<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: I usually love Richard Laymon books.....
Review: ....but this is the most disturbing, disgusting, pathetic piece of trash that he's ever written. I have read a lot of Laymon's books and I always enjoy them. I am only halfway through this book, and I'm debating whether or not I want to finish it. After reading this far, though, I think that either Laymon was a disturbed individual, or this book is just a lame attempt at writing something "shocking." It is page after page of gruesome and horrible violence that turns my stomach. Just the plot of the book...in which a group of guys go and slaugther entire families for the hell of it...is just sick. If you enjoy reading about guys torturing, raping, mutilating, and killing adults, kids, and animals and then wearing their skin as clothes...then this is the book for you. If not...then avoid this garbage and read one of Laymon's other books.
Rating: 
Summary: A gruesome horror novel for diehard genre fans.
Review: I won't lie to you here--this is not a GREAT novel. Were you expecting it to be? I doubt it. Although, I must admit, Richard Laymon was capable of writing some strand-out novels ("The Travelling Vampire Show" and "Island" among them). This is, never fear, a GOOD novel--especially a good horror novel. Jody is sleeping over at her friend's house. It's all well...until she shes her friend impaled on a spear. And then all hell breaks loose. Jody and her friend's little brother Andy manage to escape...but that's just the beginning. First, there's the pursuit. And there's the waiting. Becuase the killers will catch up...and they'll want to have some fun... Then there's Simon. He's the guy who's been assigned to find Jody. Which is perfectly alright with Simon, because he has an agenda of his own, which he relates to the readers as he narrates his sections of the book. You see, Simon just may be sicker and crazier than his colleagues...and he'll stop at nothing to capture Jody. There is one thing going for this novel that most other horror novels lack: suspense. Richard Laymon wove suspense into everything he wrote. Few can match him when it comes to edge-of-your-seat storytelling. If for that reason alone, you should buy this book. "Endless Night" is a bit gruesome, I'll admit. It had my stomach churning in a couple of spots. But it is a good, fast read. A bit darker than Laymon's last published novels have been (although, as any fan can tell you, he can get pretty sadistic at times), and a bit more haphazzard, but "Endless Night" is still a novel for horror fans, or Laymon's new legions of fans (of which I am one). It's a thrilling, gory ride...one that will have you at the edge of your seat the entire time.
Rating:
Summary: A gruesome horror novel for diehard genre fans.
Review: I won't lie to you here--this is not a GREAT novel. Were you expecting it to be? I doubt it. Although, I must admit, Richard Laymon was capable of writing some strand-out novels ("The Travelling Vampire Show" and "Island" among them). This is, never fear, a GOOD novel--especially a good horror novel. Jody is sleeping over at her friend's house. It's all well...until she shes her friend impaled on a spear. And then all hell breaks loose. Jody and her friend's little brother Andy manage to escape...but that's just the beginning. First, there's the pursuit. And there's the waiting. Becuase the killers will catch up...and they'll want to have some fun... Then there's Simon. He's the guy who's been assigned to find Jody. Which is perfectly alright with Simon, because he has an agenda of his own, which he relates to the readers as he narrates his sections of the book. You see, Simon just may be sicker and crazier than his colleagues...and he'll stop at nothing to capture Jody. There is one thing going for this novel that most other horror novels lack: suspense. Richard Laymon wove suspense into everything he wrote. Few can match him when it comes to edge-of-your-seat storytelling. If for that reason alone, you should buy this book. "Endless Night" is a bit gruesome, I'll admit. It had my stomach churning in a couple of spots. But it is a good, fast read. A bit darker than Laymon's last published novels have been (although, as any fan can tell you, he can get pretty sadistic at times), and a bit more haphazzard, but "Endless Night" is still a novel for horror fans, or Laymon's new legions of fans (of which I am one). It's a thrilling, gory ride...one that will have you at the edge of your seat the entire time.
Rating: 
Summary: Invasion of the Killer Krulls
Review: Originally published by Headline in 1993, Endless Night is one of Richard Laymon's most sadistic and mean-spirited books. Those who have read a few of his novels would know not to take such a statement lightly. Sadly, Endless Night also happens to be one of Laymon's worst novels, a flash-in-the-pan exercise in brainless violence that I would soon rather forget. Richard Laymon novels are like the literary equivalent of b-movie slashers. Fun, but not sophisticated in the least bit. I personally gobble all of his stuff up and usually love it but not this time. The story centers around a group of fiends who call themselves "The Krulls" (a self-reference to the cannibals in "The woods are dark"). Put simply, the Krulls like to break into peoples' homes at night, rape and kill the inhabitants and then torch the house so as to destroy the evidence. Their track record was flawless until they decided to invade the Clark house, where 12-year-old Andy and 16-year-old Jody manage to escape. It is imperative for the Krulls that these two witnesses to the crimes be dispatched immediately and Simon Quirt (who recounts all of his exploits on a tape recorder) feels more than up to the task as he would absolutely love to get his hands on Jody... The book starts off with a bang and 75 pages of pure adrenaline as Jody and Andy try to flee the murderous Krulls. This chase scene is highly enjoyable and proves that Laymon can be one of the best in the biz at creating suspense. Then the novel takes a nosedive. The dialogue and verbal exchanges between Jody and Andy are boring, laughable and do nothing to develop the story. The gimmick about Simon Quirt recounting his horrible exploits on a tape could have worked but too often we end up reading about the same things twice, previously from Jody's perspective and then from his own. Who wants to read about the exact same events twice? The major problem with Endless Night was that this time Laymon decided to focus the entire story on rape, violence and perversion instead of using those things in liberal doses to supplement a central concept. The finale was unbelievably gore-soaked and suspenseful but was still not enough to save this novel. Oh well, Richard's written over 35 novels so I guess there's bound to be a few rotten apples.
Rating:
Summary: Invasion of the Killer Krulls
Review: Originally published by Headline in 1993, Endless Night is one of Richard Laymon's most sadistic and mean-spirited books. Those who have read a few of his novels would know not to take such a statement lightly. Sadly, Endless Night also happens to be one of Laymon's worst novels, a flash-in-the-pan exercise in brainless violence that I would soon rather forget. Richard Laymon novels are like the literary equivalent of b-movie slashers. Fun, but not sophisticated in the least bit. I personally gobble all of his stuff up and usually love it but not this time. The story centers around a group of fiends who call themselves "The Krulls" (a self-reference to the cannibals in "The woods are dark"). Put simply, the Krulls like to break into peoples' homes at night, rape and kill the inhabitants and then torch the house so as to destroy the evidence. Their track record was flawless until they decided to invade the Clark house, where 12-year-old Andy and 16-year-old Jody manage to escape. It is imperative for the Krulls that these two witnesses to the crimes be dispatched immediately and Simon Quirt (who recounts all of his exploits on a tape recorder) feels more than up to the task as he would absolutely love to get his hands on Jody... The book starts off with a bang and 75 pages of pure adrenaline as Jody and Andy try to flee the murderous Krulls. This chase scene is highly enjoyable and proves that Laymon can be one of the best in the biz at creating suspense. Then the novel takes a nosedive. The dialogue and verbal exchanges between Jody and Andy are boring, laughable and do nothing to develop the story. The gimmick about Simon Quirt recounting his horrible exploits on a tape could have worked but too often we end up reading about the same things twice, previously from Jody's perspective and then from his own. Who wants to read about the exact same events twice? The major problem with Endless Night was that this time Laymon decided to focus the entire story on rape, violence and perversion instead of using those things in liberal doses to supplement a central concept. The finale was unbelievably gore-soaked and suspenseful but was still not enough to save this novel. Oh well, Richard's written over 35 novels so I guess there's bound to be a few rotten apples.
Rating:
Summary: Only the shock factor is worth anything...The rest drags...
Review: Richard Laymon uses shock, gore and oceans of blood to make his novel work but even all that intimidation fails in the end to make one cohesive and intriguing story. It need not have been that way though. As the story begins a family is invaded in their house by a gang of sadistic murderers who have formed a secret killing cult and who take pleasure in torturing and eventually killing their victims. As the family members are one-by-one taken out in horrifying ways, a visiting girl and one other child survive and are hunted down in the middle of the night as they are now witnesses and pose a great threat to the cult should they stay alive. This part of the book, which by the way kicks off by 200/h (hardly any sugarcoated intro involved) is by far the most interesting. The chase is gripping and intriguing and goes on for considerable length. As the two kids eventually escape, the novel shifts into the efforts of the gang to find them again and "silence" them. The girl's father who's a cop (alert: cliche in progress) is now along with the other child under police protection and this poses serious problems for the gang. What happens next is for the most part predictable to..death(pun intended) and reminds not a few of b-movies with such themes: the killer who seems to be dead but isnt and reappears to "take care of business", the half-spooky sequences etc etc.. The author uses an interesting technique to keep the interest high, namely, the one member of the gang who's been assigned to get the kids keeps dictating in tapes his actions as he goes along. This is to "help" us see into his mind. That works for the most part but what definately doesnt work are the dialogues between the "good guys" in the book, the girl her father, the other kid and others that briefly appear. These parts and the dialogues involved are unmercifully boring and if you skip them you wont miss a single thing of even minor importance. Worst of all, the poor parts of the novel occupy a bulky part of it, too bulky to let the rest of the story succeed. Laymon tried to put together a gory story which when it comes to gore and shock wants to resemble the levels in the Hannibal trilogy, but he fails ingloriously. Might intimidate a teenager (at best) but any further ambition for this book is rather far-fetched.
Rating:
Summary: A Very Good Chase Novel (although not Laymon's best)
Review: This book is about a gang of thrill-killers and the two young survivors of their most recent attack. Like most of Laymon's novels, "Endless Night" is fast-paced. It's a very quick read. You'll probably want to read it in only 2 or 3 sittings. Although I agree with some of the negative points made by a previous reviewer, I don't agree with his 2 star rating. I'd give it 3 and 1/2 or 4 stars. The book is definitely worth reading. However, I recommend some of his other books more highly, including "Body Rides", "Island", and "The Traveling Vampire Show."
Rating:
Summary: It never lets up
Review: This is Laymon working his magic at a gruesome chase novel. Filled with gore and definitely not for the squeamish, Endless Night still accomplishes what it sets out to do: never let up. Through-and-through, this novel pits a teenaged girl and young boy against a group of savage killers. With a very intense time span, the will to survive is tested against Laymon's painted picture of the will to kill, maim, and destroy. Richard Laymon is one of the only authors I've read who can make a group of marauding maniacs seem believable. This isn't a novel about character, though there is plenty of character depth. This isn't a novel about scenery, although it is played out mostly in Los Angeles. What this is, is a psychotic romp of a chase. Take it for what it is and you won't be disappointed. If you're coming to Laymon as a fan, you'll know what to expect. If this is your first Laymon, you might be better off starting with Island, or Night in the Lonesome October, which are much better introductions to his work. This is, however, a good, fast-paced read.
Rating:
Summary: Good, fast-paced fun
Review: This was my 3rd Laymon novel, behind In the Dark and Among the Missing. Laymon is my new favorite horror novelist. He writes with a style that's crisp and keeps you turning the pages--exactly what I'm looking for in a good horror novelist. The last Koontz book I read was a real drag; I definitley don't have that problem with Laymon.
This book was extremely gory, and is relentless in its abuse of the characters--but I've come to realize that's Laymon's style and I absolutley love it.
This is a good, albeit cruel novel. I recommend it.
<< 1 >>
| 
