Savage Season: A Hap and Leonard Novel (#1)

Quick, gritty read: After hearing positive reviews about Joe Landsale, I decided togive this one a try. Landsdale does not dissapoint. His characters arerealistic and say things real people say. His writing is concise and fluid; this is such an easy read that I polished it off in one sitting. I simply had to find out how everything wrapped up! This is not a horror novel in the traditional sense but rather a crime/suspense novel.The narrator, Hap, and his friend Leonard wind up in a post-60's idealistic crime plot that sinks them deeper and deeper into trouble. Hap says of his ex-wife Trudy, the dame that leads them both astray, "last time she had come around and gone away, I had started on a monumental drunk that embarrassed the winos down at the highway mission." You'd think he'd listen to Leonard who tells him that Trudy is "as fake as pro-wrestling." But then you wouldn't get to read the rest of this roller coaster! This is one that will appeal to fans of a variety of genres. Horror, crime, detective, suspense...SAVAGE has it all along with some bitingly funny dialogue. MUCHO MOJO is the follow-up to SAVAGE. That's my next Lansdale stop.

I read this in one day except for the last half hour, which I finished the next morning. The plot was thin in my opinion but this skillful author made the best of it. It contains blow by blow descriptions of various fights, by fists, knives, and guns. Not my thing, except maybe at the end of thrillers. Hap and Leonard are good main characters for this type of novel, but, again, really not my thing. I probably will not pick up the next one in this long running series, but may look into other titles by this talented author. I liked it; didn't love it.

IfFirst time for this author. Entertaining. A bit far fetched but humorous just the dame.Will probably try another book

I like Hap and Leonard. This is a very rough and tumble introduction to the pair, through Hap's POV. The pace is slow at first, and there's a lot of reflection on the past and who they used to be. It sets the location and timeframe very well, and by the time it all hit the fan, I felt I could well visualize not only the location, but the characters.Not so much a mystery, as a story of suspense and drama, and a fight for their lives, when a job to make some 'easy' money goes very, very bad.I like the guys enough to see what happens to them next.

Savage Season is a stand alone novel but is part of a whole bunch of books about two characters named Hap and Leonard. It is the only one of these books I have read but I think I get the idea here... Two buddies, one is black the other is white, one is conservative and the other is liberal, one straight and the other is gay, one is a veteran and the other avoided going to war. etc These guys are an unlikely pairing and will get into a whole bunch of misadventures but will somehow live to show up again in another book or story or adventure. There will be tense moments, maybe a few tender moments and some funny moments as the characters and their well-crafted dialog grow on the reader, over time. A lot of this will be driven by the characters differences but sustained by their common bond of friendship. I have read a good number of Lansdale books but had avoided taking the plunge into Hap and Leonard, in favor of some of his other work, including The Bottoms, The Thicket, A Fine Dark Line and so on. Having read my first one, I expect it won't be my last. While I rate The Bottoms as the pinnacle of Lansdale and honestly one of the best books ever, I could see an occasional Hap and Leonard finding its way into the rotation as a light read between some heavier material. If you want to take the plunge, go for it but be warned at times the water in the Sabine river can be pretty darn cold. 4/5