Hap Collins and Leonard Pine are best friends. They live near one another and they just understand each other. Leonard is a cocky gay black Vietnam vet who doesn't find Hap attractive at all, and likes to take care of his dogs. Hap is a straight liberal white ex-con who still has it bad for his ex-wife Trudy. Hap and Leonard make their living doing blue collar work and like to relax listening to Hank Williams on vinyl while drinking their beers and sharing their life stories and tall tales.
Hap's ex-wife Trudy shows up unexpectedly and spins a yarn too good to be true. A half million dollars is in a muddy creek bed somewhere in the Sabine River near East Texas wrapped up in water-proof containers. Hap and Leonard have nothing better to do, so they join up in the search. Not that Leonard needed his arm twisted for a cut of some cash, even though he can't stand Trudy and the way she treats Hap. But, they meet up with an ex-radical from the sixties, and a few idealists who want to save the world and go diving. Finding the money is only half the battle. The other half is keeping their lives! Leonard and Hap are really not surprised to see themselves the victims of betrayal. The ending of this well-spun tale will have you on the edge of your seat!
SAVAGE SEASON is a thrilling, laugh out loud, page-turning adventure. Hap and Leonard compliment each other perfectly and had me rooting for them while clutching my sides in laughter. I can just see the two of them on the big screen, and hope to in the future. Lansdale does a wonderful job of depicting the action and the bantering between Hap and Leonard had me hooked from page one. The first in the Leonard and Hap series, I am looking forward to more wonderful adventures with these two crazy and noble characters.
Hap's ex-wife Trudy shows up unexpectedly and spins a yarn too good to be true. A half million dollars is in a muddy creek bed somewhere in the Sabine River near East Texas wrapped up in water-proof containers. Hap and Leonard have nothing better to do, so they join up in the search. Not that Leonard needed his arm twisted for a cut of some cash, even though he can't stand Trudy and the way she treats Hap. But, they meet up with an ex-radical from the sixties, and a few idealists who want to save the world and go diving. Finding the money is only half the battle. The other half is keeping their lives! Leonard and Hap are really not surprised to see themselves the victims of betrayal. The ending of this well-spun tale will have you on the edge of your seat!
SAVAGE SEASON is a thrilling, laugh out loud, page-turning adventure. Hap and Leonard compliment each other perfectly and had me rooting for them while clutching my sides in laughter. I can just see the two of them on the big screen, and hope to in the future. Lansdale does a wonderful job of depicting the action and the bantering between Hap and Leonard had me hooked from page one. The first in the Leonard and Hap series, I am looking forward to more wonderful adventures with these two crazy and noble characters.
I've read and enjoyed a few other Lansdale books but this is the first Hap and Leonard novel that I have read. It is also the first book in the series. I decided to read some of these because I have watched the first two seasons of the Hap and Leonard TV series which I really found enjoyable. This book is the basis for the first season of the show which followed the novel pretty closely but expanded on the story in some aspects.
This was a pretty quick read (I read it in one afternoon) and I liked it enough to want to read more in the series. Being the first in the series, this one provided some background on the pair, Hap being a straight white male who decides to go to prison rather that fight in Vietnam. While Leonard is a gay black man who did fight in Vietnam. Hap's ex-wife, Trudy turns up with a job for Hap that could net him a substantial amount of money and of course Hap insists on including Leonard in the adventure. They're out to find some cash from an old bank robbery that was left in the swamps of the Sabine River in East Texas. Hap grew up in the area and feels he can locate where the stash may be. Leonard goes along to try to keep Hap out of trouble and provide some expertise in diving even though he feels Trudy is a snake and can't be trusted. Things get complicated along the way and a lot of bloodletting ensues before it reaches its conclusion where you wonder if anyone will be left standing. Lansdale manages to make his characters believable for the most part and throws in a lot of humor along the way...a good mix with the extreme violence. I'll be looking forward to reading more in this series.
This was a pretty quick read (I read it in one afternoon) and I liked it enough to want to read more in the series. Being the first in the series, this one provided some background on the pair, Hap being a straight white male who decides to go to prison rather that fight in Vietnam. While Leonard is a gay black man who did fight in Vietnam. Hap's ex-wife, Trudy turns up with a job for Hap that could net him a substantial amount of money and of course Hap insists on including Leonard in the adventure. They're out to find some cash from an old bank robbery that was left in the swamps of the Sabine River in East Texas. Hap grew up in the area and feels he can locate where the stash may be. Leonard goes along to try to keep Hap out of trouble and provide some expertise in diving even though he feels Trudy is a snake and can't be trusted. Things get complicated along the way and a lot of bloodletting ensues before it reaches its conclusion where you wonder if anyone will be left standing. Lansdale manages to make his characters believable for the most part and throws in a lot of humor along the way...a good mix with the extreme violence. I'll be looking forward to reading more in this series.
This is a great book! The characterization is like that of Stark's Parker novels, the violence as vivid as a Tarantino movie, and Lansdale's dialog is as snappy and darkly humorous as Ken Bruen's.
An entertaining & quick read.
