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the_enobee's review against another edition
5.0
Best stand alone Lansdale
Maybe the best Lansdale I’ve read period. Tons of heart and humor as per usual, and a more than satisfying ending.
Maybe the best Lansdale I’ve read period. Tons of heart and humor as per usual, and a more than satisfying ending.
cathiedalziel's review against another edition
4.0
This story drew me in from the beginning and held my interest to the end. Raw, gritty tale of a young man (age 16ish) trying to get his younger sister back from a band of outlaws. He is helped by a black gravedigger who likes his liquor too much, the gravedigger's hog and a midget, named shorty. Shorty is the toughest and wisest of them all. Hog can hold his own too. (These were my 2 favourite characters.) The language in this tale is not for the squeamish; it takes place in early 20th century Texas.
Deliverance meets the old wild west.
It made me very glad I'm an urbanite in the 21 century.
Deliverance meets the old wild west.
It made me very glad I'm an urbanite in the 21 century.
greybeard49's review against another edition
4.0
I love watching a good Western but have rarely read any, the ‘Lonesome Dove’ series being an amazing exception. ‘The Thicket’ was a GOOD book, full stop. Leonard is a wonderful storyteller and creates top quality characters and dialogue. To ensure that the setting and time period are created with realism means that he pulls few punches - violence and hard living permeate the story - not unnecessarily. Will try to find more like this by him.
jmclincoln's review against another edition
2.0
I love Joe R Lansdale! Hap and Leonard are two of my most favorite characters. I was overwhelmed by how bleak this story was. Too bleak for me. The writing was as excellent as usual, however.
lmstone1's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
kathrinpassig's review against another edition
4.0
Fügt dem Genre "absurder Western, in dem alle Beteiligten wie britische Anwälte reden" nichts Neues hinzu, aber es ist nun mal ein Genre, bei dem ich den Buchkaufbutton so unkritisch betätige wie die Protagonisten die Abzüge ihrer doppelläufigen Schrotflinten. Natürlich sind die Verbrecher wie immer ungewaschene Monster und es ist ganz klar, dass man viel Böses tun muss, um das Gute zu bewirken. Frauen dienen immer noch als Deko und zur Rechtfertigung des vielen Mordens, aber immerhin werden sie hier mal , und sie müssen auch nicht .
Spoiler
nicht rein zufällig gerettet, bevor ihre Ehre angetastet werden kannSpoiler
nach der Ehrverletzung leiderleider aus der Handlung wegsterben, weil man so ja keinesfalls weiterleben kanndantastic's review against another edition
4.0
When his grandfather is murdered and his sister kidnapped by outlaws, young Jack Parker goes looking for vengeance. With a four gauge wielding man named Eustace, a midget sharpshooter named Shorty, and a hog named Hog, he goes hunting for Cutthroat Bill and his gang. Will he survive long enough to find his sister?
I got this ARC from Netgalley. Thank you, Netgalley! Although it only took two damn months for my request to get approved...
Here we are, the 36th Joe Lansdale book I've read. The Thicket is part [b:True Grit|257845|True Grit|Charles Portis|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1328027080s/257845.jpg|1320617], part coming of age tale, and all Joe Lansdale.
The plot of The Thicket is simple enough. It's a tale of a young man's coming of age and quest for vengeance. In the wake of his parents' death from the pox, Jack and his sister Lula are traveling with their grandfather until they run afoul of some outlaws. Jack survives and meets up with Shorty and Eustace and the tale kicks into high gear.
The usual Lansdale mojo is in full effect. The dialogue is a kind of redneck poetry of profanity and clever similes. Lansdale's ear for dialogue always surprises me. I could easily hear the same dialogue coming out of people down at the local Wal-Mart. And the violence, oh, the violence. There's a steady stream of violence, dolled out like appetizers, until the main course, the bloody shootout at the end.
The characters Jack meets on his adventure are a colorful bunch, from Eustace, the man of mixed blood that wields a damn cannon, to Shorty, the educated little man who is a crack shot, the scarred sheriff Winton, to Jimmie, the whore with a heart of something resembling gold that teaches Jack a few tricks, both in and out of the bedroom.
Since it's a Lansdale book, no one gets out unscathed. The gunfights didn't feel like Hollywood gunfights at all, more chaos than anything else. The entire cast was changed, either by the carnage or by becoming dead.
Lansdale is one of the authors I feel like I would get along with based on his writing. Where George Pelecanos and I would probably spent time discussing music, I could see myself bullshitting with Uncle Joe on my back porch with a couple beers and some BBQ on the grill.
That's about all I have to say. It's one of the better Lansdale books in recent memory so just read the damn thing!
I got this ARC from Netgalley. Thank you, Netgalley! Although it only took two damn months for my request to get approved...
Here we are, the 36th Joe Lansdale book I've read. The Thicket is part [b:True Grit|257845|True Grit|Charles Portis|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1328027080s/257845.jpg|1320617], part coming of age tale, and all Joe Lansdale.
The plot of The Thicket is simple enough. It's a tale of a young man's coming of age and quest for vengeance. In the wake of his parents' death from the pox, Jack and his sister Lula are traveling with their grandfather until they run afoul of some outlaws. Jack survives and meets up with Shorty and Eustace and the tale kicks into high gear.
The usual Lansdale mojo is in full effect. The dialogue is a kind of redneck poetry of profanity and clever similes. Lansdale's ear for dialogue always surprises me. I could easily hear the same dialogue coming out of people down at the local Wal-Mart. And the violence, oh, the violence. There's a steady stream of violence, dolled out like appetizers, until the main course, the bloody shootout at the end.
The characters Jack meets on his adventure are a colorful bunch, from Eustace, the man of mixed blood that wields a damn cannon, to Shorty, the educated little man who is a crack shot, the scarred sheriff Winton, to Jimmie, the whore with a heart of something resembling gold that teaches Jack a few tricks, both in and out of the bedroom.
Since it's a Lansdale book, no one gets out unscathed. The gunfights didn't feel like Hollywood gunfights at all, more chaos than anything else. The entire cast was changed, either by the carnage or by becoming dead.
Lansdale is one of the authors I feel like I would get along with based on his writing. Where George Pelecanos and I would probably spent time discussing music, I could see myself bullshitting with Uncle Joe on my back porch with a couple beers and some BBQ on the grill.
That's about all I have to say. It's one of the better Lansdale books in recent memory so just read the damn thing!
neilsarver's review against another edition
5.0
This book combines a kind of tall tale storytelling with a slightly more down-to-earth sentimental looking back at a coming of age. It's filled with wonderfully realized interesting characters, a lot of humor and a fair amount of violence, most of it brutal. It was, in fact, almost exactly what I'd ask for if someone came to find out the perfect book for me. I think Joe Lansdale might have just outdone himself with this one.
lyellboi's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0