The first is Joe Lansdale's Hap & Leonard series and the Sundance Channel is bringing it to life. The two characters' violent escapades kicked off in 1990's brutal Savage Season. The next three books, Mucho Mojo, Two-Bear Mambo, Bad Chili, and Rumble Tumble are almost as good. I found the later books (that I've read so far), Captain's Outrageous and Vanilla Ride to be a little stale. The prose is still electrifying but the stories feel thin and look a little pale next to their predecessors.
Be warned, these are among the most violent books around. Lansdale subjects his aging heroes to tremendous abuse and as hard as they try (well, Hap at least) to avoid it, bodies tend to pile up around them. Many of their adventures take them into the creepier sub-basements of Texas criminal world. Great as they are these books aren't for the fainthearted.
Sadly, another show that was in the works, Hoke, is not coming to tv anytime soon. Paul Giamatti filmed a pilot for FX based on Charles Willeford's Hoke Moseley. Sadly, the network passed on the show. Guess I can track down and watch Miami Blues starring Fred "Tremors" Ward as Hoke Moseley again.
You just tagged two of my favorite hardboiled authors, right there. Now add Chester Himes . . .
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about Lansdale. He is beyond awesome, but the Hap and Leonard's start losing steam around Captains Outrageous. I never read 'Veil's Visit,' but I understand Lansdale's buddy Andrew Vachss is the inspiration for the titular character.
Excellent taste, there sir.
Oh, man, Chester Himes is a whole special kind of great. I'd definitely pay to see a Gravedigger and Coffin Ed show.
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