recently I hadn't delved in to his Hap and Leonard series. I am sorry I waited so long. The premise seems a little too cute: two best friends, one a white former hippie, the other a black gay conservative. It is a testament to Mr. Lansdale that he makes these characters real and their friendship one of the greatest pairings in literature. One can learn more about tolerance and acceptance from these books, unconcerned with political correctness, than any trust fund SJW ranting on Twitter while cuddled in their "safe space."

On to the book at hand. Hap and Leonard collects mostly previously published short stories and novellas, along with some new material. I've seen people whine about this and give the book a bad rating because of it. Grow up. The book clearly states what is inside, so if you feel duped blame yourself for not paying attention. Many of these stories are hard to find nowadays, and I like having them all collected together rather than scattered throughout various anthologies and out of print collectibles.

The novellas take place after Devil Red and bridge the gap between that and the next full length novel, Honky Tonk Samurai. My favorites are the short stories that take place in Hap's youth. In "The Boy Who Became Invisible" Hap recalls how he dealt with the bullying of a friend in school. There is no moralizing or hand wringing, but the story leaves a devastating impression. "Not Our Kind" explores the early days of Hap and Leonard's friendship and its consequences in 1960s Texas.

If you haven't read any Hap and Leonard before, this is a good place to start to see if they are for you. I can't recommend this or the rest of the series highly enough. 5 stars.

I’ve heard of Joe Lansdale before but never really got around to reading any of his books. I was familiar with him via the comic books he wrote THE DRIVE IN as well as his having written the film BUBBA HO TEP but for some reason had never read any of his books. After reading this one I went out to find all the Hap and Leonard books I could and have been reading them with relish ever since.

This book is a taste tester for those unfamiliar with the duo and it’s a nice primer on the pair. It’s a collection of short stories that introduce the characters and lets us know who they are and what they are like, giving us information on both in sparks and sputters.

Both are middle aged or at least not in their twenties. Hap is white, a more or less liberal, a basic laborer when he can find work, did time for not going to war during the Vietnam era and straight. Leonard is black, a conservative, a basic laborer as well, served proudly in Vietnam and is gay. So how could these two be the best of friends? Well that is explained in one of the stories found in this collection.

What makes the stories come alive though is the dialogue between the two, the way they banter back and forth with one another. There is a comfort with the way they talk to each other, joking non-stop during situations that don’t call for humor. They are also that which most people desire, friends that would stop a bullet for one another. There are no two closer friends than these.

I read one person speaking about the series and saying how Lansdale makes it all seem so easy, as if he simply sets down at a typewriter and out come the words. The same person said that when thinking about it he could tell that it was otherwise, that the craftsmanship with which he writes, the ease with which everything falls into place, shows that in truth he labors over each and every written word to make sure that they are just right. While neither of us knows this for certain I feel that this is more likely the reality of how these books were written. That they were painstakingly put together piece by piece and that there is a love Lansdale has for both of these character like many authors feel for their creations.

The books have recently been turned into a series on the Sundance Network and having watched the first episode I can tell you that they are staying true to the source so far. And while the episode was good it can’t compare with reading the books. The way Lansdale writes makes it easy on the reader to get caught up in the story leaving the world behind. That’s rare and needs to be appreciated.

4.5

I loved this anthology. I don't think I could write anything as good as the introduction by Michael Koryta. There you'll find everything you need to know - how great this selection of stories is and how special Hap and Leonard are. After reading this, I can honestly say these two are at the top of my favourite duos list. I can't do them justice enough.

Anyway, there are seven stories, one interview with the protagonists and, if you're still reluctant to leave, you have the last piece called The Care and Feeding and Raising Up of Hap and Leonard in which the author tells you all about Hap and Leonard's journey.

Some of the stories will break your heart in only a couple of pages (The Boy Who Became Invisible). Some will make you angry as hell because racism, homophobia, rape are some of the themes Lansdale doesn't avoid, but the bottom line is never ambiguous. You always know where Hap and Leonard stand. It is part of their appeal. You can just sit back and enjoy when they start doing what they do best. It is an extraordinary experience to read their banter and what usually follows after you get riled up when some jerk calls them (more often Leonard) names or tries to kill them.

The selection in this anthology:

Hyenas is a novella about family values Hap and Leonard style.

Veil's Visit (with Andrew Vachss) introduces Veil who seems like an interesting combination of Hap and Leonard (a scary thought).

Death by Chili - a closed-room mysterious death is keeping Leonard awake until he solves it.

Dead Aim is a story with more twists than you expect. I loved it.

The Boy Who became Invisible broke my heart.

Not Our Kind made me angry, I saw red. The title is kind of a give away. However, you get to see Leonard's uncle Chester (already dead in the first book) and his relationship with his friend Jack. It is very similar to Hap and Leonard's relationship.

Bent Twig is also a story about family. Hap's lover's daughter is in trouble and who better to deal with the problem than these two.

Overall, this is a great way to be introduced to these characters or, if you already know them, to simply have fun.

ARC provided by Tachyon Publications via NetGalley

Hard boiled noir meets gritty Dirty Harry with ironic observation. Great action packed morality tales from the wrong side of the tracks. Lansdale is an adept storyteller.

JOE R. LANSDALE. Hap and Leonard. Tachyon. Trade paperback, 240 pages, $15.95, TachyonPublications.com.
Prolific horror, crime, mystery and Western writer Joe R. Lansdale wrote a unique – and one of the most engaging – Westerns of the 1980s, The Magic Wagon (1986). These days, he’s probably best known for his novels – and now a SundanceTV series – about an unlikely pair of contemporary Texas crime fighters: liberal ex-hippie good-old-boy Hap Collins, who loves Western novels, old movies and kicking butt, and his best friend Leonard Pine, a black gay Republican and Vietnam vet with an addiction to Dr Pepper and cookies (and a penchant for burning down crack houses). Hap and Leonard collects mostly previously published short stories about that pair, and, just like the novels, these stories illustrate Lansdale’s acerbic Texas humor and one-of-a-kind style. As a bonus, Lansdale even includes his chili recipe.
Roundup Magazine, Western Writers of America, April 2016

This collection of short stories is a great way to get introduced to Hap and Leonard, two colorful characters that jump off the page and hit you like a ax handle the chops (read the book, you'll appreciate the statement). They're the private detectives who aren't quite private detectives; rather a pair of daring and courageous hard men with a moral compass who moonlight for a PI firm when they're not undertaking menial day jobs. They care for one another, those close to them (Brett for instance - Hap's longtime girlfriend) and take extreme measures to keep loved ones from harm - they're not afraid to shed blood and ask questions later - Leonard in particular.

Not being overly familiar with the series of books, having only read VANILLA RIDE, I wasn't sure what to expect. Lucky I was treated to a novella and short stories that each read like a longer form of fiction. Author Joe R. Lansdale managed to pack a hell of a punch in each story. Well executed plotting, character depth, and a pleasant mix of humor and serious violence to balance things out.

I can't name a favorite which is a rare thing in a collection such as this but each story was equally enjoyable. My advice to fans of the Hap and Leonard books - this is one you've got to have in your collection, and for those readers who aren't familiar with the series, I strongly recommend checking this out as a great starting point.

I was provided a e-copy via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Lansdale is a fiction god and this team of characters is a blessing. hap & Leonard are just as enjoyable in short takes as they are in long form fiction. Recommended.

Joe Lansdale is one of my favorite authors. This novel is a great selection of the Hap and Leonard short stories. It is a very good introduction to the characters, Hap and Leonard. Looking forward to recommending this collection to my patrons.

Any Joe Lansdale work is a treat to read but I'm especially fond of any work with Hap and Leonard in it. This collection is no exception as we are treated to several longer pieces and some standout short stories, especially The Boy Who Became Invisible. Fantastic short story that delivers a gut punch like none other. Highly recommended.