THE JUNIOR OFFICER’S READING CLUB By Patrick Hennessey – Reviewed

A young man, fresh from university with a degree in English heads to Sandhurst to become an officer. He is trained by the best the British Army has to offer, and sent off to the Balkans as a warm up, then to Afghanistan and Iran where things get very hot indeed.

Insightful, poignant and entertaining, this is the British version of Jarhead. It manages to encapsulate the excitement and fear of warfare, as well as the struggles of being under-funded and under-resourced, and the moments of waiting, the moments of boredom during missions, and how the soldiers deal with it. There are also some interest insights into the world of a soldier and his relationship with the outside (non-military) world, and the adjustments trained killers have to make in “normal society”.

Intriguing and intelligent, Hennessey can write, and his first book is a must for any military fan.

Rumble Tumble By Joe R. Lansdale – Reviewed

Hap Collins and his buddy Leonard are always getting themselves into some mischief. Rumble Tumble sees Hap and Leonard caught up in a whole hell of a mess, when Brett, Hap’s girlfriend, finds out her daughter is being used a as whore in a brothel in Oklahoma. They are sold this information by a red-haired midget called Red, and a huge muscle-bound moron named Wilbur.

When Hap ponders on this predicament, Leonard offers to help out, and the three set off towards Oklahoma to help free Brett’s daughter, encountering a whole slew of trouble on their way, including bikers, gangsters, preachers and whores.

Lansdale has a unique style that sets his East Texans apart from your normal crime fiction heroes. Hap and Leonard don’t want to be heroes, they get themselves into troublesome situations and they just want to get out with their lives, shooting people’s feet off, pistol-whipping midgets, and all sorts.

Picking up a Hap Collins book you know how it’s going to go, Hap and Leonard will argue like The Odd Couple, but they’ve always got each others’ back, and you know they’re going to get themselves into some trouble, whether intentionally or not. It’s the journey you take with these guys that makes the books, you know they’re not whiter than whiter, they cause much of the trouble themselves and have to break some rules to do what they gotta do, but you can’t help admiring both of them for sticking their necks out and trying to do the right thing. Especially when it’s not the easiest path to take.

Lansdale has produced another fine novel in this continuing series, and Hap and Leonard’s adventures are not like any other crime novel you will ever read. Stylish, funny, energetic and poignant, Lansdale continues produce the goods, and I for one will be following him whatever direction he decides to go in.