Wilkes contracted the mumps when he was a kid, After having the mumps his ear still gave him problems, until a huge pus pocket exploded out of it one day, You know I am going to give you gross stuffdon't act shocked
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Once that happens something even weirder happens with Harry.
He can see things that happen, If a noise at a place happens that ties it to a violent crime Harry can experience a vision, Past violence comes to life for him, His parents take him to doctors and everyone kinda thinks he is a bit weird,
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Harry learns to not just say anything about his "gift", he grows up and heads off to college.
He learns to avoid anyplace that has had a violent past and plans his routes and where he will be accordingly, He also starts to drink, Heavily.
Then when he and an old buddy are at a bar drinking they see another drunk being taken outside by a group of punks.
The punks plan on robbing the drunk but they get a surprise when the drunk, Tad kicks their asses,
Tad and Harry form a bond where Tad is going to be Harry's sensei, He will teach Harry some of his tricks and they will help each other with avoiding the bottle,
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Then a blast from Harry's past comes back, his friend Kayla, Who is now a cop and wants to know if her father really committed suicide,
It sounds like a good book doesn't it I have loved everything by Joe Lansdale that I've read up until now.
I just never really got into the story and was bored for most of the books, There are a few shining moments and that kept me from dnfing it, but there are much better Lansdale books out there.
"We come to see a ghost or not" Kayla said,
""Yeah, we sure did," Harry said,
"I don't really think there's any ghost, " Kayla said. "My daddy says there aren't any such things, and he's a policeman, "
"My brother says there are, " Joey said. "A policeman, he might know handcuffs and doughnuts, but he ain't nothin' more than anyone else when it comes to ghosts, "
"Since when do you care what your brother says" Kayla asked, "He told us you could get a girl pregnant by putting your little finger in her butt, So what's he know" in the past i have liked what i have read from mr lansdale, this one i'm just not sure about, probably wont recommend it as i have his other books,
if your bored read it, dont buy it ", . . then he put on another burst of speed as he felt the wind whistling around him, the dry leaves spinning, and he was one with them, moving fast, not worried, no, sir, he was the monkey, and he was selfish, and he was coming, baby.
Batten down the hatches, motherfucker, or hide in the barn, or mix any goddamn metaphor you want, because I am coming, "
The prolific, and immensely talented, Joe R, Lansdale continuously redefines genre in such a way that only he can,
Lost Echoes is no exception, This genrebending novel plays with the classic tropes of a pulpy crime thriller, combined with a comingofage story and then thrown into a blender of supernatural elements.
It's one helluva ride!
"Later, as an adult, Harold Wilkes would remember the childhood events that started it all, and he would think: If only I had slept through the night.
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Since contracting the mumps at the age of six, causing him to nearly die, Harry Wilkes was left with hearing loss in his right ear and a change in brain chemistry due to a nasty infection.
After recovering from the illness, he experiences brutal episodes, These episodes consist of Harry yelling and screaming, almost blacking out because of the intensity, Sudden sounds bring on the harrowing images, those that are of dead people, Visions that play out in front of him as though he is experiencing them firsthand, He soon discovers that his ability or curse is triggered whenever he is in an area where a violent crime or tragedy has taken place, 'echoes from the original sounds'.
As one would expect, these episodes affect Harry in a deeply profound way, Doctors can't seem to help him, so he turns to alcohol to cope, It's the only thing that numbs the ability, By the time he is, Harry is dependent on alcohol to get through the day, It threatens to take over his life completely,
Then he meets Tad, a martial artist and fellow alcoholic,
Tad lost his family in a horrific accident and liquor is his management of that pain, Except it's getting harder to manage, In Tad, Harry recognizes a kindred spirit, They eventually form a pact to help each other get off the booze, while also learning to deal with Harry's gift,
Throw in a crush from the past who needs help finding the people who murdered her father and you've got a delightfully bonkers story!
Edgeofyourseat adventure, emotionallywrought moments, gnarly as fuck horrors, short chapters that rock you to your very core.
Lost Echoes is wellcrafted insanity! I couldn't help but notice that Miriam Black shares more than a few similarities to this both brutal, visceral gutpunches shrouded in darkness with protagonists that must learn to overcome adversity they face due to supernatural abilities.
Joe Lansdale is one of those authors that can both deliver an unflinchingly brutal story and develop authentic characters, They are flawed, fleshed out individuals in a vividly believable way, Lost Echoes follows Harry through various stages of his life, The highs and lows, twists and turns, It's truly a Lansdale comingofage story, wielding the Mojo storytelling with precision,
What a cracking read! This book gave me the sense of two forces pulling in different directions, One side lead the story through some gradual character development that begins in childhood and reaches into young adulthood, Lansdale's tones and observations in these passages were great, and I felt myself getting attached to the protagonist, Then another side asserted itself and started pulling the story towards a pulpy, violent, crimeridden stage where bad guys are really evil dudes and good guys gotta stand up and do the right thing.
Lansdale is good at this thing too, so for the most part it all read well, But the two together in onepage book didn't read like Lansdale at his best, and didn't meld together well,
Things I did like: the ruminations on martial arts and having a center in life the repeated motif of growing up next to a drivein theater Lansdale has done this so many times, and yet it still feels romantic and fantastic the portrayal of a closeknit family the relationship between the protagonist and his childhood friend.
In fact there is a lot to like in this story, and while reading it I was interested, It just didn't come together well, It made me wonder if Lansdale has a book stewing in him that will be light on genre material, Not for me got to pagewhich waspages too many,
Too many books to read to waste time on this, Joe Lansdale is one of my favorite authors, I have read all of his Hap and Leonard novels as well as many of his standalones, I have enjoyed them all and have not been disappointed in any of them, LOST ECHOES is another gem from him that I thought was a very compelling pageturner,
The protagonist, Harry Wilkes, has had a very unique ability ever since contracting the mumps during childhoodhe is able to see visions of the past that are triggered by noise in an area where a violent or tragic event has happened.
The visions are really a mental hell for him and takes him back to witness some very awful occurrences including accidents and murders.
He is unable to live a normal life and is depressed by the brutality he is able to witness, This leads him to drinking which somewhat soothes his tortured mind, Then Harry meets another drunk, a formal martial arts teacher named Tad who he becomes attached to, Tad helps him try to master his gift and find peace, But then a friend from his childhood, Kayla, wants him to use his gift to find out what really happened to her father, an apparent suicide.
But was it really a suicide Kayla thinks not, Lurking within the story is a pair of serial killers who may be linked to Kayla's father,
Another very superb thriller from Lansdale that I had a hard time putting down, I'll be looking forward to reading more from him, This is not one of Lansdale's best, That means two things
It's not a Hap and Leonard novel,
It is still better than most other suspense stories,
It has all the ingredients of Lansdale's best including realistic action, an authentic East Texas atmosphere, and taut but believable dialogue.
However he appears to be trying to do too much in one plot, It is one part Sixth Sense, one part Karate Kid and the rest is Lansdale, In other words, two parts of readymade formula drowns out the uniqueness of Lansdale's suspenseful storytelling, Yet it is still an enjoyable read, Lansdale's fans will like it but if you are not familiar with this original American voice, you would be better off picking up one of his books from the Happ and Leonard series.
My second attempt through it, Lost interest first time because it was my third or fourth Lansdale book in a row and I just lost interest, Couple of years later, plow through it pretty quick, Kind of like a Texan cross between The Dead Zone and one of the Destroyer books, there's a mentor who is kind of like Stick from Daredevil but he's a recovering alcoholic.
I have questions when it's finished but its okay,
Fans of Lansdale will not be disappointed, This one was a bit slow going but it picked up speed and became very interesting,
I always feel that the endings are a bit weak when reading this writer's stories, Chapterdid nothing for me, and I would cut it if I were editing this book,
Tad became my favorite character as I read this one! He was so entertaining with wisdom included and his reflections were on point.
I did not relate to the flintstones theme song being referenced frequently in the trunk scene but that is me as the reader.
Overall, worth reading and simply, entertaining at times with humor injected into the scenes via the characters, even though there are some gruesome scenes, too.
Likely, remembered as a Chandler or Kingtype storyline in many ways with the nightmares, mind echoes, and Stoker images of death and suffering.
Poe comes to mind, too,
Poetic writing in several sections that made me enjoy this ride through the echoes of the main character's mindset and his struggle to control his visions.
Echi perduti: Harry, il nostro protagonista, all'età dianni ha gli orecchioni, guarito Harry però incomincia a sentire degli strani rumori dentro le sue orecchie, che si riveleranno un dono/dannazione che dovrà affrontare in età adulta, così.
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Un romanzo minore del nostro Big Joe Io non direi proprio, forse sarò l'unico, ma io in Echi perduti ci ritrovo tutti gli elementi che fanno di Lansdale uno dei miei scrittori preferiti, cioè la commistione di vari generi qui: l'horror soprannaturale, thriller/noir, romanzo di formazione, l'amore e poi la scrittura è qualcosa di eccezionale, come ho scritto in un altro commento ad un suo libro, quando leggo un libro di Big Joe è come se stessi seduto su una panchina in una stazione di servizio nel nulla del Texas, con un caldo devastante, guardando la strada che va all'infinito e con il tipico vecchietto texano con salopette barba lunga bianchissima che seduto di fianco a me mi racconta queste storie, ovviamente con una birra ghiacciata in una mano.
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Joe R. Lansdale