Dead on the Bones: Pulp on Fire
by Joe R. Lansdale
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Pub Date Nov 30 2016 | Archive Date Dec 01 2016
Description
“I was living in a pulp writer fury, a storm of imagination.” So Joe R. Lansdale, award-winning author of more than twenty novels and two hundred short works, describes the birth of his desire to be a writer after encountering pulp storytelling as a kid in TV, comics, and books. Now Dead on the Bones: Pulp on Fire collects eight stories where Lansdale pays tribute to the rip-roaring tales of his youth.
Dedicated to Edgar Rice Burroughs and Robert E. Howard, “Under the Warrior Star” finds hero Braxton Booker on another, battle-wracked planet, while “Tarzan and the Land That Time Forgot” was expressly permitted by the Burroughs estate. In “Dead on the Bones,” a Conjure Man facilitates a boxing match between the living and the dead, with a twist. “The Gruesome Affair of the Electric Blue Lightning” crosses Poe with horrors that could have walked straight out of Lovecraft. Meanwhile, in “Naked Angel” a cop discovers a dead woman encased in ice on the noir streets of Los Angeles, not realizing he shares a personal connection with her. Other stories here bring readers face to face with vampires and far stranger creatures, all in Lansdale’s signature, Texas Mojo style.
Lansdale is rightly recognized as one of the most distinctive voices in modern fiction, pulp or otherwise. From Venus to vampires, Dead on the Bones is a fine, thoroughly enjoyable demonstration of why.
Advance Praise
“Needing to ‘dig directly into that pulp well in my head,’ Lansdale (the Hap and Leonard series) unleashes eight tales of two-fisted action that invoke the spirits of Edgar Rice Burroughs and Robert E. Howard. Heroes (‘determined’) and villains (‘evil-faced’) square off in exotic locales (Venus, Mars, east Texas). One is pursued by an ice shark through a lost Martian city while on a humanitarian mission (‘King of the Cheap Romance’); another reenacts the revenge plot of Hamlet, this time with zombies (‘Dead on the Bone’).”
Available Editions
| EDITION | Hardcover |
| ISBN | 9781596067479 |
| PRICE | $40.00 (USD) |
Featured Reviews
Peter S, Media/Journalist
Fandom of pulp, tributes to other authors and enjoying to wear their skins – it had to be a joyful experiment to Joe R. Lansdale to write stories in other author’s universes. It’s joyful for the reader as well – but only if he is a fan of the originals too.
The first story connects Sherlock Holmes with Frankeinstein – without naming any of them. It’s an exciting investigation going into a scary end, and even good to see how Sherlock “Dupin” explains the background of the monster.
In the 2nd there’s a reverend fighting with a vampire, a simple and ordinary story. The next mixes so many strange things that it’s hard to handle: a girl on the icy Mars, running from an ice-shark, finds a pyramid, finds an ancient civilization, and at last delivers a life-saving vaccine to a village…
Naked Angel was good again, a noir-style investigation in case of a murdered woman, who was encased to a block of ice. A cop finds some personal connection to the woman, without realizing the danger waiting for him…
The next is a box match in a forest, combined with a family drama, combined between living and dead – good story again. After that arrives Tarzan to a forgotten land, without any interesting moment. And at last two long fantasy stories about two guys with pretty similar circumstances: they are gotten to a world with trees, enemies and beautiful ladies.
I admit I couldn’t always identify the original universes, but my excuse would be that their style is even far away from each other. All of them are good for the related fans, but for them only. I’m a fan of Sherlock, Tarzan and Los Angeles cops – but I was bored during the last two, very similar fantasy story around trees and swords.
Angus M, Reviewer
Per the usual, rollicking weirdness with Lansdale. I frequently find that his short work is much more engaging and entertaining than some of his longer stuff. At times his novels seem to lose the thread and digress from the magic of pulp. But I've never been let down by his collections of stories. Concise and like a punch to the face. Highly recommended!!
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