The Thicket

By: Joe R. Lansdale

Narrated by: Will Collyer

Length: 10 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

Acclaimed author Joe Lansdale's landmark and mythic tale of love and vengeance at the dark dawn of the East Texas oil boom.

Jack Parker knows all too well how treacherous turn-of-the-century East Texas can be. His parents did not survive a smallpox epidemic. His grandfather was murdered. Now his sister Lula has been kidnapped by a criminal who may believe wearing a dead man's clothes protects them both from death.

With bounty hunter Shorty, a charismatic and cunning dwarf, and Eustace, a gravedigging son of an ex-slave, the heartbroken young Jack sets off on an epic quest to rescue his sister from the corrupt men who control much of the new territory.

In the throes of being civilized, East Texas is still a wild, feral place. Oil wells spurt liquid money from the ground. But blood and redemption rule supreme.

©2013 Joe R. Lansdale (P)2013 Hachette Audio

A definite wow!

A solid yes finding this book that both my husband and I could enjoy together! Perhaps a bit unrealistic at times and without giving anything away quite a rollercoaster ride of events. We really enjoyed the narrator as well as the writing style. A new author for me.

You always win with Lansdale

The story is very good. There are several memorable characters. I wish this was a series. When a book stays with me several days after finishing, I know it's a great book..

Outstanding Western

Outstanding Western similar to the classics. Great story, with a great audio performance that was as good, if not better, than the classics I've read for years and years.

Great!

I throughly enjoyed this book.
If you like books that a kind of a western theme then I think you will really appreciate this one.
I’ve checked out some of this author’s books and was hoping for more along the same lines but didn’t find any. I am happy to say I’m on to another book of his.

A slow starter that leaves you in it’s emotional grips by the end

I wasn’t sold on the slow start of this book , but once it got rolling it was as intense and gut wrenching an adventure as you could wish for. Complete with danger, love , every sort of discrimination there is. A gritty wild tale of a brave boy coming of age under the roughest of circumstances. A tale that will make your heart race for more than a few reasons. Enjoy ~ J

Everything you could want in a book.

It's full of adventure and suspense. It's got tension and humor. It's thoughtful and strange. It's pulpy with even a bit of romance. What else could you ask for?

Excellent Western bounty-hunting story

I was in the mood for a western bounty-hunting adventure. Preferably fast-paced and with a relatively high body count. Lansdale delivered all that and added some dark humor and a tender story to the mix.

Jack Parker lost his parents to a smallpox epidemic. His grandfather takes him and his sister Lula to live with their aunt in Kansas, but they don't get far. Three men ambush them, kill Grandpa, capture Lula, and leave Jack in the river.

There's no way he'll leave his little sister. But what can a 16-year-old boy do? On his own, not much. But with a little help? A lot. Jack secures the help of Shorty, a cunning dwarf and bounty hunter, and his friend Eustace, a gravedigging son of a former slave. A wild hog (named Hog) accompanies the two. Soon, other colorful characters join them to help them bring justice and take down bad guys.

Most readers will appreciate Lansdale's writing skills, his knack for memorable sentences, and his distinct characters. The crude humor (but what else would you expect in a western novel?) and outbursts of violence may not appeal to more sensitive readers, so have that in mind.

The story is told in the first person by Jack, who's instantly likable and relatable. His innocence and naivete are balanced by his determination to find his sister. He paints a vivid picture of the world and the other characters, as well as the harsh realities of turn-of-the-century East Texas.

Ultimately, The Thicket tells a simple story of pursuit and revenge. What sets it apart from a host of similar stories is Lansdale's impeccable timing and his ability to combine humor, horror, violence, tenderness, and love. The Thicket will have you laughing out loud, only to have you shocked moments later. Things get graphic.

Above all, though, The Thicket has strong, memorable, and well-written characters. The banter and history of Shorty and Eustace are consistently entertaining, and their relationship with Jack is surprising and sometimes even touching. Eustace is part black, white, and Indian and carries a shotgun. Shorty is an educated dwarf, a former army scout, and a good shot.

Lansdale doesn't do slow. Stuff is happening non-stop; the plot engages and makes you want to know what happens next. As a result, The Thicket is an entertaining and quick read.

The Thicket is an excellent Western novel. I wouldn't change a thing about it. Highly recommended.

Audiobook narration: Collyer has a simple but effective delivery style that makes his narration clear and engaging. His character differentiation is always clear and clean. He nails the attitudes of all of them.

A Good Little Western Coming-of-Age Story

I started to give this 4 stars, but it's so entertained me, I'll say 4.5 and round up to 5.

A little far-fetched, Jack and Lula, 2 red-headed teens, and their Grandpa must take a ferry across the river, after just starting off on a trip from East Texas to live with Auntie Em in Kansas after mom and dad die from the pox. They get into an altercation with some super bad hombres who just robbed a bank. The lead hombre, CutThroat, kills grandpa just before a waterspout overturns the ferry and Jack lands on the opposite side of the river from sis Lula who is captured and taken off by the hombres.

Jack seeks the sheriff, who, it turns out, was killed by the hombres. He runs into Eustace (part white, Indian and black) who puts him in touch with Shorty, a bada$$ midget, both of whom have done bounty hunting in the past and agree to help Jack rescue Lula. Before leaving town, they hear that Fatty, one of the outlaws, may be at the local brothel. In doing some detective work on his own, Jack meets Jimmie Sue, a brothel resident about his age, and she turns him onto a little more than the whereabouts of Fatty. She decides she wants to leave "the life" and go with Jack, Shorty and Eustace on the rescue mission.

Like I said, a little out there with the characters, but a fun story of love, learning and killing bad guys on the way to saving Lula.

The narrator did a great job with the different voices for the various odd assortment of characters.

Great performance but the story was just a little slow

I thought that the performance of the reader was excellent. The story got a little long winded in places. In general, it was a good listen, held my attention and was entering.
I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to turn their brain off for a while and just be entertained. The author did an excellent job with regard to descriptions and detail.

Great listen

Tarrific story, well told. Narrator is as solid as they come. Hated to have the story end