Hap and Leonard

Hap and Leonard #9.5

by Joe R. Lansdale, Michael Koryta (Introduction)

Complete with an introduction by New York Times bestselling author Michael Koryta and an original afterword by Joe R. Lansdale, his ownself, HAP AND LEONARD delivers six previously uncollected tales of mayhem, violence, and adventure told in the uniquely Lansdale manner.

Soon to be a television miniseries starring Michael K. Williams (The Wire), James Purefoy (Rome), and Christina Hendricks (Mad Men).

Hap and Leonard don’t fit the profile. Any profile.

Hap Collins is complicated. He looks like a good ’ol boy, but his politics don’t match. After a number of careers, Hap has discovered that what he’s best at is kicking ass.

Vietnam veteran Leonard Pines is even more complicated: black, conservative, gay, and an occasional arsonist. Well, just the one time.

As childhood friends and business associates, Hap and Leonard have a gift for the worst kind of trouble: East Texan trouble. And the Dixie Mafia and small-time crooks alike had best be extremely nervous.



TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction by Michael Kortya
Veil’s Visit
Death By Chili
Hyenas
Dead Aim
The Boy Who Became Invisible
Bent Twig
Joe R. Lansdale Interviews Hap Collins and Leonard Pine
Afterword by Joe R. Lansdale

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Short Stories, Crime, Humor, Thriller, Collections

230 pages, Paperback

First published March 15, 2016

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

[Shelby *trains flying monkeys* · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm really hating living in the boonies about now. I don't have available the Sundance Channel, so I don't get to watch the new television show in the works for Hap and Leonard. It really ticks me off. Look at those faces.


This book is what it is. It's a little collection of shorts designed to get people interested in these characters. I was already a fan of these characters. So I probably wasn't the target audience but I didn't care and still wanted it.
If you aren't familiar with them at all..you need to be. Hap is a good ole boy. He quits jobs at the drop of the hat and has his own inner sense of justice. He mostly just likes kicking someone's ass. That makes him happiest.
Leonard, is gay, black and republican. Bless your heart if you make fun of him.

On with the book. I forgave Stephen King earlier this year for publishing in book form some of his previous works, so I probably should follow that line with Joe Lansdale. I hope this doesn't become a trend though guys. *evil glares*

These stories include:
Hyenas-novella length, this story is pure Hap and Leonard. Leonard gets in a bar fight (shocking I know) and helps some assholes come to an understanding. One of them shows up and wants to hire Hap and Leonard. His brother is in a hot mess with a gang of thugs that are planning a robbery.
Asskicking will probably be coming up on a menu.
When he got himself straight and turned, I kicked Smoke Stack in the balls so hard people in China had heart pains. I stepped in quick and gave him a left-hand Three-Stooges poke in the eyes, hit him with a right cross that came from hell without a bus ticket.


See why I heart these guys?

Veil's Visit: A sorta My Cousin Vinnie-ish take on back when Leonard burned the crack house down and now Hap wants him out of jail. He brings in the big guns in the form of a long time friend named Veil.
Veil and Leonard may not have bonded as well as I had hoped, but they certainly had some things in common. In a way, they were both assholes. I, of course, exist on a higher plane.

Death by Chili an old murder/suicide pops into the boys attention. It's a little quicky but Lansdale even throws you in a chili recipe. He is hospitable.

Dead Aim A woman is put in touch with the guys about her ex-husband, He won't get the message that she is filing for divorce and he has beaten up her newest "admirer." Of course this is a Hap and Leonard story so expect anything. We did get some smexy times with Hap and Brett as a extra.
We screwed like mongooses and one extra beaver and a water snake, and then lay in bed and watched TV.

The Boy who Became Invisible This one kinda broke my heart.

Bent Twig Hap's girlfriend Brett's daughter has had a troubled time. She doesn't seem to be able to stay out of trouble. She goes missing and Hap (even though he doesn't like her) heads off to save the day. He is just that kind of guy.

Not our Kind. Early in the friendship of the two guys. These kinds of stories are why I love Joe Lansdale.

Joe R. Lansdale Interviews Hap Collins and Leonard Pine This just kinda seemed silly to me.

Final verdict? I'm giving it four stars, just because I do love these characters and these stories are a fun look at them. If you've met these guys have fun, If you haven't what are you doing??? GO GET THEM NOW! Don't forget to pick up some vanilla cookies.



Booksource: I was a begging fiend for this book so I received copies from Netgalley and from a buddy. Thanks!!!



Charlene's review is the one I'm going with this time. I don't think I've picked Charlene to highlight before which makes me a dumb butt. Charlene reads sooo many books that I steal for my TBR and she is always pleasant. Even to my hateful ass. We been friends long time. :)

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hap and Leonard is a short story collection featuring Hap and Leonard. I'm going to chunk it up and review each piece separately. I'm pretty sure I've read most of the stories before but my memory isn't what it once was.

Introduction by Michael Kortya: I'm always interested in what one writer writes about another. Kortya echoes my feelings on Hap and Leonard and Joe Lansdale in general. He also refrains from spoiling the shit out of stories, which is growing increasingly rare in introductions.

Hyenas: After Leonard kicks the shit out of a trio of guys at a bar, one of them offers him a job. Can Hap and Leonard get the man's kid brother away from the bad crowd he's running with?

I could cheat and do a cut and paste job from my review of Hyenas but I won't. Hyenas is a novella length distillation of what Hap and Leonard books are normally like. Much like last time, my favorite line was "Brett thought it would be cute if we got matching guns with our initials on them."

Veil’s Visit: Leonard gets arrested for burning down the crack house next door again and Hap's friend Veil takes the case.

In this tale. Lansdale introduces Veil, a lawyer friend of Hap's that later makes an appearance in Captains Outrageous. Veil's backstory and defense of Leonard make for a memorable tale.

Death By Chili: Hap and Leonard tackle the mystery of a dead champion chili cook. Was it suicide or... murder?

This tale is mostly conjecture, peppered with Lansdale wit, and followed by Lansdale's own chili recipe.

Dead Aim: When their friend Marvin Hanson offers them a job, Hap, Leonard, and an axe handle Hap named Agnes find themselves putting the fear of God into a woman's abusive ex-husband. Things quickly prove to be much more complex than they originally thought.

Dead Aim was hilarious, as usual, but I thought it could have used more action. Also, the plot slithered all over the place.

The Boy Who Became Invisible: Hap recounts a tale of his youth, the tale of the boy everyone picked on.

The Boy Who Became Invisible is a powerful tale because it's all too believable and very relatable. I remembered the ending but it still hit pretty hard.

Not Our Kind: This tale chronicled an early encounter featuring a teenage Hap and Leonard and some bullies. The guys were cracking wise but things didn't go as they usually do.

Bent Twig: Brett's daughter is into drugs and hooking again and Hap goes looking for her.

Bent Twig is a tale of loyalty, both of Hap for Brett and Leonard toward Hap. The boys get into the usual shit storm, complete with jokes, and things are very satisfying.

Joe R. Lansdale Interviews Hap Collins and Leonard Pine: Lansdale interviews the dynamic duo. It's short, funny, and has the all too true line "It's the family you choose that counts."

Afterword by Joe R. Lansdale: Lansdale talks about the genesis of Hap and Leonard and writing the books, confirming that Hap is something of a stand-in for Lansdale himself.

[Kemper · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a free copy from the publisher for review.

This is a good time to be a fan of Hap & Leonard with the new novel Honky Tonk Samurai being released and a TV series based on their adventures about to premiere. As a fan who has been reading H&L since the late ‘90s I have to admit to feeling a bit conflicted about all this attention. I’m glad to see Joe R. Lansdale and his creations getting their due, but I’ve also got that same kind of scornful streak that makes hipsters such a delight when they sneer at any band that more than a dozen people have heard of.

“Oh, really? You started reading Hap & Leonard? Just downloaded all their books on your e-reader this morning, did you? How nice. Of course, they were better LAST CENTURY which is when I discovered their early books in a soggy cardboard box in the basement of a used book store….”

If you don’t know about Hap & Leonard already then suffice it to say that they’re a couple of best friends living in east Texas who have an uncanny ability to put themselves in bad situations that usually require a whole lot of ass whippings and some gunfire to get out of. They’re profane and politically incorrect but don’t think that they’re your standard good old boys. Hap is a former hippie whose bleeding heart is frequently the cause of their problems while Leonard is a Vietnam veteran who is proud to be black and gay, and his favorite hobby is burning down crack houses. In the hands of Lansdale the adventures of H&L are often hilarious and frequently gross, and yet there’s a surprising amount of depth at times about the real cost of violence as well as a profound sense of melancholy that the narrator Hap has as he reflects on his life and other matters.

Even as I look down my nose at you late comers I have to admit that this collection put together to capitalize on the TV show has a lot of stuff that I haven’t read. There’s two novellas, four short stories, an ‘interview’ with the author questioning the guys, and Lansdale also wrote a brief summary of his history writing the series as an extended afterwards. Michael Koryta also provides a nice introduction.

While I’d previously read the novella Hyenas and the short story that came with it, The Boy Who Became Invisible, all the rest of this was new to me so even as a long time H&L fan I found plenty of value here. (I’d never read the other novella, Dead Aim, because I refused to pay the outrageous hardback price for it at the time although it’s since become available at a much more reasonable cost as an e-book.) I was particularly delighted to finally read the short story Veil’s Visit which is a collaboration with Andrew Vachss who is also the inspiration for the character of Veil, a lawyer who you don’t want to meet in or out of court.

If you’re someone who hasn’t read Hap & Leonard, and you’re curious then this could make for a good starting point because it is a nice variety pack that gives you a taste of what they’re all about. For those who have read some of the series then it’s a question of how much is new material to you. If you’ve read the novellas already then it may seem a bit thin, but it’d be a good buy for H&L fans who haven’t.

Update 2/23/16: It was just brought to my attention that there's an e-version of this called Hap and Leonard Ride Again which apparently has the same material with a few additional short stories.

[Zoeytron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hitch up your man pants and head on down to East Texas. Hang with Hap Collins and Leonard Pine as they dispense their own brand of justice. They are fixin' to pull out a big ol' can of whup-ass on various and sundry bad guys. These two don't even try to steer clear of trouble, they like to fight and are good at it. First up is a real bad egg - name of Smoke Stack, who has 'muscles on muscles', and looks like he could grab a wrench and just wad it up. Axe handles and vanilla wafers may be involved.

I've read quite a few offerings by Lansdale, mostly horror. Kept hearing about his Hap & Leonard books. Watched the recent made-for-Sundance mini-series while waiting for this book to become available from the library. These are short stories, several previously published. They were all new to me and piqued my interest to get crackin' on the Hap & Leonard novels. The back and forth between Hap and Leonard is sharp and spicy and guaranteed to make you smirk. I reckon Lansdale can write just about anything.

[John Culuris · Rating 4 out of 5]

.
Thank you.

Even if I hadn’t enjoyed the Hap & Leonard series that ran on the Sundance Channel recently, I’d be grateful for its existence because it is almost certainly the reason this book came to be. Is a publisher going to reprint an entire run of books to tie into a series that's only going to last six weeks? Not likely. But it is feasible to collect the odd and ends created over the years: the short stories and novellas. I’m particularly happy because the two novellas, Hyenas and Dead Aim, are considered #’s nine and ten in the progression and were hard to find at reasonable prices. So, thank you.

Along with the above mentioned novellas, you also get five shorts in this collection. One is co-written with Andrew Vachss, an interesting piece called “Veil’s Visit,” and the only entry I had previously read. It features a serious subject, the hallmark of Vachss, while retaining the humor that is characteristic of the Lansdale. There is also a brilliant entry called “The Boy Who Became Invisible.” It’s only about five pages but it will stay with you. The lightest--and weakest--story is called “Death by Chili,” a promotional piece written for the fourth novel, Bad Chili. The rest of the package is uniformly very good.

But more importantly, my Hap and Leonard collection is now complete. Well, for the moment anyway. Joe Lansdale is still out there, still creating work. But only a complete idiot would complain about that.

[Char · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.*

[ᴥ Irena ᴥ · Rating 5 out of 5]

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

[Benoit Lelièvre · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whew! I think it was Lawrence Block who said that short stories often are sharper than novels because they don't have to factor in length. They're over when they're over. If you like the Hap and Leonard novels, you OWE IT TO YOURSELF to read this baby. They're funnier, meaner and more reckless than they've even been. This collection contains the two novellas Dead Aim and Hyenas that not that many people have read, so there's you added value right there. It's also a great book to get acquainted with the crazy duo. Joe Lansdale has a killer economy of language that makes him a riot to read. I devoured this book in two days. HIGHLY recommended.

[Marvin · Rating 5 out of 5]

After nine novels and a handful of short fiction pieces, Hap Collins and Leonard Pine has finally busted out from cult favorites to prime time. Well, I'm not sure The Sundance Channel counts as prime time but it is close enough. The TV series Hap and Leonard premiered to generally good responses and critical applause. Of course, the media being the media, it calls for a crossover hype and that is why we have this very welcomed compilation of the Hap and Leonard novellas and short stories complete with a TV show tie-in and photos.

It should be noted that nothing in the book, Hap and Leonard, ties in with the plot of the first season of the TV series. If you want that, you need to get the first book, Savage Season, of which the first season follows closely. On a logical note, it would have made better sense to just reissue the first book with all those nice photos. I'm sure there is a perfectly good business reason this was not done that eludes me. But if that happened, then we would not have received this nifty collection of shorts. So let’s put away the speculation and talk about content.

A quick summary for those who don’t know Hap and Leonard. Hap Collins is a somewhat liberal and idealistic white straight male who spent time in prison for refusing be drafted during the Vietnam War. His experiences up to the present time challenged his idealism but did not extinguish it. Leonard Pine is a black conservative gay Vietnam vet with a more cynical (he would say "practical") look at human nature. He's not above busting the bad guy’s head. In fact, he rather enjoys it. What they have in common is a deep bond as "brothers from other mothers" which pulls them out of all the deep shit they end up getting into through the nine novels plus. It is this deep bond that makes Hap and Leonard so different and appealing to their fans. Hap and Leonard are East Texas Everymen with very tough hides.

The best way to experience the East Texas odd couple is to start with book one and go from there. But even for Hap and Leonard beginners, this collection may be a great place to start too. We get two novellas,"Hyenas" and "Dead Aim"of which I have already reviewed when they were in book formhere and here. Then you have five shorter tales that add onto the persona and even give a little boyhood background. Also included; a Joe R Lansdale appreciation by Michael Koryta, an interview with Hap and Leonard and an afterword by Lansdale giving a little background on their origins. “Hyena” and “Dead Aim”, the novellas I mentioned earlier, are very typical adventures for the guys. They offer the meat for this dinner. Veil's VIsit, a collaboration between Lansdale and Andrew Vachss, brings us a look at a minor character in the H & L canon but also an important insight. “Bent Twig” starts out as a thriller featuring Hap on his own but doesn’t stay that way. He and his girlfriend Brett are again saving her wayward daughter Tillie. Bret refers to her as not broken but a “bent twig”. Finally of the contemporary short works, there is “Death by Chili”, a lighter and delightful conceit in which Leonard does his own version of Sherlock Holmes.

That leaves two other stories which for me are the icing on this literary cake. “Not Our Kind” tells of the meeting of Hap and Leonard as teenagers. It gives us an understanding of their bond at a time when their friendship was not generally accepted. But the masterpiece short in this collection is the “The Boy who Became Invisible”. When I first read I I did not realize it was Hap who was the narrator until almost the end. It stands on its own as a poignant and disturbing look at childhood and the events that may form our view of life when we get older.

“Joe R. Lansdale interviews Hap Collins and Leonard Pine” is cute but doesn’t give the stalwart H & L fans any new insight. I’m sure it will be helpful for the neophytes. Finally, “The Care and Feeding and Raising up of Hap and Leonard” is a well needed look at their origins and the author’s development through the years with these two endearing but unusual crime fighters.

So altogether, I see this as an essential Hap and Leonard addition and one that would be helpful to those who come across the guys through the TV series. But to be fair, any Hap and Leonard is good for me.

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

http://justaguythatlikes2read.blogspo...

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joe R. Lansdale’s long running series duo Hap Collins and Leonard Pine are very different men. Hap is a white, working-class guy who was a social activist and served jail time when he refused to go to Vietnam. Leonard is a gay, black Vietnam vet whose aggressive, no-nonsense attitude reflects his learn formative years in East Texas in the ’60s. Hap doesn’t like resorting to violence, often trying to talk Leonard out of fights, and he dislikes guns (even though he’s a pretty good shot); Leonard is quick to anger, easily provoked (especially when slurs are used), and he doesn’t get Hap’s aversion to the use of force. Together, they’re the best of friends, doing all sorts of side-jobs for cop-turned-P.I. Marvin Hanson.

I’ve always thought the two oddball characters, plus Lansdale’s typical wit, would make for a great TV series—think Burn Notice gone redneck noir; now that such a series exists, Tachyon is releasing two collections of Hap and Leonard stories. These collect novellas and short stories that are a bit harder-to-find for the average consumer, from signed-and-numbered small press editions. I’m reviewing the paperback collection Hap and Leonard here; the other is an ebook, Hap and Leonard Ride Again, which features some of the same content with a handful of original stories, Lansdale interviewed by Rick Klaw, and an essay by Bill Crider.

Hap and Leonard starts off with the novella “Hyenas,” which begins with Hap arriving at the aftermath of an oddly comic barroom brawl between Leonard and some locals. In a roundabout way, the bar brawl ends up seeing Hap and Leonard hired to investigate a missing-persons case. The client’s little brother has fallen in with a bad crowd, a group of guys who rob banks and just so happen to need a new wheelman—and they’re not about to let him go. Things seem to be looking up before they spiral out of control, ending in a shootout in a pasture as one of the bad guys tries to escape in an ultralight. It’s a perfect encapsulation of everything great about this series: Lansdale weaves a tight, harrowing tale of justice-fueled mayhem, with great characterization and hilarious character banter.

“Dead Aim” is the other novella here, no less impressive even though it’s a different animal. Hap and Leonard are hired to provide protection to a woman being harassed by her soon-to-be-ex husband, which seems like a cakewalk for our competent duo. But things never turn out to be easy, and the “simple job” goes sideways when Hap’s quiet stakeout ends in the lethal shooting of the husband—with Hap caught by the police standing over the hubby’s corpse, now suspect number one. Investigating their client’s new boyfriend, the duo unearths a pair of moldering corpses in a run-down trailer home. The boys aren’t going to take this lying down, and begin to unravel a plot that twists around everything from a prestigious law firm to the local Dixie Mafia bigwig.

Lansdale’s storytelling prowess comes in large part from his East Texas charm, profane wit, and strong characterization, with enough snappy dialogue to keep a smile on your face. The shades-of-gray world has a thick layer of grit over it, but Hap and Leonard are firmly “good guy” badasses you sympathize with and root for. While I know that novellas aren’t popular with everyone, Lansdale in particular excels at them, packing a complex plot and vivid action into under a hundred pages. “Hyenas” and “Dead Aim” are sleek reads, trimmed down to minimalist perfection; there’s not a word wasted in them, and they finish without that “but I wanted to read more” feeling that you might get from some short stories.

Stories like “The Boy Who Became Invisible” and “Not Our Kind” are a change of pace, dead serious and pretty powerful stuff without the emphasis wit or wordplay—this is Lansdale writing serious business. The first is a flashback from Hap’s childhood about a classmate named Jesse who was bullied incessantly, and—as happens too often in real life—sees even his friends like Hap desert him. He gets his revenge in the end, but it’s a hard-hitting tale that tugs at your heartstrings, and you can see how it could have influenced Hap’s later idealism. “Not Our Kind” is original to this collection, and it’s a tale of how Hap and Leonard first met in high school… needless to say, it’s also a tale about race and bullying, and overcoming the bigotry faced while growing up in 1960s East Texas. Fans ought to appreciate these the most, giving a lot of insight into the two characters by sharing important pieces of Hap’s history.

Joe Lansdale is one of the most unique and potent storytellers of our age; I’ve never seen him meet a genre whose ass he couldn’t kick, with the narrative style and voice from any of his stories unmistakably Lansdale’s. The Hap and Leonard series takes a lot of crazy ideas, throws them together, and makes it all work; they’re excellent entertainment, edge-of-your-seat action one minute, gut-busting humor the next. Hap and Leonard contains two excellent novellas, a half-dozen solid stories, and a few odds-and-ends. For newcomers, it works as a sampler plate for the novels and TV series, an excellent introduction to a gonzo crime series with lots of thrills and plenty of heart. For the fan, it’s nice to be able to read some great Hap and Leonard stories if you missed the collector’s-only editions that came before.

Release date: March 1st, 2016. I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

CONTENTS LIST
An Appreciation of Joe R. Lansdale by Michael Koryta
Hyenas
Veil’s Visit
Death by Chili
Dead Aim
The Boy Who Became Invisible (story)
Not Our Kind (original story)
Bent Twig
Joe R. Lansdale Interviews Hap Collins and Leonard Pine
The Care and Feeding and Raising Up of Hap and Leonard

[Cameron Wiggins · Rating 4 out of 5]

First of all, I would like to thank NetGalley and Tachyon Publications and NetGalley for an ARC of Joe R. Lansdale’s new book Hap and Leonard, in exchange for an honest review.

Joe R. Lansdale, a very prolific writer, has presented us with a very good book with Hap and Leonard novel. Lansdale’s Hap Collins and Leonard Pine East-Texas Private Detective, good ole’ boy series has been a very popular series of novels, and now it is coming to television. The marketing plan associated with this book is a *Cross-promotion with the Hap and Leonard SundanceTV original series”, according to the NetGalley website. The program should make for some good kick-off-your-boots and pop-open-a-bottle-of-beer television watching. Novellas covered in Hap and Leonard are Hyenas, Veil’s Visit (co-written with his brother Andrew Vachss), Death by Chili, Dead Aim, The Boy Who Became Invisible, Not Our Kind and Bent Twig.

Lansdale has put together a very good book of hard-boiled detective-style novellas. The stories are very good, and Lansdale lays out his plots well. Characters are also laid-out in detailed description, and no one can write characterization like Lansdale writes characterization. Hap Collins and Leonard Pine are two of the most unlikeliest of best friends that East Texas has seen in the 1980’s. Hap is sort of a free-loving liberal lay-over from the 1960’s who thinks the 1980’s are basically the same, but without the tie-dye shirts. And, the music pretty much sucks. The book is written in the first person from Hap’s point of view. Leonard Pine is a solid, big, gay, conservative republican, redneck, black man. Now, in the 1980’s in East Texas as well as many other places, gay conservative republicans were scarce and unpopular. At that time, your chances of finding a gay conservative republican black man were about as good as winning the lottery.
The novellas are varied as are the jobs that Hap and Leonard are called upon to do. Each are unique in their own way. I do not want to give too much away. There were a few negatives. There is an awful lot of foul language in the book, but in all fairness, I believe that Lansdale found it necessary to set the scene correctly. However, this will bother some people. Lansdale mixes humor in with his hard boiled stories. This is a plus in most cases. However, Lansdale can wear a person out with some of his metaphors, similes, and other attempts at humor. For example, I provide the following quotations:

“They looked as if they had been put there by a drunk trying to write in sanskrit and hieroglyphics.” - talking about bad art tattoos

“ … the kind of face that would make Wonder Woman beat herself in the head with a hammer.” - Hap talking about how good looking his girlfriend, Brett was

“He was missing teeth. I knew that because quite a few of them were on his chest, like Chiclets he had spat out.”

Joe R. Lansdale is a very prolific writer and writes in many mediums. Lansdale wrote one of my all-time favorite books, The Bottoms , which is nothing like this book and has very little foul language. The book, Hap and Leonard, is still very good and pretty funny. Lansdale is an excellent writer and the Hap and Leonard series is a very good series, although it may be an acquired taste. This book may not be for everyone. If one likes hard-boiled detective stories, redneck language and humor, and does not mind foul language to further the story, then they will really enjoy Hap and Leonard. If so, I would strongly recommend this book to these people. I would give Hap and Leonard right at a 4-star rating.
Cam

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A couple of novellas and a few short stories featuring my favorite Texas bad asses. I was hoping for a little Jim Bob Luke too since his car was on the cover, but not this time. Fun to read.

[Riju Ganguly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of the most enjoyable books that I got to read this year. Most importantly, Lansdale's writings made everything so lifelike that it seemed, I'm watching the Sundance TV Series. But you might be knowing all about that.
Let me talk about the book.
Unlike the novels, these stories and pieces were like teasers. But how fascinating they were!

The contents are:
(*) Introduction: An Appreciation of Joe.R. Lansdale by Michael Koryta
1. Hyenas: Sort of epic, as far as the Leonard and Hap saga is concerned.
2. Veil's Visit: A chiller, which shows some aspects of Hap that we didn’t expect.
3. Death by Chili: A light piece, with a recipe thrown in.
4. Dead Aim: A grim story of twists, turns and pain.
5. The Boy Who Became Invisible: The saddest and the most poignant story of the collection, dealing with bullying, abuse and its result.
6. Not Our Kind: A loving testimonial to the brand of violence that Lansdale's prose can unleash.
7. Bent Twig: This was the best story of the book. It was full of rage, despair and comedy. Lansdale at his best, undoubtedly.
(*) Joe.R. Lansdale Interviews Hap Collins and Leonard Pine: A tongue-firmly-in-cheek piece.
(*) The Care and Feeding and Raising Up of Hap and Leonard: Essential read for fans of the deadly duo.

Overall, an unputdownable collection. Highly Recommended.

[John Beta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hap (straight white guy) and Leonard (gay black guy), a unique friendship and a couple of don't-give-a-shit-Texas-for-hire-ass-kicker-good guys. Six short fun stories about murder, racism, prostitution, drugs, bullying, pedophilia, smashing and bashing. Did I say fun? Yep - among all the violence, they maintain a healthy dose of humor. Just straight up raw story-telling.

[Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've had this book on my shelves for a few years now but have put off reading it because I wanted to get caught up with the Hap and Leonard novels. I have now read the novels up to Rusty Puppy (which I plan on reading next) and along the way I have also read several of Lansdale's stand-alone novels...all of them very enjoyable. Lansdale has become one of my favorite writers. I also really enjoyed the Hap and Leonard TV series and hated to see it end after just three seasons. Sadly, the actor who played Leonard, Michael K. Williams, died recently. He was a great actor appearing in other shows including The Wire and Boardwalk Empire.



This book was a collection of Hap and Leonard stories that gives a good taste of their exploits and are sort of teasers to get you into the novels. It was published about the time the TV series came out and contains the following:

1. Hyenas: One of my favorites in the collection about a man whose brother is lured into a possible bank heist and may be putting his life at risk until Hap and Leonard get involved.

2. Veil's Visit: Another good story about the lawyer who represents Leonard after he is charged with arson in the burning of a crack house in his neighborhood.

3. Death by Chili: This was a lighter piece with Leonard trying to figure out whether a person committed suicide or was murdered for his chili recipe. Lansdale includes his own chili recipe as an added bonus.

4. Dead Aim: This one was a rather grim story of a woman who hires Hap and Leonard to get her daughter back but she is really not telling all the story. Some unexpected twists and turns.

5. The Boy Who Became Invisible: This one takes place when Hap was in school and is a sad story about bullying and its consequences.

6. Not Our Kind: Another prequel to when Hap was in school and first met Leonard. His classmates don't take kindly to Hap's friendship with a black homosexual but they find out to leave it alone.

7. Bent Twig: Another of my favorites in the collection. Hap's girlfriend's daughter, Tillie, is missing and not for the first time. She has been involved with drugs and prostitution and her life is at risk.

Also included is Lansdale's interview with Hap and Leonard and his narrative of how Hap and Leonard came to be.

I really enjoyed all of this collection. It contained all of the dark humor and violence that is Lansdale's trademark and it is especially very entertaining! Highly Recommended.

[Donald · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, I liked the stories herein, but I'd read most of them before. Of the three I hadn't, "Not Our Kind" was by far my favorite! Sort of an H&L origin tale. I really enjoyed the team of Hap, Leonard, Chester, and Jack! Woo wee! And I laughed aloud at the idea of H&L on stage, and singing, in "Bent Twig"! The idea is sublimely ridiculous!
The rest of the stories are good too, it's just that, like I said, they were old hat for me. Still, re-reading a Hap and Leonard story is still better than reading most anything else!

[Mike Hughes · Rating 1 out of 5]

The content of this book is not at issue here, its great, anytime you can read hap and leonard stories is an awesome thing. but the problem i do have with this is that 75% or so of this book is republished stuff! the novellas have all been previously released, and im really not interested in another author blowing Joe's horn, i already know lansdale is one of the best authors there is, so Koryta's opinion doesnt interest me. just glad this was sent to me from netgalley and i didnt pay for it. Authors need to monitor the stuff that these publishers release, and quit taking advantage of the people buying the books, that is what this is!! plain and simple, rehash material trying to make more money on previously released stuff.

[Scott Cumming · Rating 4 out of 5]

At a certain point reading a series becomes more like revisiting old friends and finding out what they've been up to and nowhere is that more true than with Lansdale's Hap and Leonard series. I'm shocked to think it's been almost six months since my last trip to East Texas.

There's an incredible ease to these books and stories with my time away from the series really highlighting it upon return. This book collects the short stories and novellas of our quarrelsome duo delivering the usual trouble, action and fun, fast dialogue.

If you've never read Hap and Leonard, this would be a fun starting place and I promise you won't look back.

[Spencer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay, the stories in this collection are decent, so disrespect to Mojo Joe. However, this compilation is horrible in terms of the editing and presentation; in fact it feels like a complete money grab tie-in to the Sundance TV series (which is plugged on the cover). For starters, Joe's own introduction is the last entry in the collection. WTF? His intro talks about the characters and then gives a chronology for the stories, but to put it at the end of the book makes no sense whatsoever. The other introduction, written by a writer I'd never heard of, just didn't resonate with me (mostly because I was unfamiliar with the author and even after I looked him up I didn't feel compelled to read any of his works, no disrespect to him, but his stuff doesn't seem to be up my alley, so I was a bit confused as to why he was commissioned to write the "other" intro: I would have been more in tune with a blurb penned by Stephen King (an early proponant of Lansdale) or Andrew Vachss or perhaps somebody more established/well-known (I get the gist of having a newer, hipper, popular writer penning the intro, but again it didn't resonate with me). Finally, the stories included here are just haphazardly thrown into the mix: they are not ordered chronologically. Now, I'm not a terribly anal individual, but in Lansdale's intro (which is the post-script for the collection, mind you), he details each story chronologically, so it would have made sense to have ordered them in the compilation that way (at least I would have dug that). At any rate, good stories that have been poorly organized, imho. That said, this collection is really aimed at the hardcore fans looking to have a complete set of Hap/Leonard stories or those, such as myself, who missed out on the limited edition releases of Hyenas and Dead Aim.

[Michael Fredette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hap and Leonard, Joe R. Lansdale [2016].

Hap and Leonard is a superb collection of short fiction featuring the buddy detective team, Hap Collins and Leonard Pine, including:

“Hyenas”—a novella in which Hap and Leonard are hired by a man Leonard beat up in a bar fight to dissuade his younger brother from becoming involved with an armed robbery gang.

“Veil’s Visit” (cowritten with Andrew Vachss)— After burning down a neighbor’s house that was a narcotics nuisance, Leonard Pine is defended by Veil, a lawyer who resembles Andrew Vachss.

“Death by Chili”—a quasi-comical story in which Leonard figures out the mystery of a man who may have been killed for his prize winning chili recipe.

“Dead Aim”— On the recommendation of Jim Bob Luke, a woman hires Hap and Leonard to protect her from her estranged husband, a former oil field worker who is supposedly stalking her.

“Bent Twig”—Hap Collins investigates the disappearance of his girlfriend Brett’s daughter a relapsed drug user being sexually exploited by her boyfriend.

***
Joe R. Lansdale is “the last surviving Splatterpunk, sanctified in the blood of the walking Western dead,” (Austin Chronicle) and the “Champion Mojo Storyteller.” His next Hap and Leonard novel Sugar on the Bones is expected in July 2024.

[zackxdig · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hyenas.
Leonard someone’s head through a wall after his gay-dar is off at bar. They get propositioned to save someone’s little brother from the bank robber Smoke Stack.

Veil’s visit.
Leonard is in jail for burning down the crackhouse for the fourth time. Hap gets Veil to represent and wins the case by comparing crack to the plague.

Death by chili.
They’re told a story of murder or suicide over some famous chili. Leonard thinks he’s figured it out. It was a plot so no one could ever make it again.

Dead aim.
A crooked lawyer trying to okay both sides. Leonard and cookies like usual and Hap figuring out he’s pretty good on the draw.

The boy who became invisible.
Damn that was an intense little story about bullying. Kinda fitting given the time and place right now.

Not our kind.
Story of a young Hap right before he meets Leonard and gets into some shit with some racists bullies from school. Nothing’s changed. They are still willing to finish what they don’t start and they are the perfect match for each. Like a stray dog that you miss.

Bent twig.
They seem to be always in their way to save someone. A junkie who was caught up with bad people. Hap and Leonard muscled their way through to get her back.

[Dee · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading the first book in the Hap and Leonard series, Savage Season, I picked up another Hap and Leonard book of short stories. I still enjoyed the 2 characters in the short stories. I think a warped sense of humor is necessary to appreciate these two dudes.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lansdale is awesome!

[Erick Mertz · Rating 4 out of 5]

These were all pretty good, interesting stories, filled with good humor, gritty characters and a healthy dose of southern style. I really enjoyed it. My only quibble, if it is one, is that the stories are fairly uneven, indicative of an anthology. Some were longer, meatier, anchor stories while others felt spare. Overall though, not my last Hap and Leonard adventure.

[Chrystal Hays · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice and varied collection of stories about Hap and Leonard.
East Texas settings, strong plots, good humor, a unique friendship.

[Cynthia Warnix]

Great stories that fill in gaps during Hap and Leonard's longer adventures.

[Seregil of Rhiminee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally published at Risingshadow.

Joe R. Lansdale's Hap and Leonard is a compilation of stories centering around two men, Hap Collins and Leonard Pine. They're an intriguing pair of men, because they're almost like a furiously modern take on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, but differ in many ways from these two classic characters.

Before I write more about Hap and Leonard, I want to emphasise that it is not speculative fiction, but it will be of interest to speculative fiction readers. The author offers his readers an uncompromising vision of a harsh and unforgiving world that will intrigue speculative fiction readers. His vision of the world is simultaneously brutal, funny, surprising and fascinatingly insightful. If you happen to wonder how this kind of fiction can possibly encompass all of this, you've probably never read anything by Joe R. Lansdale, because he's capable of delivering fantastic stories.

I think it's good to warn readers that the contents of this collection may not be to everyone's liking. It's a collection that will strike a chord among those who appreciate fascinating storytelling and want to experience something different. It's a wonderfully different kind of a story collection about two mismatched men who fight against crime and get into all kinds of trouble.

There's a wonderful sense of pulp fiction in this collection. In my opinion, this collection is crime/pulp fiction at its best and most captivating, because the author has an eye for compelling details. It's great that the author avoids trivial and meaningless things that have been the ruin of many crime stories.

This collection contains the following stories:

- Hyenas
- Veil's Visit (with Andrew Vachss)
- Death by Chili
- Dead Aim
- The Boy Who Became Invisible
- Not Our Kind
- Bent Twig

These stories wonderfully capture the essence of what Hap and Leonard stories are all about, because they've been selected well and introduce the protagonists to readers. They offer an excellent glimpse into the protagonists' lives and problems.

The characterisation is well executed, because Hap Collins and Leonard Pine are not your normal kind of characters. They're anything but normal, because they're intriguingly flawed and imperfect as human beings, but they grow on you and you want to find out what happens to them and how they face problems.

Here's a bit of information about the protagonists: Hap Collins is a former social activist who likes to kick ass. He's a redneck kind of a white man. Leonard Pine is a big black man who's gay, a Vietnam veteran and a Republican. Together, they fight against crime in their own extraordinary way.

The dialogues are interesting and offer wickedly clever entertainment to readers who enjoy sarcasm and irony. The author has add plenty of punch into the dialogues. He has also added a lot of amusing and witty humour to them.

It may come as a surprise for many readers that some of the dialogues contain hidden grains of wisdom and truth. Certain dialogues reflect the state of our modern society and our way of life in a surprisingly insightful and satirical way. It's amazing how much depth and diversity you can find in this collection.

The "Joe R. Lansdale Interviews Hap Collins and Leonard Pine" Q&A section at the end of this collection is wonderfully humorous and worth reading. It demonstrates the author's ability to write humorous text.

Joe R. Lansdale's Hap and Leonard is something different and intriguing for readers who appreciate well written stories that have plenty of punch and roughness. This collection will amuse and thrill you in equal measure and it will make you think about the happenings - what more could you possibly hope to find in this kind of fiction?

Excellent collection!

[Gef · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been meandering through Lansdale's extensive works for several years now, and in that time I have come to consider him one of my all-time favorite storytellers. A big reason for that is his Hap and Leonard series of novels, which feature the hijinks of two east Texas ne'er-do-wells, Hap Collins and Leonard Pine. But there are not just the novels, but also a smattering of short fiction, which has now been collected in this book from 2016 (a followup collection released in 2017). So I have to wonder if an abbreviated adventure is as satisfying as the novels.

For me, the meat of this collection came in the form of two novellas that had been previously published each on their own. The first, "Hyenas," kicks off with Hap showing up at the local bar to keep Leonard from getting hauled off by the cops after a donnybrook. Leonard's in cuffs, but relatively unscathed compared to the fellas littering the ground like so much tenderized steak. Impressed enough by the whooping, one of the guys hires Hap and Leonard to track down his little brother who has fallen in with a small gang of crooks. Witty banter and gritty brawling galore in this tale, and our heroes wind up much more invested in the younger brother's safety than they had ever anticipated.

The second novella is "Dead Aim," and it has our guys on protection duty once again, only this time it's for a woman who says he is being stalked and abused by her ex-husband. Lansdale's deftness with dialogue shines again, but the tone of the tale is a wee bit darker with things not shaping up as they should at first glance, and Hap and Leonard wind up caught in one more showdown with bloodthirsty types. This one was particularly great because it included Hap's lady love, Brett, who really feels like she turns the duo into a less than holy trinity.

The collection isn't all fisticuffs and gun fights, though. "Death by Chili" offers a bit more humor than most tales, as Hap and Leonard try to figure out how a champion chili cook died. Then there's "The Boy Who Became Invisible" and it's glimpse back and Hap's formative years.

Then there are the stories that are interludes of sorts that complement the existing novels, like "Veil's Visit" which takes place around the time Leonard burned down the crack house next door and includes Andrew Vachss with a coauthor credit, since one of his famous characters shows up at Hap's behest to bail out Leonard.

I'm not sure if it's the kind of book that works so well as an introduction to these characters, as there's a fair bit of winks and nods to what has come before that a newcomer just might not catch on to, but it's not like the stories are impenetrable to a new reader. One of the great things about the series has always been that Hap and Leonard are quickly identifiable and instantly likable. But a new reader should honestly go seek out the first novel, Savage Season, if they want to sample the waters. As for the existing fans and completists out there, this is something they will all want to get their hands on, assuming they haven't done so already.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.