Comments on: Richard Laymon and a bit of a horror fiction pet peeve

By: katie21uk

katie21uk — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 21:49:26 +0000

i love richard laymon!!! i have read all his books i can get my hands on a few times…the ones i didnt really get into were amara and quake…my 1st was his short stories…i have just read come out tonight which i love..and a lonesome night in october..hopefully im getting fiends to re-read for xmas!!!

By: skullsinthestars

skullsinthestars — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 14:05:25 +0000

Thanks for the suggestions! I’ll definitely be reading him again soon.

By: Pat Dreadful

Pat Dreadful — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 16:00:52 +0000

I know it was mentioned in an earlier comment but Laymon structured his stories much like the slasher films of the 80′s. Every word is chosen for maximum entertainment, even if it meant sacrificing some story. The man wasn’t terribly concerned as much with his endings as he was with the journey getting to those endings. I guess the T & A is there for these reasons. The man thought it was entertaining so he went ahead and tossed it in there.

Now, I should say that Laymon is my favorite horror author but that doesn’t mean I think he is the necessarily best genre writer. I just have the most fun when I’m reading one of his novels. It’s the old Monster Squad analogy. I know that Orson Wells is a better director than Fred Dekker but I’ll take Monster Squad over Citizen Kane any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

I encourage you to give Laymon another shot. Try In The Dark or Travelling Vampire Show.

By: wolfe

wolfe — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 11:32:40 +0000

firstly Richard Laymon is quite possibly the best modern horror author, he has released 52 novels and 35 short stories in 8 collections. He was nominated for the bram stoker best novel award twice (Flesh 1989, Funland 1991) and was nominated for the bram stoker best collection in 1994 for A Good, Secret Place he was also nominated for the british fantasy society for his 1996 novel Bite and in 2001 he won the bram stoker best novel award for The Travelling Vampire Show. The use of sex in his novels is not a ploy to sell his works it shows realism as sex is a big part of our lives it shows love and the fact that his sex scenes are graphic shows just how good he is at descriptive writing, his use of rape is also realistic as there is a lot more sick people out there than first thought it is also symbolism for the battle of power. His fans include horror writers Bentley Little, Dean Koontz and Stephen King. He has inspired many writers and is the reason i started writing. Also i’d like to mention that there is a forth book in the Beast House series called Friday Night in Beast House. I’d like to end with some quotes about Richard Laymon “I’ve always been a Laymon fan. He manages to raise serious gooseflesh” – Bentley Little
“Laymon always takes it to the max. No one writes like him and you’re going to have a good time with anything he writes.” – Dean Koontz
“If you’ve missed Laymon, you’ve missed a treat.” – Stephen King
“One of horror’s rarest talents” – Publishers weekly
“The master of stomach-churning violence.” – Kirkus reviews
“Laymon is, was, and always will be king of the hill.” – Horror world

By: Dylan

Dylan — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 12:30:39 +0000

Im baffled as to how nobody has mention ‘The Travelling Vampire Show’. I enjoy all of Laymon’s work, but I just finished ‘The Travelling Vampire Show’ for the second time and was so deeply immersed in the story (even though I have read it once before!) that I felt a little bit sad after I realized the adventure had ended. I actually found this review searching for some fanfiction or SOMETHING to continue the story. Unfortunately it appears there is none.

By: skullsinthestars

skullsinthestars — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 18:53:28 +0000

Thanks for the comment! Folks seem to think I wasn’t reading the best of Laymon’s work — I’ll have to read at least one more of his books.

By: Emily Richardson

Emily Richardson — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 19:51:23 +0000

When you say Beast House characters didn’t really do it for you, I think its because you have read one of the three in the series. All the books connect and they get better.

As for most of his others, I have read The Island, The Stake and Flesh as well as the trio of Beast House, The Cellar(?) & Midnight Tour, i was rather disappointed with the endings to all apart from Island and The Stake.

By: skullsinthestars

skullsinthestars — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 14:07:43 +0000

Thanks for the comment and suggestions! I’ve got Savage at home and will try and read it in the near future.

By: Sallynoo

Sallynoo — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 12:13:46 +0000

As much as I love reading and trying to branch out to as many different genres and authors as possible, I have never let myself keep any other than Richard Laymon.
I started reading his books at the age of 11 with The Beast House (Visiting grandmother, explored her cupboards and found a few old novels). After finishing, I felt hollow and demanded my grandparents drive me to the library for more before I exploded.
I can’t say that after reading nearly all of his books more than 30 times each gives me the same feeling as it did then, although I still very much enjoy them every time….but no other author has EVER given me that feeling.
Now, at the age of 20, I would like to recommend you read Body Rides, In The Dark, Endless Night, Savage, The Stake and Funland just off the top of my head.

By: skullsinthestars

skullsinthestars — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 14:39:12 +0000

Thanks for the suggestions! I have Savage at home that I haven’t read yet, so I’ll give it a try.