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mulkurul's review against another edition
4.0
The Pit ☆☆☆☆☆
Duck Hunt ☆☆☆☆☆
By Bizarre Hands ☆☆☆☆☆
On the Far Side of the Cadillac Desert with Dead Folks ☆☆☆☆☆
The Steel Valentine ☆☆☆☆
The Fat Man and the Elephant ☆☆☆☆
Tight Little Stitches in a Dead Man's Back ☆☆☆☆
The Windstorm Passes ☆☆☆☆
Night They Missed the Horror Show ☆☆☆☆
Duck Hunt ☆☆☆☆☆
By Bizarre Hands ☆☆☆☆☆
On the Far Side of the Cadillac Desert with Dead Folks ☆☆☆☆☆
The Steel Valentine ☆☆☆☆
The Fat Man and the Elephant ☆☆☆☆
Tight Little Stitches in a Dead Man's Back ☆☆☆☆
The Windstorm Passes ☆☆☆☆
Night They Missed the Horror Show ☆☆☆☆
rock_n_reads's review against another edition
5.0
Well, it finally happened. After countless mentions of his name and talk of his immense talent, I took the plunge and read my first book by Joe R. Lansdale. As you know, I believe that short fiction collections are a great place to begin a new (to me) author’s work. Because of this, I decided to start my trip into the land of Lansdale with BY BIZARRE HANDS. The edition I have is a 2016 republication of the original, which was released in 1991. It now contains both a foreword (by Lewis Shiner) and an afterword (by Ramsey Campbell). I love these additions to a book, and in this case, each was a perfect bookend to the stories found in between.
If you’re already a fan of Lansdale, you won’t learn anything new from my review, but I hope you’ll keep reading as I further validate the praise you’ve given this author. If you’re waiting to take the plunge into Lansdale’s writing, what I tell you here might be similar to what you’ve already heard, but I hope this time it prompts you to jump in. Better late to the party than never, right?
Lansdale’s writing is everything I was told it would be. BY BIZARRE HANDS is a horror collection, but the stories within span so many genres that they can’t be confined to just one. Together, they form a perfect example of how versatile and limitless the genre can be—a full display of how “horror” cannot be narrowly defined or fit into a box. Here you’ve got a wide range of story types: western, post-apocalyptic, alternate history, and coming-of-age are just a few. They are all horror stories in the sense that they force the reader to look fear in its face and leave feeling unsettled, shaken, or even flat out frightened. I love that these stories are so versatile, and believe that more readers would take a chance on horror if they knew it could be like this.
The stories in this collection are memorable. The writing is unapologetic, and a perfect blend of great storytelling elements. The dialogue and setting are often characters in their own right, and the human characters themselves are what seal the deal in each of these tales. Most of the stories in this book have no hint of the supernatural, and are further proof that it’s not a necessity in order for horror to be effective. In this collection, Lansdale has written some of the most frightening stories I’ve ever read, with the majority of them based on human monsters. The characters are real, raw, and often downright vile. In these tales, I’ve come across some of the most memorable antagonists I’ve ever encountered. As I was reading, I often felt like I was watching crime unfold from the sidelines—like I couldn’t stop watching in horror, and I was helpless to stop it. This is some highly effective writing, friends.
My Top 5 in this collection are:
-BY BIZARRE HANDS
-BOYS WILL BE BOYS
-NIGHT THEY MISSED THE HORROR SHOW
-DOWN BY THE SEA NEAR THE GREAT BIG ROCK
-ON THE FAR SIDE OF THE CADILLAC DESERT WITH DEAD FOLKS
After reading just this one collection, I understand why Joe R. Lansdale’s work is treasured by so many. Many of my favorite authors have been influenced by him, and now that I’ve read it for myself, I can see hints of his fingerprints on the work of those he has inspired. I have no doubts that he can write in any genre and the end results will be spectacular. These stories won’t be leaving my memory any time soon, if ever. I’m thankful I’ve got more of this author’s work waiting on my shelves. From this day forward, you can count me in as a member of the chorus singing Lansdale’s praises.
If you’re already a fan of Lansdale, you won’t learn anything new from my review, but I hope you’ll keep reading as I further validate the praise you’ve given this author. If you’re waiting to take the plunge into Lansdale’s writing, what I tell you here might be similar to what you’ve already heard, but I hope this time it prompts you to jump in. Better late to the party than never, right?
Lansdale’s writing is everything I was told it would be. BY BIZARRE HANDS is a horror collection, but the stories within span so many genres that they can’t be confined to just one. Together, they form a perfect example of how versatile and limitless the genre can be—a full display of how “horror” cannot be narrowly defined or fit into a box. Here you’ve got a wide range of story types: western, post-apocalyptic, alternate history, and coming-of-age are just a few. They are all horror stories in the sense that they force the reader to look fear in its face and leave feeling unsettled, shaken, or even flat out frightened. I love that these stories are so versatile, and believe that more readers would take a chance on horror if they knew it could be like this.
The stories in this collection are memorable. The writing is unapologetic, and a perfect blend of great storytelling elements. The dialogue and setting are often characters in their own right, and the human characters themselves are what seal the deal in each of these tales. Most of the stories in this book have no hint of the supernatural, and are further proof that it’s not a necessity in order for horror to be effective. In this collection, Lansdale has written some of the most frightening stories I’ve ever read, with the majority of them based on human monsters. The characters are real, raw, and often downright vile. In these tales, I’ve come across some of the most memorable antagonists I’ve ever encountered. As I was reading, I often felt like I was watching crime unfold from the sidelines—like I couldn’t stop watching in horror, and I was helpless to stop it. This is some highly effective writing, friends.
My Top 5 in this collection are:
-BY BIZARRE HANDS
-BOYS WILL BE BOYS
-NIGHT THEY MISSED THE HORROR SHOW
-DOWN BY THE SEA NEAR THE GREAT BIG ROCK
-ON THE FAR SIDE OF THE CADILLAC DESERT WITH DEAD FOLKS
After reading just this one collection, I understand why Joe R. Lansdale’s work is treasured by so many. Many of my favorite authors have been influenced by him, and now that I’ve read it for myself, I can see hints of his fingerprints on the work of those he has inspired. I have no doubts that he can write in any genre and the end results will be spectacular. These stories won’t be leaving my memory any time soon, if ever. I’m thankful I’ve got more of this author’s work waiting on my shelves. From this day forward, you can count me in as a member of the chorus singing Lansdale’s praises.
gengelcox's review
3.0
Lansdale’s world is filled with razors, bad boys, drive-ins, pain, unfulfilled desires, injustice, bigotry, preachers. But most of all, it’s filled with energy and truth. By Bizarre Hands is Joe’s first collection, but rest assured that it won’t be the last; talented and prolific are two more words synonymous with Lansdale. Worth the price of the collection alone is the Stoker award-winning story, “Night They Missed the Horror Show,” to my mind the best horror story in the last ten years, no small recommendation. But also herein are the genesis stories for Lansdale’s novels [b:The Nightrunners|219734|The Nightrunners|Joe R. Lansdale|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1392983192s/219734.jpg|212750] (“Boys Will Be Boys”) and [b:The Magic Wagon|882571|The Magic Wagon|Joe R. Lansdale|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1226829677s/882571.jpg|1806398] (“The Windstorm Passes”), as well as collecting obscure Lansdale classics such as “Tight Little Stitches in a Dead Man’s Back” (from [b:Masques|285224|Masques (Sianim, #1 / Aralorn, #1)|Patricia Briggs|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1245316307s/285224.jpg|276722]) and “I Tell You It’s Love” (from Modern Stories #1, a one-shot magazine edited by [a:Lewis Shiner|150432|Lewis Shiner|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1235134206p2/150432.jpg] and Edith Shiner).
Two stories are new to this volume: “The Steel Valentine” and “The Fat Man and the Elephant.” The former is a relative of [a:Stephen King|3389|Stephen King|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1362814142p2/3389.jpg]’s story, “The Ledge,” a battle between two men, one ruthless and cruel and the other learning how to be. An interesting variation on the theme, yet not as original as I had come to expect from Lansdale. On the other hand, “The Fat Man and the Elephant” is something that could only have been written by Joe. A curious mix of metaphysics and good ol’ fashion religion, with a little zen on the side, the story centers on Sonny, a Baptist minister, who “communes” with a sideshow elephant.
What makes Lansdale different from the hordes of horror writers flooding the market today? It’s his sense of place. Joe grew up in the backwoods of East Texas, and almost all of his stories are set there. Trapped underneath the evergreens, there lurks a different sort of horror, one that Joe escaped from and is telling you about now: small town Texas. The people are more alien than you might imagine, the settings more bizarre, but in Lansdale’s stories, they come alive before your eyes to reveal these differences. And the reason Lansdale’s stories work? Because by the time you understand the differences, you have also discovered the similarities within your own back yard.
By Bizarre Hands is only available in a hardcover edition from Mark Ziesing, who is also publishing hardcover editions of Lansdale’s recent paperback thrillers [b:Cold in July|219715|Cold in July|Joe R. Lansdale|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1172804753s/219715.jpg|3195345] and [b:Savage Season|102114|Savage Season (Hap and Leonard, #1)|Joe R. Lansdale|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1171484467s/102114.jpg|98454]. No other small publisher (well, maybe Ursus Imprints, Arkham House, and Scream/Press) puts as much quality into the production as Ziesing and all three of these books are as beautiful as the work is talented. Highly recommended.
Two stories are new to this volume: “The Steel Valentine” and “The Fat Man and the Elephant.” The former is a relative of [a:Stephen King|3389|Stephen King|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1362814142p2/3389.jpg]’s story, “The Ledge,” a battle between two men, one ruthless and cruel and the other learning how to be. An interesting variation on the theme, yet not as original as I had come to expect from Lansdale. On the other hand, “The Fat Man and the Elephant” is something that could only have been written by Joe. A curious mix of metaphysics and good ol’ fashion religion, with a little zen on the side, the story centers on Sonny, a Baptist minister, who “communes” with a sideshow elephant.
What makes Lansdale different from the hordes of horror writers flooding the market today? It’s his sense of place. Joe grew up in the backwoods of East Texas, and almost all of his stories are set there. Trapped underneath the evergreens, there lurks a different sort of horror, one that Joe escaped from and is telling you about now: small town Texas. The people are more alien than you might imagine, the settings more bizarre, but in Lansdale’s stories, they come alive before your eyes to reveal these differences. And the reason Lansdale’s stories work? Because by the time you understand the differences, you have also discovered the similarities within your own back yard.
By Bizarre Hands is only available in a hardcover edition from Mark Ziesing, who is also publishing hardcover editions of Lansdale’s recent paperback thrillers [b:Cold in July|219715|Cold in July|Joe R. Lansdale|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1172804753s/219715.jpg|3195345] and [b:Savage Season|102114|Savage Season (Hap and Leonard, #1)|Joe R. Lansdale|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1171484467s/102114.jpg|98454]. No other small publisher (well, maybe Ursus Imprints, Arkham House, and Scream/Press) puts as much quality into the production as Ziesing and all three of these books are as beautiful as the work is talented. Highly recommended.
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