Bumper Crop

by Joe R. Lansdale

This collection of 26 stories contains some of Joe R Lansdale's favourite and most violent dark horror tales. 'God of the Razor' introduces the dark god behind serial killers. A martial arts fight to the death between a reluctant champion and a sadistic alpha male, is featured in 'Master of Misery'. Human sacrifice, to ensure prosperity or as a coming-of-age ritual, are themes of 'On a Dark October' and 'Duck Hunt'. In 'The Fat Man', young boys learn the hard way that some mysteries should not be investigated. Many of the tales are truly weird, such as 'Chompers', the story of the false teeth with an appetite. All stories are individually introduced by Lansdale, who explains the humorous, weird, and sometimes sad genesis for each.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Fiction, Anthologies, Collections, Audiobook, Science Fiction

185 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2004

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

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

For my money, Joe R. Lansdale's short story collections are always worth a read. This one is no different. Instead of attempting to remember and review all of the stories, I'll just talk about my favorite one, Bestsellers Guaranteed.

Bestsellers Guaranteed is the story of an aspiring writer who just can't catch a break. One day, he sees an ad in the paper for an agency called Bestsellers Guaranteed. In return for guaranteed slots on the bestsellers chart (whether he writes the book himself or the agency has someone write it for him), he'll be required to kill someone...

In the foreword to the story, Lansdale said the story came out of his frustration with trying to make a living writing. It shows. Hell, I wonder all the time how some books show up on the bestseller's list. Once the writer finds out he's going to have to kill someone, you feel his sense of dread.

This is my second favorite Lansdale collection, right after High Cotton. If you can only buy one, get that one. If you can get two, you have to jump on this one.

[Gianfranco Mancini · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mixed bag of an anthology filled with weird and creepy stories, but mostly of them are real good ones and if you are a Lansdale's fan this book is just a must read.

The God of the Razor: ☆☆☆☆☆

Second time I've read this story, first one was in the Tales of Jack the Ripper anthology. A weird, gory and disturbing tale about the dark god of serial killers, originated by Lansdale's never published The Night of the Goblin, later edited and released as The Nightrunners. A short dark gem leaving me craving for more.

The Dump: ☆☆☆

A not bad Twilight Zone/Creepy style short tale about the owner of a rubbish dump and the garbage creature who lurks there. It inspired a funny episode of the Love, Death + Robots animated series on Netflix that I liked a lot more than its inspiring stuff.

Fish Night: ☆☆

A weird tale about two guys breaking their car in the desert and taking a dream-like deadly trip.
Not bad at all, just not my cup of tea.  It inspired another episode of Love, Death + Robots.

Chompers: ☆☆☆☆

Picking up used fake teeth from an alley and wearing them is not just antihygienic, but sometimes is going to be deadly too. A funny weird story.

The Fat Man: ☆☆☆☆

Two kids swear on a dead cat to sneak inside The Fat Man's house and learn the hard way that some mysteries should not be investigated. A scary tale with echoes of Bradbury and Lovecraft.

On a Dark October: ☆☆☆☆

A grim halloween tale about sacrifices to ensure prosperity with a social criticism that made him rejected by some publishers worried about it. Very good and it left me craving for more. Lansdale says in the intro it is connected to his "Night They Missed the Horror Show" tale so I have to look for it sooner or later.

The Shaggy House: ☆☆☆

Another weird tale inspired by The Nightrunners about a creepy living house feeding on other ones. Lansdale published a kids book with the same story called Something Lumber This Way Comes that was the original title rejected by the author's edotor.

The Man Who Dreamed:☆☆☆☆

A light Dead Zone style tale about a man and his gift to see things weeks before their happening. But sometimes fate just can't changed.

Walks: ☆☆☆☆

An old man tails his son worried about his walks, but which of them is really hiding something?
A great short and twisted mistery tale.

Last of the Hopeful: ☆☆☆

A young girl escapes on green wings from the warring forces of Kamehameha (the king who united in a kingdom the hawaiian islands in 1810 after years of conflict) to keep alive her tribe's legacy.
Nice.

Duck Hunt: ☆☆☆☆

Young Freddie Clover's first trip with his dad's Hunting Club ig going to be far different than expected. A brutal and twisted rite of passage tale.

Down by the Sea Near the Great Big Rock: ☆☆☆☆☆

Murray's family goes camping to a beach dominated by pale sands, big waves and a great big rock. Not long after they start having murderous thoughts... an odd, creepy and disturbing tale with a great final twist. One of the best stories in this anthology.

I Tell You It's Love: ☆☆☆☆

A creepy and morbid love story from the point of view of a dangerous mind with a thing for pain. A dark, depraved and disturbing read later adapted in a graphic novel that now I really have to look for.

Pilots (written with Dan Lowry): ☆☆☆

Crippled war veterans push their post traumatic stress disorder to the extreme, assaulting trucks on lonely desert roads. This could have been an insane Duel meets The Car horror flick screenplay, sadly the bit of film interest about it collapsed and  never happened. Such a shame.

In the Cold, Dark Time: ☆☆☆☆☆

A kind of prose poem about the ugliness of war, necessary or unnecessary. The ending was a creepy, disturbing and shocking one.

Bar Talk: ☆☆☆☆

Two gentlemen in a bar have a conversation. Sometimes you can't trust a stranger. A funny little story with a creepy twist. It inspired a short movie, you can watch it here: https://youtu.be/h4T-4zbWeYg

Listen: ☆☆☆

Sometimes people are so shy, ordinary and lonely that they are invisible to others. This funny short tale is about one of them.

Personality Problem:☆☆☆

A funny tale about the most famous ever monster, made of stitched body parts, looking for psychitiatrist help. Hilarious.

A Change of Lifestyle (written with Karen Lansdale):: ☆☆

A weird tale about a siberian husky changing into a man after eating a one week old hamburger. Not much my cup of tea.

The Companion (written with Keith Lansdale and Kasey Jo Lansdale):: ☆☆☆☆☆

An old fashioned scary campfire story about a fisherman meeting a vampire-scarecrow, wrote by Lansdale as a collaboration with his children Keith and Kasey. A creepy gem.

Old Charlie: ☆☆☆☆

If you got the right bait, you can catch everything. A fishing tale with more than one creepy twist in the end.

Billie Sue: ☆☆☆☆☆

A brilliant, weird, short story about love and perversions filled with dark humour. The shocking final climax left me speechless... then laughs come.

Bestsellers Guaranteed: ☆☆☆☆

Are you an author? Do your novels sell not as much as you would like? Don't worry, Bestsellers Guaranteed is going to give you success, fame, respect and millions of dollars. We can guarantee that you'll hit the bestsellers list once a year, every year, no matter how bad publishing may falter or if you should have trouble writing one.For our help we ask only one thing, a small favor every year. A favor for each  book of yours we make a bestseller. Each year you assassinate someone for us, it's a deal.

Fire Dog: ☆☆

A weird Twilight Zone tale born from Lansdale's joking one of his martial arts students ( the author is also a martial arts expert, and even started his own martial art),
who was working for the forestry service about being a replacement for fire dogs.
Too much bizzarro/weird for my tastes.

Cowboy: ☆☆☆☆

A touching short tale about racism and the lacking of black cowboys in the western literary genre.

Master of Misery: ☆☆☆☆☆

The cherry on the top of this anthology is an intense The Most Dangerous Game meets Enter the Dragon tale about sea, abusive sadistic husbands and martial arts fights to the death. Excellent!

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lansdale seems to have mastered the short story, which is not an easy thing to do. He knows that there's only so much you can convey in a short story, so he conveys exactly what he wants the reader to know. Once again, that's not as easy as it sounds.

While some of the stories worked for me better than others, it's more a matter of personal preference because Joe got across what he wanted to. If you're a fan of Lansdale then you'll surely want to read this collection. If you haven't read his work before and enjoy short stories, this wouldn't be a bad one to pick up.

[Bandit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this book to see of Lansdale is as good at short fiction as he is in long form. He certainly is. These stories were absolutely terrific, very short for the most part, clever, with nice barbed twists in the end. Reminded me very much of the late great Richard Masterson's short fiction. Same eerie ambiance. Similar succinctness to the writing. Each story came with an introduction by author, which was great, made the reading experience more personable. Must read for any fan of Lansdale and an excellent intro to those unfamiliar with the author's work. Recommended.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The worst Joe Lansdale story is still finely written and entertaining, and here are 26 of his best dark and violent tales. They’re grim and delightful.

[Robert Beveridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joe R. Lansdale, Bumper Crop (Golden Gryphon Press, 2004)

For the majority of its all-too-short time on this mudball, I was a devoted reader of Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone magazine. I was lucky enough to stumble upon the first issue by chance on a newsstand, and after that I subscribed until the bitter end. Many of the authors I still revere today I first found in the pages of TZ, including Joyce Carol Oates ("The Rose Wall," reprinted in her collection Raven's Wing, was the strongest story in that first issue) and Dan Simmons (whose first published story, "The River Styx Runs Upstream," was the winner of TZ's first fiction contest). But through all those years, I didn't remember seeing Joe Lansdale's name a single time. So when I checked the pub credits page and saw TZ's name by a number of stories, I got to wondering. Then I read the preface, and Lansdale says these stories stick with you. I got to wondering more. Then I read "The Dump,"and the second I saw the name Otto, I bowed to Lansdale's superior firepower. Note, "The Dump" is a story I haven't read in over twenty years, and within the first few words, I remembered it. "Memorable" is an understatement.

Bumper Crop, the second (following High Cotton) volume in Lansdale's personally-selected "Best-Of" collections of his short fiction, is, in short, a whole lot of fun. The stories here, most of which are exceptionally short, run through the early part of his career like a vein of adamantite in a mountain of pure silver. It's all great stuff, but this is just that little bit more rare, more coveted, and harder. "Chompers," "The Fat Man," and, well, just about everything here will leave its mark on you. Two stories will be recognizable to those who have read The Nightrunners (Lansdale, during the seven years between the book's completion and its purchase, took pieces out of it and revised them into stories a number of times). One of them, "God of the Razor," is one of the strongest pieces here, and very highly recommended.

If the book has a weak point, it is "Master of Misery," the last story. It sounds too much like... something. But I can't for the life of me remember what. But, jeez, don't let that stop you. This is great stuff. ****

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is no secret, Lansdale is one of my favorite authors. I have read several of his novels and have enjoyed them all. When I found this story collection at the library I was excited to give it a whirl. And I am damn glad that I did. Like all story collections there were a few stories that did not quite flip my switch. However looking back on it I would have to say that there were only like two stories that did not catch my spinner. Other than that all the other stories are true gems. The great thing is that with some stories, at only a couple of pages, these were still extremely entertaining. Now for those who have not read Lansdale take note for he does have a very dark side to him. And in this collection that darkness shines through. So some might think these stories to be a bit warped. However if you like that type of thing this could be the story collection for you.

[Carl Alves · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bumper Crop was a bit of a mixed bag. There were some stories that I really enjoyed, and some that were complete duds that I wanted to get past quickly, hoping that the next story would be better. In general and in this short story collection, Lansdale has a very easy going and pleasing style. I think he leans on a first person narrative a bit more than he should to my liking. Because of this easy going style, this collection was a breeze to get through. Mostly, the problem was that some of the stories were just out there, and I didn’t get.

My favorite story in the collection was the final one. Lansdale put to good use his extensive martial arts background in crafting a tightly written tale about a kickboxer going through hard times living in a tropical locale after he inadvertently killed a competitor in a kick boxing match. The villain in this story is a Muay Thai fighter, who is a complete and utter bastard, and treats his girlfriend absolutely horribly. He lures the story’s hero into a battle to the death—a fight that is completely unsanctioned with no witnesses other than the girlfriend. To add to the epicness of this confrontation, a massive tropical storm is about to hit the island. This had a great setup and a great climax.

Carl Alves - author of Battle of the Soull

[Matt Spencer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of the best of one of the best

Lansdale seldom disappoints, and this solid collection is no exception, showcasing a master's full range, from crime, to horror, to the weird, humorous, and experimental. Perhaps my second favorite collection of Lansdale's short fiction, behind High Cotton, which is one of my favorite short fiction collections by anyone, ever.

[Lyle Boylen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great selection of Joe Lansdale short stories.

[Jason · Rating 2 out of 5]

Being a big fan of Joe Lansdale, I was highly dissappointed by this collection.

Perhaps the fault lies with me since I should have researched the content before making the purchase.

This is not a collection of his best works or even acclaimed works, but a collection of some of his personal choices (not even his personal best). The majority of these works had been rejected by publishers initially and with good reason.

The majority of the short stories are completely over the top and juvenile....houses eating other houses, rocks with arms and legs, weredogs?? brought about by eating bad hamburger meat, the list goes on.

You will also find protagonists and antagonists sprout explanatory paragraphs and in cases pages of explaination in the middle of active events to try help the reader to understand the circumstances.

At best I found 2 short stories of interest the rest is there for purely die hard fans.

I am going to pickup a copy of High Cotton I hope and trust this will be a collection of his better works.

Mr Lansdale is truly a master of the short story, but this collection is by no means or in any way his best and he even admits to this in the introduction, so buyer be warned.

[David Schwenker · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Stories

The God of the Razor - 4.0 out of 5

One of Lansdale's best. An unnerving character, chilling atmosphere, and a fascinating backstory in just a handful of pages - a great example of the short story format.

The Dump - 3.25 out of 5

Effectively an adaptation of the episode "The Thing on the Fourble Board" from the radio program Quite Please - in fact, it follows the story so closely that I am surprised Lansdale didn't just come out and say he copied the story within his "Author's Note". Instead, he simply says, "It was the result of a popcorn dream as well as the fact that I was listening to a lot of old radio shows..." which is a little deceptive as the specific source of inspiration is clearly evident. Regardless of its origins, the story is amusing and entertaining, though the 1940s radio drama somehow managed to be more creepy and disturbing despite its age.

Adapted loosely as an episode of Love, Death, and Robots, though why they chose this one and not one of the superior stories in this collection is beyond my understanding.

Aside: Patton Oswalt described "The Thing on the Fourble Board" as "one of the creepiest things I’ve ever heard". Harlan Ellison said every horror writer he ever known (King, Matheson, Bradbury) "share the experience of being royally fucked up" by it. They may be over zealous with their praise, but it's quite good and it has inspired many horror writers - evidently Lansdale can be included in that list.

Fish Night - 3.25 out of 5

Fascinating concept but it doesn't have much in way of story. Also loosely adapted as an episode of Love, Death, and Robots which again is an odd choice.

Chompers - 3.5 out of 5

Silly, ridiculous horror comedy. Little to say but highly enjoyable.

The Fat Man - 3.25 out of 5

Too many ideas crammed into this one - enough for 3 or 4 different stories. Entertaining but it felt disjointed and all over the place.

On a Dark October - 3.25 out of 5

The structure of the slow reveal is interesting, but the story is ultimately familiar. It's attempt at social commentary doesn't seem fully realized.

The Shaggy House - 3.25 out of 5

Another silly, ridiculous horror comedy. Two old men fight a house-eating house-alien from outer-space. The leads are a hoot. Perhaps a little long for being so slight.

The Man Who Dreamed - 3.5 out of 5

The desperation of its lead character is palpable, making it a compelling read despite the familiar story.

Walks - 3.25 out of 5

Lansdale described this one as being "written to market" - the commercialism of the piece shows. It is very familiar with an obvious "twist" ending. An efficient example of this type but that's about it.

Last of the Hopeful - 3.0 out of 5

A simple fable. Harmless but doesn't leave much of an impression.

Duck Hunt - 3.25 out of 5

Most of the time Lansdale is just trying to have fun, but in this one he seems to be genuinely critical of his subject. That eagerness to reveal his disdain for male chauvinism certainly comes through, to its benefit and detriment - it is both impassioned and heavy-handed.

Down by the Sea Near the Great Big Rock - 3.5 out of 5

The story has been done before - "something" drives a loving family to murderous urges - but it's an effective rendition. The final two sentences seemed unnecessary and lessened the impact.

I Tell You It's Love - 3.0 out of 5

A story that is difficult to rate. It is unpleasant and off-putting, but this was Lansdale's intent. As such, it accomplishes what it sets out to do but it's still an experience I would rather forget. I won't be reading this one again.

Pilots - 4.0 out of 5

A high octane action thriller. Admittedly it's simple - effectively a single, extended action sequence with little in way of story - but the internal conflict of the lead is compelling, the setting is interesting, and the writing appropriately terse. A quick, fun read. One of the best.

In the Cold, Dark Time - 3.5 out of 5

A somewhat abstract mediation on the horrors of war. When story has minimal plotting (like this one), then the prose needs to be strong enough to compensate for the lack of narrative - here, the writing is merely "good" which keeps it from being fully immersive. However, the ending caught me off guard and is undeniably effective.

Bar Talk - 3.75 out of 5

While not mentioned in his introduction, I would be surprised if Lansdale wasn't inspired by Frederic Brown's The Last Martian as both stories feature a Martian in a bar telling its story to another patron. This one is shorter and simpler but remains an effective homage to classic sci-fi yarns. Adapted rather well as a short film.

Listen - 3.5 out of 5

Another yarn that seems to be an homage of sorts, this one bringing to mind the "troubled patient" thrillers of old such as Charles Beaumont's Perchance to Dream (where a man tells his psychologist that if he sleeps he will die) and J.B. Priestly's The Grey Ones (where a man tells his psychologist that the "grey ones" are taking over humanity). Another fun read, though played more for laughs than the creepiness of the aforementioned titles.

Personality Problem - 3.0 out of 5

Reminiscent of Frederic Brown's microfiction - that is, merely a joke and nothing more. Amusing.

A Change of Lifestyle - 2.5 out of 5

Perhaps the weakest in the collection. A dog slowly transitions into a man. Not particularly funny or interesting. Bland.

The Companion - 3.75 out of 5

A simple horror tale with sufficiently creepy writing, though it never reached the terrifying heights to which it was aiming. Still, an enjoyable read. It was adapted as an episode of Creepshow to relatively good effect.

Old Charlie - 3.25 out of 5

Another which follows the same templates at The Dump and Bar Talk (and, to some extent, God of the Razor. By now, this seems formulaic. Interesting, though perhaps the weakest of the three or so stories that uses this format (that format being "a person narrates a story to an unknown listener who ultimately becomes a victim of the narrator").

Billie Sue - 2.75 out of 5

A bizarre attempt at dark comedy. Amusing yet uneventful.

Bestsellers Guaranteed - 3.5 out of 5

Starts off strong with an intriguing premise: How do all these horrible best selling authors keep being successful? Because they perform a yearly favor for some mysterious corporation! Unfortunately, the explanation and the mechanics of how it plays out is fairly conventional. Too bad - such a strong start.

Fire Dog - 2.5 out of 5

In contention for the weakest of the collection. It reminded somewhat of Advantages of Traveling by Train, only played for laughs (though I never laughed).

Cowboy - 3.0 out of 5

I admire the message, I just wish there was a story to accompany it.

Master of Misery - 4.0 out of 5

The premise sounds like a cheesy B-grade action flick, but somehow Lansdale makes it a fairly visceral journey. Compelling characters, tough writing, and a slam-bang ending. One of the best and the perfect way to end this collection.

[Marsha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Human cruelty vies for attention with unspeakable supernatural horror alongside stories so grotesque they border on hilarity. The stories border on the crude, raucous and subtle as a sledgehammer, but my, do they leave a mark. I found myself chuckling as I read one sample, “Chompers” and wondered if Gandhi’s teeth really were that bad. Mr. Lansdale’s stories have a distinct Southern feel, as indelible and remarkable as Stephen King’s stories of the little town in Maine. He knows his subject and his people and sprinkles his stories liberally with Southern hot sauce sharp enough to burn the senses.

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short story collection from the great man touted as the companion piece to "High Cotton", although not even close in scaling the hillbilly noir dementia of the previous collection. This is his earlier work and he has yet to find that demented voice, this is more of an EC comics horror sort of vibe. He even references Ray Bradbury (yikes) in several stories so you get that smelly Waltons Mountain horror groove in some stories. A few stories cook, though, like "Chompers", "The Fat Man", and "Bestsellers Guaranteed", but get his other sludge before you dive in this muck pool.

[Donald · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well... overall, I was entertained, but honestly, most of these stories just sort of gave me a "hmpf" when I finished them. They weren't bad, but they just didn't do it for me. I like Lansdale's western stuff, his straight horror stuff, and his Hap & Leonard stuff. The fantasy, or more slap-sticky horror items don't hit me like his other stuff. For me, the highlight of this collection is the last tale, "Master of Misery". It reappears in a different form in the H&L book "Captains Outrageous". Cool to see it in it's "original" form.

[Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome collection of Joe R's short horror/bizarro stories! Fish Night and Fire Dog are a couple of my favorites; you just won't see anything else like them anywhere. You can see the influences in his writing, but there is a uniquely Landsdalian imprint on each story. I also liked that these were mostly the shorter short stories. Great read if you are looking for something different!

[Gregor Xane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fine short short story collection. It wasn't quite as good as Mad Dog Summer, but there is much to appreciate here, a nice variety. I also just like it when the author writes an intro for each piece.

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmm. I'm going 3-1/2 stars for this collection. Seems like a few of these stories were fairly dated...maybe because some of the stories were fairly dated. I still enjoyed reading early Lansdale and the author notes are always a treat.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many stories, most of them great, one of them awful, but all the rest of them at least good.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Couldn’t finish, sorry.

I chose this book as I had enjoyed the short stories I had read from this author in various anthologies. However, I was very disappointed with this book and could not finish it. There were two main reasons for this – the stories themselves, and the author’s foreword to each tale.

Unlike the author’s short fiction I had read before, the stories I managed to get through in this book were unoriginal, predictable and, worst of all, not at all frightening or disturbing. ‘God Of The Razor’ offered nothing new, the twist in ‘The Dunp’ was unsurprising, ‘Chompers’ was neither horrific nor funny, and ‘The Fat Man’ seemed weird for weird’s sake.

Also, I usually like it when authors peel back the curtain and allow readers an insight into how a story came about and how it was written. However, here the author’s forward to each story often mentioned the money he received for that tale, and often talked down or belittled the upcoming story. I found this very off-putting.

In conclusion, I’m afraid I cannot recommend this book right now, but this may change - maybe I wasn’t in the best frame of mind to read it at this particular time, and maybe I will return to it in the future and the stories I didn’t get to will actually be amazing. Maybe.

[Joe Pawlowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

This best-of collection of Joe R. Lansdale's stories is nothing short of a hoot.

For those unfamiliar with Lansdale's tales, suffice it to say they toe a wavering line somewhere between horror and very weird fiction. Dark humor is one element of his style but it seldom gets in the way of the chillingly dread atmospheres he creates.

Case in point: "The God of the Razor," in which an antiques dealer searches an abandoned manor for collectibles. As he inspects the flooded basement, he comes face-to-face with a madman who relates how the death of a friend robbed him of his humanity and made him a host to a demonic presence. The ensuing battle between the madman and the antiques dealer is gripping and results in an ending as unexpected as it is inventive.

Bumper Crop is populated with colorful characters who often operate at the margins of society. The pace is crisp and the plots stretch the limits of dark fiction.

Joe R. Lansdale is a one-of-a kind writer whose unique style and vision is amply displayed in this wonderful compilation.

[Rowan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shoutout to my dad for loaning me his copy of this book when I told him about the psychological horror collection I’m working on. Some of the stories were structurally weak and lacked characterisation and didn’t make much of an impact, so I had to take off one star. My personal favourite has to be ‘God of the Razor’, as it has such a unique and disturbing concept and serves up unabashed gore without holding back.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read Joe Landsdale's short story, "The Fat Man," in a Bruce Coville-edited collection back when I was a kid, and it stuck with me so hard that I wanted to read it again over 25 years later! I managed to find it in this collection of his short stories. If you like pulpy sci-fi or "twist ending" type stories a la Twilight Zone, this will be a quick and fun read for you. (I was surprised by how many of the stories had been turned into animated short features by Netflix, incidentally.)

[Chris Peters · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are some interesting ideas here, but they just didn’t work for me. I think the biggest issue is that these stories are SHORT. Seriously short. So there really isn’t much time for any sort of development, and you get flat characters, generic plot lines, and “surprise twist” endings that were telegraphed in the second paragraph. Worth a read, especially if you are looking for something short and moderately entertaining. But not a keeper.

[Phil Rot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Man this guy is good. I’m pretty sure I have figured out what type of horror I prefer, and that would fit into the category of horror fantasy, the kind in which man is pitted against the extraordinary. Joe R Landsdale’s short stories in Bumper Crop fit this description to a T. It has elements of Ed Lee, but with an emphasis on creatures over psychopathic humans.

Just good pulpy (and at times humorous) horror that is fun to read.

[Madeliene Larsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my introduction to Lansdale's work, and the story 'God of the Razor' stands out in particular in my mind as one of the more disturbing shorts here. It's a fantastic, dark, and engaging read for the short story lovers out there.

[timj26 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent short stories handpicked by the author
From straight up horror to dark Humor this was a mixed bag of Lansdale’s talent
Well narrated and highly recommended
I received a free review audiobook and voluntarily left this review

[Tea · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://tealiterarylove.blogspot.com/...

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting collection of stories, to say the least.

[Isca Silurum · Rating 2 out of 5]

Audiobook. Reader dreadful in my opinion. Stories not great which was rather surprising.