Horror Aficionados discussion
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About to give up on Richard Laymon
Dodge Bite and Cuts... The Traveling Vampire Show was pretty good (For a Laymon) and there was another one... The one with MOG and the Game thing, I can't remember which one it was.
I haven't read bite. My wife did and pretty much said it sucked. The title and cover are misleading. It is not about a vampire at all.
In the couple of Laymans I have read, I found his constant repitition of the word 'rump' (meaning backside) became highly comical.I would actually stop paying attention to the plot and characters and just count how many pages until it showed up again.
I bought The Traveling Vampire Show a few weeks ago, and still have to read it. It's my first Laymon purchase, so I'm curious to see if I like it or not...I keep hearing alot of negative comments about everything except TTVS....
I find most of his stuff to be completely retarded in the sense that if he put one intelligent character in any of his novels, they would be about 15 pages long, and I can only stand to read the words "panties" and "rump" so many times before I want to gag. People also tend to either fall in love or go completely homicidally insane in less than 3 hours time. Everyone is either constantly having sex or fantasizing about sex to the point of making the reader queasy. But I still read his stuff because... well there aren't many horror books that I haven't read, and his plots seem good enough, it's just the execution that's badly done.I wouldn't rush out to get a Laymon novel, but if you have one laying around it's probably going to be a good trashy novel for a plane ride or snoozing by the pool.
And you're right Kathy, I think it was "in the dark"
I gave up on Laymon when I tried to read the one where the misfit high schooler dug up a corpse and tried to re-animate her. Just disgusting. The one I was able to finish before that one was Endless Night. Even more disgusting. I don't read any of his books anymore and I used to look forward to them. It's like he's trying to one-up himself in the gross out factor. 
I noticed the repetition of 'rump' as well and you are right it does become kind of comical after awhile. And I agree that most of the characters in his books are always eitehr having sex or fantasizing about sex. That was actually a reoccurring theme in Night in the Lonesome October. But I did love the eerie feeling I got from it and I understand exactly what he is talking about when it comes to the eerieness of teh night and teh weird stuff that goes on. Any one that has ever been a night owl can probably see it if you step outside at 2 a.m. on any given day. Or maybe you have to have a wild imagination like I do but I totally got that part.
I don't understand all of the sex though. A truly good horror novel can survive and stand on its own without it.
Has horror become nothing better than one of those trashy erotic novels with blood and guts occassionally thrown in? Or overly dramatic stories that take something supernatural and tame it to the point where it's not scary? Kinda like having a guard dog that is a wuss. lol
I hope not and my work demonstrates that not all authors use such tactics. My job is too scare not turn ya on in some weird way. So believe me when I say I write to scare. Kinda got off topic but you get the idea lmao.
I just finished The Cellar. It was a weird one. The sex stuff was bizarre (esp. his penis descriptions!) I have not attempted the sequel yet.
Island is the one that got me hooked on Laymon but I have found that I only like about 50% of what he has out there.
I have only read a handful of Laymon's stuff, but I have enjoyed them enough to keep going back for more. I agree that the content of his books are a bit shallow for the adult in me that is looking for better characterization and a little more mystery to the storylines. However, it is what is left of the 15 year old in me that loves the over the top, unbelievable situations that Laymon puts his characters into that keeps me reading (like any classic horror movie, you yell at the screen when the dumb "rumps" go walking into the room where the killer is, knowing that you yourself would be running as fast as you can out of the house!). Occasionally it is fun just to get a book that is a quick, fun read that you don't need to take too seriously and Laymon's stuff fits the bill. It's just too bad we won't get to enjoy more.
True... Much like Tupac, they just keep finding more and more of his work to update and churn out :)
Kathy, That's true. I guess I will just enjoy whatever "they" can milk out of his name.
No disrespect intended when I started it I was just expressing my opnion and was wondering if I had missed something. I'm sure everyone that will read my book or my short stories will not all like them. It is to be expected in this biz. Criticicism comes with the territory and not all stories fit every reader. Once again no disrespect to Richard Laymon.
You have to wonder what she thinks of her Dad's portrayal of women in his books.
Wayne wrote: "I have read "Savage" and wasn't thrilled with it. It was more of his version of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn with Jack the Ripper along for the ride. It wasn't what I would consider horror. Then I ha..."
To each his or her own. Laymon is a legend in the horror genre, but--besides his trademark sparse writing style--his stories are filled with lots of sex and violence. Us Laymon fans like it that way! ;)
He is actually a pretty bad writer. Real b-movie stuff. The only thing I've liked by him was BITE, and just because it's not a "vampire novel" doesn't mean it sucks. Read it as a suspense novel. He handles it quite well.
I understand some of the comments about Laymon...but then again, he has LEGIONS of fans (kinda like Edward Lee) because of the explicit nature of his stories. Yeah, some aren't as good, but I can honestly say I have never truly been disappointed. The Lake was one that I felt could've been better but I later found out that was one that was apparently never 100% completed and revised before his death in 2001 (I think the way I read it that it wasn't a final draft by the author himself). Still, I like the nature of his stories, good or not-so-good. I'll always read 'em.
Traveling Vampire Show I really liked. I hear it's one of his best, havent really read enough of him to say. I have also read Savage and thought it was ok. Nothing special but it kept me busy for two days. I just received Dark Mountain by Laymon from the Leisure Horror Club, so i'm gonna start that soon. Although the second book from Leisure this month was freaking great! Crimson! I loved Jigsaw Man and Crimson is an excellent follow up. Anybody else read Crimson? What you think?
I thought The Stake was entertaining. Haven't read anything else by Laymon.
Traveling Vampire Show is wonderful stuff! I would recommend that one to anybody. Just a great book all around.One Rainy Night is also a very good book. There is just something about that one that keeps it fun and exciting. I liked that one a lot.
I like to think I am too high browed to read Laymon's but I admit I have piles of his novels hidden in my basement and is addicted to buying each one. They are like Doritios, 'crunch all you want we'll make more of em!'as Leno used to said.
Chris wrote: "Wayne wrote: "I have read "Savage" and wasn't thrilled with it. It was more of his version of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn with Jack the Ripper along for the ride. It wasn't what I would consider horro..."I couldn't agree more Chris!
Which one of Laymon's took place during a family camping trip? That was the first Laymon I read and I don't seem to have it around here any more. I liked that one, though the name escapes me.
i belive that was dark moutian havent read it yet but read back of it i love laymon he is even better then lee and jack ketchem but they are my other favs
Though I have read more Bentley Little, I still think Little is more "b-movie" than Laymon. Yeah, I am almost positive it was Dark Mountain. Good book.
Bentley Little just keeps writing the same book over and over again.
You saw that coming with his continual use of the one word "The..." titles. He definitely has a style all his own though.
I liked The Mailman a lot. I also found The Ignored pretty unique. But after those, they all kind of blur together. I like him, but not as much as I once did. I'll have to look for my copy of Hottest Blood. I may have gotten rid of it though.
Little has some great books, but after a certain point the formula just doesn't hold my interest anymore. I loved:The Mailman
The Ignored
The Resort
The Town
The Store
Little's last two books sucked and blew at the same time, as Bart Simpson would say.
Laymon does mix it up a little more, but he's got a formula that he sticks to also. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
I didn't like The Mailman or University much.
Oh, I liked The Policy and The Association, too. I hated The University.
I also liked The Store. I have The Town sitting on my shelf waiting to be read.
I think The Store was one of the first Little's I read.
My first was The Mailman. That book actually turned one of my friends into a big reader!
You know who keeps writing the Same Book, over & over...John Saul..... I've read like a total of 3 of his books over the years, hope there's some new character but There's still a Religious Fanatic in every single 1 I picked 2 read... If I'm Wrong, please steer me toward his Other Titles, cause he doesn't write half bad.
And Saul's been making consistent money doing it. Go figure. I haven't read all of Little's novels but I just don't see it (all his novels being the same). I really don't. As much as I love Laymon, I'd have to say he can be a bit more formulaic than Little. But that's just me...
William wrote: "I just finished The Cellar. It was a weird one. The sex stuff was bizarre (esp. his penis descriptions!) I have not attempted the sequel yet."
Laymon, who knows about him but I wouldn't try the sequel... I did read 'Cellar also & the ending just was sickening.
Laymon, who knows about him but I wouldn't try the sequel... I did read 'Cellar also & the ending just was sickening.
I do have a couple of Richard Laymon collections, the book combo's from the UK.... Funland, combined w/The Stake.... Funland was Alright.. I kinda liked the way it ended. 'cause I hated the main guy. The Stake sounds pretty good, so I'll get around to that over the summer...
I also have the Laymon Collection vol 4... Beware & Dark Mountain... Don't tell me too much about them Please but were they any better????
I also have the Laymon Collection vol 4... Beware & Dark Mountain... Don't tell me too much about them Please but were they any better????
Always, FUNLAND was the very first Laymon I read way way WAY back when. I do remember thinking, Wow, this guy doesn't write like King and Koontz AT ALL! I loved it. THE STAKE was very good. A unique spin on the vampire novel (much like TRAVELLING VAMPIRE SHOW was). I look forward to Leisure's next Laymon classic, FLESH, and also reading BEWARE and DARK MOUNTAIN, which has gotten good praise in here, I believe.
Little very rarely strays from his money-making formula.Take an innocuous place, say a store or resort, and place some unsuspecting people there. Slowly start allowing to happen the opposite of what happens in a polite and ordered society.
For example, instead of a maid cleaning your bathroom, she cleans it with your toothbrush stuck up her butt; instead of shuffleboard down by the pool, play a game where the loser gets beheaded; instead of a young cashier wearing a polyester uniform, make her wear daisy dukes and stripper tassels.
Not saying this formula can't be fun, but maybe other than The Ignored and The Walking the above is a patented Little formula.
It's always "small, self-contained community plagued by evil institution." The USPS, a big box store, an insurance company, a college campus...and so on. My pet theory is that Little has a grudge against all these entities, and is using his stories to vent his frustration.
Scott, you are correct. He has done this in a number of his books and not to complain (after all, he IS the author) but he has been getting a tad bit too preachy and political. Whatever. I'll still give his books a shot because I usually enjoy 'em.
I'm almost finished w/Bentley Little's book The Store & it does have a similar under tones of another book, The Association, as w/men in black robes, for 1. Yeah, I could see where he vents his dislike for things in his book... Who wasn't thinking about Walmart when they saw the book cover?
I understand and respect your opinion about Richard Laymon...and anyone who is not new to Laymon knows what to expect when they pick up one of his novels...and yes, "baby with tits on the brain" may not be the most apt analogy but I do get what you mean. There has always been a fair amount of eroticism and sexuality in his novels...but keep in mind, Laymon set himself apart 25+ years ago by writing the type of horror that really NO ONE else wrote. Including his graphic depiction of violence, too. And garnered tons of fans the world over by his own unique brand of horror. I will admit I was abit disappointed with The Lake, which was a mostly unfinished or not completely and finally editted novel before he passed away in 2001 and it showed...but I will still always read his stuff because he is one of those enduring legends in modern horror fiction.
I didn't like Endless Night either. Maybe it was too brutal for me. I'm much more sensitive than I was twenty years ago. I'm surprised I kept reading after the little boy got chainsawed in half. WTF?!Jerry, I think I sent you a long list of Laymon titles that I consider very good. He does have some junk in his bibliography, and most writers do when they were as prolific as Laymon.
Island, Quake, and Bite were actually kind of fun to read. The Cellar is the first book of his I read; a girl at school loaned it to me. Then I found Out Are the Lights at a used bookstore and noticed it was by the same author. I think that book was one of the earliest "shorror" books I read. I can remember being repulsed yet drawn to it. Then I read One Rainy Night and was hooked.
I read him for years but have since stopped reading him. I think the last one I tried to read was Resurrection Dreams. His books started being too formulaic and written just for the over-the-top shock for my tastes.
I agree to a point with you, Tressa...but a lot of popular authors (even BESTSELLERS) are formulaic...hell, even Koontz can be very formulaic but still very good. Ed Lee is formulaic, to a degree, with most of his books...but I still love 'em!
I can't read too many of one author's books in rapid fire succession. I start losing my appreciation for the author. I haven't read all of Lee's books, but he doesn't seem to follow a formula to me. His books seem all over the place in plot, but he makes sure to include the over-the-top gore and gross out factors, and lots and lots of boobies and sex. The three I've read of his are Bighead, City Infernal, and The Golem. IMO they're pretty different and all but ONE were good reads.
I never read two books by the same author in a row. I know some readers get so fixated on one author they really liked...not me. I prefer to space them out...so to speak...lol
Then I have read "Beast House", it was decent although people seemed to fall in love and start having sex within like three minutes of seeing each other.
Then there was "The Woods are Dark" which was a real let down and all together weird. (and not in a good way)
Then I read "Night in the Lonesome" October which I thought had a very eerie tone throughout the book.
I started to read "Bite" the other day and I got as far as page 50 or 60 something and it is just not my idea of a good story. The two main characters are just in a car driving and it seems kind of pointless.
And just as a side note I wrote a short story called The Cellar and no I did not get the title from him lmao.
I have "Cuts" but haven't tried to read it yet kind of afaid that it won't be as good as I thought when I bought it.
Anyway I'm not sure if I should finish Bite or not so if anyone has read it let me know if I'm wasting my time.