I really loved The Thicket last year when I chose it to quench my thirst for a good Western read. I was impressed by how engaging the writing was. I decided this year to jump into more books by author Joe Lansdale, and I thought a good start would be his popular Texas crime series featuring his characters Hap Collins and Leonard Pine. This first novel in the series lived up to my lofty expectations!Hap & Leonard are best buddies, are minding their own business and shooting some skeet in Hap's backyard, when a cute blond heartbreaker walks back into Hap's life, offering more of that sweet love that he remembers fondly. But like any experienced femme fatale knows, most human men would agree to any post-coital request no matter how stupid. So in bed, he agrees to help her and her new man find a treasure trove of cash lost after a bank heist years ago. "I didn't want to be anywhere near Trudy right then. I had a hunch she would have harsh words to say about me and Leonard, and I wasn't up to it. I didn't want her to get me near a bed either. She could really talk in bed, and if she talked long enough and moved certain parts of her body just right, I might agree to have Leonard shot at sunset." Lansdale is one of those writers that makes it seem so easy. He manages to find that balance between economic storytelling and lyrical, expressive prose; a balance that my favorite writers possess. It makes for a captivating read that's entertaining and still leaves an impression. In just this one book, Hap and Leonard become two of the most enjoyable protagonists I've come across in a crime series. They seem like two guys I'd like to be friends with and so I would be willing to go on any adventure with them in the future. In this way, they're right up there with Walter Mosley's Easy Rawlins and Dennis Lehane's Kenzie and Gennaro as some of my favorite crime heroes. Likeable, everyday people caught up in dark, extraordinary situations, where they have to step up and be heroes. Hap and Leonard are so different on the surface but are perfect compliments for each other, making for hilarious banter between them that makes the proceedings that much more enjoyable. Can't wait to see what craziness they get into next. "Yea, that money could make up for a lot of missed ambitions, but without it we were nothing more than a batch of losers, standing cold and silly, empty-handed on the muddy bank of an unnamed creek."
Hap Collins and his friend Leonard Pine seem like pure east Texas rednecks in a lot of ways. They have crappy jobs working in rose fields, shoot clay pigeons with their shotguns, drive worn out piece-of-shit vehicles, raise hunting dogs and listen to country music. But Leonard is black and gay, and Hap is a former damn dirty hippie who got sent to prison for refusing his induction notice during Vietnam as a protest against the war. So they aren’t exactly the Dukes of Hazard.Years after his prison stay ended his marriage, Hap’s ex-wife Trudy still likes to come around regularly to break his heart all over again. Trudy is another former flower child who still thinks she can change the world while Hap’s time in prison took care of all his idealistic notions. When Trudy shows up again, she’s got a new proposal for Hap.Trudy and some other old damn dirty hippies have gotten a lead on a lot of cash from a bank robbery that was believed lost. They think it’s in a sunken boat in an remote river area that Hap grew up in. Trudy wants Hap’s help, and Hap insists on cutting Leonard in, too. But both have second thoughts when they meet the old radicals they’ll be working with. Still convinced that they can revive the spirit of the ‘60s, they want the money for their pet causes while Hap and Leonard just want to be able to stop working in the rose fields. Joe Lansdale is one of the funniest guys I’ve ever read, and he really knows about rural living and the redneck lifestyle. Every time I read one of his books, I feel like I’m sitting on a front porch in my old hometown while listening to some entertaining story teller spin a yarn about the trouble that some idiot good old boys got themselves into. The series is profane, politically incorrect, violent, and hilarious. Lansdale created a couple of my all-time favorite characters in Hap and Leonard.
What do You think about Savage Season (2015)?
In the debut novel featuring Hap Collins and Leonard Pine, both men are pulled into a simple big money score, but soon find themselves way over their heads. An ex of Hap's approaches him about helping her and a few friends recover lost money from a long-ago bank robbery, and Hap convinces his good buddy, and Vietnam vet, Leonard, to come on board, albeit, begrudgingly. And of course, things go south.Full of wry humor, sharp dialogue (with a dash or three of social commentary) and taut, gut-wrenching suspense, Lansdale is masterful in this Texas noir crime thriller. Consider me a huge Hap and Leonard fan now.
—Chris
Hap Collins and Leonard Pine are two rural guys just scraping by, best friends who together make up a badass and hilarious odd couple. Hap is a white heterosexual former idealist who went to prison for making a point out of dodging the draft, and Leonard is a black gay Vietnam veteran. When Hap's ex-wife, Trudy, comes to them with a sketchy proposition for making a lot of money fast, Hap's desire for Trudy combines with his and Leonard's need for living expenses, making the opportunity too good to pass up and drawing them into a dangerous scheme that proves to have too many variables.This is probably best described as a backwoods-noir-caper-thriller. It had a lot to like, including two likable yet grumpy anti-heroes that crack wise non-stop, a flawed and dangerous supporting cast, a plot that was simple yet suspenseful and difficult to predict, an interesting backstory involving American idealism and how it changed people in different ways, and a satisfying dose of sudden violence. Lansdale's prose is quite good and has a little of that classic "private eye" feel as we see the world through Hap's cynical point of view. This is one more series I'm sold on.I caught the news that the television adaptation is coming (of course it is) and after reading the casting, I got stuck on picturing Hap and Leonard as James Purefoy and Michael Kenneth Williams in the roles. Hopefully they work on TV as well as they did in my imagination.
—Aaron
SAVAGE SEASON is a fast-paced, hard-boiled suspense novel about two hardworking friends, Hap and Leonard, who can't resist the opportunity to make a quick $200,000 a piece. All they have to do is find the money that is supposedly buried somewhere in an icy river where Hap grew up. But nothing comes easy for these two and it isn't long before they're not only dealing with vicious weather but also greedy and psychotic humans.This is a short little book that packs a punch. It is unflinchingly and sometimes painfully graphic but the characters of Hap and Leonard, who both have a really nasty sense of humor, provide much needed comic relief. I don't want to give too much away here but this book isn't going to become one of my favorites, even though I enjoyed most of it, because of a certain horrendous plot twist towards the end of the story that tore out my heart.
—Bark's Book Nonsense
