Customer Reviews

Bad Chili: A Hap and Leonard Novel (4)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Joe Lansdale is one of the most humorous writers out there today. From improbably probable situations (like Hap getting bit by a rabid squirrel) to tense, action packed scenes (including the tornado ending), BAD CHILI is the most fun you'll get in a suspense novel! Hap and Leonard are true friends, and their bantering is priceless. Lansdale knows how to use the most innovative dialogue and fleshed out, likeable characters, and he uses both Hap and Leonard, along with Jim Bob and Brett Sawyer, Clinton and Leon, Charlie, etc. The villains are nasty, and the plot deep and twisty. The romantic involvement between Brett and Hap is one of the most true to life and sexy encounters you'll find in fiction.
Lansdale is a great writer, one who knows how to write for his audience, entertain and intrigue them. It might be bad chili, but it's superb reading! Bon appetite!!!

Wow. Where to begin? If you dont know joe lansdale is I suggest you fly to a bookstore (or website because his stuff is hard to find) and bring your checkbook. Youll need it.

I wouldnt feel right if I didn't review one of Lansdales books. As I think he is the best american writer by far writing at this point-probably the world.

Basically anything you read by this guy is gonna knock your socks off. Bad Chili is better than anything Elmore Leonard is doing, better than anything Tarantino or these kind of suspense, thriller, shock creators is doing.

Simply put his dialogue is so true it hurts, his pacing is faster than the concord, and his plotting is smart and sophisticated.

I just hope Hollywood doesnt get a hold of him because theyll rob the soul of his stuff.

My boyfriend got this book. I took it upon myself to read it before he did, and I was surprised how good it was especially after my boyfriend made the comment that it was a "guy book".

I recommend this book to anyone that has a good sense of humor, and can deal with violent and vulgar themes.

A great book!

In the end it was a police procedural, but this thing will have you laughing your butts off. I hope he does more with these characters, but even if he doesn't - the story was a fun read.

These guys are a riot. You will not stop laughing from the opening line until the end. If you like your mysteries to have sarcastic, extremely funny dialogue, Hap and Leonard are for you. Best to start this series at the beginning.

Initially, I had to decide if the opening chapter was too far out for even Hap Collins and Leonard Pine, the unique but very real main characters in Joe Lansdale's crime series. However, after Hap left the hospital in the midst of in-patient (for insurance purposes) rabies treatment to look for his friend Leonard, the prime suspect in a biker's murder, I decided that once again, Lansdale had laid the groundwork and set the stage for an entertaining escape into one of his thrillers.

With the setting in East Texas and characters named Horse Dick, Big Man Mountain, Pierre, King Arthur and Jim Bob Lee, Lansdale manages to construct a plot around grease stealling, video gay bashing, possible police corruption, murder, torture, spousal abuse, and love between Hap and the dynamic and feisty Brett. (She's more than a handful and willing to meet every one of Hap's demands, sarcastic comments, and character flaws head-on. She'd be a welcome addition to any future entries into the series).

Obviously, I'm very satisfied with my decision to continue reading. In fact, reflecting back upon the story, even being bitten by a rabid squirrel makes sense. This is another highly rated Joe Lansdale entree.

It's surprising Joe R. Lansdale would write suspense novels, given his writing style. At least, that's what I thought when I first picked up "Bad Chili" and read the first page. The exact words are a little too explicit to be repeated here; suffice it to say Hap Collins' buddy Leonard has a creative method of nightclub bouncing. Reading Lansdale's style, one can almost picture a pair of cowboy boots propped up before the narrator, taking his time to unravel his tale.

In his way, with skill, Lansdale makes this work beautifully.

"Bad Chili" was my first Lansdale novel, but not the last by a long shot. He's too good a writer to put away, and his body of work is impressive. Next for me is "Mucho Mojo;" try this one and see what I mean!

After having read Joe R. Lansdale's beautiful and poignant novel, THE BOTTOMS (everybody should read this!), I decided to back track and try some of the books in his 'Hap Collins/Leonard Pine' series, starting with BAD CHILI. I hate to say it, but after just one novel, I'm now addicted to these two fascinating and utterly delightful characters. I found myself laughing so hard in the first four pages of this novel that I started crying and then got stomach cramps. I can't believe it's taken me so long to finally pick up a book by this fantastic author. I must've had my head buried in a hole of sand for the last seven years. What's BAD CHILI about? Well, it's about Hap Collins and Leonard Pine (a couple of schmucks as Leonard would say of himself and his friend) who find themselves getting caught up in the most outrageous and dangerous situations, usually because they're trying to help someone. Hap is white, in his mid-forties, hates violence, dislikes guns, tries to stay within the law, has a bald spot on the back of his head, and is generally the calmer of the two. Leonard is black and homosexual, trained in the martial arts, tougher than any five guys put together, and the first to lose his temper. When Hap returns home after working on an off shore oil rig for several months, he and Leonard go out into the woods to shoot cans and play catch up on each other's life. It isn't long before a big, mean squirrel with rabies comes bouncing out of the woods and chases Hap around the field before finally latching onto his arm. While Hap goes to the hospital, Leonard attempts to find his boyfriend, Raul, who's left him for another man. Both Raul and his new lover end up dead, and Leonard is blamed for their murders. This leads Hap and Leonard on a quest to find out whom the real killer is, not to mention the person behind a sex/video ring who films homosexuals being beat up by several guys and then sexually abused by them. Hap will encounter one of the most dangerous and biggest men he has ever met'a slightly deranged ex-wrestler who likes to apply electricity to a person's genitals before beating them to death with a baseball bat. If Hap thought the squirrel was deadly, waits till he meets Big Man Mountain! BAD CHILI is the most fun I've had with a novel in an extremely long time. I immediately loved the characters of Hap and Leonard, feeling as if these were two guys I'd like to know in real life. I couldn't get enough of the bantering between the two of them. Both men proved to be tough hombres who knew when to cross the line for payback. These are guys you'd want covering your back, or tracking down the killers after you're dead. They're like dogs with a bone that won't let go, no matter what the cost. Hurt them or one of their friends, and they'll track you down to the ends of the earth to get a little helping of revenge. Brett Sawyer, a... nurse, who long ago bonked her husband on the head and then set him on fire, is Hap's new love interest, and she's just as tough as he is. Then, there's Jim Bob Luke, a professional P.I. who reminded me just a little bit of Steven Seagal in his ability to go in and take out the bad guys in less than thirty seconds with no mercy shown. Mr. Lansdale's writing in BAD CHILI is like a cold Corona going down on a hot Texas day'it makes you sigh with pure happiness when the last drop is finally swallowed. The story has more twists and turns than the Sabine River; and, as my late grandpappy would say, the trials and tribulations that Hap and Leonard go through would be enough to make a preacher cuss. BAD CHILI is definitely the real thing. It's the kind of book that adds a strong sense of joy to one's life and makes a reader glad that he's alive to have these kind of experiences. Needless to say, I've already purchased the rest of the books in the series and intend on reading all of them within the next week or so. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

This novel isn't for prudes or people who can't leave politically correctness behind. For those who appreciate a lot of healthy belly laughs and down-home philosophy ("A Texan's idea of a salad is a few bananas and strawberries inside a mold of lime Jell-O"), then, by all means, read BAD CHILI. Joe R. Lansdale is the male version of Janet Evanovich, and if you've had the pleasure to delight in the humor of Ms. Evanovich, you'll get the message.

Hap Collins, a happy-go-lucky loser, and Leonard Pine, a rowdy, gay Black dude, are buddies who have a penchant for running into trouble. Hap, unlike his pal Leonard, is a gentle sort; but when he or his friends are threatened by chumps who "look like they'd twist the heads off parakeets and suck the neck stumps for entertainment," he forgets his nonviolence creed and goes for blood. They, along with Hap's new girlfriend, Brett, are some of the most likeable, funniest, real-life fictional characters in any modern novel. I won't give the plot away. You'll just have to find out for yourselves why I wanted the book to never end.

I have just completed my search for the rest (3) of the Hap and Leonard novels, all of which are too short. Mr. Lansdale, you are a proficient writer. From an instant fan: I beg you to please devote more of your time to writing more adventures of the likeable duo and, while you're at it if it's not asking too much, please add two or three hundred extra pages to the future books!

My husband introduced me to this twisted novelist, his characters are Texan w/ out being hicks, and the mystery has you turned everyway but loose. If you don't find something funny or offensive on every other page, then you aren't human and you don't have a funnybone. If you want a change of pace with 2 captivating characters and incredible storylines, then this book won't disappoint. If you're easily offended by deviant sex, vulgar language and gruesome death scenarios, drop this book and run. Otherwise, "Bad Chili" is the bomb!!!