Rumble Tumble (Hap and Leonard Series) [Audiobook, MP3 Audio, Unabridged] [Audio CD]

Joe R. Lansdale (Author), Phil Gigante (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 3, 2009 | Series: Hap and Leonard Series (Book 5)

Hap Collins and Leonard Pine are in for an action-packed adventure when they cross paths with a towering Pentecostal preacher, a midget with a giant attitude, and a gang of bikers turned soldiers of fortune. Even though a midlife crisis just crashed into Hap Collins like a runaway pickup, he’s still got his job, he knows his best friend, Leonard Pine, will always be there for him, and, of course, he’s got his main squeeze, Brett Sawyer. Things hit a new low, however, when Brett’s daughter, Tillie, who’s been walking on the wrong side of the law, suddenly stands in need of a rescue. It won’t be easy — it never is — but nothing is going to stop Hap and Leonard as they hit the road destined for Hootie Hoot, Oklahoma, to shake things up. And with Hap and Leonard at the wheel, this promises to be a wild ride. “Hilarious. . . . Addictively scarfable. . . . Two thumbs-up, and pardon the barbecue smears.” - Texas Monthly “[Joe Lansdale is] master at taking a simple everyday event and turning reality upside down.” — Mystery Scene

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The fifth installment in Joe R. Lansdale's low-key East Texas thrillers finds Hap Collins and Leonard Pine, despite their best efforts, once again in the midst of grim violence. It begins when Hap volunteers to help his girlfriend, Brett, retrieve her daughter from a life of prostitution just outside Oklahoma City. And where Hap goes, Leonard follows, as always with an eye on the aspects of the situation that Hap would rather not deal with: "I know you don't like the gun talk, Hap, but you know as well as I do, at some point those people up there, they're who I think they are, they're going to point guns at us. And the guns are gonna be loaded, and when they pull the trigger our heads are gonna go away. Unless we shoot first or intimidate their asses into not shooting at all."

Mayhem ensues, to be sure, but the story in Rumble Tumble is not as important as the ongoing relationship between Hap, who still wishes that he could empathize the world's troubles away, and Leonard, who knows better. As with the series of Westerns directed by Budd Boetticher and starring Randolph Scott, theirs is a world where "good" and "bad" matter less than whose business you're taking care of. People on both sides are willing to engage in plain conversations about how to define ethics under those circumstances, in dialogue that fulfills Lansdale's high standards of excellence. Whether you've been on board for the full ride with Hap and Leonard or are meeting them for the first time, Rumble Tumble will entertain and subtly challenge you. The other adventures of Hap Collins and Leonard Pine include Mucho Mojo, The Two-Bear Mambo, Savage Season, and Bad Chili. --Ron Hogan --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

"Man, this was something. An East Texas bouncer, a black queer, a ex-sweet potato queen, a six-foot-four overweight retired hit man and former reverend, and a redheaded midget with an attitude. The only thing we needed to top our wagon off were a couple of used-car salesmen, a monkey and an organ grinder." That's both the pleasure and the problem in Lansdale's fourth book (after 1997's Bad Chili) about Hap Collins?the self-described "East Texas bouncer." The language and the characters are as ripe as ever, but there's also a hint of the kind of over-the-shoulder coyness that might eventually spoil the series. Once again, we're reminded (by his best buddy, Leonard Pine, the "black queer") that the hapless Hap has "more bleeding heart in you than the whole Democratic Congress." Once again, Hap overcomes his intense dislike of guns to blast away with rifle, shotgun and pistol at an ever-increasing number of bad men and women?some of them just accidentally on the scene. The motivation this time is to free the daughter of Hap's lady love, Brett (the "ex-sweet potato queen"), from a life of prostitution in Oklahoma and Mexico. The background characters are as colorful as a traveling circus; there's lots of sex and other bodily functions; and the terrific tornado that ended Bad Chili is equaled here by a wonderful light plane crash. New readers should be amazed and dazzled by Lansdale's clod-kicking virtuosity?but old fans might just begin to wonder if some new direction isn't needed for Hap's next outing.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio on MP3-CD Lib Ed; Library edition (November 3, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1423384474
• ISBN-13: 978-1423384472
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Joe R. Lansdale is the author of over thirty novels and numerous short stories. His work has appeared in national anthologies, magazines, and collections, as well as numerous foreign publications. He has written for comics, television, film, newspapers, and Internet sites. His work has been collected in eighteen short-story collections, and he has edited or co-edited over a dozen anthologies. He has received the Edgar Award, eight Bram Stoker Awards, the Horror Writers Association Lifetime Achievement Award, the British Fantasy Award, the Grinzani Cavour Prize for Literature, the Herodotus Historical Fiction Award, the Inkpot Award for Contributions to Science Fiction and Fantasy, and many others. His novella Bubba Hotep was adapted to film by Don Coscarelli, starring Bruce Campbell and Ossie Davis. His story "Incident On and Off a Mountain Road" was adapted to film for Showtime's "Masters of Horror." He is currently co-producing several films, among them The Bottoms, based on his Edgar Award-winning novel, with Bill Paxton and Brad Wyman, and The Drive-In, with Greg Nicotero. He is Writer In Residence at Stephen F. Austin State University, and is the founder of the martial arts system Shen Chuan: Martial Science and its affiliate, Shen Chuan Family System. He is a member of both the United States and International Martial Arts Halls of Fame. He lives in Nacogdoches, Texas with his wife, dog, and two cats.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What can I say? I like Lansdale and this doesn't disappoint, July 25, 2001

By 

Michael Callaghan (Jersey City, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Rumble Tumble (Mass Market Paperback)

If you've read any of Lansdale's Hap and Leonard books then you know what to expect, and you know that it can't be a bad thing. Lansdale is one of the few purely diversionary novelists who I still buy and read, and this book is a perfect example why. Its over in a day or two, and the ride is funny, suspenseful, and somehow humane. Nothing new here, and the earlier books ("Mucho Mojo" etc.) do it just a smidge better, but for what it is - a fistfight of a paperback with explosive action and absurd situations - it is exemplary. Drug-addicted prostitutes, a midget pimp, two tough guys and a renegade pilot... really, how could you go wrong with that mix? A good paperback with a slightly better pedigree than execution, but recommended nonetheless.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A story of crashing the party., September 4, 2001

By 

"irongiant" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rumble Tumble (Mass Market Paperback)

Hap and Leonard aren't afraid of taking on the odds. In this, a prime example of the Lansdale's Hap-and-Leonard suspense novels, our modest heroes stand toe to toe with nearly impossible opposition to defend a friend's family honor.

Joe R. Lansdale's writing style, as always, makes for fascinating and humorous reading. Hap, Leonard, Brett, and all the book's characters have a raunchy, earthy sense of humor and a uniquely southern delivery that greases the rails on this bumpy, suspenseful ride.

Give this one a try. If you like it, try "Bad Chili" and "Mucho Mojo."

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE "HAP COLLINS/LEONARD PINE" SERIES IS ONE OF THE BEST!!!, September 3, 2001

By 

Wayne C. Rogers (Las Vegas, Nevada United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rumble Tumble (Mass Market Paperback)

RUMBLE TUMBLE, the fifth novel in the series, by Joe R. Lansdale continues the saga of Hap Collins and Leonard Pine, beginning where BAD CHILI left off. It all starts when Hap's girlfriend, Brett Sawyer, tells him that a man called on the telephone and said that he had news about her wayward daughter, Tillie, but that it's going to cost her five hundred dollars to find out what it is. Hap and Leonard (think Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson--thanks, Dale!), accompanies Brett to the seedy motel where the voice on the phone is staying. It turns out there are two men at the motel--a redheaded midget with an attitude the size of King Kong and a stupid giant-size piece of white trash who thinks he's tougher than he actually is. Both guys want to make some quick money by telling Brett that her daughter, who's a prostitute, is being held against her will in Hootie Hoot, Oklahoma by the local crime lord, Big Jim Clemente. Naturally, it isn't long before Hap, Leonard, and Brett are heading to Hootie Hoot to rescue the trick-turning prodigal, but nothing is ever easy for these folks. After a big confrontation and a shootout in Big Jim's house of ill repute, the trio finds out that Tillie's been sent to Mexico to sexually service a gang of bikers called the Bandito Supremes as punishment for a misdeed. Hap and Leonard are two tough hombres, but the odds against rescuing Brett's daughter just got considerably higher with the addition of a biker gang of killers. Before the week is over, our two favorite amigos are going to have to deal with the treachery of a midget that can do handstands, an ex-biker turned preacher who wants redemption for his past deeds, a Texas armadillo in need of little friendship and kindness, and a shootout in old Mexico that will remind you of the ending in the movie, The Wild Bunch. RUMBLE TUMBLE delivers with full force the fun and excitement expected from any 'Hap Collins/Leonard Pine' novel. The characters are deftly drawn, the dialogue is true to the ear, and the story line has all of the necessary ingredients to fulfill one's desire for action, suspense and drama. Mr. Lansdale has created Hap and Leonard with not only a strong sense of humor, but with an avid sense of justice and honor. These two men also have a profound view of life and how to live it that gives the reader an opportunity to think about his or her own belief system. This fantastic series is more than just popcorn entertainment for the masses. It's a great author's attempt to tell a good story, while at the same time reflecting on what it means to be a decent human being and staying true to one's values. I can't recommend the 'Hap/Leonard' novels enough. This is writing that has power and honesty, and is able to touch the heart, as well as the funny bone. Now, it's time to pick up MUCHO MOJO, the third book in the series, and find out what the dysfunctional duo was like before Brett came into the picture.