Joe R. Lansdale

"The October Country" © 1990, original --/ cool f story ---------------------------------------------- Joe R. Lansdale "The Steam Man of the Prairie and the Dark Rider Get Down: A Dime Novel" © 2000, The Long Ones Mad Dog Summer and Other Stories, 2004 --/ fourth place f novella --/ wonder award --/ adventure award --/ shock value "Dime Novel" it very well may be, but if it had appeared for sale some hundred years ago (unrated and unabridged), it could've caused a few fatalities among unprepared Victorian readers, through sheer shock and utter, disgusted disbelief. It is an entirely wicked novella, and is meant to be just that. I daresay it's even more offensive than Lansdale's "Zeppelins West" - but for all that hype and coarse sensationalism, it is a gorgeous example of no-holds-barred Wild West Steampunk Blockbuster. It is a blast, like many, many works of Joe R. Lansdale in his screwed-up version of the Wild West (think "cow-punk" plus a few "Saw" movies) It is one heck of a ride, and it has everything a dime novel should have - mystery, wonder, adventure and crazed horror mixed with deeply dark atmosphere. You've been warned, but by all means, if you just watched, say, "Crank 2: High Voltage" and came out unaffected, then you'll see no problem with this novella either. This sort of ferocious entertainment in literature reminds me of some wild and crazed Clark Ashton Smith stories in the 1930s "Weird Tales" pulp. ---------------------------------------------- Joe R. Lansdale "Zeppelins West" (nv) (Ned the Seal series #1) © Subterranian Press, 2001 --/ third place cowpunk sf novel --/ wonder award --/ adventure award --/ idea award: cowpunk --/ humour award --/ style award --/ shock value --/ rare find ----------------------------------------------

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