Joe Lansdale Books

Joe Lansdale is an American author, writer martial arts instructor and martial arts expert. He written stories in different genres like mystery, suspense, Western horror and science fiction. To date he has written and published 45 novels and 30 short story collections, and many comic book adaptations. Many of the novels became film adaptations as well.

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His best known works include the Hap and Leonard series that comprises of nine novels, three novellas, as well as two short story collections. They story revolves around two friends Leonard Pine and Hap Collins who reside in the fictional town of Laborde that is located in East Texas. Together, they are found solving different sort of crimes in each of the books.

Joe Lansdale Awards

Joe Lansdale has received several awards for his superb writings over the course of many years. He was awarded Bram Stoker awards eight times which is unlike any other author. Then, he earned the Edgar Award, the British Fantasy Award, the Horror Writers Association Lifetime, the Herodotus Historical Fiction Award, the Grinzani Cavour Prize for Literature, as well as the Inkpot Award for Contributions to Science Fiction and Fantasy.

Joe Lansdale Books Turned into TV/Movies

Many of Joe’s books have also got published in several different languages. Furthermore, many of the stories have been adapted to television and films as well. The popular ones include Drive-in Date, The Job, Bubba Ho-Tep, Christmas with the Dead, Cold in July, Incident on and off a Mountain Road, Drunken Moon, By the Hair of the Head and Hap and Leonard.

Apart from writing books, Joe also managed to write for television as well. He wrote four episodes each for Batman –The Animated Series, Perchance to Dream and one episode for the Superman: The Animated Series as well.

Best Joe Lansdale Books

Three of the popular and much liked books by Joe Lansdale are as follows:

The Bottoms: This book is one of the best classic American storytelling in its most darkest, affecting and truest form respectively. Set in the East Texas it shows the year 1933 when the Great Depression has swept over the country and is moving like a slow storm towards this area.

It is the time when young Harry Collins with his little sister stumble across the dead body of a woman. This woman had been brutally mutilated and left to die in the bottoms of the River Sabine. The news of the dead woman leaves the whole town in shock and tension. Soon, another dead body turns up and it’s of the white woman and all Harry was left to do was to stop the killing spree with his Klan neighbors. So, he with his sister set out to investigate who the real killer is, but the truth is ever so dark and gruesome apart from the killings themselves.

Edge of Water: This book narrates the terrifying tale of a pretty girl May Lynn who was all set to become a Hollywood celebrity. But she appears dead one day and the place where she is found is the Sabine River.

Sue Ellen is the best friend of May. Their other good friends are Jinx and Terry. Together, they along with May’s mother dig up May’s dead body and burnt it to ashes. The ashes are then taken to Hollywood. This was done in the hopes that at least her remains would be spread in the land of her dreams.

The Thicket: This book got short-listed for the Ala Reading List Award for History seeing its powerful and gripping story that was much better than other books.

The story unfolds with the character Jack Parker who had already experienced much tragedy in life. At five years of age, his grandmother had died in a farm accident. Then, his parents had just become victim to the smallpox and died eventually. This left him and his sister Lula orphaned all too regrettably so. Soon, other catastrophes strike soon at their uncle’s farm. First, a group of bank robber murder Jack’s grandfather and then they kidnap Jack’s sister as well.

With no other relative or elder left for miles, Jack has to grow up fast and form a group of heroes to rescue his sister quickly. But all he could manage is the support of a bounty-hunting dwarf and charismatic person Shorty and Jimmie Sue. Shorty is the son of a grave-digger named Eustace and he along Jimmie Sue have some very intimate knowledge about the bandits. Only time reveals how much they are successful in their mission.

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