Bumper Crop

This collection of 26 stories contains some of Joe R. Lansdale's favorite and most violent dark horror tales. "God of the Razor" introduces the dark god behind serial killers. A martial arts fight to the death between a reluctant champion and a sadistic alpha male, is featured in "Master of Misery." Human sacrifice, to ensure prosperity or as a coming-of-age ritual, are themes of "On a Dark October" and "Duck Hunt." In "The Fat Man," young boys learn the hard way that some mysteries should not be investigated. Many of the tales are truly weird, such as "Chompers," the story of the false teeth with an appetite. All stories are individually introduced by Lansdale, who explains the humorous, weird, and sometimes sad genesis for each.

From Publishers Weekly

In his foreword to this chicken-fried and jalapeño-laced story collection, a follow-up to High Cotton (2000), Lansdale (The Bottoms) describes these 26 tales as graduates from the "twist and surprise and ain't that damn weird school." He's about right. Published between 1982 and 2003, the tales reflect the influences of the author's East Texas roots, the "California school of horror (Bradbury, Nolan, Matheson, etc.)" and T.E.D. Klein's editorship of Twilight Zone magazine during horror's '80s heyday. Among the best are the laugh-out-loud "Chompers," about some really hungry false teeth; the luridly cartoonish "Fat Man," featuring two way-too-curious boys; "Bestsellers Guaranteed," a story any would-be bestselling author can and should appreciate; and the Bradburyesque "In the Cold, Dark Time," about a future war that now no longer sounds so distant or impossible. Other memorable selections include "Cowboy," with its biting cultural commentary on the plight of the African-American cowboy; the grotesque "God of the Razor," with its nightmare vision of serial killers; "Billie Sue," with its wacky whizbang lovers; and "The Shaggy House," with its irresistible old farts. Lord of the neo-noir Southern Gothic, Lansdale reveals once again that while these stories might not be for the weak of stomach, they're perfect for everyone else trying to get through the pain of contemporary American life. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Lansdale, who routinely crosses genres and attracts both mainstream and cult fans, delivers a story collection heavy on fantasy. Bumper Crop contains 26 stories mixing fantasy with horror and laced with the author's signature macabre humor. (Not surprisingly, five of the stories were originally published in Rod Serling's Twilight Zone Magazine.) As Lansdale notes in his introductory material, many of these stories draw heavily from the Fredric Brown/Robert Bloch/Bradbury tradition. When he's on a roll with horror material, however, Lansdale pushes things a good bit further than any of those older writers. In the crisply written lead story, "God of the Razor," for example, a demonic object fills whoever touches it with a lust to murder. Perhaps the highlight of this collection is "Bestsellers Guaranteed," a dark little fantasy about a murderously competitive publishing industry. For Lansdale fans looking to gather some of the author's harder to find material. Elliott SwansonCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

The New York Times Book Review

“[Lansdale has] a folklorist’s eye for telling detail and a front-porch raconteur’s sense of pace.”

About the Author

Joe R. Lansdale has received the American Mystery Award, five Bram Stoker Awards from the Horror Writers of America, the International Crime Writer’s award, and a New York Times Notable Book award. He is the author of more than 20 books, including The Bottoms and High Cotton. He lives in Nacogdoches, Texas.

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