Only read Bubba Ho-Tep and it was weird but something I ended up enjoying.

Brilliant, but not for the easily, or even remotely easily, offended. This man is dangerously good.

Great novella length stories: Bubba Ho-Tep, Mad Dog Summer, The Big Blow. Fantastic short stories like Not From Detroit, Fish Night, Incident On and Off a Mountain Road and The Events Concerning a Nude Fold-Out Found in a Harlequin Romance and White Mule Spotted Pig. This is a great introduction to all styles and types of writing that make up Lansdale’s work.

Lansdale’s style is almost impossible to describe. One part Mark Twain’s evil twin, one part Cormac McCarthy, one part Faulkner, one part….oh, screw it, he is Joe Lansdale and nobody writes like this guy. He is a Texas icon and one of the few truly original talents out there and he clearly has no fear. Nothing is sacred or too dark—he writes whatever he wants to write and pulls no punches and offers no apologies.

Everyone will have their favorites. I say that because there are so many different types of stories in this book. You won’t get a better horror story than Incident On and Off a Mountain Road or At the Cadillac Ranch with Dead Folks. But you will find yourself laughing out loud at the infamous Bubba Ho-Tep and at White Mule Spotted Pig, a mythical southern tale which read to me like a story that Mark Twain would have loved. Then he follows those stories up with literary masterpieces like Mad Dog Summer and The Big Blow. There are touching and beautiful stories like Not From Detroit where an old man refuses to allow death to take his wife and Fish Night, which reminded me of the best of Ray Bradbury, but darker.

Everyone will have their favorites, but also probably will have the story or two that marched in and took a big dump right in the middle of their comfort zone. For me it happened at the end with Night They Missed the Horror Show---one of the meanest and most disturbing stories that I have ever read.

Be forewarned, be prepared as best you can, but don’t miss this book.
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This is one of the best and most diverse story collections I've ever read. Period.
 
I've heard all kinds of great things about Lansdale's work and I had read a few of his short stories and enjoyed them quite a bit. But then I got caught up in this reading slump that I couldn't shake and I had this collection on hand. I picked it up, and WHABAM, I'm a Lansdale convert. More than that...I'm a Lansdale proselytizer!
 
These stories vary widely, there's some flat out humor, brilliantly combined with horror, as in Bubba Ho-Tep. This is a wild story about a guy in a nursing home who thinks he's Elvis along with a black man who thinks he's JFK and their attempt to stifle a soul sucking mummy. Hilarious, poignant and a bit scary all at once. That has to be hard to pull off. 
 
The Big Blow which takes place in 1900 is about a boxing match during a hurricane. It doesn't sound like much, but this story was so full of detail and richness that I felt as if I were there.
 
The Events Concerning a Nude Fold-Out Found in a Harlequin Romance was flat out funny. What a great story that went nowhere near where I thought it was going to go. 
 
White Mule, Spotted Pig is about some mule races. And a guy that fucked a goat. "Okay", Leroy said. "Okay, I fucked a goddamn goat. What of it?" 
 
Cowboy  A short, sweet tale of a black boy that wants to be a cowboy.
 
Fish Night  I believe this is my favorite story of the collection. It's whimsical and fun, but those things hide the teeth within. 
 
A few more things-this book will not be for everyone. It is NOT politically correct in any way whatsoever. A lot of these tales took place during times in this country where racism was rampant,  and the language and actions vividly depict that history. There are also nuns dressed like hookers. There is the previously mentioned goat fucking. There is death and destruction and the n word. Lots of n words, really. This book is definitely not for the easily offended or for those of delicate sensibilities. 
 
I think this book is for lovers of American history, but also lovers of stories. That's it. If you love stories of a wide and diverse nature, this might be the book for you. If you're not offended by the snippets I've posted above, I think you should give this collection a shot. You can hit me with it, if you don't like it, but I think you will.
 
My highest recommendation! ( )

"On The Far Side of the Cadillac Desert With Dead Foks", is a cult favorite that I had to try. Dark, gruesome, low-brow hilarious at times (chock full of bad language), it was a great afternoon snack. Highly recommended. I also tried "Godzilla's Twelve Step Program", which, in spite of the title and subject matter, was winsomely sad. Alas, I've had my fill of light fare; I will revisit this collection after I wade through some meatier stuff. ( )

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