The Magic Wagon

by Joe R. Lansdale

This entertaining episodic novel is set in turn-of-the-20th-century eastern Texas, where crooked traveling medicine shows and aging gunslingers define the closing frontier.

Narrator Buster Fogg's family is wiped out by a twister in an early sequence described with surreal verve. Buster hitches on with Billy Bob Daniels, a patent-medicine pusher and trick shooter who claims to be the illegitimate son of Wild Bill Hickock, joining an entourage consisting of a kindly ex-slave named Albert, and Rot Toe, the wrestling ape.

Adventures on the road, which include swiping the mummified remains of Billy Bob's "pa" and swindling settlers with their concoction of watered-down whiskey, stoke personal tensions that only aggravate troubles when their wagon rolls into Mud Creek and Billy Bob is called out by Texas Jack, a dime-novel desperado who, legend says, intimidated even Wild Bill.

Lansdale's affection for the classic western is never in doubt, although he spends much of the novel skillfully deflating the romance of heroic reputations made as much by luck and exaggeration as by skill with a gun. The true charm of the story, though, is in its telling, which melds laconic humor, colorful colloquialisms and outrageous figures of speech into a Twainesque tall tale. This novel endures as a modern western classic.

Published in a small print run with limited distribution.

- From Publisher's Weekely

Genres: Westerns, Fantasy, Horror, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Novels, Americana

155 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

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

[Char · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joe Lansdale always delivers! It doesn't matter in which genre he writes, I'm down for reading it. I came to this discovery kind of late, but I'm happy to know that that fact gives me tons of stuff to read in the future and I couldn't be more happy about that.

This here tale was a horror/western/humorous novella and I just loved it. From the man-wrestling chimpanzee Rot Toe, to the dead corpse riding around on the Magic Wagon with a coffin made of magical wood, what's not to like? Gunslingers, nose pickers and saloon gals, it's all here, and what fun it was. I'll be reading you again soon, Mr. Lansdale. Real soon!

Highly recommended to fans of westerns, western horror and comedy!

[Marvin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lansdale states this is his favorite of his novels. Just my luck that my favorite author would pick a book that has been out of print for a long time. Fortunately it is back in print and I finally got around to reading it. Is it better than The Bottoms, my favorite Lansdale novel? It's a photo finish and the judges aren't back from lunch yet.

The Magic Wagon is told through the narration of a 17 year old boy, having been abandoned and on his own, (Lansdale's favorite type of narrator) as he latches onto a traveling medicine show. He is welcomed by a kindly black man but the other half of the show, a cranky sharp-shooter who claims to be the son of Wild Bill Hickok, is not so welcoming. Lansdale's witty and colorful descriptions are abundant in this story and there is plenty of Wild West mythology and folklore for the writer to make his own. But what the author really is doing is writing about family; those we choose and those we do not choose. This is not a typical western at all. I don't think Lansdale has ever wrote a typical anything. But it is one of his most emotional tales and is certainly one of his best.

[Karl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is copy 395 of 750 signed and numbered copies.

[Anto_s1977 · Rating 3 out of 5]

La storia che ci racconta Lansdale è ambientata in Texas all'inizio del XX secolo. Ci sono ben 3 protagonisti, nessuno meno importante dell'altro per la storia: Billy Bob, Buster e il nero Albert.
Albert è un ex schiavo, mentre Billy Bob un abile pistolero che conduce in giro per gli States un carro magico, con il quale sosta nei vari centri abitati, che si snodano lungo il percorso, per esibirsi in uno spettacolo e per vendere un preparato magico contro tutte le indisposizioni fisiche.
Il "piccolo Buster" si unisce alla carovana dopo aver perso i genitori in una notte di tempesta che ha spazzato via ogni cosa nel giro di chilometri.
Buster prova un grande affetto per Albert, ma è intimidito da Billy Bob, il quale ha un pessimo carattere, che solo Albert riesce in qualche modo a tenere a bada. Ma come mai il tirannico pistolero si fa domare da un anziano nero, l'ultima pedina della società di inizio secolo?
Scopriremo il perchè alla fine di questa storia, che porta alla ribalta l'aspro far West con tanto di saloon, baristi codardi e sparatorie che ci ricordano le scene di vecchi e famosi film!
Non certo un capolavoro, ma godibile.

[Randy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A weird western set in the early 1900s. THE MAGIC WAGON is one of those traveling medicine shows. Billy Bob Daniels, old Albert, a black man, Rot Toe, the wrestling chimpanzee, the body in the box, and little Buster, a seventeen year old picked up along the way and the narrator of the story.

Billy Bob was the star of the show, a trick shot artist, and the hawker of Cure-All, one of those fake medicines that cure everything, and claimed to be the illegitimate son of Wild Bill Hickok, supposely the identity of the deceased. Albert and Little Buster did all the work.

The show rolls into Mud Creek ahead of a storm that Albert and Littler Buster believes has been following them for weeks.

An uneasy feeling amongst the boy and the blak man proves true when the storm catches them and things go crazy, even to the point that the body seems to come to life.

As usual, author Joe Lansdale delivers an unusual and interesting story that keeps the reader hooked.

[Neil Sarver · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good old fashion tall tale. I don't think any modern author is as good at this as Joe R. Lansdale is.

[Pinkerton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Che dire di questo libro...
“Qui giacciono un manipolo di uomini e una bestia protagonisti di un romanzetto da quattro soldi.”
XD

[Karl]

This edition of a new signed and limited version of this book is numbered 127 of 500 produced and is signed by Joe R. Lansdale.

New to this edition is an introduction by Mr. Lansdale.
New artwork and interior sketches by Charlie Bullock.
The western short story "Man With Two Lives" by Mr. Lansdale.
A new afterword by Keith Lansdale.

Contents:

011 - Introduction
021 - "The Magic Wagon"
169 - Afterword
173 - "Man With Two Lives"
181 - About the author
183 - About the artist

[Snakes · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one comes down to my expectations of the author. The first Lansdale book I read (Leather Maiden) I found amazing, so this one came across as pretty mediocre. The underlying lesson about racism ended up coming across like a sledgehammer to the face on repeat. Not my favorite Lansdale by any means.

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Im a huge fan of the Weird West, as that's the main genre I've written in, and Mr. Lansdale is the best of the best for weird west. This one was definitely weird, although very interesting. You have an unusual cast of characters, including a wrestling ape. There's also plenty of humor, and while the story is very dark at times it's just as funny in others. Overall a very enjoyable read. I did have a problem with some of the racism in the book but it was basically just being true to the time period. And also, racism itself becomes very important in the story as it progresses and to say more would be a spoiler. This isn't a long read, so if you are a fan of Weird Westerns, or really just a Western fan in general, I think you'd enjoy this one.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an entertaining and fast-paced homage to the dime Western. Lots of fun in this Western-Horror-Comedy with a modern social conscious.

[Bonadext · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Il carro magico” è uno dei primissimi romanzi di Lansdale (primo o secondo romanzo di Lansdale scritto nel 1980, ma uscito solamente nel 1986), un acid western senza troppe pretese e senza esagerazioni tipiche dell'autore, nel senso che non ci sono zombi come in “La morte ci sfida”.
Vengono narrate le avventure di una sgangherata combriccola di venditori ambulanti e showman (con tanto di scimmia lottatrice!) che girano il Texas su un carro imbattendosi in pistoleri leggendari, vecchi sceriffi e altri personaggi grotteschi. Il romanzo presenta diversi flashback tra cui il secondo capitolo che sarebbe il racconto “Il tornado” apparso nella raccolta di racconti “In un tempo freddo e oscuro”.
La storie è abbastanza realistica e si legge con piacere, per gli amanti delle atmosfere western e il mito della frontiera può essere una buona lettura per staccare da altre più complesse e poi la capacita di Lansdale è quella di non annoiare mai il lettore, i suoi dialoghi sono sempre frizzanti e divertenti.

[Louis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Over the course of his long career, Joe R. Lansdale has demonstrated an ability to breathe new life into the western genre. His long-running Hap and Leonard series also shows his mastery of the western's modern, urban cousin, the mystery. Here he has crafted a western with a mystical edge to it. In this tale, a one-wagon medicine show travels small-town Texas at the turn of the 20th century. In acquiring a mysterious skeleton, the owner (a voracious consumer of dime novels) sees a chance to become a gunslinger in his own right. Lansdale declares this "not my first novel, but... my first truly good novel." While I cannot comment on his earlier books, here he captures the sense of loss and longing so many Americans felt toward the frontier after its official disappearance. That knowledge is not necessary to enjoy this story; this feeling will affect even readers who do not care about the West. While it could have been a bit less episodic, this is a short, entertaining read.

[Chris Roberts · Rating 1 out of 5]

They are the Western ones,
drawing steel under multiplying suns,
the inordinate-unordinary frontier ways,
quick-days-die-days,
the cankering, depraved,
the dime store bad man and woman,
sun wheels night sky, maddening western town.

Chris Roberts, God of Melting Suns

[Mr. Mustela frenata · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.18

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yet again, I have to ask the question: why isn't Lansdale better known? This short novel has all I've come to expect from him. There's humor, action, mystery, and just when you thought the story was getting too serious, up pops a bit more humor.

I cannot think of a single one of his books or short stories that wasn't well worth the read.

Seriously, if you want a bit of good, well-written fun, he's the go-to guy.

[Ryan Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

A teenage boy, an ex-slave, a fighting chimpanzee, and a con man who claims to be the son of Wild Bill Hickock. All of them traveling the Old West in a wagon that sells magical elixirs. Throw in an erudite shaman, a vengeful storm, a conniving barkeep, and a host of gunmen who all want a chance at taking down Hickock's "son," and what you have is a weird action adventure that only Lansdale can tell. I loved this one (but then, it's rare I don't love a Lansdale book).

[Fabio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Western + horror...there's anything better? "YES", I hear you say, but for some reasons I like this stuff so much that couldn't put the book down for a week.
Joe Lansdale is a master storyteller, and he makes this unique mixture of black humor, action and mistery that makes every single page of his books worth reading.
I really hope someone (Quentin?) makes a movie out of this!

[Chad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full review coming to Cemetery Dance online.

[Jiří Pavlovský · Rating 3 out of 5]

„Divoký Bill Hickok, pár let poté, co umřel, se ůčastnil v Mud Creeku přestřelky. Byl jsem tam. Dovolte mi o tom vyprávět.“
Když jsem začal číst Lansdalea, jen tak na ochutnávku, netušil jsem, že za pár let ho budu mít v knihovně skoro komplet a po zahraničních antikvariátech budu shánět jeho různé vyprodané špeky. Jako je třeba knihu The Magic Wagon.
The Magic Wagon obsahuje všechno, co má Lansdale rád. Westernové prostředí se silným černošským hrdinou (i když to tentokrát není kovboj a ani vypravěč), svébytný pohled na legendy… a hlavně vyprávění a zase vyprávění. I když má kniha nějaký děj, tak její hlavní doménou jsou odbočky k různým bizarním událostem. Ať už jde o příběh šerifa se smyslem pro humor, likvidaci hrdinových rodičů prostřednictvím tornáda, obchodní transakce s mrtvolou… Lansdale je rozený vypravěč a svět Divokého západu je pro něj jako stvořený.
Sám příběh, vynořující se na nějakých sto padesáti stránkách, je dost jednoduchý - rozhodně proti ostatním Lansdaleho westernům. A pohybuje se na hraně reality a magie. Respektive, je to doba, ve které je nadpřirozeno bráno jako přirozeno. Po cestách se kodrcá vůz s léčebnými preparáty (složenými z whisky a ničeho moc jiného), cvičenou opicí, ostrostřelcem, černochem, který se o všechno stará, a klukem, kterého nabrali cestou. Jo a taky mrtvolou. Vozu je stále v patách podivná bouře, takže je nutné nikde se moc nezdržovat. A před ním je špinavé blátivé město s chlápkem, který chce oživit svou pistolnickou slávu.
Lansdaleho styl je barvitý, sarkastický, cynický – prostě stejný jako je svět, ve kterém se odehrává, a ve kterém se prolíná realita se světem šestákových románů. Na druhou stranu, finále jsem čekal přece jen epičtější, přišlo mi, že si tam připravil spoustu rekvizit, které vůbec nepoužil. Spíš je to krátká historka proložená jiným historkami. Ale i tak je to westernově vychutnaná záležitost.

[Andrea Zanotti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oggi recensisco un romanzo che inseguivo da tanto tempo, ma che non riuscivo a trovare in nessuna libreria. Alla fine mi sono dovuto arrendere ricorrendo alle care e vecchie biblioteche. Non potrò aggiungerlo alla mia libreria, ma almeno me lo sono goduto fino in fondo. Sto parlando de “Il carro magico” di Joe R. Lansdale.
Come alcuni di voi sapranno ho una passione per i romanzi ambientati nelle polverose praterie del vecchio west e in questo caso, aggiungendo all’ambientazione la prosa maestosa di Lansdale, non possiamo che ottenere un romanzo eccellente.
Joe R. Lansdale è un autore del quale basta leggere un paio di pagine per cogliere la classe cristallina. Basta poco per innamorarsi quando si ha a che fare con la Bellezza vera. La prosa di questo Maestro mette subito a proprio agio, non saprei come meglio spiegarlo, ti invita a metterti comodo al suo fianco attorno ad un fuoco da campo in una notte serena e fresca mentre lui ti narra una storia con voce melodiosa. I dialoghi, così come il narrato, risultano talmente realistici, crudi e ironici a seconda dell’occorrenza, da trasportarti nel vivo dell’azione, con un coinvolgimento paragonabile alle nuove diavolerie di realtà virtuale, se non meglio, almeno dal mio punto di vista. C'è da imparare molto per tutti noi aspiranti scrittori da quanto ci offre questo autore nelle sue opere. Recensione completa su: https://www.scrittorindipendenti.com/...

[Fernando Cignola · Rating 3 out of 5]

Il carro magico è un romanzo che incarna perfettamente lo stile inconfondibile di Joe R. Lansdale: ironico, avventuroso e ricco di personaggi sopra le righe. La storia segue le vicende di un gruppo di circensi itineranti nel Texas di fine Ottocento, tra situazioni rocambolesche e dialoghi intrisi di quel tipico umorismo tagliente che rende le opere di Lansdale così riconoscibili.

Se da un lato il romanzo si legge con piacere grazie a una narrazione scorrevole e priva di tempi morti, dall’altro non si distingue per particolare profondità. È un’avventura leggera, godibile, ma senza lasciare un segno indelebile.

*spoiler alert*
Il colpo di scena sulla parentela tra Albert e Billy Bob aggiunge un tocco inaspettato alla trama, ma il vero punto di forza resta lo stile dell’autore. Le sue metafore assurde da Far West sono una delizia, regalando momenti esilaranti che strappano più di un sorriso.

Nel complesso, Il carro magico è una lettura agile e senza pensieri, perfetta per chi cerca una storia divertente e avventurosa senza troppe pretese. Non il miglior Lansdale, ma sicuramente un romanzo che si lascia apprezzare per la sua leggerezza e il suo spirito scanzonato.

[Michael Fredette · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Magic Wagon, Joe R. Lansdale [BookVoice Publishing, 1986].

A reprint of Joe Lansdale’s Doubleday “Double D” Western, The Magic Wagon, is narrated by adolescent orphan Buster Fogg who joins the Magic Wagon medicine show/sideshow featuring: Albert, a U.S. Cavalry veteran born into slavery; Billy Bob Daniels, a vicious gunfighter who claims to be Wild Bill Hickock’s bastard son; Rot Toe, a wrestling chimpanzee; and the preserved corpse of Wild Bill Hickock. A great western with gothic touches, told in a breezy engaging style.

***
Joe R. Lansdale is…”the last of the Splatterpunks, sanctified in the blood of the walking Western dead…”(Austin Chronicle); the author of the acclaimed Hap and Leonard series, Lansdale is the recipient of numerous awards for his fiction including an Edgar Award for The Bottoms. [2000] Most recently Lansdale is the author of The Donut Legion and a collection Things Get Ugly.

[D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

In 1986, THE MAGIC WAGON was published as a "Double D Western" by Doubleday & Co. I can only imagine the reaction from the stereotypical "western" reader as they picked up the book, which features all sorts of atypical western trappings, including some supernatural elements, gross-out humor, and a wrestling chimpanzee named Rot-Toe.

In many ways, it's sort of TRUE GRIT meets BILLY THE KID VS. DRACULA. Lansdale's protagonist isn't always clued in to the action, and works to make meaning about what's going on. Many of the character's backstories are only hearsay.

The whole book has a unique dream-like feel, with the typical Lansdale humor and strangeness. It is crass at times, and there's a lot of racism throughout the book, although it's typical of the setting and time period, and plays heavily into the storyline.

A worthwhile and intriguing read!

[Josh reading · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading a book by Joe Lansdale is like coming home. Joe has a unique ability of combining a great story with heart, humor, and even a bit of tragedy. This story narrated by Buster tells of the traveling Magic Wagon, a traveling crew that puts on shows throughout the west around the turn of the twentieth century. With a great cast of characters including Billy Bob, Albert, and Rot Toe the ape, this crew has several over the top adventures before the thrilling conclusion. The stop near Deadwood was particularly enjoyable, with the hilarious huckster Checkers. Ultimately this is Buster’s story and watching him come of age through the telling of the tale is wonderful to see. I could go on and on but just know if you are looking for a really fun read with a lot of heart, then this book is for you. You can’t go wrong when choosing a book by Joe Lansdale, highly recommended!

[Julian White · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pleasant enough tale, though I'm not sure I'd compare it to Twain, as the cover blurb has it. A travelling entertainer and Cure-All salesman with an eye for trick shooting claims to be the son of Wild Bill Hickok - and has his mummified body, to boot, as part of his act. The narrator is Buster Fogg who was 'recruited' after he was booted off the family farm by the bank, after his parents had died in a tornado, with his mother carried off in the farmhouse like Dorothy in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Some years later (1909 - which just about fits the Oz book publication date) Wild Bill daniels, the proprietor of the Magic Wagon believes in his claim... with inevitable results.

Pleasant enough stuff - not startlingly good or bad.

[Joe Silber · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is Joe R. Lansdale's take on the "dime novel" and feels a little like something Stephen King might have written, if Stephen King was from East Texas and felt like writing a western. Set around the turn of the century, the novella follows an orphaned teenage boy who joins a small traveling stage show led by a man claiming to be the son of Wild Bill Hickock. Trouble ensues when the show stops in a town harboring a real gunslinging outlaw.

The Magic Wagon really showcases Lansdale's folksy, Texan style and his trademark blending of humor, character, supernatural horror, and a little bit of gross-out. Very entertaining.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good old fashioned Western/Tall Tale.
1909, Mudd Creek, East Texas.
The Magic Wagon has pulled into town. Albert, an African American is the driver. Young Buster is tagging along, after a tornado killed his parents and destroyed the family farm. Billy Bob Daniels is the trick shooter and says he's the son of Wild Bill Hickock.
They also have a fighting chimpanzee, and the body of (so they say ) Wild Bill Hickock.
Seems a storm has been following the Wagon, and as it catches up, all Hell breaks loose.
This was written in 1986, and set in 1909. So it's not P.C. Some words may be offensive.
(I read the 1986 edition)
Very entertaining and it moves quickly.

[Libby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joe Lansdale seems to have such an authentic voice of rural East Texas, a place I love and sometimes hate. This story about an orphan boy who is taken in by a former slave and a mean and self important semi white man who claims to be the illegitimate son of Wild Bill Hickok. No doubt that the former slave, Albert, is my favorite character. No holds barred depiction of life for orphans and Black folk near the turn of the 20th Century. Oh how I wish I could take a course or just have a conversation with this fabulous author.

[Matteo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lansdale non mi delude, la sua scrittura è sempre ficcante e molto accesa. Anche questo “romanzetto da quattro soldi”, come fa dire al suo protagonista, il piccolo Buster, ha saputo cogliere nel segno. L’ho trovato, ancorché breve, molto intenso e a suo modo dolce.
Non era facile riuscire a farmi catapultare dentro l’epoca di un vecchio west alle sue battute finali, data la brevità del racconto, ma il buon Joe ci è riuscito e questo è un grande merito. Voto: 7.