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Fantasy. Fiction. Horror. Short Stories. HTML:"Lansdale is an immense talent."—Booklist.Small-town juvenile delinquents, Pentecostal snake-handlers, zombies, psychopaths, and assorted freaks populate these witty and gritty tales of horror by a master of the genre. The suspenseful, action-packed tales range from visions of a post-apocalyptic world ("Tight Little Stitches in a Dead Man's Back," "On the Far Side of the Cadillac Desert with Dead Folks") to alternative histories ("Trains Not show more Taken," "Letter from the South, Two Moons West of Nacogdoches"). A dozen other stories of gruesome violence and utter depravity include "The Pit," in which car trouble develops into a life-or-death struggle; "Night They Missed the Horror Show," involving an encounter with ornery rednecks; and "Hell Through a Windshield," in which a drive-in movie provides a one-way ticket to another dimension.
By Bizarre Hands, Joe R. Lansdale's debut collection of short stories, was nominated for a Bram Stoker Award for Best Fiction, and two of its tales have received Stoker awards. Lansdale's novella Bubba Ho-Tep was adapted into a 2002 film, and his Hap and Leonard detective stories inspired the Sundance Channel television series. This edition features an Introduction by science-fiction novelist Lewis Shiner and an Afterword by horror fiction author Ramsey Campbell. Suggested for mature readers. show less
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I found the first half of this collection of horror tale too predictably common-turns-weird; overwrought and formulaic. The red herring documentary on drive-ins was pleasantly surprising and leads off a more divere, better half of the book but overall ... meh.
Disturbing stories and for some disturbing language. Some of the stories have been haunting me for days now.
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Author Information
Joe R. Lansdale was born in Gladewater, Tex. in 1951. He attended Tyler Junior College, the University of Texas at Austin, and Stephen F. Austin State University. Lansdale has also had a varied career, having worked as a bouncer, a bodyguard, a transportation manager, a custodian, and a karate instructor before becoming a fulltime writer in 1981. show more Lansdale's written work includes several novels and more than 200 short stories. Although his favorite genre is fantasy, with suspense a close second, he has also written mysteries, horror, science fiction, and westerns. Some titles include Rumble Tumble, Dead in the West, The Nightrunners, Cold in July, By Bizarre Hands and The Drive-in (a 'B' Movie with Blood and Popcorn. Made in Texas) . In addition, Lansdale has edited the short-story anthologies Best of the West, The New Frontier: Best of the West 2, and Razored Saddles. Lansdale has received five Bram Stoker Awards from the Horror Writers of America, including one for "The Night They Missed the Horror Show." He has also been awarded the British Fantasy Award and the American Horror Award. Joe Lansdale and his second wife, Karen, have two children. They live in Nacagdoches, Tex. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- By Bizarre Hands
- Alternate titles
- By Bizarre Hands: Stories
- Original publication date
- 1989
- Dedication
- This book is dedicated with love and respect to Ardath Mayhar who read most of these before anyone else and was always there with encouragement or a wise suggestion.
- First words
- A number of these stories have been slightly revised due to editorial meddling or my not liking what I put down in the first place. [Author's Preface]
Joe Lansdale scares the living shit out of some people. [Introduction by Lewis Shiner]
It was a bleached-bone afternoon with a cloudless sky and a monstrous sun. [Fish Night] - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)He swam through the open door, touched Pop's hand, and Pop said, "It's good to see you, son," and at the moment Wayne pulled the trigger, Pop pulled him inside. [On the Far Side of the Cadillac Desert with Dead Folks]
- Original language
- English
- Disambiguation notice
- Contains:
[Introduction by Lewis Shiner]
Fish Night
The Pit
Duck Hunt
By Bizarre Hands
The Steel Valentine
I Tell You It's Love
Letter From the South, Two Moons West of Nacogdoches
Boys Will Be Boys... (show all)
The Fat Man and the Elephant
Hell Through a Windshield
Down by the Sea Near the Great Big Rock
Trains Not Taken
Tight Little Stitches in a Dead Man's Back
The Windstorm Passes
Night They Missed the Horror Show
On the Far Side of the Cadillac Desert with Dead Folks
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- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (4.14)
- Languages
- Czech, English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 7
- UPCs
- 1
- ASINs
- 2
