For a very long time a single writer stood at the top of the heap when it came to southern gothic weirdness. His name is Joe R. Lansdale and he's a true master of what he does. However, Lansdale now has some company at the top when it comes to crazy southern goodness - a man by the name of David W. Barbee, who has just published one of the most imaginative, original and entertaining tales ever about the South.

In "A Town Called Suckhole" - a futuristic narrative set in the dirty, inbred, muddy waste of post-apocalyptic Dixie - Barbee tells the story of two characters: Jesco Ray Bledskoe, an 8-year old kid with a ton of attitude who becomes sheriff of Suckhole after his father's death, and Dexter Spikes, a beast that walks the line between legend and swamp resident and is half ape, half reptile. These two are thrown together after Jesco's father fetches Spikes out of the swamp so he can help them solve a string of brutal murders that have been happening around town, and which he fears will spoil the annual "Hell-Yeah Heritage Jamboree." Those responsible for the murders and mutilations have a plan includes bringing back to life Saint Hank - as in Hank Williams Jr. With so many things happening at once, the Jamboree will turn out to be one for the ages.

While "A Town Called Suckhole" is pure entertainment from the get-go, there are a few elements that truly make it a must-read. For example, the relationship between Bledskoe and Spikes is hilarious and their interactions - which include the small boy slapping the huge monster once or twice - have a perfect mixture of comedy, action and a dash of underlying tenderness that grows towards the end. Barbee takes the reader on a wild ride via his remarkable imagination and his superb knack for strange details. From the seemingly endless repertoire of creatures that inhabit the town and surrounding swamps to the vehicles used, the social practices of Suckhole and the physiognomy of its inhabitants, the author is in fine form and delivers one wild creation after another.   

Basically, every little thing that was, is and will be wrong with redneck culture is absolutely right in “A Town Called Suckhole.” From the weapons to the vehicles; from the way they talk to the way they eat, Barbee is obviously a man who has spent quite some time studying the subculture and taking notes. Take for example the menu offered at the "Hell-Yeah Heritage Jamboree," which isn’t too far away from something you might come across at the Texas State Fair or in a weird food cart here in Austin: "Vendors sold deep-fried ice cream, donut cheeseburgers, gator haggis, squirrel gumbo, corndog cobbler, fatback-injected hushpuppies, and chocolate-dipped corn on the cob."  

When I read that author Jeremy Robert Johnson called this book “the finest post-apocalyptic southern gothic mudpunk buddy-cop blow-out ever put to print,” I attributed it to the kindness that some authors show their friends when providing blurbs. After reading “A Town Called Suckhole,” I think Johnson forgot to include the words hysterical and unique. You can get a copy right now by clicking here. Also, you can get in touch with Barbee and check out more of his work by visiting his website here.