Behold the God of the Razor! Adrenalin-charged splatterpunk pulp-horror at its finest, The Nightrunners was the first Joe R. Lansdale novel I ever read, April 1991 according to the notation I made inside the front cover. Brutally violent, a sort of supernatural retelling of Peckinpah's Straw Dogs. Publisher Tor had its horror line graced with gloriously tacky covers like this one. I read mine carefully and it's still in fine condition. Native Texan Lansdale has finally started to win awards and sales lo these many years later.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
The Nightrunners by Joe R. Lansdale (1987): Shot Down & Deadly
Behold the God of the Razor! Adrenalin-charged splatterpunk pulp-horror at its finest, The Nightrunners was the first Joe R. Lansdale novel I ever read, April 1991 according to the notation I made inside the front cover. Brutally violent, a sort of supernatural retelling of Peckinpah's Straw Dogs. Publisher Tor had its horror line graced with gloriously tacky covers like this one. I read mine carefully and it's still in fine condition. Native Texan Lansdale has finally started to win awards and sales lo these many years later.
Lansdale has been one consistent writer. I have this original Tor edition, too, and have also practiced "care" in reading it.
ReplyDeleteI've got a few more of Lansdale's books from that era in good shape, but they're not exactly horror, so I'm not sure if I'm going to cover them here or not. I'm glad he's continuing the Hap and Leonard series.
ReplyDeleteAn incredibly quick read and nearly as entertaining. The descriptions of it as a horror version of "Straw Dogs" are apt... and, yes, it is quite nasty.
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to say that I've been reading your blog with great enthusiasm--having gotten all the way back to the beginning, I'm looking forward to keeping up with it as you go along!
ReplyDeleteWow John thanks! Always reading something and working on more reviews...
ReplyDeletehey Will, you're one of the coolest guys I have met in my life, I'm going to start to read all of your entries in the blog, lots and lots of interesting stuff to discover and maybe read, your reviews are very witty
ReplyDeletethanks for your blog and some people like me are waiting for the book...
Greetings from Spain
Thanks Francisco! There *is* a project I've been helping along...
ReplyDeleteAh no! Is this really the first post!? I’ve been having a blast going back and reading through all the entries, while laid up with Covid. Thanks for all the years of entertainment! Truly one of the greatest blogs ever! Cheers , Mike
ReplyDeleteThank you, Mike! Happy to hear how much you've enjoyed this page!
ReplyDeleteAnd I have reached the beginning of an epic journey, thanks for the laughs and suggested terrors.
ReplyDeleteIt's inspired me to start my own paperback collection, despite it being hard, as there is not much of a market for old horror paperback in Norway. Or most countries where English isn't the native language for that matter. And insane shipping charges make it difficult to afford importing from the net as well.
I'm coming stateside, Orlando specifically, in November, hoping to find some good, cheap (and hopefully not too heavy) novels for my check-in luggage.