Act of Love - Hardcover

Joe R. Lansdale

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 159606417X ISBN 13: 9781596064171

Publisher: Subterranean, 2012

Synopsis

In 1981, Joe R. Lansdale, then a noted short story writer, published his first novel, a paperback original entitled Act of Love. A ferocious account of the search for a killer known as the Houston Hacker, Lansdale's debut was written years before the Hannibal Lecter phenomenon left its mark on American popular culture, years before the 'serial killer novel' became a distinct--and highly marketable--publishing category. Thirty years after its initial appearance, this pioneering novel continues to exert a raw but undeniable narrative force.

Set in the vividly evoked urban squalor of Houston, Texas, Act of Love moves with great authority between the disordered mind of a compulsive killer and the increasingly desperate perspectives of the policemen who hunt him. In the process, it offers a detailed portrait of a complex murder investigation and anatomizes a city under siege, a city held hostage by a latter day Jack the Ripper.

As long time Lansdale readers will note, Act of Love introduces the soon-to-be-familiar figure of homicide detective Marvin Hanson. More importantly, it introduces, in embryonic form, some characteristic authorial virtues: the deceptively effortless prose, the flawless sense of place, the graphic depiction of inhuman violence, and the casually profane, instantly recognizable Lansdale humor. Unavailable for far too long, Act of Love makes a welcome reappearance in this deluxe anniversary edition, which includes the definitive text of the novel, a new introduction by the author, and a never before published short story featuring Marvin Hanson. The result is a significant--and necessary--act of rediscovery and an irresistible gift for Lansdale aficionados old and new.

About this title

Review:

Before Clive Barker or splatterpunk, Lansdale wrote this pioneering serial killer novel, set in Houston. "The closest thing to what I wanted to do at that time was the work of Sam Peckinpah," Lansdale says. "I wanted to make violence nasty, I wanted to make it bother you, but I wanted to make the story compelling. The thing that made me write Act of Love was anger. I was angry that so much attention was directed to psychopaths and murderers and very little attention given to their victims."

About this edition

• Publisher: Subterranean
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 159606417X
• ISBN 13: 9781596064171
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 256
• Illustrator: Glenn Chadbourne, Timothy Truman