I’m a huge fan of Tim Powers, and a sort-of fan of Joe R. Lansdale. Both authors released new books near the end of 2025, and I bought ’em shortly after they were published.
Hatchet Girls, by Joe R. Lansdale (Mysterious Press, 2025). The latest Hap and Leonard novel, where almost half the plot consists of retirement talk. Both of these two characters, first introduced back in 1990 with Savage Season, have appeared now in a dozen or so novels, various short stories, and made it onto the screen with their own TV show. I have all the novels, but only some of the short story collections, and never watched the show, as I prefer to see these characters in my own mind.
As with most of Lansdale’s books, Hatchet Girls is a quick read. Set in the fictional town of LaBorde in East Texas, where people tend to die hard and painfully, it seems that it might be the last or soon to be last of the Hap and Leonard books. Leonard is trying to ease out of his previous life, looking toward marriage and owning a gym. Hap still clings to his old life, but also might quit, which means no more dead bodies and fighting various East Texas mafia, drug dealers, or weird killers. Not as intense as previous books, it also seems that maybe it’s time for Lansdale to move away from these two characters and find something with more life. Still, if he publishes more of these books, I know I’ll end up buying and reading them.
The Mills of the Gods, by Tim Powers (Baen Books, 2025). Powers is back with another alternate history novel, this time in a new setting: Paris in the 1920s. This means Ernest Hemingway, of whom I know a fair amount. I haven’t yet cracked open this book, but I’m looking forward to with great expectations. Powers’ last few books have been with Baen, which seems a step down from prior publishers (SF vs. more mainstream). This isn’t a knock on Baen, but I find it weird why other, less talented writers get more readers and publicity that Powers. His books are original, challenging, and unique. I guess that’s not enough, these days.
The cover captures the essence of Hemingway’s Fiesta (or, The Sun Always Rises), and the first few pages draw you right into the story. It’s always thrilling to read a new Powers story, and I hope this one will be no different.
