{"id":2499,"date":"2013-08-12T08:30:11","date_gmt":"2013-08-12T08:30:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.revolutionsf.com\/revblogs\/geekcurmudgeon\/?p=2499"},"modified":"2013-08-08T23:06:36","modified_gmt":"2013-08-08T23:06:36","slug":"rayguns-over-texas-preview-joe-r-lansdale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.revolutionsf.com\/revblogs\/geekcurmudgeon\/2013\/08\/12\/rayguns-over-texas-preview-joe-r-lansdale\/","title":{"rendered":"Rayguns Over Texas preview: Joe R. Lansdale"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Cover<\/a>

Cover by Rocky Kelley<\/p><\/div>\n

As we barrel toward the August 29 premiere of\u00a0Rayguns Over Texas\u00a0<\/em><\/a>at\u00a0LoneStarCon 3<\/a>\u00a0(aka the 71st Annual World Science Fiction Convention) in San Antonio, I am presenting book excerpts, one contributor per day.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s selection comes from Joe R. Lansdale<\/a>‘s “Rex.”<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Joe R. Lansdale\u00a0delivers his twisted take\u00a0on the classic tale of\u00a0a boy and his dog\u00a0and aliens.<\/p>\n

Benny moved the telescope, shrugged out of his pajamas, put on\u00a0his clothes, and climbed out the window. \u201cRex, come on, boy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rex got off the bed and bounded through the window. They raced\u00a0like wind blown shadows across the yard, ran toward the great line of\u00a0trees beyond. It took a while to get there, and when they did, they had\u00a0to ease down a hill and cross a creek. They went through the woods,\u00a0Benny thinking on things, trying to figure where the ship might have\u00a0landed.<\/p>\n

The forest trail was narrow, but Benny had been down it many\u00a0times before with Rex. Rex was always with him. Rex never failed as\u00a0a loyal dog. Rex even took the lead, Benny thinking it was because\u00a0he was hoping he might startle a sleeping bunny, scare up some low\u00a0nesting birds. Then, smack dab in the middle of the trail, where it\u00a0widened, right before the trees broke into a clearing on the other side,\u00a0they saw it.<\/p>\n

It was at an angle. It had knocked down a couple of trees and\u00a0smacked part of the way into the ground. The wound it had made\u00a0in the earth was what was holding it up. It was a small space ship, a\u00a0saucer. It was maybe the size of Benny\u2019s bedroom.<\/p>\n

There was a round portal in its side and it was open. A bit of white\u00a0smoke drifted out of it, but that soon turned clear. Benny could only\u00a0see darkness through the gap. A thought occurred to him. Whoever\u00a0had flown the machine might have gotten out of the saucer and was\u00a0wandering about. Or maybe it had only opened the portal and had not\u00a0been able to get out. Maybe whatever had been in the saucer was still\u00a0there, and injured.<\/p>\n

Benny looked around, found a bit of limb that had fallen off a tree.\u00a0It was small enough to handle, big enough for a club. If he could get on\u00a0board and bean him a man from outer space, kill him, then he would\u00a0be hero. He could say it had a ray gun or something. No. They\u2019d look\u00a0and not find one. That wouldn\u2019t do. Whatever. There was a good lie to\u00a0be told, all he had to do was tell it, because the rest of it was real. There\u00a0was a space ship in the woods and he was here with it. Him and Rex.<\/p>\n

Easing up on the ship, Benny came to the gap and looked inside.\u00a0Dark. Nothing else. Just dark. It was scary.<\/p>\n

Benny put a hand on the ship to step up through the hole, and\u00a0found he could lift it. Lift the whole thing, the entire ship. It occurred\u00a0to him it might be cardboard, that he may have seen a special kind of\u00a0kite fall, and this was it. He had been fooled.<\/p>\n

No. This was no kite. Too big for that. The answer was simple. It\u00a0was made out of very light material; some kind of super space science.\u00a0Benny sat the saucer down so that it rested in the middle of the trail,\u00a0where the clearing started.<\/p>\n

Rex put both paws on the gap, looked inside the ship and growled.<\/p>\n

\u201cIts still in there?\u201d Benny said.<\/p>\n

Rex wagged his tail.<\/p>\n

\u201cGo get it,\u201d Benny said. \u201cKill it. You get it down, I\u2019ll come in with\u00a0the stick.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rex turned his head and looked at Benny.<\/p>\n

\u201cGo get it,\u201d Benny said again.<\/p>\n

Rex didn\u2019t want to go, that was easy to see. But Benny kept urging\u00a0him, and faithful as always, Rex climbed inside with a bit of a boost\u00a0from Benny. Benny could hear Rex running around in there, hear his\u00a0paws scuffing over the floor. After awhile Rex barked. Then there was\u00a0silence.<\/p>\n

Benny called for Rex, but Rex didn\u2019t come out.<\/p>\n

All of a sudden, Benny didn\u2019t want to hit the space man anymore.\u00a0He didn\u2019t want to be there. He felt sorry for Rex, but in a case like this\u00a0everyone was on their own.<\/p>\n

Benny threw down the limb and darted back the way he had come,\u00a0over the creek up the hill, across the clearing, and climbed back\u00a0through his bedroom window.<\/p>\n

 <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Excerpt from \u201cRex\u201d \u00a9 2013 by Joe R. Lansdale.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As we barrel toward the August 29 premiere of\u00a0Rayguns Over Texas\u00a0at\u00a0LoneStarCon 3\u00a0(aka the 71st Annual World Science Fiction Convention) in San Antonio, I am presenting book excerpts, one contributor per day. Today\u2019s selection comes from Joe R. Lansdale‘s “Rex.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2499","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-books","category-rayguns-over-texas"],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n