February 2015 Group Read: In The Dark by Richard Laymon

[Andy]

That is why Laymon is the best.

[Nate]

Stephanie wrote: "Andy: re:your spoiler -YES! Oh dear god....I about lost it. LOL"

I didn't believe it would actually go there until it did...I'm impressed.

[Dani]

He's good, but definitely a perv!

[Deborah]

Okay - I have finished it ... it is a strange world Richard Laymon lives it - I did enjoy the ending - Weird, strange, entertaining but I don't know if I would read another of his books. ?

[♣ Spacey♣]

I kind of felt that way too Deborah - about reading another. I may give another a shot and see, maybe a newer one. I have a feeling my issues with this one can also stem to how long ago it was written, (like watching a 90's TV show and wondering why they are all dressed stupid - sometimes nostalgia is good, and sometimes it just messed with my head and I can't get around it. LOL!)

[Robert]

I got a fair amount of reading time over the weekend and am now about 60% in. I definitely can't write off her actions to boredom at this point - she seems like someone who was a little unbalanced to start with, and thus was probably a good choice for MoG. It would be one thing if she really was destitute or had some large debt looming out there, but money alone in her situation doesn't seem like it'd be motivation enough.

Still really enjoying it, and hoping my reading time holds out so I can finish in a few days!

[♣ Spacey♣]

So I just started wondering - was there ever an explanation of how MOG picked Jane? Why her? I don't recall ever reading how or why he decided to play the game with her...?

[Vicki Willis]

Nate wrote: "I feel like I'm watching a late '70's, early '80's horror movie on VHS that I just brought home from the video rental place down the road. And that, my friends, is awesome."

I totally agree Nate. Reading this for what it is and loving it! I am about 34% right now and going to read some more tonight.

And Yes, Andy... TOTALLY!!!

[Nate]

I'm 50% through, and I can't believe there's still half of a book left. What on earth will go on now!?

[Robert]

Got to around 75% over lunch, now at the start of chapter 36.

(view spoiler)[It's good to see Jane has finally reached her limit, but does anyone else think it's pretty obnoxious that she didn't offer either of the women she saved ANY of the money from the envelope, especially after going to the trouble of saving them and taking those sick bastards out of the gene pool, the latter of which she definitely was not forced to do. I know it's pretty well-established that she's highly motivated by greed, but it still seems inconsistent, especally since she'd thought about leaving money to cover the broken window. Man, I hadn't remembered any of that whole ordeal from my previous reading of it! I'm anxious to see how it all ends now... (hide spoiler)]

[Jack]

Just hit 10%, it's an intriguing premise. Suddenly trusting the stranger who scared the shit out if you is maybe a bit if a reach, but hey-ho, I'm not expecting this to be earth-shatteringly brilliant. Seems entertaining so far.

[Gary]

The more I read it the more I questioned Jane's decisions and behaviour but nevertheless I found it a most entertaining and suspenseful read.

[Gary]

The more I read it the more I questioned Jane's decisions and behaviour but nevertheless I found it a most entertaining and suspenseful read.

[Dani]

Yea Jane is a bit of a nutcase, but fun to see how it plays out.

[Anne]

Ok, about 100 pages to go, and it definitely took an interesting turn. I was getting pretty tired of hearing about Jane's clothes and her nipples, they seemed to almost be characters! But things got twisted, which I wish they had much sooner. Looking forward to finishing tonight to see where it ends up. I do feel like it took a really long time to get to the good stuff. I get it that we were learning how far Jane would go, but I think I would've gotten it with a lot less drawn out build-up.

[Anne]

Anne wrote: "Ok, about 100 pages to go, and it definitely took an interesting turn. I was getting pretty tired of hearing about Jane's clothes and her nipples, they seemed to almost be characters! But things go..."

Oh, and I'd be ok with not hearing any more about her wet panties too!

[Gary]

After a while I started to find it quite humorous reading about Jane's clothes, her body and what was or wasn't wet. Maybe this was Laymon's intention. I felt this contrasted well with the horror, especially in the latter chapters.

[Jeremy]

These last few comments have really made me laugh!

(view spoiler)[One of the most interesting things I found about this book was how Laymon went out of his way to mention how dowdy and mousy Jane was at the beginning of the book, and yet somehow the game transforms her into a weirdly sensual sexpot. It creeped me out a bit at the beginning, but it got so over the top by the end with all the rubbing of body parts and voyeuristic shower scenes, that I started to be amused by it, too. (hide spoiler)]

[Shaun]

Well, mostly out of spite, I finished the book. It's absurd. None of it worked for me.

(view spoiler)[I'm really supposed to believe that two weeks with some extra running around turns the out-of-shape librarian into a model that can almost match a 6'4" muscle-bound behemoth? Or that she can walk into a gun store and walk out with over a dozen handguns with no hassle and no waiting period? Or that after being 5 steps ahead of her the whole book, MoG just gets blown away charging at her and Brace with a meat cleaver for no real reason whatsoever? (hide spoiler)]

Even if I was just looking for mindless entertainment, I can do a hell of a lot better than this.

[Justin]

Finished (view spoiler)[ an ok read, yes all the complaints in this thread are valid but if you have read any other laymon novels you knew what you where getting into. This one might have overdone it a bit more than his others though. Honestly I enjoyed it for what it was but it was my least favorite laymon novel so far, the first half bored the hell out of me and the final showdown in the church was so drawn out probably in an attempt to have enough action to balance out the incredibly long buildup that I was actually bored with that also. I will round my rating up to 3 stars. (hide spoiler)]

[John]

Hahahaha! Shaun, you've put it better than I could. Brilliant!

[Anne]

Yea, agreeing with those above, my final opinion is that it was definitely not one of his best. Lots of problems and the end just didn't make the rest worth the time. And what was MoG anyway? Just a weird, crazy guy? Anyway, I'd give it about 2 1/2 stars.

[♣ Spacey♣]

I think the best part of reading this was reading all the comments in this group. LOL

[Anthony]

I ended up getting a refund on the Kindle version shortly after my previous comment. I couldn't keep reading it. Oh well, plenty of other books out there to try.

[Anne]

Ashley wrote: "Justin wrote: "Finished [spoilers removed]"

couldnt agree more everyone who loves laymon loves how over the top his charcaters are and hpw unrealistic they are some of the nit picking is almost la..."

I think there's more to nitpick in this one than other Laymon books. I've read others of his and liked them so I'm not against his style or his general way of writing characters, just had a harder time with this particular one.

[Anthony]

I find it interesting that the thread for Ghost Story, which I also read, seems to be calmer, and people there are not getting as upset when others have qualms about that book. I wonder why that is the case.

No matter what book you pick, there will be someone who doesn't enjoy it. I don't understand why some in this thread feel the need to get defensive and upset with differing opinions which have been stated in a fairly civil manner.

I got 40% percent into In The Dark, and didn't like it. I don't see a need to do any further research to know that it wasn't for me.

[Kasia]

Anthony wrote: "I find it interesting that the thread for Ghost Story, which I also read, seems to be calmer, and people there are not getting as upset when others have qualms about that book. I wonder why that i..."

Ghost Story doesn't have an ebook available for sale, so probably less people commenting.

[Addy]

I think we all just need to move on, differing opinions and all:)

Still enjoying this book quite a bit.

[Shaun]

All books have a certain degree of asking the reader to suspend their disbelief in order to enjoy the story. But when a book is constantly asking "Just ignore that this happened, just accept that this happened, don't think about why this is, or why that is." over and over again. It really feels like lazy writing. Like the author was in a hurry to pump out the book and couldn't be bothered to explain his characters or their actions.

(view spoiler)[For example, in two seconds, I just fixed the gun issue. Rather than going to the gun store, she went to Babe, explained part of her situation, maybe like what she told the girl that picked her up from the woods, and he rounded up some guns from his biker friends for her to use. No extra explanations needed. (hide spoiler)]

Yes, some people absolutely LOVE Laymon. But the point of a group read is to discuss the book and our opinions on it as, and after, we read it. If you can't handle people criticizing one of your favorite authors, maybe group reads aren't for you, as opposed to telling people they shouldn't read his books and comment about them.

[Addy]

Omg.....:)

[John]

Pardon?

[Nate]

Well, just finished, and I enjoyed the heck out of In the Dark. Now I can read everyone's spoilers! This book seems to have generated quite a bit of both negative and positive commentary. I always find that to be a good compliment to a book, especially one published over 20 years ago. Glad I finally read Richard Laymon. I may not read his books one after another, but I can see them being a really fun way to clear the pipes every once in awhile.

[John]

"Clear the pipes." I like it, Nate.

[Nate]

Anne wrote: "Ok, about 100 pages to go, and it definitely took an interesting turn. I was getting pretty tired of hearing about Jane's clothes and her nipples, they seemed to almost be characters! But things go..."

LMAO! I found this bewildering at times. I don't recall ever reading such a lecherous narrator. I took it as satire, but if I was listening to someone telling this story I would be giving them strange sideways glances quite often.

[11811 (Eleven)]

John wrote: "Pardon?"

lmao

[Mixofsunandcloud]

I started it last night and I'm now 29% in. I'm enjoying it. Not a deep read, but kind of fun. I'm pretty sure it's my first Laymon.

[Joel]

I read this last year so I haven't been participating in the group read thus far. However, since the topic has shifted to Laymon in general, I figured I'd proffer my two cents: Laymon is not a good writer. Thin, unbelievable characters, poor dialog, juvenile obsession with the female body, bland prose...yet I've read about ten of his books and will likely read some more! (Despite only really liking one of them, the very good, Bradbury-ish The Traveling Vampire Show). This novel (In the Dark) was enjoyable enough for its plot mechanations, despite all its many, many faults. I guess my initial intended point is that, yeah, Laymon is sorta bad, BUT us horror freaks need that "badness" sometimes. Often times we seek it out! That's why we watch crappy slasher sequels with dumb teens that don't act like real people and are fixated on sex. Richard Laymon is the literary equivalent of the bad horror movies we love despite their faults, and he definitely deserves his place.

[11811 (Eleven)]

Joel wrote: "I read this last year so I haven't been participating in the group read thus far. However, since the topic has shifted to Laymon in general, I figured I'd proffer my two cents: Laymon is not a goo..."

Well said.

[Maxine Marsh]

Amen, Joel. Criticisms of his work are all valid but Laymon fans go in realizing that you are going to get a campy, fun, splatterpunk ride. I suggest After Midnight as one of his that's a little better than the rest.

[Joel]

Thanks. It's strange sticking up for an author that I am explicitly saying isn't a good writer and who I probably wouldn't be reading further if his books weren't free on Kindle Unlimited, but he does fill a niche in the genre and deserves his place. Horror fans need their itches scratched in different ways. Laymon enjoys scratching the private areas. Over and over.

[Shaun]

Well, I kind of feel like spending time looking up authors and reading all about them and their writing style before I've even picked up their book is more a waste of time than reading a book I end up hating. At least then I've experienced the book for myself. If I just went by other people's opinions, I may end up missing something I like despite the issues they point out.

[Addy]

(Clap, clap, clap) Well said Joel! Now, the reading can commence (big smile)! I really couldn't have said it better myself.

[Addy]

I thought the reference to The Beast House was pretty cool!

[Justin]

Ashley. People aren't moaning about issues in the book they are discussing why they disliked it. You seem offended that people have different opinions than you. Also I never research books, half the time I don't even read the synopsis. In fact I often enjoy picking up a book I know nothing about just based of a cool cover or title,being upset that people didn't like a book because they didn't research it first to see if it is something they would like before reading it and thinking they shouldn't be allowed to say anything bad about it because of that is ridiculous. I know he is your favorite author and all but lighten up, I like laymon and I didn't really care for this book either, there is no need to be so defensive about it though.

[Justin]

Addy wrote: "I thought the reference to The Beast House was pretty cool!"

Same here, my favorite was his reference in Funland. The freakshow actually had a mounted beast in it. Very cool when authors do that kind of thing.

[Andy]

I like books.

[Addy]

Omg...me too! This is crazy!!

[Justin]

Hey, so do I! We should all do a buddy read together!

[Dani]

Well said Justin. Also, agree with how you select some of your books.

[Jeremy]

I agree, Joel. Actually, I think most horror novel writing is pretty crappy, but since I find the cheap thrills they provide entertaining, I have lower standards than I would for a novel of another type.

I'm actually enjoying how polarizing this book seems to be. :D