Favorite novels

The supermarket shouldn't have been shut - it wasn't normal for Else to quit early. But then it wasn't normal for a meat cleaver to fly through the air by itself. Or for the guard dog locked in overnight to end up like hamburger meat. Or for Elsie herself to feature on the butcher's slab, neatly wrapped and jointed...There's weird things happening in the town of Oasis, and Lacey Allen had better... BEWARE!

For some inexplicable reason I'm repeatedly drawn back to Laymon's work, every year or two, even though I'm batting way below the Mendoza line* as far as the hit/miss ratio. I think I like the idea of Laymon more than I enjoy reading him, much of the time. The idea of reading brainless, B slasher movies in novel form, filled with hopelessly stupid (and hopelessly horny) teens who get offed one by one seems fun as hell. But the actual reading of them can sometimes be a chore, as the characters are usually so moronic that you can't help but root for them to die, which is fine when watching a movie, but reading a novel requires -- at least for me -- some sort of connection with/sympathy for the characters, especially in a horror novel.This one's an early work of his, and you can tell because it's short and moves fast -- one of the only things I liked about it. There aren't nearly as many wasted pages compared with his 90s work, where he'd stretch out a 200-page story to near-epic length. I think his writing skills did improve over the years, but he also learned to pad the hell out of his novels, as became the norm in horror in general.The basic story is that there are new films being shown at the Haunted Palace movie theater, but these aren't your typical horror films -- they're quick little bursts of terror and violence, and very realistic. Almost like snuff films. These shorts are very popular among the younger crowd, until some of them become potential fodder for the next "movie." Brit thinks she recognizes an old friend in one of the films, a friend she suddenly can't get a hold of. Of course this friend was "killed" in the movie, and Brit wonders if maybe it was real, so she decides to investigate..This is definitely lower-tier Laymon -- not offensively bad, but not good either, imo. It's just sorta there, in the typical "making it up as he goes along" Laymon way, throwing anything and everything at the wall to see what sticks. The characterization is paper thin compared to his later novels, but I'd actually take that over 500 pages of the depraved thoughts of virtually every (male) Laymon character ever. It's also pretty light, not nearly as sadistic and gross as some of his other work. But I usually find that, compared with similar authors like Jack Ketchum or Bryan Smith, I'm never actually disturbed or unsettled when reading his work, as it's all so silly and over-the-top in its depiction of violence.** And there's nothing wrong with a light, fun horror read. Hell, I've read enough of them, so I must enjoy them at least some. But this one's a little too light, and even though I just read it, it's already fading from memory, just like my last few Laymon reads. So I think I'm officially done with him, finally.Until next time.2.0 Stars*That's a baseball reference that means a batting average that's very, very bad, named after a Pirates shortstop from the 70s who was very, very bad and should feel bad. In case any of you reading this are non baseball-loving heathens.**All this makes it sound as if I hate all of Laymon's work, which isn't the case. I especially enjoy his late 80s novels, before they became too bloated, such as his books under the name Richard Kelly -- Midnight's Lair and Tread Softly (i.e. Dark Mountain) -- as well as Flesh and The Stake (from 1990, which is about the time when his tendency to pad started to rear its ugly head). But those were all earlier reads in my Laymon past, and I sometimes wonder if I'd have liked them as much if I'd read them later on, once I had gotten used to his schtick.

Leigh is young, rebellious and beautiful -- and she yearns for a summer of excitement by the lake. Maybe she'll find it in the arms of the handsome boy who rows her out to the abandoned beach house. Or maybe she'll stumble into a legacy of terror which will shatter her life... — Eighteen years later, Deana has no knowledge of her mother's troubled past and not that much interest. She just wants to make out somewhere cool with her boyfriend -- to let her hair down and live a little. If only living were that simple. But that summer at the lake casts a long shadow. And when the horrors of the past meet the perils of the present, both mother and daughter are plunged into a nightmare of blood and terror from which there is no escape.

For years morbid tourists have flocked to the Beast House, eager to see the infamous site of so many unspeakable atrocities, to hear tales of the beast said to prowl the hallways. They can listen to the audio tour on their headphones as they stroll from room to room, looking at the realistic recreations of the blood-drenched corpses...But the audio tour only gives the sanitized version of the horrors of the Beast House. There are some facts too gruesome for the average thrill seekers. If you want the full story, you have to take the Midnight Tour, a very special event strictly limited to thirteen brave visitors. It begins at the stroke of midnight. You may not live to see it end.

'If you've missed Laymon, you've missed a treat' Stephen King.Twenty minutes before the quake hit, Stanley was ogling Sheila through his living-room window. Now he may be able to do more than just ogle ... Sheila's trapped in her ruined house and her husband and daughter are stranded on the other side of the city. The power's down, the emergency services can't cope and the lawless are combing the ruins. Sheila's fate depends on who can get to her first...

I am a huge Richard Laymon fan. This was one of the few novels he wrote that I hadn't yet read, so I dived in. I thought the story was weak. The author has writing talent and a few plot twists to carry it, but maybe I was expecting too much. This is the same author that has produced several books I could not put down.In any case, this reads sort of like a mystery with a few weird characters and a bit of a plot twist. I felt it lacked the characteristic mood and atmosphere that mark the author's better works. Reading it felt like work sometimes.Not bad, just not really good either.

When a horror author and his wife, along with their friends, visit Sagebrush Flats, a ghost town near their home, they stumble upon a truly bizarre discovery - the withered corpse of a woman with a stake driven through her heart. Was she a vampire? The only way to find out is to pull the stake, see if she reanimates.The blurb on the back of this delightful novel ( in my opinion, one of Laymon's best) has to be one of the worst I have read This book has several storylines woven together, and it takes a while to pick up steam, but when it does, look out.Though slow at times, this book really delivers some excellent writing, a great cast of characters, a heaping dollop of wry humor, and some chilling horror.As I read through Laymon's immense output, I often find him to be hot or miss, never totally bad, sometimes brilliant.The Stake is high on the awesome list for me. I would say it holds its own with some of Laymon's other gems, like ISLAND, AFTER MIDNIGHT and BODY RIDES.Fun, crazy and disturbing, never takes itself too seriously.My only gripe is that there are multitudinous rehash scenes. There always seems to be a character who needs to be brought up to snuff on what happened in the previous chapter. I found myself skimming through in several places, but if you read Laymon, this is nothing new.

It started as a game. Six college kids at a party. Then someone suggested they try the Ouija board. The board that Corie had hidden in the back of her closet and sworn never to touch again. Not after what happened last time. Not after Jake's death...They were only playing around, but the Ouija board worked all right. Maybe too well. A spirit who called himself Butler began to send them messages - and make demands. Butler promised them a hidden treasure if only they would follow his directions and head off to a secluded spot in the mountains... a wild, isolated spot where anything could be waiting for them. Treasure or death. Or Butler himself.

Ketchum is quite satisfying when I reach for his stories; the horror and gore are based on things that with some stretch of really bad luck could really happen to someone which he balances on that too close to comfort crossing line perfectly. Joyride has a few murderers in it and some you hate and despise and the others you root for, crazy yes, you do want some of the characters to be okay, the story is twisted and even though it’s a good read it’s not his most visceral. This goes easy on the usual Ketchum gore and focuses on speedy shock and a thriller to keep the reader alert thought the tale, as usual there is more than one story line going on and sooner or later they join for an interesting ending. This was originally published under the title of “Road Kill” in the nineteen nineties in the UK and the flavor of the story reflects the place and time of its publishing, you get the darkness and the battle between good and evil or in this case evil and lesser evil based on the characters and who’s on top versus on who’s more of a mad man chopping and killing like in his previous works, here the mental games take over the pain of the flesh that he can make real very easily. Howard is a sick young man on the killing spree of his life, traveling with him is Carol and Lee, you know why he takes them when you start the story and absorb their sticky and stressful backgrounds. He takes them on a ride but in this case the journey is more important than the destination, it’s either them or random innocents who will get their share of bad luck for the day, Ketchum makes this an addictive read that’s hard to put down and one that stays in the memory for a while. You pick who you root for, both sides have their black acts and it doesn’t take too long for some very bad things to start happening to some random good people and a few damaged souls in need of a new start. This was a fast and easy read, not the most potent from Ketchum but then again this is the same man who wrote Off Spring which was the most insanely gross and intense book ever in a good way if you love horror, so perhaps it’s not such a bad thing. - Kasia S.

I love camping, and have loved it since I was kid. everything about it: walking in nature, splashing in water, setting up camp, the conversations around the fire and the cooking and the early mornings waking up to the music of birds and insects, the nights spent in a tent or under the stars. Richard Laymon loves camping too: he spends nearly the first 200 pages describing a camping trip before bothering to get to the horror. the attack on the campers felt almost like an afterthought. I didn't mind the lazy pacing because it was really pleasant reading about this trip. characterization may not be the author's forte in general, but the characters here felt absolutely real. reading the various perspectives of child, teen, and adult took me right back to various camping trips throughout my life. Laymon gets all of the details right. and there's a genuine generosity of spirit displayed in this novel that makes it feel like something he wrote out of love for camping with a big group rather than just to bring in some money.I was pleased to see Laymon control his sleazier traits. nearly every character is a horny character, but unlike past novels, I didn't get the sense that he was salivating while writing about his characters' sexuality. rape - a Laymon hallmark - unfortunately is present, but he restrains himself there too. although I could have done without it entirely, I did appreciate that he showed an unusual sensitivity this time. and there is a teen romance that is surprisingly tender and charming. Laymon even shows some compassion for the novel's antagonist - an old woman trying to survive in the wilderness despite being saddled with a brutally violent rapist of a son.so overall this was an atypical novel for this author. sweet-tempered in tone, more concerned with the details of a trip than creating a tight and focused narrative. I liked that a lot. it also involved the supernatural, which is unusual for Laymon. the last quarter is definitely gripping. plus it includes zombies, because why not.

In a suburb of Chicago, Albert Prince parks on a dark street thinking he's about to get lucky with Betty — only to find out she wants cash, not romance. — And Albert is a few bucks short. — "Dig up the rest of the money tomorrow," says Betty, "and give me a call. We'll have a great time tomorrow night." — But Albert won't be seeing Betty tomorrow night.He'll be having a great time without her ... in a stranger's house ... with a beautiful woman ... with a knife.Albert Prince has one passion in life: he loves to cut people. He's about to leave a trail of blood from Chicago to California.

Hell is a city. Forget the old-fashioned sulphurous pit you may have read about. Over the millennia, Hell has evolved into a bustling metropolis with looming skyscrapers, crowded streets, systemized evil, and atrocity as the status quo.Cassie thought she knew all about Hell. But when her twin sister, Lissa, committed suicide, Cassie found that she was able to travel to the real thing—the city itself. Now, even though she's still alive, Cassie is heading straight to Hell to find Lissa. And the sights she sees as she walks among the damned will never be in any tourist guidebook.

Ah, Laymon. I'm really torn as to how to rate this. I tend to rate within genre. So, as a successful Horror read, I'm thinking 3 1/2 to 4 stars. As I've said before, when it comes to Laymon, I feel I'm reading one of the most (gleefully) manipulative writers I've ever encountered. If you're a fan of cheesy 70s & 80s horror flicks, then Laymon is your man. He is the perfect distillation of what those movies were trying to achieve (and, let's face it, where few succeeded). Laymon's novels are often set at or near a university. So you're going to have very horny teenagers (often English majors (yeah!)) getting into trouble (but just about everyone in a Laymon novel is horny) right from the get-go. And you'll also have extreme, often shocking violence (and I have set Laymon novels down for a while (including this one) over some violent scenes that just freaked me out). But to counter that savagery, Laymon always offers up pretty funny dialogue and wacky characters. You can laugh, even though you're covering your eyes. That is the Laymon formula. I have dinged Laymon in the past for his excesses, but have now come to realize that's what he's selling. Excess. You either buy into it -- or you walk away. I've also come to respect his writing ability. There are some that think he was a hack writer, and to some extent that is true. This guy worked for a living, and he knew what sold. And what he liked to write. But he also had an M.A. in English from Loyola University. In a number of novels, it's not unusual to find references to Chaucer, Shakespeare, and Hemingway. Oh, it's done lightly enough, but you get the sense that Laymon actually knows these writers, has read them. As far as his own writing style goes, no Horror writer writes cleaner sentences. It's like eating potato chips. On the down side, you get the sense that he wrote quickly, with pages of unnecessary padding in some novels (not so much in this one however). Flesh is all of the above. A snake (or perhaps, more accurately, a tape worm) kind of thing invades a town. Once it gets in you, you want to kill and then eat your victim. It probably took Laymon 5 minutes to come up with the plot. But the fun is really with all the characters, and how they interact, the tongue in cheek dialogue that can be both horrific -- and then funny as hell:"Here's the interesting part: the body had been eaten. Quite a lot of the skin had been torn off, portions of muscle devoured." The cigar in Steve's hand was shaking. "She had bite marks all over her body. Some were just enough to break her skin, others took great chunks out of her. Her torso had been ripped open. Her heart had been torn out and partly eaten. Her head . . . she had been scalped. Her skull had been caved in with a blunt instrument, possibly a rock. Her brain was missing.""Holy fuckin' mayonnaise," Barney muttered.I don't think it's an accident that a character named "Barney" is the chief of police. The above scene reads like it came right out of Tarantino's Grindhouse/Planet Terror. What follows are various murderous escapades, and a bit of clunky plotting that was obviously aimed for a result you can see a mile away (and I almost dinged this book a star because of that). What saved the novel for me is its outrageousness. I was totally on board with the novel when a character showed up, dressed in tight leather pants, gasoline, and a machete. This is when Laymon introduced Aztecs and Cortez into the novel. That inspired WTF! moment got that star back pronto.

When Ed receives word from his college girlfriend that she's in love with someone else, Ed's world changes in a second. Heartbroken and half-mad, Ed goes for a nighttime walk, but on this lonesome October night, he is not alone. There are others roaming the streets, waiting to show Ed just how different his world can be. Some are enticing, some disturbing--and some are deadly, in search of prey.

Jody is pretty tough for a sixteen-year-old girl. That's the only reason she's still alive - for now. She was sleeping over at her friend Evelyn's house when a group of killers broke in and tried to slaughter everyone. She saw Evelyn spitted on a spear, but Jody managed to escape, along with Evelyn's little brother, Andy. — Simon was one of the killers that gruesome night. His friends have left it up to him to find the only living witnesses to their massacre. Or else they'll butcher his family next. But Simon has his own reasons for wanting to get his hands on Jody...

"Who's the scariest guy in America? Probably Jack Ketchum, the outlaw horror writer whose terrifying first novel is finally available. That would be Off Season: The Unexpurgated Edition." -Stephen King. Now OFFSPRING, the sequel to Off Season, has been released in this unique edition. Just when you thought the horror of Off Season was vanquished in their first outing, The Family, lives on... years later continuing to terrorize the coast of Maine. And their zest for life, and yours, continues on in The Family tradition. The local sheriff of Dead River, Maine, thought he'd killed them off ten years ago... a primitive, cave-dwelling tribe of predatory savages. But somehow, the clan survived. To breed. To hunt. To kill and eat. Now the peaceful residents, who came to Dead River to escape civilization, are fighting for their lives....

It's a hot, hot night. Too hot to be making love unless your romance is young, like Sherry and Duane's. It's their first time but there's just one problem - they have no condoms. Of course they could wait until tomorrow... Duane remembers the all-night Speed-D-Mart. In the usual circumstances, it's not a place anyone would want to visit at night. But these aren't usual circumstances. Duane throws on his clothes - the store is just ten minutes down the block. Now Sherry is waiting. Ten minutes has gone, so has twenty. She's not worried - what's another few minutes? Then she hears the noise from down the street. It might be a door slamming. It might be the backfire of a car. But Sherry thinks it sounds mostly like a gunshot...

Also published as Amara — An ancient beauty . . . — Amara was once the Princess of Egypt, the beautiful wife of Mentuhotep the First. Now, 4000 years later, she and her coffin are merely prized exhibits of the Charles Ward museum. Her lovely face and strong, young body are no more. If you were to look at her today you would see only a brittle bundle of bones and dried skin. But looks can be very deceiving. . . .A missing mummy . . .Barney, the museum’s night watchman, is the first to make the shocking discovery that the mummy’s coffin has been broken open. He immediately assumes it’s the work of grave-robbers who care nothing about the sanctity of the dead. But Barney doesn’t have a chance to do anything about it. Then two security guards come upon the open coffin and they too believe that the mummy has been stolen. What else could sane men think? By the time they realize the unbelievable truth, it’s far too late for them to do anything . . . ever again.The walking dead!Now Amara is once again freed from the cramped confines of her coffin, free to walk the earth, free to stalk her prey. Free to kill. Nothing can satisfy her deadly bloodlust. And no one can stop her. You cannot kill what is already dead.