The Big Blow (Hardcover)

Be advised that this is a novella. 153 pages, very large margins. Not saying it's not worth picking up, or reading, just warning you in case you were gonna take it to the beach expecting a long read. The story is set in 1900--it originally appeared in a shorter version in the uneven collection Revelations --and covers five days, broken down by times (4 PM, 10:21 AM, etc. ) rather than chapters. A young black man, Jack, has beaten a white man in a boxing match at the Sporting Club. The townspeople are none too thrilled about a white man losing to him and hire McBride, a vicious and successful fighter, to face off against him, offering more money if McBride will kill him. Meanwhile, the storm of the century is brewing, a dangerous tropical storm blowing in from Key West. Will they even make it to the match? Will the townspeople the book follows live through it?

This is classic, wonderful Lansdale. We spend a lot of time with McBride, who is entertaining but not a likable guy. In fact, most readers will probably want him dead for at least three different reasons by page 20. Jack, his opponent, is not a saint, but he's fighting for his dignity in a racist town. Yes, the characters are racist--the n-word gets thrown around quite a lot-- but it's the characters, not the author,using the term and it's not exactly out-of-place for the location and time period. Offensive, but sadly realistic. We also follow a young couple with a baby, who have to keep moving to higher and higher ground as the flooding worsens... soon they're up to the second floor of their house, with their valuables and their poor scared horse. If you have a phobia of deep water or drowning (I do) some of the scenes, such as the description oft he furniture below them thumping on the ceiling, grating against the floor on which they stand, will make your blood turn to icewater. Actually, they'd probably make anyone's blood chill, phobia or not, especially when Lansdale follows some very unlucky men stuck out at sea on a fishing boat (shades of The Perfect Storm, but remember this story was first published in 97, way before the movie). No matter how bad off you think you are, you'll be thanking God you're not in their shoes.

Lansdale is that most rare and enjoyable of authors to read in that he fits all my criteria for an author who I'd spend my last 20 bucks on to read his latest: a great writer AND a great storyteller, plus this man writes with style (see the fornicating rat description). There's no-one like him out there. This HC may be pricey for the word count, but it's so well written I felt that even though I finished it in one evening, it was worth every penny.

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