Brief and bloody. It is pretty obvious where this is going but Lansdale's artistry makes it worth the ride. What set it apart from just a simple Wild West style revenge shoot em up is his masterful and layered characterization of the vengeful narrator. ( )

This full-on noir-vella is a perfect introduction to the brutally authentic, bitterly bloody writing of Joe R Lansdale. Apparently, he was asked to contribute something seriously hard-boiled to an anthology, and he came up with this fast paced tale of gangland revenge. You know exactly where it’s going within a couple of pages, the pitch-perfect banger banter making it absolutely clear that the opening act of senseless violence is only the start. And it’ll lead to an inevitable end.

Where some authors would take ten chapters to describe the past history of each character and every rock they ever kicked along life’s rough roads, JRL creates living, breathing, bleeding and stinking people with a few deft sentences. This is an edge-of-your-seat story. It’s only going in one direction but every page pulls you along to the inevitable conflict: a moment of vengeance which is almost as senseless as the event which first inspired it. And finally, a possibility of redemption. Or perhaps nothing more than silence…

Some whole novels manage to achieve less than this in 400 or more pages. In three or four scenes, Bullets and Fire vividly brings to life a young man; his brother, their aspirations, their family. Then it rips these ordinary people apart in an entirely credible fashion. If you’re dithering about whether to read any of LJR’s full-length fiction, then this will help you make up your mind about spending a few dollars. (I did.)
9/10 ( )

Revenge is best served...hard and fast! And that's exactly how Lansdale dishes it up. A short story about a guy looking to do whatever it takes to join a gang. We quickly learn that his motivation is to get inside the gang to enact revenge on the very thugs that are responsible for his brother's murder and led to their grief-stricken father to commit suicide. While the story may be predictable, it's a fast-paced and enjoyable adrenaline ride with Lansdale's writing style being it's strength. ( )

It's amazing to think of all the different categories of fiction that Lansdale writes and it's even more amazing to realize that he could be considered a master of all of then. His Hap and Leonard books are quite different from his weird western stories (or just plain weird stories and I'm looking at you "Bubba Ho-Tep") which in turn is quite different from his thoughtful or coming-of-age stories. And then there is his crime noir stories into which "Bullets and Fire" falls. Maybe more appropriately this story might be contained in a sub-category for dark noir stories. The story is about how much one person will do for revenge and for family. Is compromising oneself in order to achieve closure right? How much is too much when getting revenge? They are questions that Lansdale addresses head-on at 80 mph with no helmet. You have no choice but to watch. ( )

Violent and gritty are massive understatements when describing this short story of revenge from the master of mojo Joe R. Lansdale. "Bullets and Fire" is one of four short stories from by Lansdale and Gere Donovan Press presently offered as free e-book downloads. The tale revolves around Tray, who punches a random little girl in the face, smashing her nose. The act is part of an initiation rite to gain Tray entry into a local gang of drugs, arms and violence dealing street thugs. The reason Tray is so desperate to join the gang and get into their inner sanctum soon becomes clear in a bloody tale of vengeance and revenge. The plot of "Bullets and Fire" is paper thin and it's fairly obvious where the tale is heading from early on. Lansdale, however, does it with so much hyper-violent style and noir panache to make it absolutely breathless and highly intriguing. He effortlessly evokes characters and locations and his dialogue is smooth, hard-boiled and hugely entertaining. The story is incredibly bloody and violent, so it won't be to everyone's taste, but the confident style and direct narrative makes this a short, sharp powerful tale of gory revenge and the incredibly costly vengeance. ( )