Joe R. Lansdale’s OF MICE AND MINESTRONE gives a taste of Hap and Leonard’s formative years
At ONYX REVIEWS, Bev Vincent praises Joe R. Lansdale’s OF MICE AND MINESTRONE.
The stories featuring both characters illustrate the essential strong bond between the two men. They are—as Lansdale might say—brothers from another mother. They come from very different backgrounds, but they understand each other completely and each would die for the other. It’s the kind of male friendship rarely seen in fiction. Even when nothing of consequence happens, as in “The Sabine Was High,” which takes place during a reunion fishing expedition, Lansdale is able to plumb the depths of their relationship and reveal interesting things about these familiar characters.
They make special notice of the recipes, written by Kasey Lansdale.
The final section of the book contains recipes for the various foods and drinks featured in the preceding stories, illustrated by colorful comments from Hap (and occasionally Leonard) about what to do and what not to do (no running in the kitchen!) for the best results. These recipes contain enough lard and bacon fat to lead to early death, but the witty commentaries make this section fun reading.
Cover artist John Coulthart, on his FEUILLETON blog, discusses the cover changes.
And back in October, I posted what everyone thought at the time was the final design for OF MICE AND MINESTRONE, a new book of Hap and Leonard stories by Joe R Lansdale. The Hap and Leonard books are popular works (there was a TV series based on them a while back) so they’re subject to the demands of the marketplace which in this case required a cover more in line with the red/white/black arrangement of some of Lansdale’s related titles. I’d already done most of this as an additional draft during the work on the first design so the reworking wasn’t too time-consuming. The rodent in the soup is more visible in this version which is another point in its favour.
Cover by Timothy Truman 
Cover by John Coulthart
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY reviews the third Ned the Seal story The Sky Done Ripped. The previous two installments can be found in FLAMING ZEPPELINS.
Lansdale combines elements from classic sci-fi adventure stories and mythology into a high-energy steampunk romp. Readers will revel in the humorously purple prose and spot-on illustrations by Timothy Truman.
