Driving to Geronimo’s Grave and Other Stories

Lansdale (Hap and Leonard) ranges far afield in this short but sharp collection of six stories in a variety of genres. Mysteries of the noir style predominate, with a brother and sister sent to retrieve their uncle’s corpse and instead chauffeuring his murderous partner (“Driving to Geronimo’s Grave”), and a bullied schoolboy learning self-defense from a retired wrestler (“Wrestling Jesus”). Horror comes with a Lovecraftian flavor, as survivors of a ship wrecked by an iceberg struggle against not only the cold but the otherworldly creatures that prey on survivors (“In the Mad Mountains”). Science fiction gets a turn with a post­apocalyptic coming-of-age tale of a girl off to rescue her family from rogue war machines that turned on their controllers (“Robo Rapid”). And saving the best for last, Lansdale adds to his history of black cowboy legend Nat Love, sending the marshal after four escaped murderers who also incur the wrath of one big, bad momma grizzly. Lansdale provides consistent entertainment for readers of all genres, not only in his fiction but also in the chatty intro and in afterwords of each yarn. Agent: Danny Baror, Baror International. (Nov.)