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A review by ojtheviking
Bad Chili by Joe R. Lansdale
4.0
We've arrived at the fourth book in the Hap and Leonard series, and Lansdale is still going strong. This was also the first time I was completely unfamiliar with the plot on beforehand. By which I mean, I originally watched the far too short-lived TV series based on the books, and the show got me interested in acquiring the books to read the source material. Each season was based on one of the books, so when I started reading these novels, I remembered the main plots from the TV show. However, it was canceled after season three, meaning only the three first books were adapted for the screen, so starting with this fourth novel, there is no longer any on-screen story to compare it to.
But only having this fourth story in written form does not make me lack anything, because Lansdale's writing is masterful. If you're like me and happened to see the TV show first, I'm sure you can understand what I mean when I say that it was very easy to imagine the fourth season in one's head while reading this.
One of the things I love about Lansdale's writing, is that although Bad Chili is "only" less than 250 pages long, he has a very compact delivery, thus managing to deliver a lot of story and character development within that frame without it coming across as rushed in any way. It also helps that readers should be familiar enough with Hap and Leonard by now, so Lansdale can sort of get straight to the point with regard to setting up their next adventure.
And he does so with ease and flair; very early in the first chapter, we get a delightful taste of Lansdale's sense of humor, in a moment that involves a rabid squirrel, but this seemingly out-of-the-blue moment also works seamlessly as a plot device to put the two main characters where they need to be for this book's mystery to present itself.
But speaking of whether readers are already familiar with the characters or not, though: While each novel has for the most part been a stand-alone story so far, there's still the occasional drip of backstory and references to previous moments which gives a natural sense of continuity without those paragraphs coming across as obligatory exposition. Nothing forced, just various things mentioned in passing in the dialogue that will make you go: "Oh yeah, I remember that." And on the off chance that a brand new reader happens to pick up this book first, those drips will get them slightly caught up so that they won't be completely lost and confused.
The banter between the characters is perpetually funny, and clever, and has such a natural flow. I found myself chuckling loudly many times, which isn't always the case for me even when I genuinely find something humorous in other novels. Unexpected quips, delightful sarcasm, and plain old bickering that makes you realize over and over that Hap and Leonard are soulmates in their own way, and all of it is so smoothly woven into the story that you get caught off guard and can't help but laugh sometimes, just like when talking to friends in real life.
As for the mystery in and of itself, Lansdale really does know how to build suspense, and provide some twists and turns that add that little extra grit and grime very befitting what is essentially a Southern noir story.
Speaking of which, it's a bit ambivalent that I finished this book specifically today (June 25, 2022), due to real-life events here in Norway on this day. Whenever I'm reading a book, I make notes along the way to keep track of things I want to point out for these reviews. And one thing I had noted down was that Lansdale has a knack for dealing with certain real-life themes within his aforementioned Southern noir universe in such a way that it both fits the story but also gets his own views across. His stories feature some really vile, prejudiced and bigoted characters, but they serve as a cautionary tale.
This is where I'm getting to my point; Lansdale has previously dealt with racism in these novels, and this time, the main plot also deals with homophobia. Some of the gay-bashing described in this story seems extreme, but then you have a real-life incident like the recent mass shooting by a gay bar in Oslo, causing a scheduled Pride parade to be canceled as a safety measure, not only making you realize that these horrible things really do happen, but also proving why these things are so important to talk about in the first place.
In other words, as much as I applaud Lansdale's knack for humor in his delivery, I also applaud his ability to shed some light on important topics in his own way. And Bad Chili has only gotten me even more excited to continue reading this series.
But only having this fourth story in written form does not make me lack anything, because Lansdale's writing is masterful. If you're like me and happened to see the TV show first, I'm sure you can understand what I mean when I say that it was very easy to imagine the fourth season in one's head while reading this.
One of the things I love about Lansdale's writing, is that although Bad Chili is "only" less than 250 pages long, he has a very compact delivery, thus managing to deliver a lot of story and character development within that frame without it coming across as rushed in any way. It also helps that readers should be familiar enough with Hap and Leonard by now, so Lansdale can sort of get straight to the point with regard to setting up their next adventure.
And he does so with ease and flair; very early in the first chapter, we get a delightful taste of Lansdale's sense of humor, in a moment that involves a rabid squirrel, but this seemingly out-of-the-blue moment also works seamlessly as a plot device to put the two main characters where they need to be for this book's mystery to present itself.
But speaking of whether readers are already familiar with the characters or not, though: While each novel has for the most part been a stand-alone story so far, there's still the occasional drip of backstory and references to previous moments which gives a natural sense of continuity without those paragraphs coming across as obligatory exposition. Nothing forced, just various things mentioned in passing in the dialogue that will make you go: "Oh yeah, I remember that." And on the off chance that a brand new reader happens to pick up this book first, those drips will get them slightly caught up so that they won't be completely lost and confused.
The banter between the characters is perpetually funny, and clever, and has such a natural flow. I found myself chuckling loudly many times, which isn't always the case for me even when I genuinely find something humorous in other novels. Unexpected quips, delightful sarcasm, and plain old bickering that makes you realize over and over that Hap and Leonard are soulmates in their own way, and all of it is so smoothly woven into the story that you get caught off guard and can't help but laugh sometimes, just like when talking to friends in real life.
As for the mystery in and of itself, Lansdale really does know how to build suspense, and provide some twists and turns that add that little extra grit and grime very befitting what is essentially a Southern noir story.
Speaking of which, it's a bit ambivalent that I finished this book specifically today (June 25, 2022), due to real-life events here in Norway on this day. Whenever I'm reading a book, I make notes along the way to keep track of things I want to point out for these reviews. And one thing I had noted down was that Lansdale has a knack for dealing with certain real-life themes within his aforementioned Southern noir universe in such a way that it both fits the story but also gets his own views across. His stories feature some really vile, prejudiced and bigoted characters, but they serve as a cautionary tale.
This is where I'm getting to my point; Lansdale has previously dealt with racism in these novels, and this time, the main plot also deals with homophobia. Some of the gay-bashing described in this story seems extreme, but then you have a real-life incident like the recent mass shooting by a gay bar in Oslo, causing a scheduled Pride parade to be canceled as a safety measure, not only making you realize that these horrible things really do happen, but also proving why these things are so important to talk about in the first place.
In other words, as much as I applaud Lansdale's knack for humor in his delivery, I also applaud his ability to shed some light on important topics in his own way. And Bad Chili has only gotten me even more excited to continue reading this series.