The Thicket

De: Joe R. Lansdale

Narrado por: Will Collyer

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.

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

One of the best storytellers ever

Lansdale is a national treasure. His characters, pacing, and rhythm are first rate. It's easy to imagine the story in a visual manner, and it holds you through to the very end. If you are new to Lansdale from Hap and Leanord, then you are in for a treat.

Gruesomely Good Western

Excellent yarn with the most unique cast characters I have experienced, all of whom you come to love (especially Hog). Narration is great and makes the book really come to life. I loved every minute of it.

All that said, this book has some pretty dark and gruesome scenes in it and may not be to the liking of some.

Great Read

New to this author and discovered quite by accident I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
It was almost too gruesome in parts but the characters and their humor made it more palatable.
This was probably the first audio book I listened in full without losing some interest along the way.
I enjoyed it all the way thru and was not disappointed by the ending.
Narration was exceptional!
Will be seeking out this author and narrator more often.

Near perfect!

Beautifully paced and completely riveting!
Lansdale is a wonderful storyteller and Will Collyer did an excellent job of naration with the fewest logical/reading errors of any audiobook I've listened to!

Typical Western

I've been a huge fan of Mr. Lansdale's Hap and Leonard series, but this one fell a little short of my expectations. I found it to be a fairly cliche western. Not a bad western by any stretch, but there isn't anything about it that stands out either I'm afraid.

One of Lansdale's Best

A riveting turn-of-the-century western full of great characters a compelling story and the beauty, darkness and humor that are Lansdale's trademarks. The man's a terrific writer.

Will Collyer's performance is perfect. Highly recommended!