Reading, Short And Deep #333 – Break-Out by Donald E. Westlake

Podcast

Reading, Short And DeepReading, Short And Deep #333

Eric S. Rabkin and Jesse Willis discuss Break-Out by Donald E. Westlake.

Here’s a link to a PDF of the article.

Break-Out was first published in Ed McBain’s Mystery Book, No. 3, 1951.

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Review of Two for Texas by James Lee Burke

SFFaudio Review

Two for Texas by James Lee BurkeTwo for Texas
By James Lee Burke; Read by Will Patton
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio (link includes an audio sample)
ISBN: 144235478X
Published: January 2013
[UNABRIDGED] – 5 discs

Themes: / Western / Alamo / Prison Break /

 

Publisher Summary:

Son Holland arrived in the Louisiana penal camp determined not to spend the rest of his days suffering in a chain gang—but he didn’t imagine for one minute that in order to escape he would need to kill a man. Terrified for his life, he flees the state across the river to Texas, taking with him a beautiful Indian squaw and a fellow prisoner. And as they make their way towards General Houston’s infamous Texas Rangers they find themselves in the midst of the final tragic battle for the Alamo. 

Two for Texas is one of James Lee Burke’s earlier works prior to him hitting his stride with the Robicheaux series of novels in the late 80s, which have through carried him to present day. In addition to these novels, two other Burke characters, cousins Hackberry Holland and Billy Bob Holland, have both had multiple books focusing on them – most recently the Hackberry Holland novel Feast Day of Fools released in 2011.

Two for Texas, first published in 1989, tells the story of the Holland’s great-grandfather Son and his escape into Texas from a Louisiana penal camp along with another hardened convict and their participation in a series of events leading to the battle for the Alamo. Actor Will Patton does a superb job handling the narration on this audiobook, easily tackling the various dialects of the many characters of diverse backgrounds in this story. Will Patton is no stranger of the work of James Lee Burke having recorded a dozen or more previous audiobooks of the author’s works. The combination works great and I am looking forward to checking out some of the others in the near future.

Review by Dan VK.