Razored Saddles

by Joe R. Lansdale (Editor), Pat Lobrutto, Rick araluce (Cover Artist)

This collection of never-before-published horror tales boasts works by fifteen highly regarded young authors, among them Richard Christian Matheson, Robert McCammon, Howard Waldrop, and F. Paul Wilson

Genres: Horror, Westerns, Short Stories, Anthologies, Weird West, Fiction, Fantasy

268 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Champion Mojo Storyteller Joe R. Lansdale is the author of over forty novels and numerous short stories. His work has appeared in national anthologies, magazines, and collections, as well as numerous foreign publications. He has written for comics, television, film, newspapers, and Internet sites. His work has been collected in more than two dozen short-story collections, and he has edited or co-edited over a dozen anthologies. He has received the Edgar Award, eight Bram Stoker Awards, the Horror Writers Association Lifetime Achievement Award, the British Fantasy Award, the Grinzani Cavour Prize for Literature, the Herodotus Historical Fiction Award, the Inkpot Award for Contributions to Science Fiction and Fantasy, and many others. His novella Bubba Ho-Tep was adapted to film by Don Coscarelli, starring Bruce Campbell and Ossie Davis. His story "Incident On and Off a Mountain Road" was adapted to film for Showtime's "Masters of Horror," and he adapted his short story "Christmas with the Dead" to film hisownself. The film adaptation of his novel Cold in July was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, and the Sundance Channel has adapted his Hap & Leonard novels for television.

He is currently co-producing several films, among them The Bottoms, based on his Edgar Award-winning novel, with Bill Paxton and Brad Wyman, and The Drive-In, with Greg Nicotero. He is Writer In Residence at Stephen F. Austin State University, and is the founder of the martial arts system Shen Chuan: Martial Science and its affiliate, Shen Chuan Family System. He is a member of both the United States and International Martial Arts Halls of Fame. He lives in Nacogdoches, Texas with his wife, dog, and two cats.

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

The genre designation underneath the Avon logo on the spine of this one says it all: COWPUNK HORROR. It's a collection of Western horror stories by some of the best writers in the fantasy field. The Chet Willliamson story is particularly memorable, as are stories by Robert McCammon, Joe Lansdale, and Howard Waldrop. Without question the best cowpunk horror anthology ever!

[Daniel C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

An old classic of western themed horror stories edited by Joe R. Lansdale. Decades before the current Splatter Western boom was reborn, this, along with 'Dead in the West' by Lansdale, seemed to exist in their very own world. Check this out if you can.

[Yael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Razored Saddles is an anthology of 17 startlingly original stories of horror and the macabre, gruesome tales of madness, vengeance, and supernal horror in a universe of Indians and aliens, gunmen, ghouls, and Elvis impersonators. From a modern-day dinosaur roundup and the appalling curse that killed Doc Holiday to a ride on a 40-foot rattlesnake in a bizarre post-nuclear rodeo and the real story about the Battle of the Alamo, these stories will open doors into evil like none you've ever encountered before, and keep you awake, shaking in fear and covered in cold sweat, for months to come.

[BeerDiablo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Weird Westerns put a twist on my guilty reading secret, the Western. Add some Sci-Fi, black magic,maybe some crossdressing to a gunfight and you've got one good time.

This has several successful authors, for some it was prior to the success they would later see.

[Will McAneny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to Howard for loaning me this book! This pulpy short story collection is very different from what I usually read. Kind of a classic anthology rating here — some were fun and creative, some were bad, some were just kind of racist for no reason. My favorites were the gay guys at the Alamo and the cowboy dinosaur ghost hunters.

[Karey · Rating 5 out of 5]

My late Uncle Robert Arval Petitt has a short story in this book. I always admired him for his craziness and his creativeness, his love of Panama Jack hats and Hawaiian print shirts even though we lived in the Deep South, and his love of Horror Stories. He was a character and was a mix of Stephen King mentality & Jack Nicholson looks. We miss him.
If anyone ever comes across this book definitely read it.
I have a signed copy that’s priceless to me. It’s worth the read.

[Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seventeen macabre tales of the west. Some are horror, some science fiction, some LQBT, dinosaurs, Elvis impersonators, and more. I am not a big horror fan, so while the stories are well written, I dropped a star.

[By the way, I was convinced that the title story would be about a cowhand on the trail suffering from piles (hemorrhoids); I was wrong.]

[Steve Chaput · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice collection of horror/fantasy stories with a western theme. Some take place in 'the old west' and some in the future. Milage may vary, but I found all of them at least interesting and some excellent.

[Helena Sheibler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly gutsy take on the alamo!

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Must read story: Yer Skin's Jes's Soft 'N' Purty ... He Said. Possibly the sickest story I've ever read.

[Kent Clark · Rating 2 out of 5]

I let myself be fooled by Lansdale's name on this. A couple of the stories are okay. Most were entirely forgettable. The second in particular was just absurd. To me, it was apparent the motivation behind that one wasn't a good story but to show how 'Avant Garde' the author is, which, as in most similar cases, simply means they want to upset people. From the introductions to each entry, I gather the authors are personal friends of the editor which sort of explains how they got the gig. Only two or three of the stories even seem to fit the word 'western'.

[Preston Postle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of the "Weird Western" genre, and an equally big fan of Joe Lansdale, one of the editors of this short-story collection (which includes a Lansdale tale). Sadly, the anthology, which was designed to feature various authors' twisted takes on the Western theme, are mostly not very weird; in fact, some of them aren't really Western. There's a mob story, a couple sci-fi yarns, and one in which the "weird" comes from a male artist's painting himself as the heroine in a series of illustrations for a Western novel. If you're really hankerin' for some strange stuff to chew over, you'll be better served by Lansdale's "Dead in the West" or "Zeppelins West," or perhaps Nancy Collins' "Dead Man's Hand: Five Tales of the Weird West."

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable genre stories designated "Cowpunk Horror" on the spine, but are really more Cyberpunk Westerns with a horror quality to them. I picked this up for very cheap when I worked at Forbidden Planet, a very, very long time ago. These stories are a fun way to balance out Flannery O'Connor's "Collected Stories" Tour De Force and Lawrence Durrell's "Justine" (Vol. 1 of his "Alexandria Quartet") which is some unholy alchemically wicked, intoxicatingly,impossible stuff, that probably should have a warning label affixed to i,t like the more fun Rx's from the drugstore do...but I digress, and this collection here compiled by Joe R. Lansdale...is pure fun.

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very fine collection of horror stories. One of the first collection of horror westerns.

[Your Common House Bat · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read most of this book but unfortunately didn't get to finish because it's a library book and I had to return it lol. But I had fun reading it while I had it; I enjoyed the rugged western setting and each author definitely had their own flavor. I particularly enjoyed the story (I can't recall the name) about the bandit and his dog (who was, I believe a robot/automan of sorts). I also enjoyed the very first story; Black Boots. But each story in Razored Saddles was very compelling.

[Alex Budris · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book almost got four stars just for the ingenuity of the concept, but, like most of the 80s and 90s horror anthologies, the collection was uneven. More hits than misses, though. A great read.

[Stephanie Sanders-Jacob · Rating 4 out of 5]

The stories that were good were really, really good and the stories that weren’t were just okay. Nothing really badly done, just kinda flat. The last story is by far my favorite.

[beach horrorreader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cool 1980s Western horror/scifi. All but a couple of the stories were memorable. Nice variety. Last one was, um , jarring.

[Alan Houk · Rating 4 out of 5]

There was really good stories in this book and some not so good. My favorite was “The Tenth Toe”. Very good collection!

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was SO excited to get this book. I've dipped my toes in the water with western horror/cowpunk and have enjoyed what I've read so far, so I was eager to read this.

Unfortunately, I was underwhelmed. I can't believe I'm saying this but the Robert McCammon story that starts off the book was disappointing for me. McCammon is my favorite, but I just didn't like his story "Black Boots." In fact, I didn't care for a lot of the stories in here. The stories in the first half were definitely better than the last half. Sad :(

[Lauri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kogumik, mille žanrinimetuseks käib läbi päris mitu terminit. "Weird West" oleks ehk kõige tuntum, aga kaane peal leidub veel "Cowpunk horror" ja "Western Macabre", et pilt päris selge oleks. Samas on sees päris mitu juttu (ja need jutud kuuluvad veel kogumiku mõnusaimate hulka, näiteks Neal Barrett Jr'i "Tony Red Dog", või Joe R. Landsdale'i "The Job", ) milles pole ulmet mitte ühe molekuli võrragi vaid tegu on kõige puhtakujulisema crime/thrilleri, ehk krimiga. Nagu kogumike puhul tavaline, võib lood laias laastus jagada kolmeks: lood mis ununevad kohe peale lugemist, lood mis meeldivad kuigi sügavamalt mõeldes midagi väga erilist polnud ja lõpuks, lood mis panid mõtlema, õhku ahmima, uuesti lugema. Kogumiku hinne sõltub tavaliselt esimese ja teise grupi suhtest ja siin on see nii palju ikkagi kaldu teise grupi suunas, et hindeks tuleb "4". Õhkuahmivapanevaid lugusid siin ehk eriti polnudki aga no toogem ülimõnusate lugude näidistena esile Scott Cupp'i muhedalt pervertne ja Ameerika ajaloos märgilist tähendust omava Alamo kaitsmisele ilma libestita tagant sisse sõitev "Thirteen Days of Glory". Siis veel Doc Holliday viimastele päevadele keskenduv F. Paul Wilsoni "The Tenth Toe", natuke nagu nukker ja melanhoolne Gary L. Raisori "Empty Places" ja last but not least, üsna perversne (aga jällegi, ilma vähimagi üleloomuliku elemendita) Chet Williamsoni "Yore Skin's Jes's Soft 'N Purty...He Said". Eks Metsiku Lääne vastu peab huvi olema, kauboid ja tulnukad peavad istuma, et seda kogumikku korralikult nautida. Julgeks täitsa soovitada, peale minu loetletute oli siin mõnusaid lugusid veel küllaga, nagu ka muidugi mittemidagiütlevaid.

[Chip · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I see a book cover with a skeleton in western garb on a horse, I expect more Old West macabre tales than one and done. Don't get me wrong, there are a few good stories in this collection, but just not enough.

Even the Lansdale story was a let down. I wanted more from the guy who wrote some pretty gruesome Jonah Hex stories for Vertigo.

[Jack · Rating 2 out of 5]

With the exception of Robert McCammon's story, "Black Boots" and Chet Williamson's "Yore Skin's Jes's Soft 'N Purdy," the rest of these stories are forgettable, with most barely fitting into the genre the book promises. It's always a pleasure when I discover short stories by some of my favorite authors hidden away and nearly forgotten on a library shelf, but this collection was disappointing.

[Brady Bonney · Rating 3 out of 5]

The impossible to find Lansdale/LoBurto "cow-punk" anthology is almost worth the hunt. There’s a good story from a young Robert McHammond, and another good one from Lansdale that has nothing to do with the theme of the book. A few other novel stories, and a lot of things I can’t believe I read.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Uneven, but admirable in its goal. The stories that fall short are fine, and none are awful. The real reward of the book are the handful of nuggets of gold amid the at times desolate landscape. Light, quick and worthwhile for a horror/weird fiction fan, but not the casual horror reader.

[Brian Engelhardt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Weird West at its best.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of Western Stories with a bizzare twist

[Lindsey.parks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ghost dinosaurs.