33rd out of 342 books
—
375 voters
The Beast House (Beast House Chronicles #2)
The waxworks were so realistic.
Bodies torn and chewed. Blood blackly-encrusting open wounds. Flaps of skin hanging loose, clawed from the stripped, ripped corpses. Men, women, children, slaughtered, mangled...
The old woman who showed them round was well-practised in her grim, money-spinning take of the mysterious beast that has killed and killed again. Of course it was al...more
Bodies torn and chewed. Blood blackly-encrusting open wounds. Flaps of skin hanging loose, clawed from the stripped, ripped corpses. Men, women, children, slaughtered, mangled...
The old woman who showed them round was well-practised in her grim, money-spinning take of the mysterious beast that has killed and killed again. Of course it was al...more
Published
(first published 1980)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
2,349)
Time for another snack! I found this on the Friends of the Library bookshelf at Millwood when I picked up Deafening. (Now, having read it...) And what a terrible snack it was, like knowing you'll feel ill and vaguely guilty when you're done, but eating a whole bag of potato chips anyway. Think low-budget, late-night, Sci-Fi Channel creature-horror movie in book form. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone who wasn't hung over and bored on an airplane returning home from a trip to Las Vegas.
Read The Cellar based on my husband's raving recommendation and thought it was really cheesy but I am a nitpicky crab. My husband, who is much nicer a person than I, says they get better as the series continues but we'll see . . .
I'm going to read this in December for Jare's 2009 Spills & Chills Release Challenge over at bookcrossing.com. This month the theme is monsters.
Laymon is hit or miss for me. The Traveling Vampire Show is one of my favorite books despite the fact that nothing all...more
I'm going to read this in December for Jare's 2009 Spills & Chills Release Challenge over at bookcrossing.com. This month the theme is monsters.
Laymon is hit or miss for me. The Traveling Vampire Show is one of my favorite books despite the fact that nothing all...more
After thoroughly enjoying "The Cellar" I couldn't wait to get my hands on its sequel and it was a good read but too short in my opinion. The one thing I adore about Laymon, other than the crazy scenarios and large amounts of cringing gore is the character development. He spend a lot of time making me believe in all the new and old characters in this story and then took the last hundred pages making me sweat because their lives were always in danger.
The Kutch house and The Beast house still stand...more
The Kutch house and The Beast house still stand...more
I thought I'd give this book a try as I was wanting something new...well that quickly bit me in the rear. This is one of the worst books I've ever had the misfortune of reading and I'll be sure to steer clear of this 'author' in the future. I forced myself to finish it then promptly set it out as 'free' in the hall of my apartment building. Possibly someone might enjoy it, or maybe get some lining for a hamster cage out of it.
This is my first Laymon and though I didn't hope for much (reviews warned me away from The Cellar and I expected little better here) I was still disappointed. As many other reviews note, the first hundred pages involve very little except drinking, sex, references to sex, and a rough outline of Beast House history. When the action finally shows up, it is predictable and uncreative; everything ends as expected. Equally unfortunate, every sex scene is described in minute detail while only a couple...more
While not as brilliant as the last Laymon novel I read, "Endless Night", this is a fun, fast read. I wouldn't recommend it as a first Laymon novel, because nothing scary happens for the first third of the book. If you're a Laymon fan, you know what this fiendish imagination can do, so you patiently read through the boring beginning, waiting for the mayhem to begin. When it does, it really takes off, with the last 150 pages or so of the book being as suspenseful, action packed, disgusting, gory a...more
This book is the second in a series but I read it first. Perhaps that's why I felt rushed into the story. It certainly didn't read like a stand alone book. Regardless, the happenings in The Beast House were told well enough for me to appreciate the tale. The ever elusive beast seemed more perverted than scary but I still wouldn't want to meet the thing face-to-face. The keepers of the monstrosity were more terrifying than the creature itself. Showcasing human cruelty is Laymon's talent so I wasn...more
I really enjoyed the book. You get a lot more detail of the beast, and how they came to be. You get more of the story of Maggie's involvement in the Beast House. I had a tough time putting the book down because I just found myself wanting to know what happens next. Initially, the first half of the book, you don't really learn the fate of the characters from the previous book in which you're just left hanging. But, well after half way through the book, it starts coming back to them, which was kin...more
Starts out pretty bland. It gets a bit more interesting once they start exploring the beast house, and I enjoyed this book more than I did Laymon's The Traveling Vampire Show, but it's still pretty meh. Other than feeling bad for Janice, I didn't really care about any of the characters. Hardy is so unlikeable that he's not even believable.
I haven't read The Cellar, so I don't know how that affects my view of The Beast House. After this, I'm not sure I'm willing to try another Laymon book.
I haven't read The Cellar, so I don't know how that affects my view of The Beast House. After this, I'm not sure I'm willing to try another Laymon book.
I was disappointed to find out after I was well into THE BEAST HOUSE, that it was the second in a three part trilogy based on Beast House. The first, called, THE CELLAR, tells the story of how Donna and Sandy came to be there. The third, called THE MIDNIGHT TOUR, tells what happens to Sandy, her brood, and the Beast House.
It worked well as a stand alone novel. Laymon is not much on character development. Tyler, Nora, Abe, and Jack, are really developed only as much as needed to propel the story....more
It worked well as a stand alone novel. Laymon is not much on character development. Tyler, Nora, Abe, and Jack, are really developed only as much as needed to propel the story....more
After having read "The Cellar" I'll admit that I did not have high hopes for this book. Not that "the Cellar" was terrible, it just didn't live up to its potential. "The Beast House" does a little better, not much, but there is definite improvement. First of all, as readers we now know the layout of the Beast House and what is actually going on there. This makes it a little harder for him to build suspense. I actually found the most suspense in the hope that the ending wouldn't be as bad as the...more
Being that I’m a really big fan of Richard Laymon, I wanted to like this book. Unfortunately, it did not deliver. In the story a group of people come across a tourist attraction in Malcase Point where an old building has was figures commemorating the victims of the Beast, a victim living in the cellar. The visitors don’t necessarily believe in the Beast, but in the process they are targeted as victims. Without going into too much detail that would spoil things, the plot line is fairly prepostero...more
This was my 2nd Laymon book. The first book (Endless Night) was a page turner. It kept me glued to the book the entire time. Although I wasn't really terrified, it was still intense. I couldn't wait to get my hands on another Laymon book. Unfortunately, this one was nothing like the first book I read. It was slow, the romance between two of the characters seemed forced and cheesy, and it was not scary at all. I think there might of been 30 - 40 pages throughout the book that I actually enjoyed....more
This was much better than The Cellar. The best part of the book was towards the end because it had a good action sequence. Wish Laymon would have killed the fat pig author with a little more gusto. I could have read some real blood and gore when it came to that nasty character. Even though I was offended by the sex in the first book I would still recommend reading The Cellar and this follow up The Beast House. They're a good weekend read in between cleaning the house.
Back at the Beast House! The usual mix of misfits that you don't really care about and hope they all die, descend upon the town with the famous Beast House, now doing more trade because of alleged recent murders and missing people. Now another group of people are preparing to sneak into the house at night to uncover the secrets of the beasts and see if the stories in the old diary written by the house owner are actually true. Oh you stupid people...
The Beasts are a great invention and I like th...more
The Beasts are a great invention and I like th...more
HORRIBLE!!! Warning... Do not read this book! It is a complete waste of time. I read this not realizing it was the middle of a series but that is not why I hated it. The characters have no depth at all. There is about zero plot. Basically it is pornography with a bit of horror mixed in. I would say there is a graphic sex scene every couple of pages and this is not an exagerration. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with a sex scene in and of itself but this book goes way over the top. Wa...more
I'm at a loss with this review because this book was in a way so bad it was good! It has a lot of needless violence and sex and points where it was like a mix of horror and porn. It was a mindless guilty pleasure to read, and I do feel guilty for admitting that I read it and remained entertained. The writing style is not great by any means but the cover kind of tells that you won't be reading the Grapes of Wrath. If you are looking for some good nonsense to read I would recommend this book.
This was better then The Cellar; you could tell he'd grown a bit as a writer. Are the characters a bit hollow who do silly things for lame reasons? Sure. Is there more T&A and B&G? You bet. That's what Laymon does. It is what it is. The books aren't deep and will never be confused for high-quality literary works, but they're good popcorn reading, the novel equivalent of a summer blockbuster movie.
The Beast House is an extremely solid entry into the Beast House Chronicles. I love how the whole series is tied together in very subtle ways. It is like returning to a childhood vacation spot and seeing a landmark that triggers a wave of memories. If you were turned off by some of the more intense subject matter found in The Cellar, then give The Beast House a try. It is a much more accessible entry point into the Beast House Chronicles.
Reading people's comments always fires me up. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion which is how it should be and I write in many reviews very simillar things. Richard Laymon was a cheesy,gory,creepy misunderstood author. Yes most of his books in fact 95% of them are all the same,sex, gore murder,torture etc. That is what he writes that is what he does best. If you don't like it don't read it. He was cheesy and full of cliches yes but again that was him. You either love him or hate him. I fo...more
Laymon at his best. I actually found this one to be more twisted and depraved than the first book. One thing is for certain: whenever the beast appears, chills are inevitable. The characters were better developed and more believable in their actions this time around, too. Horrific and one gripping horror read!
Wow, what a ride,it was nice to get some background info on the beast and the characters were easy to love.
(view spoiler)...more
(view spoiler)...more
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Richard Laymon was born in Chicago and grew up in California. He earned a BA in English Literature from Willamette, and an MA from Loyola University. He worked as a schoolteacher, a librarian, and a report writer for a law firm, and was the author of more than thirty acclaimed novels.
He also published more than sixty short stories in magazines such as Ellery Queen, Alfred Hitchcock, and Cavalier,...more
More about Richard Laymon...
He also published more than sixty short stories in magazines such as Ellery Queen, Alfred Hitchcock, and Cavalier,...more
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

Loading...





































Dec 28, 2011 08:47am