Rating: 
Summary: A family reunion of sorts...
Review: ..But folk die at this reunion..Alot of Lansdale characters show up for this one, and one of 'em, sadly- and WRONGLY doesn't quite make it. He got the reaction he was going for I'm sure. I tossed the book to the floor, yelled at it for a bit. Then yelled at several other inanimate objects before picking it up and finishing it off. Yes, its a page turner, but you get the feeling Hap and Leonard gotta ride off in the sunset eventually. Lansdale doesn't keep them trapped in time like most writers do.They seem to have a timestream outside of the pages, they age with us. Sadly.Bob the armadillo needs his own book though, maybe a childrens book." Hey kids- Bob carries LEO-PAR-SY"
Rating: 
Summary: As outrageous as the lobster with a cigar
Review: Captains Outrageous is the sixth book of Lansdale's Hap and Leonard novels. For those of you unfamiliar with the series, let me try to acquaint with the dynamic duo. Hap Collins is a straight white liberal who served time in prison for draft evasion during the Vietnam War. Ever since then, he has had trouble holding down steady jobs and relationships. But refreshingly, he doesn't blame society, the government, or his parents for the way his life turned out. He blames himself. Leonard Pine is a gay black Republican and a Vietnam veteran with a wisecrack for every occasion. He loves country music and burning down crack houses (not really caring if anyone is inside of one at the time). Wherever these two are, trouble isn't too far behind.Captains Outrageous begins with Hap and Leonard both being employed at a chicken processing plant as security guards. After clocking out for the night, Hap rescues a young lady who is beaten brutally by a drug-crazed sicko. The lady's father is a very wealthy man who owns the plant that Hap and Leonard work at. Out of gratitude, the father gives Hap a month off and $100,000 to boot. Hap and Leonard, as suggested by Leonard's boyfriend John, go on a cruise. After suffering through a bad case of sea sickness, really bad food, and really really bad Kevin Costner movies; Hap and Leonard find themselves stranded in Mexico after an arrogant restaurant host deliberately tells them the wrong time to come back to the boat when it makes a brief stop at land. And this is where the story really starts. I don't like giving away to much along the way, but I will say that Hap and Leonard run into some interesting situations and characters along the way. There's a 70 year old machete wielding fisherman who saves them from a trio of corrupt cops. There's the fisherman's manipulative daughter. There's Billy, a tough-talking punk who gets put in his place. And there's Juan Miguel, a nudist crimelord with a (6'8" 385 pound) musclebound assassin named Hammerhead, who is also a nudist. Once our friends leave Mexico to return to the States, trouble follows them yet again. I've been reading the Hap and Leonard books since early 1995, and I've found the series to be one of the most consistent and entertaining going today. Underneath all the violence and extremely foul language, you see Lansdale's love for people and true sense of right and wrong that really makes Hap and Leonard easy to root for. And not to mention there's the humor that is not for the politically correct or the easily offended. For instance, one of the funniest parts of the book is at a funeral (I won't reveal who died). The eulogy literally had me crying with laughter. That's Lansdale for you - funny, shocking, brutal, profane, but definitely human. And a fine writing one at that.
Rating:
Summary: As outrageous as the lobster with a cigar
Review: Captains Outrageous is the sixth book of Lansdale's Hap and Leonard novels. For those of you unfamiliar with the series, let me try to acquaint with the dynamic duo. Hap Collins is a straight white liberal who served time in prison for draft evasion during the Vietnam War. Ever since then, he has had trouble holding down steady jobs and relationships. But refreshingly, he doesn't blame society, the government, or his parents for the way his life turned out. He blames himself. Leonard Pine is a gay black Republican and a Vietnam veteran with a wisecrack for every occasion. He loves country music and burning down crack houses (not really caring if anyone is inside of one at the time). Wherever these two are, trouble isn't too far behind. Captains Outrageous begins with Hap and Leonard both being employed at a chicken processing plant as security guards. After clocking out for the night, Hap rescues a young lady who is beaten brutally by a drug-crazed sicko. The lady's father is a very wealthy man who owns the plant that Hap and Leonard work at. Out of gratitude, the father gives Hap a month off and $100,000 to boot. Hap and Leonard, as suggested by Leonard's boyfriend John, go on a cruise. After suffering through a bad case of sea sickness, really bad food, and really really bad Kevin Costner movies; Hap and Leonard find themselves stranded in Mexico after an arrogant restaurant host deliberately tells them the wrong time to come back to the boat when it makes a brief stop at land. And this is where the story really starts. I don't like giving away to much along the way, but I will say that Hap and Leonard run into some interesting situations and characters along the way. There's a 70 year old machete wielding fisherman who saves them from a trio of corrupt cops. There's the fisherman's manipulative daughter. There's Billy, a tough-talking punk who gets put in his place. And there's Juan Miguel, a nudist crimelord with a (6'8" 385 pound) musclebound assassin named Hammerhead, who is also a nudist. Once our friends leave Mexico to return to the States, trouble follows them yet again. I've been reading the Hap and Leonard books since early 1995, and I've found the series to be one of the most consistent and entertaining going today. Underneath all the violence and extremely foul language, you see Lansdale's love for people and true sense of right and wrong that really makes Hap and Leonard easy to root for. And not to mention there's the humor that is not for the politically correct or the easily offended. For instance, one of the funniest parts of the book is at a funeral (I won't reveal who died). The eulogy literally had me crying with laughter. That's Lansdale for you - funny, shocking, brutal, profane, but definitely human. And a fine writing one at that.
Rating:
Summary: step up
Review: Definitely a step up after the so-so "Rumble Tumble." I urge first-time Lansdale readers to start with "Mucho Mojo," still by far the best of the Hap & Leonard books.
Rating:
Summary: Captain Outrageous
Review: Hap and Leonard are at it again. The actual plot (murder etc...) gets started late in the book. But with Hap and Leonard it does not make any difference. You will laugh out loud as Hap and Leonard go from one adventure to another.
Rating:
Summary: At It Again!!
Review: Hap Collins and Leonard Pine are best buddies who get into more trouble in this book than you would ever think possible. They are working as security guards for a chicken-processing plant, when Hap saves the life of a young woman who turns out to be the plant owner's daughter. As a reward, Hap receives a check and a Caribbean cruise. Of course, he takes along his best East Texas buddy, Leonard. Now the action begins when Hap and Leonard are left stranded in a small port, get mugged, saved by an old-fisherman, and quickly become involved in a plot that includes murder and revenge. What's going to happen to Hap and Leonard? How are they possibly going to get out of this predicament?
In this book, as well as the other books in this series about Hap and Leonard, there is plenty of humor, and lots of action for these likable guys. This series just gets better and better with each new installment. A terrific book that's filled with lots of twists and unexpected turns that will entertain you. Here's looking forward to the next adventure of these crazy guys.
Joe Hanssen
Rating:
Summary: At It Again!!
Review: Hap Collins and Leonard Pine are best buddies who get into more trouble in this book than you would ever think possible. They are working as security guards for a chicken-processing plant, when Hap saves the life of a young woman who turns out to be the plant owner's daughter. As a reward, Hap receives a check and a Caribbean cruise. Of course, he takes along his best East Texas buddy, Leonard. Now the action begins when Hap and Leonard are left stranded in a small port, get mugged, saved by an old-fisherman, and quickly become involved in a plot that includes murder and revenge. What's going to happen to Hap and Leonard? How are they possibly going to get out of this predicament?
In this book, as well as the other books in this series about Hap and Leonard, there is plenty of humor, and lots of action for these likable guys. This series just gets better and better with each new installment. A terrific book that's filled with lots of twists and unexpected turns that will entertain you. Here's looking forward to the next adventure of these crazy guys.
Joe Hanssen
Rating: 
Summary: Sadistic tale
Review: I think like many book series, you can't start mid-series. I read many glowing reviews of this book and most of them mention the previous books. Coming into this fresh (I'd not heard of Joe R. Lansdale), the characters and the plot seemed very thin, although the earlier books probably established these elements. When I first started the book, it seemed like a strange amalgam of political correctness, graphic violence, and Fletch-like irreverence. As the story progresses, however, dreadful scene piles on dreadful scene until the book comes across as truly sadistic.
There is an ugly American (Billy) who seeks to humiliate a Mexican girl in the most unpleasant and crude matter. The reader endures many pages of this behavior. I suppose these scenes are intended to justify Hap and Leonard brutally assaulting this guy again and again and again. Finally, Hap literally spreads his own feces on Billy's face, beats him, and makes him stand in the corner. And then does it again. This comes in a scene right after our "heroes" discover a girl that's been dismembered with a machete. The reader is treated to an explanation of where the individual pieces of the girl are located about the hotel room. The graphic violence continues up until the final chapter of the novel.
Oh, did I mention that the book opens with a brutal beating of another girl whom Hap saves? Unfortunately for the girl, Hap doesn't save her until after she's been repeatedly raped, had her face "stomped in," her nipple bitten off, jaw crushed, teeth knocked out, and lost an eye.
Wow. Is this a fun read? I guess it's not my cup of tea.
Rating:
Summary: The finest storyteller going
Review: If you like a good story well told and you're not reading this guy, shame on you. This is the sixth and latest in the Hap Collins and Leonard Pine series, and it's just as worthy as all the others. I don't usually enjoy continuing characters in books, but I consider these two old friends. I don't know why, but I've always pictured Stir Crazy era Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor in the roles. I always wind up feeling wistful and sad at the end of each of the Hap and Leonard books, a similar feeling washes over me at the conclusion of the Shawshank Redemption. Just a sucker for the redemptive power of male friendship I suppose. Lansdale is a master of the gut-busting one-liner and raunchy metaphor, his writing is wonderfully free of pretension, but almost every page sports at least one sublime bit of description. The least interesting things about his books are the action scenes. And that's the highest compliment. Also check out "A Fine Dark Line" and "The Bottoms", set in 50s and 30s-era East Texas respectively, for powerfully moving doses of nostalgia and mystery mercifully free from the treacle that gums up other authors when they write about a time and place dear to their heart.
Rating:
Summary: THIS GREAT SERIES KEEPS GETTING BETTER AND BETTER!!!
Review: In CAPTAINS OUTRAGEOUS-the newest in the "Hap Collins/Leonard Pine" series-Joe R. Lansdale once again proves that he has no equal in the field of writing in the great state of Texas. He is to Texas what Stephen King is to Maine. Both authors have a particular style of writing that appeals to the "everyman" in its simplicity, yet forceful and soul-searching deliverance. If Mysterious Press/Warner Books put more money into promoting Mr. Lansdale's novels here in the United States, they would definitely have a New York Times best selling author on their hands. As it is, the world still hasn't discovered what a major storyteller and master craftsman this East Texas writer really is.
In this novel, the hilarious, dysfunctional, butt-kicking duo of Hap and Leonard return for another outing of outrageous bantering, not to mention going the distance to help those who are in trouble. Hap and Leonard (think Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson) are now security guards in a chicken processing plant. One night after work, while walking to his truck, Hap hears a desperate cry for help. He sees a man stomping the living daylights out a girl near the trees that border the plant and quickly goes to her rescue. Jumping a chain-link fence like an avenging angel, Hap charges the guy and swiftly finds himself in a fight to the death, using everything he's been taught in the martial arts to put this psycho down. After Hap saves the life of the young girl, her father (he happens to be the owner of the chicken plant) rewards him with the gift of a hundred thousand dollars. Accepting the money against his better judgment, Hap decides to take a vacation with his buddy, Leonard. They sign on for a cheap cruise down to Mexico and the Caribbean. As usual, Leonard's mouth gets them into trouble on the boat, and they eventually find themselves stranded in a place called Playa Del Carmen. When a group of muggers from a bordering town attack our two heroes with knives and a machete, wounding Leonard in the process, an old fisherman comes to their rescue. The fisherman and his daughter, Beatrice, allow Hap and Leonard to recuperate at their home. While Leonard is recovering from his knife wound, the fisherman's daughter uses sex to lure Hap into helping her scam a local mobster. Things, however, don't go quite the way Beatrice expects. Her actions lead to death on a major scale, and it follows Hap and Leonard back to Texas in the form of a giant killer named Hammerhead, who likes to skin people alive and then cut their hands and feet off. A close friend of the duo will be murdered because of what happened in Mexico. From that point on the name of the game is revenge for our boys. Hap and Leonard, with the help of Jim Bob Luke, will return to Mexico to take out the mobster and his henchman. A lot of people are going to die before the ending of this novel is reached; and, if Hap has his way, he's going to be the one doing the killing!
CAPTAINS OUTRAGEOUS had me laughing and crying. Never was a novel funnier; yet, at the same time, sadder. The violence is intense, and a lot of good people die this time around. Mr. Lansdale's prose is "mojo" writing at its best, capturing the pure essence that breathes life into Hap and Leonard, holding the reader within its tight grasp from the first page to the last. These are guys that will put their lives on the line time and time again to help others, risking everything to right a wrong and to bring a little justice into this mixed-up world. Even the secondary characters (Jim Bob Luke, Veil, Charlie Blank, Marvin Hanson, Beatrice and her father, Ferdinand, Brett Sawyer, and the Mexican mobster, Juan Miguel) are written with the same precise detail and strength as the primary ones. The twists and turns are more numerous than ever, offering surprises for the reader every few pages. CAPTAINS OUTRAGEOUS isn't just a novel; it's a grand adventure with two guys who love each other as brothers and who are heroes in the strongest sense of the word. This book will run you through the gamut of emotions, leaving you with an avid feeling of being alive and that the world isn't such a bad place after all. I can't thank Joe R. Lansdale enough for the books he's written, including this fabulous series about friendship, love, honor, and a willingness to put your life on the line for what you feel is right. I have to admit to a certain degree of sadness, knowing that it may be two years or longer before the next book in the series comes out. As I stated in a previous review, I only wish that Mr. Lansdale could write a "Hap and Leonard" book every year, along with one of his stand-alone novels. It's hard saying goodbye to friends like this for a lengthy period of time. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
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