Rating: 
Summary: I just wanted
Review: I just wanted to jump on the bandwagon of clapping this book on the back. Six stars!
Rating: 
Summary: You'll laugh your behind off!
Review: I recently read this and found it to be one of the most engrossing novels ever. Its not just interesting, its hilarious and done in a style that is purely unique. This is the book version of one of those great campy scary movies from the late seventies. Its about a group of teenage boys who spend every Friday night at the Orbit, a gigantic drive-in in Texas. That last night, they become trapped after a smiling comet comes down and they become trapped in the drive-in. From this point on, everyone has to survive in face of starvation and the reign of the Popcorn King. And that is just the first book.I can't tell you anything about the second book because it would ruin the surprise, but I will say that its funny and engaging too. Especially Toothy and Popalong Cassidy. Both of these are hysterically funny and they brim with a great sense of humour. This one is a true original and one of best. If you want a funny, campy and interesting read, get the Drive-in. You won't be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: A true original!
Review: I recently read this and found it to be one of the most engrossing novels ever. Its not just interesting, its hilarious and done in a style that is purely unique. This is the book version of one of those great campy scary movies from the late seventies. Its about a group of teenage boys who spend every Friday night at the Orbit, a gigantic drive-in in Texas. That last night, they become trapped after a smiling comet comes down and they become trapped in the drive-in. From this point on, everyone has to survive in face of starvation and the reign of the Popcorn King. And that is just the first book. I can't tell you anything about the second book because it would ruin the surprise, but I will say that its funny and engaging too. Especially Toothy and Popalong Cassidy. Both of these are hysterically funny and they brim with a great sense of humour. This one is a true original and one of best. If you want a funny, campy and interesting read, get the Drive-in. You won't be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: "The Twilight Zone" in Texas
Review: Imagine an episode of "The Twilight Zone", only it's written, directed, and hosted by Joe Bob Briggs instead of Rod Serling. That's pretty much what you can expect from this book (And since I love both the Zone and Joe Bob, this is a good thing). Four small-town Texan buddies head out for a typical night at the drive-in and all hell breaks loose. Often funny, sometimes disturbing, usually edgy and never predictable, It's a surreal ride through a B-movie horror landscape. If you're a fan of the drive-in experience, cheesy sci-fi/horror movies, or just good writing in and of itself, then this book is mandatory reading.
Rating:
Summary: Great pulpy stuff from the Texan master...
Review: Joe Lansdale often writes tales that requires the reader to be able to suspend disbelief and this one is a prime example. The tale follows 4 teenagers who become trapped in a drive-in by a mysterious force-field. From then on things become more and more chaotic; biker-gangs, cannibalism, religious fanatics, hippies, the popcorn king are but a few of the things you will encounter while reading this. The second novel is just as good although radically different. I don't think I will ever be able to forget the character of poppalong cassidy. It says a lot that such a wild and unconventiional book as this one is still in print after all these years. Don't miss this one; very entertaining and you'll laugh your pants off.
Rating:
Summary: Finally, back in circullation!
Review: Ten years out of print has been way too long for this gem to be hidden away from the reader (I had to hunt three years to find a thrashed used copy). This book was written for the thinking man who, deep down in his heart, loves bad, cheesy horror movies. You know,the kind you rent with a group of friends, order pizza, drink cheap beer, and make fun of throughout the duration. Lansdale, one of our finest, most creative writers has an obvious love for this genre of trash cinema. He creates an apocolyptic world where four teenages become trapped in a drive in theatre during an all-night festival of trash films. Their lives become the most horrifying film of them all. This novel is a definite must-have for those nights when your friends are out of town, the pizza parlor goes out of business, and the beer has gone flat.
Rating:
Summary: A Smiling Comet and the Dark It Brings...
Review: The Drive-In and its sequel, The Drive-In 2 are both extremely strange tales that border on absurdity and lunacy with equal measure. Joe Lansdale writes things that require an extreme ability to suspend disbelief and if you read these two novels you will happily comply with his wishes. A jam packed Texas drive in, showing an all night horror film festival, is suddenly dropped off the face of reality when a smiling comet flies overhead. At first it's just weird and then it gets scary as survival instinct kicks in for those stuck inside the drive in. And then it gets weird again... This two-for-one edition is a nice way to experience a truly talented and imaginative writer's take on human nature under the worst of circumstances. The book(s) are even better if you're a fan of slasher films and really gross scene description in Horror novels. Not for every taste, or for every Horror fan, but if you like weird, original ideas and take butter on your popcorn well then check this baby out!
Rating:
Summary: A Smiling Comet and the Dark It Brings...
Review: The Drive-In and its sequel, The Drive-In 2 are both extremely strange tales that border on absurdity and lunacy with equal measure. Joe Lansdale writes things that require an extreme ability to suspend disbelief and if you read these two novels you will happily comply with his wishes. A jam packed Texas drive in, showing an all night horror film festival, is suddenly dropped off the face of reality when a smiling comet flies overhead. At first it's just weird and then it gets scary as survival instinct kicks in for those stuck inside the drive in. And then it gets weird again... This two-for-one edition is a nice way to experience a truly talented and imaginative writer's take on human nature under the worst of circumstances. The book(s) are even better if you're a fan of slasher films and really gross scene description in Horror novels. Not for every taste, or for every Horror fan, but if you like weird, original ideas and take butter on your popcorn well then check this baby out!
Rating:
Summary: Doesn't get much weirder
Review: The quintessetial B-movie in fiction form. This novel is so out there, at first i didn't think i could suspend my disbelief enough to enjoy it, but once i did, what a ride. Imagine if you asked your ten year old nephew to come up with a scary story, that's about what this book boils down to, sheer nonsense, but it works beacuse Lansdale's writing is superbly funny and entertaining. ... I long for another installment in the drive in series, but for now we'll have to settle with the comic book adaptation.
Rating:
Summary: Comets and popcorn and suicide trees, oh my...
Review: This book is flat-out hilarious! One day Jack and his friends are typical boys on the verge of adulthood, the next they are caught in a nightmarish, other world created when a comet near-misses the drive in where they are enjoying an all night horror show. Stuck in the dark world of the drive in, watching only violent bloody horror movies over and over, eating only concession-stand food, Jack narrates a world that is terrifying but not without its humor. And that's just part one of this incredible tale. It continues with our intrepid heroes getting out of the drive-in to explore the next evolution of their new world. (a world in which a baby dinosaur is automatically named Toothy before it gobbles down an unburied corpse) It would take me too long to describe the numerous quirky, scary and surreal characters and happenings in this omnibus. I was glued to this book until I finished it. It's hilarious, it's surreal, it's chilling, and I kept shaking my head saying "no way!" before I plunged right into the next chapter. Lansdale is one of the few authors who can take grisly events and plant a sarcastic, hilarious slant to them. And succeed! I laughed out loud throughout while also cringing from some of the word pictures Lansdale creates here. Make no mistake, this is horror at its best. But it's also a witty look at what happens to us when we lose the most basic of worldly trappings. Reading Lansdale is always like stepping into a roller-coaster world, and any of his books are more than worth your time.
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