Joe R. Lansdale

Eleven novels in (and something like the 18th book with Hap and Leonard, if you also count all the collections that include a H&L story), Lansdale doesn't seem to be slowing down on his greatest creation.

The books are still fun, and I do enjoy the novels more than the shorts, to be honest, however, as a few others are saying, this series is beginning to show its age a touch.

All the usual things happen here.
- Someone shows up to hire the boys.
- The case takes a few complicated turns.
- Hap and Leonard crack wise a lot to each other.
- Hap and Leonard crack wise a lot to others, most of whom don't appreciate the humour.
- Hap and Brett get up to their bedroom hijinks.
- Leonard eats vanilla cookies.
- Leonard upsets someone due to his skin colour.
- Leonard upsets someone due to his homosexuality.
- The boys get beaten up a touch.
- The boys beat the crap out of others.
- The boys find a dead body.
- The boys make a few dead bodies of their own.
- Everything works out in the end.

My point is, if you go in expecting this (as I do), then you get some pleasure in ticking off the boxes. However, if you go in looking for the same excitement, danger, and unpredictability of the earlier novels, you will be sorely disappointed. Yes, Lansdale can still offer up some different angles (the mother and son who hire the boys, for instance), but for the most part, this once dangerous series has become rather safe.

Which is a shame.

But also a touch understandable. I know Lansdale plays with their age on a very sliding scale, but there's also a point where, no matter how much he slides that scale, the reader has to wonder how long these two guys can continue their run without facing some serious consequences.… (more)