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The Tall Grass and Other Stories
A midnight train slows to a stop between stations, leading a wakeful passenger to step out and stretch his legs. The conductor really should’ve locked his compartment door better… There are thirty-three stories in this collection of Joe Lansdale short fiction, some meaty, some mini-sized. A few are so short that if you blink, you might miss them, but maybe that’s all part of Lansdale's plan: slipping an innocent-looking seed in your subconscious, there to sprout when you least expect it. Sometimes the shortest stories stick with you the longest, because you wind up filling in most of the details yourself. Tricky, that, but don’t think Lansdale didn’t set it all up like a complicated carom shot. Hello, cue ball.
Completists take note: many of these stories appeared in “The King and Other Stories” and “Unchained and Unhinged,” neither of which are available electronically. Added to them are several, "The Tall Grass" included, which have never been featured in any Lansdale collection, digital or otherwise. They run the gamut from weird to horrifying to thought provoking, stories that Lansdale feels have a “sharp and memorable impact, like ice pick pokes that hopefully left no wounds.” Poke poke.
Completists take note: many of these stories appeared in “The King and Other Stories” and “Unchained and Unhinged,” neither of which are available electronically. Added to them are several, "The Tall Grass" included, which have never been featured in any Lansdale collection, digital or otherwise. They run the gamut from weird to horrifying to thought provoking, stories that Lansdale feels have a “sharp and memorable impact, like ice pick pokes that hopefully left no wounds.” Poke poke.
140 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 18, 2014
About the author
Joe R. Lansdale
826 books3,988 followersChampion 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
December 27, 2019
I swear to god sometimes I think Joe Lansdale can do no wrong. He can, but sometimes I think he can't. This book had over thirty stories in it, and, unless I'm forgetting something, all of them kicked major, major ass. These stories range in length from short to micro, and I swear to god he must have been on acid when he thought of half of these. But it doesn't have the stench of bizarro fiction around it, these are really well-written stories in the classic "hey spin us one of your yarns, Joe" Joe Lansdale voice.
I can't pick a favorite, but one that I can't get out of my mind is about a pansy little guy who takes a supplement from a doctor to grow, and he keeps getting bigger and bigger. I kept expecting the story to end on the next page, but he keeps getting bigger and bigger, and the story gets weirder and weirder. My favorite part has him using humans as toilet paper but they start tearing so he uses cows instead. Holy shit hahahahaha.
Only certain kinds of people would like this book. My dad is a huge fan of Joe but only knows him from his mysteries and Hap and Leonard books, he'd totally hate this one haha. But if you aren't easily offended or grossed out and are in the mood for a bunch of crazy ass shit, this will do it.
I can't pick a favorite, but one that I can't get out of my mind is about a pansy little guy who takes a supplement from a doctor to grow, and he keeps getting bigger and bigger. I kept expecting the story to end on the next page, but he keeps getting bigger and bigger, and the story gets weirder and weirder. My favorite part has him using humans as toilet paper but they start tearing so he uses cows instead. Holy shit hahahahaha.
Only certain kinds of people would like this book. My dad is a huge fan of Joe but only knows him from his mysteries and Hap and Leonard books, he'd totally hate this one haha. But if you aren't easily offended or grossed out and are in the mood for a bunch of crazy ass shit, this will do it.
March 22, 2015
I have mixed opinions about this latest collection from Joe R. Lansdale.
Most of these 33 stories are in the style known as flash fiction—less than 1,000 words. They used to be called short-shorts years ago. I personally find this to be a quirky format, no matter the author, but there is no denying Lansdale is skilled at it. A lot of his early classic stories used this format, including “The Job”, “Bar Talk”, and “My Dead Dog, Bobby”.
My favorites from this new collection were the sci-fi themed “Dragon Chili” and “Big Man: A Fable” both of which remind me of early Harlan Ellison. “The King” is a particularly nasty old-fashioned horror story. Lansdale channels his inner Kurt Vonnegut in the satire “Surveillance,” a dystopian look at how our culture devalues personal privacy. “Rainy Weather” is an all-too-brief tale of a nihilistic crime spree, the kind of thing Dashiel Hammett might have written if he was hungover and in a particularly bad mood.
“Hanging” and “Jack’s Pecker” are vintage Lansdale; I am not sure how else to say it. No other writer could have come up with anything similar.
Only five of these stories are new and have never been collected in any other Lansdale book: “The Tall Grass”, “Dark”, “The Ears”, “Rex”, and “Hit Call”. The first two were the best of the new batch, both memorable horror stories.
“The Boy Who Became Invisible” previously appeared as a bonus story at the end of Hyenas, a story of Hap Collins’ childhood that goes a long way toward explaining his character’s worldview throughout the Hap-and-Leonard series.
“Drunken Moon” was culled from an ultra-rare and expensive limited-edition anthology Trapped in the Saturday Matinee. It was also recently adapted into a short film.
The rest of the stories were previously collected in the now out-of-print volumes, Unchained and Unhinged and The King and Other Stories.
I gave this collection 4 stars, because I am glad these stories are back in print, for readers who want flash fiction. However, it is a shame that five essays from Unhinged were left out, as well as two stories from King (“An Arrow in the Air”, “Snake”). Lansdale completists still have to hunt down these ultra-pricey hardbacks. I do not really understand this publishing strategy, since neither the author nor publisher collects royalties from secondary market sales. I think it would have been easier on fans, and more profitable for the artist, if all the content had been included in this new ebook.
All in all, this collection will certainly appeal to fans of the flash fiction format. For everybody else, the content may feel scant. Hardcore Lansdale aficionados will probably want to pick this up, but please be aware this volume does not fully supersede the earlier collections.
Most of these 33 stories are in the style known as flash fiction—less than 1,000 words. They used to be called short-shorts years ago. I personally find this to be a quirky format, no matter the author, but there is no denying Lansdale is skilled at it. A lot of his early classic stories used this format, including “The Job”, “Bar Talk”, and “My Dead Dog, Bobby”.
My favorites from this new collection were the sci-fi themed “Dragon Chili” and “Big Man: A Fable” both of which remind me of early Harlan Ellison. “The King” is a particularly nasty old-fashioned horror story. Lansdale channels his inner Kurt Vonnegut in the satire “Surveillance,” a dystopian look at how our culture devalues personal privacy. “Rainy Weather” is an all-too-brief tale of a nihilistic crime spree, the kind of thing Dashiel Hammett might have written if he was hungover and in a particularly bad mood.
“Hanging” and “Jack’s Pecker” are vintage Lansdale; I am not sure how else to say it. No other writer could have come up with anything similar.
Only five of these stories are new and have never been collected in any other Lansdale book: “The Tall Grass”, “Dark”, “The Ears”, “Rex”, and “Hit Call”. The first two were the best of the new batch, both memorable horror stories.
“The Boy Who Became Invisible” previously appeared as a bonus story at the end of Hyenas, a story of Hap Collins’ childhood that goes a long way toward explaining his character’s worldview throughout the Hap-and-Leonard series.
“Drunken Moon” was culled from an ultra-rare and expensive limited-edition anthology Trapped in the Saturday Matinee. It was also recently adapted into a short film.
The rest of the stories were previously collected in the now out-of-print volumes, Unchained and Unhinged and The King and Other Stories.
I gave this collection 4 stars, because I am glad these stories are back in print, for readers who want flash fiction. However, it is a shame that five essays from Unhinged were left out, as well as two stories from King (“An Arrow in the Air”, “Snake”). Lansdale completists still have to hunt down these ultra-pricey hardbacks. I do not really understand this publishing strategy, since neither the author nor publisher collects royalties from secondary market sales. I think it would have been easier on fans, and more profitable for the artist, if all the content had been included in this new ebook.
All in all, this collection will certainly appeal to fans of the flash fiction format. For everybody else, the content may feel scant. Hardcore Lansdale aficionados will probably want to pick this up, but please be aware this volume does not fully supersede the earlier collections.
December 5, 2024
This collection of short stories and flash fiction was my introduction to Joe R. Lansdale. He’s a masterful storyteller. He writes with great range, from stories that horrify and gross you out to stories that weirdly make you laugh out loud. The narrator for this audiobook was also excellent. Prior to listening to these stories, I listened to an interview with Joe Lansdale. So glad I did because it helped me get a sense of his strong personality. He has a strong Texan accent, a tight twang, and this combined with his passion and wit and penchant for humor and horror His unique voice never feels written, just natural, and entertains like he’s telling tales around a campfire. Some of his stories remind me of the old comedian Jerry Clower, while others are so weird they sound like they jumped right out of a dissected brain on acid.
I’ll be adding the rest of Joe R. Lansdale’s work to the higher end of my TBR list.
I’ll be adding the rest of Joe R. Lansdale’s work to the higher end of my TBR list.
September 30, 2025
Короткие истории, пожалуй, самый сложный литературный жанр, поскольку не даёт произведению времени на раскачку, требуя от него немедленно работать. Джо Лансдейл - не только любитель, но и мастер этого формата, правда тут определенно не лучшая из его попыток.
В The Tall Grass and Other Stories несмотря на впечатляющую цифру работ в шутках (аж тридцать три) вошло не так уж и много реального материала, поскольку львиная доля - даже не рассказы, а зарисовки к ним, выхватывание конкретного момента, какие-то каламбуры и прочие шутейки. Тематически наибольшее внимание уделено кулинарии (советы повара - каннибала и семья, съевшая кота), животным (дурацкое creature feature, про туристов решивших прогуляться на поляну, где по легенде жил король змей, и ещё более нелепый пустячок про нападение уток), и внезапно одежде (уродливое пальто, ботинки гуляющие сами по себе, и анекдот про дурачка в слишком большой шляпе).
По-настоящему выделяются только титульная "Высокая трава", даже адаптированная в эпизод антологии Love, Death & Robots, в которой при поломке поезда герой вышел покурить в кукурузное поле, и чуть там не остался, да нуаровый эскиз - оммаж Джиму Томпсону, в котором неизвестный нанимает вышедшего уголовника убить жену, сыгранный в сторону мрачной комедии. В остальном запоминаются лишь отдельные отрывки в диапазоне от некомфортного очерка про стрельбу в школе, до хулиганства про сбежавший от хозяина половой член, путешествующий по миру в стиле "Амели".
В целом получилось нормально, но нет так хорошо как хотелось бы.
В The Tall Grass and Other Stories несмотря на впечатляющую цифру работ в шутках (аж тридцать три) вошло не так уж и много реального материала, поскольку львиная доля - даже не рассказы, а зарисовки к ним, выхватывание конкретного момента, какие-то каламбуры и прочие шутейки. Тематически наибольшее внимание уделено кулинарии (советы повара - каннибала и семья, съевшая кота), животным (дурацкое creature feature, про туристов решивших прогуляться на поляну, где по легенде жил король змей, и ещё более нелепый пустячок про нападение уток), и внезапно одежде (уродливое пальто, ботинки гуляющие сами по себе, и анекдот про дурачка в слишком большой шляпе).
По-настоящему выделяются только титульная "Высокая трава", даже адаптированная в эпизод антологии Love, Death & Robots, в которой при поломке поезда герой вышел покурить в кукурузное поле, и чуть там не остался, да нуаровый эскиз - оммаж Джиму Томпсону, в котором неизвестный нанимает вышедшего уголовника убить жену, сыгранный в сторону мрачной комедии. В остальном запоминаются лишь отдельные отрывки в диапазоне от некомфортного очерка про стрельбу в школе, до хулиганства про сбежавший от хозяина половой член, путешествующий по миру в стиле "Амели".
В целом получилось нормально, но нет так хорошо как хотелось бы.
March 15, 2023
I learnt about Joe Lansdale from the Netflix series Love Death+Robots which featured one of his short stories The Talk Grass. I'm an intermediate English learner and this book totally keep me fascinated with all the witty, quirky and sometimes weird stories, absolute enjoyable to read. Will definitely continue to read his other works too!
June 25, 2025
2025 Favorites List! I really enjoyed this short story horror collection! Of course, I loved some more than others but as a whole it was the perfect horror read! My favorite story had to be The Tall Grass! It gave me the creeps! No Spoilers! I highly recommend it and plan to read more from this author!
May 12, 2022
Wow I'm so glad I finally got a chance to read this one! It's been on my "to read" list forever. A chilling little tale with a setting that really fascinates me for some odd reason. I have always said that the short and sweet horror stories are the best. Really enjoyed this one!
January 28, 2025
I love short stories. I love Joe’s short stories. This is the second collection of short stories I’ve read from him; Never a dull time. They’re funny, scary, and tragic.
Reading his stories remind me a lot of watching Larry Cohen films - They’re fast, cheap and always ridiculously fun!
Reading his stories remind me a lot of watching Larry Cohen films - They’re fast, cheap and always ridiculously fun!
October 13, 2025
Some of these were really funny and even creepy. Some of them were just there, and I probably forgot them moments after I was done reading them. I do say, as far as stories about the Tall Grass. It's my favorite; it was chilling. The rest was a mixed bag, though.
August 11, 2026
I like Lansdale, but this was a mixed bag. Some were amusing and clever, some were disturbing, some were outright disgusting, and a few made absolutely no sense at all.
Lansdale fans, check it out. Others, don’t make this your introduction to Joe R.
Lansdale fans, check it out. Others, don’t make this your introduction to Joe R.
June 2, 2021
"Meh."
Worth a thousand words.
Worth a thousand words.
July 1, 2025
Super zany, i loved every story cuz of how easy they were to get through and no story overstood its welcome. Some had me wanting more for sure but the open endings were not unsatisfying at all.
August 26, 2025
Each story is thought-provoking and intriguing! Good read!
September 5, 2025
Some of the stories were good, others just short and oodd.
September 5, 2014
I have never been disappointed with any of Joe's short story collections, and this one was no exception. It has a bit more of an experimental feel than his others, with a number of whimsical flash fictions throughout that will likely not resonate with every reader, but are still worth the read for a chuckle or sometimes a groan. A few of the stories are true gems and among his best. All in all a worthwhile read for any Lansdale fan.
February 17, 2015
Loved the stories. Usually in a collection like this there are always the good and the bad, but I really didn't find a single story that I didn't like.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews