After hearing about it for years, I was finally able to get my meat hooks on a copy of Richard Laymon's The Woods Are Dark. It was suppose to be the book that explains why Laymon had success during his life over in England, but failed to achieve the same status in his home country. The book was heavily altered in America, which was said to make it unreadable. I'm now interested in the U.S. release because the restored version is such an atrocious piece of trash.
Firstly it's important to note that I'm obviously not appalled at the extremes of this novel, as I'm always fan of the horror genre pushing the limits of depravity. However, this is when it fits the story (see any of the work by the late great Jack Ketchum's). The Woods Are Dark essentaially confirms the accusations of people assuming that horror writers are disgusting basement dwellers reveling in poorly developed depraved thoughts. The real sin is that this novel reaffirms this stigma with poor, unbelievable writing. Other commentators have commented on Laymon's inability to write realistic dialogue (like a modern Lovecraft), but in this book his scenes of horror also defy logic. What do two characters do when they encounter a disfigured person on the highway who throws a disembodied hand at them? Drive to the closest diner for a bite of course! What about when a man watches his wife murdered by the wild tribe? He finds there females and rapes and murders them (essentially devolving to their level in a couple of hours). Within chapter one of this novel, I was already disinterested because of the poor establishment of characters doing plausible actions or having realistic responses.
I was sad to be so disappointed by this novel as I have read a few of Laymon's books and witnessed glimpses of his talent. Nothing that some of my heroes like King or Ketchum have claimed about him, but some good aspects none the less. After hearing the claims that this novel is what separates fans from those who are with those who are not, I was pretty excited to give this novel a peak. I can honestly say, it was the worst thing I have read by him thus far. I'll be giving the Bram Stoker award winning book The Traveling Vampire Show a look sometime, but that will be the absolute last chance for Laymon in my books.
The book details a group of individuals who attempt to survive after being kidnapped by the locals of a small town. They are dropped in the woods and offered as a sacrifice to the feral tribe that inhabit the surrounding area. Some are murdered, others fight for their lives or succumb to becoming human monsters themselves. Rape, dismemberment and other deplorable acts are committed throughout the novel. The reader is left sickened by the acts of the perpetrators as well as the victims.
Firstly it's important to note that I'm obviously not appalled at the extremes of this novel, as I'm always fan of the horror genre pushing the limits of depravity. However, this is when it fits the story (see any of the work by the late great Jack Ketchum's). The Woods Are Dark essentaially confirms the accusations of people assuming that horror writers are disgusting basement dwellers reveling in poorly developed depraved thoughts. The real sin is that this novel reaffirms this stigma with poor, unbelievable writing. Other commentators have commented on Laymon's inability to write realistic dialogue (like a modern Lovecraft), but in this book his scenes of horror also defy logic. What do two characters do when they encounter a disfigured person on the highway who throws a disembodied hand at them? Drive to the closest diner for a bite of course! What about when a man watches his wife murdered by the wild tribe? He finds there females and rapes and murders them (essentially devolving to their level in a couple of hours). Within chapter one of this novel, I was already disinterested because of the poor establishment of characters doing plausible actions or having realistic responses.
I was sad to be so disappointed by this novel as I have read a few of Laymon's books and witnessed glimpses of his talent. Nothing that some of my heroes like King or Ketchum have claimed about him, but some good aspects none the less. After hearing the claims that this novel is what separates fans from those who are with those who are not, I was pretty excited to give this novel a peak. I can honestly say, it was the worst thing I have read by him thus far. I'll be giving the Bram Stoker award winning book The Traveling Vampire Show a look sometime, but that will be the absolute last chance for Laymon in my books.
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