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The Woods Are Dark
THE RESTORED, UNCUT EDITION, IN PRINT FOR THE FIRST TIME!
Neala and her friend Sherri only wanted to do a little hiking through the woods. Little did they know they would soon be shackled to a dead tree, waiting for Them to arrive.
The Dills family thought the small hotel in the quiet town seemed quaint and harmless enough. Until they, too, found themselves shackled to trees in the middle of the night, while They approached, hungry for human flesh...
When this classic novel of terror was first published, it was heavily cut, with nearly fifty pages removed. Now, for the first time ever, the missing text has been completely restored and every horrifying page is back. Finally the novel can be read the way it was meant to be!
(This edition contains an advance look at Laymon's upcoming "Beware" novel, November 2008)
Neala and her friend Sherri only wanted to do a little hiking through the woods. Little did they know they would soon be shackled to a dead tree, waiting for Them to arrive.
The Dills family thought the small hotel in the quiet town seemed quaint and harmless enough. Until they, too, found themselves shackled to trees in the middle of the night, while They approached, hungry for human flesh...
When this classic novel of terror was first published, it was heavily cut, with nearly fifty pages removed. Now, for the first time ever, the missing text has been completely restored and every horrifying page is back. Finally the novel can be read the way it was meant to be!
(This edition contains an advance look at Laymon's upcoming "Beware" novel, November 2008)
254 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1981
About the author
Richard Laymon
219 books2,161 followersRichard Laymon was born in Chicago and grew up in California. He earned a BA in English Literature from Willamette University, Oregon and an MA from Loyola University, Los Angeles. He worked as a schoolteacher, a librarian, and a report writer for a law firm, and was the author of more than thirty acclaimed novels.
He also published more than sixty short stories in magazines such as Ellery Queen, Alfred Hitchcock, and Cavalier, and in anthologies including Modern Masters of Horror.
He died from a massive heart attack on February 14, 2001 (Valentine's Day).
Also published under the name Richard Kelly
He also published more than sixty short stories in magazines such as Ellery Queen, Alfred Hitchcock, and Cavalier, and in anthologies including Modern Masters of Horror.
He died from a massive heart attack on February 14, 2001 (Valentine's Day).
Also published under the name Richard Kelly
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 639 reviews
April 24, 2019
Balls-to-the-wall horror from the first chapter!
There are two things that are important if you want to read this book:
The first, if you don't know Laymon, is that this author liked the graphic description of sex. He will not hold back when it comes to doing the dirty. In fact, there was a song that ran through my head quite a bit as I read this story. In the SOUTH PARK episode where they parodied GAME OF THRONES, they had a male choir who did the words for the theme song. Mostly, it went:
"Wiener. Wiener wiener. Wiener wiener..."
That just about sums it up. So, if the sex scenes will be offensive to you, avoid this book altogether.
(And, by the way, good luck with not thinking about wieners the next time you here the GAME OF THRONES music!)
The good news is that Laymon could write, so he doesn't rely on the shock factor alone to sell his stories.
The second is that you will have to let go of reality a bit to accept some things in this novel. Personally, I found it a bit hard to believe that a ?12 year old girl could keep her shit together under those circumstances and do some of the things she did.
If these things will not bother you too much and you are willing to go along with it, you might enjoy this one, if you are into extreme.
The best thing about this book was probably the pace and adrenaline rush, for it is relentless and, as stated before, Laymon did not hold back. Some bad shit will happen. It gave me the same general feeling as TRAPPED by Jack Kilborn.
Yip, there's cannibals galore, and morally corrupt individuals up the gazoo...
Recommended to extreme horror fans.
There are two things that are important if you want to read this book:
The first, if you don't know Laymon, is that this author liked the graphic description of sex. He will not hold back when it comes to doing the dirty. In fact, there was a song that ran through my head quite a bit as I read this story. In the SOUTH PARK episode where they parodied GAME OF THRONES, they had a male choir who did the words for the theme song. Mostly, it went:
"Wiener. Wiener wiener. Wiener wiener..."
That just about sums it up. So, if the sex scenes will be offensive to you, avoid this book altogether.
(And, by the way, good luck with not thinking about wieners the next time you here the GAME OF THRONES music!)
The good news is that Laymon could write, so he doesn't rely on the shock factor alone to sell his stories.
The second is that you will have to let go of reality a bit to accept some things in this novel. Personally, I found it a bit hard to believe that a ?12 year old girl could keep her shit together under those circumstances and do some of the things she did.
If these things will not bother you too much and you are willing to go along with it, you might enjoy this one, if you are into extreme.
The best thing about this book was probably the pace and adrenaline rush, for it is relentless and, as stated before, Laymon did not hold back. Some bad shit will happen. It gave me the same general feeling as TRAPPED by Jack Kilborn.
Yip, there's cannibals galore, and morally corrupt individuals up the gazoo...
Recommended to extreme horror fans.
August 6, 2016
This is the first book I've read by the author, and it was pretty good, if a little insane. Okay, more than a little insane.
There are so many crazy people in this book - it was difficult to determine who was the craziest, though I think it was Lander Dills.
A pair of back-packers; Neala and Sherri and a family of three: Lander, Ruth, Cordelia, and Cordelias boyfriend Ben - become fair game when they decide to make a stop in the small town of Barlow.
Both groups get kidnapped by some of the locals, and are taken to an area in the forest; where there are six dead trees. Neala and Sherri are handcuffed to one of the trees and the other four to another. Their abductors soon haul ass - and quickly get out of there - though it's not long before one of them (Johnny Robbins) returns; as he has a bit of a fixation with Neala.
Anyway, once both groups have been uncuffed - it's a fight for survival; as they are relentlessly pursued by the Krulls.
The Krulls are bad enough, but Lander seems to have had a beast hiding inside of him - and due to his current situation - it's just itching to be set free.
I read the restored and uncut version -and it was quite good. His daughter, Kelly Laymon restored the book to its original form - which she explains at the beginning of the book.
There are so many crazy people in this book - it was difficult to determine who was the craziest, though I think it was Lander Dills.
A pair of back-packers; Neala and Sherri and a family of three: Lander, Ruth, Cordelia, and Cordelias boyfriend Ben - become fair game when they decide to make a stop in the small town of Barlow.
Both groups get kidnapped by some of the locals, and are taken to an area in the forest; where there are six dead trees. Neala and Sherri are handcuffed to one of the trees and the other four to another. Their abductors soon haul ass - and quickly get out of there - though it's not long before one of them (Johnny Robbins) returns; as he has a bit of a fixation with Neala.
Anyway, once both groups have been uncuffed - it's a fight for survival; as they are relentlessly pursued by the Krulls.
The Krulls are bad enough, but Lander seems to have had a beast hiding inside of him - and due to his current situation - it's just itching to be set free.
I read the restored and uncut version -and it was quite good. His daughter, Kelly Laymon restored the book to its original form - which she explains at the beginning of the book.
October 18, 2019
Two backpackers (female of course) and a family (daughter with friend) find the horror of their lives in a rural american area. The backpackers are being kidnapped and the family probably will be slaughtered. There is a pact between the inhabitants of Barlow and the Krulls (kind of inbred cannibalistic murderers called devil's children or stone age tribe) to hand any travelling strangers to them. One of the villagers though tries to help Neala, since he likes her. Can they escape the terror of the Krulls? As ususal with Laymon you get many Peeping Tom moments (breasts, nipples and more...), Lesbian action, sex scenes in general, violence and brutality. The book has some funny moments that's true. But overall it's too over the top to be real horror. It's rather some kind of porn horror with some extraordinary brutality. Eerie? Not really, in my opinion. He definitely wrote better books than this woods full of gore thing. If you like hack and slay garnished with sex and degenerates you might have a look here.
October 20, 2019
Beware of the Krulls!!!
LOOK FOR THIS EDITION!
First of all, if you want to read this story...
...look for THIS edition!!!
Really!!!
Since when it was published back, back, back then, in the beginning of the 80s. the publishing house messed it, asking for cutting key chapters and characters, causing that the book wasn't well received and negatively affecting the writer's career of Richard Laymon in the US (there was a little bit better edited version for the UK market and that's why Laymon got better fan base there).
However, this edition, Restored and Uncut, it's the effort of Laymon's daughter who went to look for all his notes and unpublished chapters, to get the book to its originally proposed glory.
So, if you read any other edition you will miss a lot, and not getting the story as the author wanted to be read.
WELCOME TO BARLOW
The Dills family, Lander (the father), Ruth (the mother), Cordelia (the duaghter) and Ben (daughter's boyfriend) are doing a family vacation trip and...
...they have the poor decision of getting some motel room in Barlow (they would be in way better situation if they would choose Bates Motel!).
Also, Neala & Sherri, two friends, having a hiking trip, they also make the huge mistake of choosing a bar in Barlow to get some food.
Barlow isn't like other towns...
...and they pay tribute to the Krulls...
...and the Krulls want their tribute alive...
...however how much time that tribute would remain alive once received is quite relative!
Of course, in a whole town, it must be at least some person willing to break the death circle...
...Johnny Robbins is that brave person, but...
...the Krulls are many and showing no mercy...
...and the woods are dark!
Loyalties will be tested!
Survival instinct will overrule morality!
Run for your lives!
LOOK FOR THIS EDITION!
First of all, if you want to read this story...
...look for THIS edition!!!
Really!!!
Since when it was published back, back, back then, in the beginning of the 80s. the publishing house messed it, asking for cutting key chapters and characters, causing that the book wasn't well received and negatively affecting the writer's career of Richard Laymon in the US (there was a little bit better edited version for the UK market and that's why Laymon got better fan base there).
However, this edition, Restored and Uncut, it's the effort of Laymon's daughter who went to look for all his notes and unpublished chapters, to get the book to its originally proposed glory.
So, if you read any other edition you will miss a lot, and not getting the story as the author wanted to be read.
WELCOME TO BARLOW
The Dills family, Lander (the father), Ruth (the mother), Cordelia (the duaghter) and Ben (daughter's boyfriend) are doing a family vacation trip and...
...they have the poor decision of getting some motel room in Barlow (they would be in way better situation if they would choose Bates Motel!).
Also, Neala & Sherri, two friends, having a hiking trip, they also make the huge mistake of choosing a bar in Barlow to get some food.
Barlow isn't like other towns...
...and they pay tribute to the Krulls...
...and the Krulls want their tribute alive...
...however how much time that tribute would remain alive once received is quite relative!
Of course, in a whole town, it must be at least some person willing to break the death circle...
...Johnny Robbins is that brave person, but...
...the Krulls are many and showing no mercy...
...and the woods are dark!
Loyalties will be tested!
Survival instinct will overrule morality!
Run for your lives!
August 28, 2017
This was the first Laymon book I ever read when I found the paperback for sale in a Target store book section, Complete with the sleazy foil cover. I was so pleased when Cemetery Dance published this "Uncut Version".
August 23, 2017
When an unkempt legless man drags himself out in front of your convertible on an isolated mountain road and throws a severed hand at you, you should:
A) Stop and see if he needs a hand (sorry, couldn’t help myself)
B) Show him your boobs, Laymon nipples and all
C) Go get some chicken fried steak and eggs at the next available diner
D) Take a few minutes out for some steamy lesbian sex
E) All of the above.
The crazy thing is that in this one, all of these are very real possibilities. There are no wrong answers in this one. It has a bit of everything. Crazy as f*ck from the get go and only gets crazier as it gets rolling.
If you know what you are getting into ahead of time, I have a feeling that you will enjoy the ride. It is filled with gory, absurd, blood-soaked sexy times, cannibal feasting and f*ck fest with your usual suspects of inbred crazies and no shortage of the infamous rock hard Laymon nipples.
Good time granny hammer fun, backwoods cannibal lesbian love, a dried dozen-dick necklace, riding the Cordelia train, Krull heads on a stick, Sheri is bi for Neala pie and the best vacation Lander has ever had.
Yep. That about sums it up. I liked it. But, it should be noted that I’m a weirdo and was laughing out loud in all the inappropriate places.
If you have delicate sensibilities then I would probably stay far, far away from this one. As a matter of fact, you probably shouldn’t have even read my review. And what the hell are you looking up this book for in the first place Mr/Mrs prudey-pants?
3.5 Stars rounded up to 4 based on the non-stop-bloody-inappropriate-crazy-fun factor. That and because, I say so.
A) Stop and see if he needs a hand (sorry, couldn’t help myself)
B) Show him your boobs, Laymon nipples and all
C) Go get some chicken fried steak and eggs at the next available diner
D) Take a few minutes out for some steamy lesbian sex
E) All of the above.
The crazy thing is that in this one, all of these are very real possibilities. There are no wrong answers in this one. It has a bit of everything. Crazy as f*ck from the get go and only gets crazier as it gets rolling.
If you know what you are getting into ahead of time, I have a feeling that you will enjoy the ride. It is filled with gory, absurd, blood-soaked sexy times, cannibal feasting and f*ck fest with your usual suspects of inbred crazies and no shortage of the infamous rock hard Laymon nipples.
Good time granny hammer fun, backwoods cannibal lesbian love, a dried dozen-dick necklace, riding the Cordelia train, Krull heads on a stick, Sheri is bi for Neala pie and the best vacation Lander has ever had.
Yep. That about sums it up. I liked it. But, it should be noted that I’m a weirdo and was laughing out loud in all the inappropriate places.
If you have delicate sensibilities then I would probably stay far, far away from this one. As a matter of fact, you probably shouldn’t have even read my review. And what the hell are you looking up this book for in the first place Mr/Mrs prudey-pants?
3.5 Stars rounded up to 4 based on the non-stop-bloody-inappropriate-crazy-fun factor. That and because, I say so.
October 14, 2013
The woods are lovely, dark and deep
until...
you're being chased through the forest by a horde of inbred cannibals. Then it's enough to make even a staunch tree-hugger like myself say, "Go, logging industry!"
I had the same problem with this book that I did with The Ruins, in that the characters were so insipid I couldn't wait for them ALL to die. And any author that makes me root for the cannibals is worthy of scorn, not praise.
Thrown in dozens of WTF moments - - and you've got a book that is more likely to induce chuckles than shivers.
The only exception, AND the reason this book gets two stars instead of one, is the character of Lander Dills, who begins this adventure as a mild-mannered, literature-spouting, professorial-type and ends it as a depraved, lust-obsessed, though still literature-spouting, wild man.
That guy had potential...
Remove Lander from the picture and you're left with a derivative slasher novel. Yawn.
Move along, people. Nothing NEW to see here.
until...
you're being chased through the forest by a horde of inbred cannibals. Then it's enough to make even a staunch tree-hugger like myself say, "Go, logging industry!"
I had the same problem with this book that I did with The Ruins, in that the characters were so insipid I couldn't wait for them ALL to die. And any author that makes me root for the cannibals is worthy of scorn, not praise.
Thrown in dozens of WTF moments - - and you've got a book that is more likely to induce chuckles than shivers.
The only exception, AND the reason this book gets two stars instead of one, is the character of Lander Dills, who begins this adventure as a mild-mannered, literature-spouting, professorial-type and ends it as a depraved, lust-obsessed, though still literature-spouting, wild man.
That guy had potential...
Remove Lander from the picture and you're left with a derivative slasher novel. Yawn.
Move along, people. Nothing NEW to see here.
November 28, 2017
I also read the longer "Original Uncut Version" of this book.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...
However this one does the trick.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...
However this one does the trick.
November 1, 2010
Richard Laymon penned the line "his cock felt like a fiery log" and for that alone he deserves two stars.
September 28, 2013
Laymon rewrites Ketchum's Off Season as a comedy porno and it's a rocking good time.
Read the whole book in about 3 hours. Very much like watching a crazy batshit insane horror movie. Really not so much horror as pure insanity. This book might be the original "Wrong Turn" as it's very much in a similar vein and tone, and even though an earlier work it's still full of Laymon's signature WTF delights.
Loved it, and highly recommend that if you haven't read it yet, get it - check your brain at the door and run screaming naked through the woods for a few hours with this one.
Make sure it's the restored and uncut version - can't imagine this book any other way.
Read the whole book in about 3 hours. Very much like watching a crazy batshit insane horror movie. Really not so much horror as pure insanity. This book might be the original "Wrong Turn" as it's very much in a similar vein and tone, and even though an earlier work it's still full of Laymon's signature WTF delights.
Loved it, and highly recommend that if you haven't read it yet, get it - check your brain at the door and run screaming naked through the woods for a few hours with this one.
Make sure it's the restored and uncut version - can't imagine this book any other way.
March 7, 2018
4.5 stars rounded up!
Wow! This was my first Richard Laymon novel and I was not disappointed. I know Laymon has a bit of a bad reputation (as in, he’s known for writing trashy horror), so I was a bit hesitant when starting this short tale of a few people lost in the woods and on the run from an incestuous family of cannibals that . . . practice witchcraft? I think?
Oh, and the Devil shows up too. In literal monster form.
Needless to say, this thing is intense. I could not — and did not — want to put it down.
The whole time I was reading, I felt like I was reading Jack Ketchum’s Off Season (which is funny, since they were both published in 1981), only I enjoyed this one much more. Maybe it’s because I was able to sympathize more with the characters, despite Ketchum arguably fleshing his creations out more. I dunno. Laymon did a good job, here, of giving me just enough information to make the characters distinctive and likable without getting bogged down in back story. This one is all action, all horror, from the start.
Easily the scariest book I’ve read this month thus far, I liked this one much more than I expected and I hope to squeeze in another Laymon before the end of March.
Wow! This was my first Richard Laymon novel and I was not disappointed. I know Laymon has a bit of a bad reputation (as in, he’s known for writing trashy horror), so I was a bit hesitant when starting this short tale of a few people lost in the woods and on the run from an incestuous family of cannibals that . . . practice witchcraft? I think?
Oh, and the Devil shows up too. In literal monster form.
Needless to say, this thing is intense. I could not — and did not — want to put it down.
The whole time I was reading, I felt like I was reading Jack Ketchum’s Off Season (which is funny, since they were both published in 1981), only I enjoyed this one much more. Maybe it’s because I was able to sympathize more with the characters, despite Ketchum arguably fleshing his creations out more. I dunno. Laymon did a good job, here, of giving me just enough information to make the characters distinctive and likable without getting bogged down in back story. This one is all action, all horror, from the start.
Easily the scariest book I’ve read this month thus far, I liked this one much more than I expected and I hope to squeeze in another Laymon before the end of March.
December 17, 2024
Hay varias cosas que no me coparon de este libro, como que se sienta tan, pero tan anticuado en tanto a ciertos conceptos, o que la construcción de los personajes femeninos realmente es un desastre por completo. Pero voy a confesar que fue una gozada tremenda leer "Sangre en el bosque", la pasé bárbaro. Me gusta decir que yo "permito" (de una forma simbólica, no se trata de otorgarle permisos a nadie, ni mucho menos) que un libro sea malo, pero no que sea aburrido. Y este libro es el ejemplo claro de que uno la puede pasar bárbaro con un libro que claramente no es perfecto ni por asomo. Fue como leer una película slasher de los 80 de re bajo presupuesto.
May 7, 2024
This is a bit of a let down for me. I've always been a fan of Richard Laymon, "Endless Night" is probably one of the most intense books I've ever read but "The Woods Are Dark" didn't live up to my expectations. With all these "unedited and original manuscript" teasers, I was hoping to be really blown away but it didn't leave a mark, at all.
To his credit, the plot and setting was completely insane and scary but I just felt nothing for the main characters, there is a certain disconnect that no amount of horror could fix.
Laymon will always be one of the best and I will always be a fan, however, I will completely forget about this book.
To his credit, the plot and setting was completely insane and scary but I just felt nothing for the main characters, there is a certain disconnect that no amount of horror could fix.
Laymon will always be one of the best and I will always be a fan, however, I will completely forget about this book.
August 17, 2016
Apparently this book was first copywrited in 1981 and the editors for Warner Books butchered the book. Taking out full paragraphs, whole chapters were removed, bad grammatical errors, and so on. Laymon often referred to this book as the one that ruined his career. Then in 2008 after painstaking work, his daughter, Kelly Laymon pieced the book back together and had it published as the restored and uncut version, fortunately this is the version I have. Sad that Laymon did not get to see what his daughter had accomplished since he passed away in 2001. His daughter wrote a little story about all of this and published it into the first few pages of The Woods Are Dark. So there may be some bad reviews of this book if the 1981 version is what was read. If you read the 1981 version, do yourself a favor and read the one published in 2008.
When I first chose to read this book, I really liked the premise of the story and knew that I was in the mood yet again for a Laymon book in full Laymon style. In this story we have Neala and Sherri who find themselves tethered to a tree along with the Dill family waiting for the Krulls to come and get them. They knew what it meant to get this visit from them. They had to escape and have to survive the dark woods. The story goes on from there.
There was so much action and just plain insanity in this book, it was just non stop. I really enjoyed the premise of this story and I think it was executed so well. I read this book in 3 and a half hours because it was so engaging and flowed really well. There was also great imagery to describe the Krulls and their life style in a very harsh, woodsy setting. Made me wonder who could really survive the terror among these savages. I knew I would not want to be one of the victims.
I really liked the characters in this story, not because they were greatly developed, because they really were very simple. I liked the characters because of how they were changed so much throughout the story. You could actually see them evolve from what they started out as, due to the harshness of the terrain, and the savagery of the dwellers. I never knew what one of them would do from one moment to the next, so it became rather shocking at times. But placed in this situation, people will do what it takes to survive and you wonder who is bad and who is good anymore.
Of course I have to recommend this book to anyone who loves Laymon's writing. We all know he is not for everyone. He is on the scale of 'you love him' or 'you hate him'. There is no in between. Also those who like a dark, shocking, disturbing tale of insanity may enjoy this book as well so go ahead and take the plunge, you won't be sorry.
When I first chose to read this book, I really liked the premise of the story and knew that I was in the mood yet again for a Laymon book in full Laymon style. In this story we have Neala and Sherri who find themselves tethered to a tree along with the Dill family waiting for the Krulls to come and get them. They knew what it meant to get this visit from them. They had to escape and have to survive the dark woods. The story goes on from there.
There was so much action and just plain insanity in this book, it was just non stop. I really enjoyed the premise of this story and I think it was executed so well. I read this book in 3 and a half hours because it was so engaging and flowed really well. There was also great imagery to describe the Krulls and their life style in a very harsh, woodsy setting. Made me wonder who could really survive the terror among these savages. I knew I would not want to be one of the victims.
I really liked the characters in this story, not because they were greatly developed, because they really were very simple. I liked the characters because of how they were changed so much throughout the story. You could actually see them evolve from what they started out as, due to the harshness of the terrain, and the savagery of the dwellers. I never knew what one of them would do from one moment to the next, so it became rather shocking at times. But placed in this situation, people will do what it takes to survive and you wonder who is bad and who is good anymore.
Of course I have to recommend this book to anyone who loves Laymon's writing. We all know he is not for everyone. He is on the scale of 'you love him' or 'you hate him'. There is no in between. Also those who like a dark, shocking, disturbing tale of insanity may enjoy this book as well so go ahead and take the plunge, you won't be sorry.
October 26, 2015
Los turistas que pasan por Barlow, un apacible pueblo americano, se encuentran en un odisea por su supervivencia. Por un lado, tenemos a un par de amigas, y por otro a una familia de cinco miembros. Ya desde la primera página, en que estas dos jóvenes tropiezan con un ser mutilado en la carretera que las intenta perseguir, nos vemos inmersos en la acción, en un ritmo frenético hasta el final.
Quien haya leído ha Richard Laymon, ya sabe a lo que se enfrenta. Mucho diálogo, y escenas explícitas de gore y sexo. ‘Sangre en el bosque’ (The Woods Are Dark, 1981), es un producto de terror de serie B, con todo lo bueno y lo malo que esto conlleva. Recuerda a ‘Las colinas tienen ojos’ o ‘La matanza de Texas’. Es un producto muy ochentero, de consumo rápido, realmente entretenido.
Quien haya leído ha Richard Laymon, ya sabe a lo que se enfrenta. Mucho diálogo, y escenas explícitas de gore y sexo. ‘Sangre en el bosque’ (The Woods Are Dark, 1981), es un producto de terror de serie B, con todo lo bueno y lo malo que esto conlleva. Recuerda a ‘Las colinas tienen ojos’ o ‘La matanza de Texas’. Es un producto muy ochentero, de consumo rápido, realmente entretenido.
September 30, 2012
I picked this up for 20p in a charity shop as, over the years, I've heard of Richard Laymon being mentioned in the same league as horror page-turner authors as Dean Koontz and Stephen King. Being up in the wilds of Scotland in the midst of truly terrible weather the idea of reading a rural horror novel was quite appealing so, as I had managed to leave some of my selected reading at home, I decided to give it a whirl.
As a teenage reader of James Herbert, Shaun Hutson and their ilk in the 1980s I was prepared for a dubious level of taste and literary quality but nothing could have prepared me for just how staggeringly badly written and juvenile this book is. The nipple-obsessed Laymon appears to have written it entirely for a demographic that is well represented by one of the characters in the novel, a socially inadequate and barely pubescent boy called Timmy who quivers at the sight of female flesh and gets aroused at the idea of 'copping feels' from tied up women. This lascivious approach saturates a book that lurches from one sexual assault to the next and even features a couple of poorly drawn, fat lesbians, giving Laymon the opportunity to aptly demonstrate his utter puerility. One lesbian reveals her sexuality to her best friend the heroine who reacts with utter disgust, despite having only momentarily before voluntarily engaged in sexual intercourse with one of the rednecks who had kidnapped the pair of them, only the latest in a generations long line of victims, and tied them to a tree to be eaten by degenerate, naked cannibals. The other molests a pre-teen girl.
I understand from t'interweb that Laymon bemoaned the fact that 52 pages were edited out by the publisher before its release and that this derailed his career in the USA. My only query is why they didn't tear the whole lot up and hang it in the gents as lavatory paper because, even as throwaway genre fodder, this was utter, utter garbage.
As a teenage reader of James Herbert, Shaun Hutson and their ilk in the 1980s I was prepared for a dubious level of taste and literary quality but nothing could have prepared me for just how staggeringly badly written and juvenile this book is. The nipple-obsessed Laymon appears to have written it entirely for a demographic that is well represented by one of the characters in the novel, a socially inadequate and barely pubescent boy called Timmy who quivers at the sight of female flesh and gets aroused at the idea of 'copping feels' from tied up women. This lascivious approach saturates a book that lurches from one sexual assault to the next and even features a couple of poorly drawn, fat lesbians, giving Laymon the opportunity to aptly demonstrate his utter puerility. One lesbian reveals her sexuality to her best friend the heroine who reacts with utter disgust, despite having only momentarily before voluntarily engaged in sexual intercourse with one of the rednecks who had kidnapped the pair of them, only the latest in a generations long line of victims, and tied them to a tree to be eaten by degenerate, naked cannibals. The other molests a pre-teen girl.
I understand from t'interweb that Laymon bemoaned the fact that 52 pages were edited out by the publisher before its release and that this derailed his career in the USA. My only query is why they didn't tear the whole lot up and hang it in the gents as lavatory paper because, even as throwaway genre fodder, this was utter, utter garbage.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 16, 2014
I have to admit Laymon is my favorite horror author. He was such a master at his craft and what he does he does with relish. This novel is no exception. Atmospherics and edginess always play a huge role in Laymon's books and he has some unique tricks in his bag that never seem to fail for me.
Granted, after reading a few of his novels an astute reader recognizes plot devices that are being reused, albeit some shifting and name changing, but if you liked them the first time you will enjoy them the second.
The way out in the woods for a while vibe is one of his time tried and proven techniques for building suspense. Even as innocent (or not so innocent) characters are bathing in a far out of the way locale you feel as if they are being watched. Of course they are. The writer makes me feel as if I am also.
This is a great read to start Laymon with. He is at his best here. My one regret was that Laymon had passed away by the time I began reading his books and I knew I was on a limited count down of supply.
The Woods are dark was one of his books I reread and I am rarely a rereader.
Granted, after reading a few of his novels an astute reader recognizes plot devices that are being reused, albeit some shifting and name changing, but if you liked them the first time you will enjoy them the second.
The way out in the woods for a while vibe is one of his time tried and proven techniques for building suspense. Even as innocent (or not so innocent) characters are bathing in a far out of the way locale you feel as if they are being watched. Of course they are. The writer makes me feel as if I am also.
This is a great read to start Laymon with. He is at his best here. My one regret was that Laymon had passed away by the time I began reading his books and I knew I was on a limited count down of supply.
The Woods are dark was one of his books I reread and I am rarely a rereader.
September 18, 2022
The plot concerns two groups of people, a family and a pair of college students who are kidnapped after stopping in a small California town and taken into the forest to be sacrificed to a group of mysterious creatures called Krulls. The Krulls turn out to be a tribe of inbred cannibals living in a state of pure savagery reminiscent to the stone ages, (think The Hills Have Eyes) and they're a nasty bunch that can give the average monster a run for their money. They prowl the woods of a nearby town, awaiting anyone unlucky enough to wander into their den of depravity.
The horror elements of this novel were shocking, extreme, and even disturbingly comical at some points. What really took away from my enjoyment was the bizarre actions of the main characters and the misplaced sex scenes during what should've been dramatically horrifying moments. Everything was laughably oversexualized, not in a campy sort of way either. Even most pulp fiction and weird tales like Conan or John Carter felt more wholesome and sensible than the sexual content here.
One of the main girls hooks up with her kidnapper right after he changed his mind about sacrificing her to a tribe of cannibals and they get it on in a place surrounded by dead bodies after absolutely no development between them and while their companions are being brutally slaughtered. A normal father turns into a bloodthirsty rapist in a matter of minutes and has multiple sexual fantasies about the cannibal girls when he should've been thinking about saving his family from the tribe. There's so many bizarre sex scenes that don't fit the mood, tone, or setting and don't have any kind of build up leading to them. It played out like a really bad porn movie at many parts which took away from the otherwise enjoyable and genuinely disturbing horror aspects.
The horror elements of this novel were shocking, extreme, and even disturbingly comical at some points. What really took away from my enjoyment was the bizarre actions of the main characters and the misplaced sex scenes during what should've been dramatically horrifying moments. Everything was laughably oversexualized, not in a campy sort of way either. Even most pulp fiction and weird tales like Conan or John Carter felt more wholesome and sensible than the sexual content here.
One of the main girls hooks up with her kidnapper right after he changed his mind about sacrificing her to a tribe of cannibals and they get it on in a place surrounded by dead bodies after absolutely no development between them and while their companions are being brutally slaughtered. A normal father turns into a bloodthirsty rapist in a matter of minutes and has multiple sexual fantasies about the cannibal girls when he should've been thinking about saving his family from the tribe. There's so many bizarre sex scenes that don't fit the mood, tone, or setting and don't have any kind of build up leading to them. It played out like a really bad porn movie at many parts which took away from the otherwise enjoyable and genuinely disturbing horror aspects.
May 22, 2019
the little girl, ummm, teenage girl, ehhh, prepubescent gal just pulled up her anchor and floored the gas pedal of her jetboat and, oh! she used the anchor as a bola to slay...she helped her mother and some travellers-to-be-victims and one towner who got stung by his conscience defeating those albinic mutant freaks and sick fuck townies and hauling their all asses out of that shithole. totally, that sounds nuts, right? but it was from laymon, his sounding nuts became this absolutely high-speed-pacing read.
plus, damn！this edition is an abridged one, should the full edition be more thrilling and enthralling?
halt! was there any mutants who'd got pinched by their conscience too? cazzo, one of those cannibal aborigines in cannibal ferox by umberto lenzi, ring a bell?
~~~~~~~~~
7 months later, after being learnt that this edition is not the unabridged one
umm, erhhh, during the first several chapters, i still thought that the author hadn't been at best his best that was of being sick and brutal and immoral, i still freakly love this one as always
plus, damn！this edition is an abridged one, should the full edition be more thrilling and enthralling?
halt! was there any mutants who'd got pinched by their conscience too? cazzo, one of those cannibal aborigines in cannibal ferox by umberto lenzi, ring a bell?
~~~~~~~~~
7 months later, after being learnt that this edition is not the unabridged one
umm, erhhh, during the first several chapters, i still thought that the author hadn't been at best his best that was of being sick and brutal and immoral, i still freakly love this one as always
April 4, 2021
TWAD is a very early novel by Laymon; in the preface, his daughter recounts how she pieced the novel back together as it was originally written after Warner published a heavily edited/mutilated version in 1981. TWAD is a decent Laymon novel, albeit one full of all his typical tropes. Two young women are heading out for a backpacking trip and decide to stop at a diner in a small town in Northern California; after eating, they attempt to leave only to find the door locked. Turns out they came to the wrong town at the wrong time! That same evening, a family pulls into the same town for a place to stay-- dad, mom, their 18yo daughter and her boyfriend. Again, wrong place, wrong time.
Turns out (and really not much of a spoiler here) the town folk have been making 'sacrifices' of travelers for generations to the 'Krull'; a savage band of crazies living in the woods. Expect lots of detailed accounts of breasts and bums of course, and some rather nasty rape scenes. Laymon must of had a real fixation with breasts and that becomes evident quite early on in the read. Also expect the characters to make dubious decisions based upon dubious motivations as Laymon gives us some trademark twists and turns until the final denouement. This is not his best, but then again, it is not his worst. 3 stars.
Turns out (and really not much of a spoiler here) the town folk have been making 'sacrifices' of travelers for generations to the 'Krull'; a savage band of crazies living in the woods. Expect lots of detailed accounts of breasts and bums of course, and some rather nasty rape scenes. Laymon must of had a real fixation with breasts and that becomes evident quite early on in the read. Also expect the characters to make dubious decisions based upon dubious motivations as Laymon gives us some trademark twists and turns until the final denouement. This is not his best, but then again, it is not his worst. 3 stars.
September 18, 2024
3.5 stars
This one was a solid horror story. Big 80s /90s slasher movie vibes, the horror scenes were frequent and very creative. Just like a slasher movie though, the characters are fairly inconsequential and underdeveloped. But I can accept that is par for the course when writing a story like this. I would recommend it, but I have enjoyed some of Layman's other stories more.
The locals of a small southern town capture travellers and sacrifice them to an ominous group of creatures in the woods. When one has a change of heart and tries to rescue this months sacrifices, both the town and the creatures are on the hunt to catch them.
This one was a solid horror story. Big 80s /90s slasher movie vibes, the horror scenes were frequent and very creative. Just like a slasher movie though, the characters are fairly inconsequential and underdeveloped. But I can accept that is par for the course when writing a story like this. I would recommend it, but I have enjoyed some of Layman's other stories more.
The locals of a small southern town capture travellers and sacrifice them to an ominous group of creatures in the woods. When one has a change of heart and tries to rescue this months sacrifices, both the town and the creatures are on the hunt to catch them.
December 10, 2014
This book was AWEsome!! Just non stop absurdity after another which, come on! That's why we love him! From over the top Jenny who knew way too much about how to kill people to Neala, Sherri, and Cordelia, three women whom I really enjoyed. Poor Cordelia! Just don't know how she managed to suffer through initiation into the Krulls. Wow! I might rather die. And what the heck with the thing in the pit!? That was never explained, therefore this desperately needed a sequel! Another great read from laymon. Definitely gave me my fix!
June 17, 2013
Lander got naked and ran through the woods.
Ben didn't make it. Didn't think he could.
Ruth was beaten, strung up to die.
Johnny tried to save them. It was suicide.
Cordie was initiated into the tribe.
Lost a finger, they would not be denied.
Sherri straddled the fence, she was bi.
Neala felt their friendship was a lie.
In the Woods, would they live or die?
by Nikki
Well, it started out fun then ventured into outlandish.
~Lander lost his mind a little too quick.
He was checkin' chicks out before he even found out about his "loving" wife.
~Johnny and Neala doing the nasty OUTSIDE while on the lookout.
~Sherri watching.
~Sherri's reason for watching.
~The story of the Devil.
It was fun to a certain extent and that's all I can say.
Ben didn't make it. Didn't think he could.
Ruth was beaten, strung up to die.
Johnny tried to save them. It was suicide.
Cordie was initiated into the tribe.
Lost a finger, they would not be denied.
Sherri straddled the fence, she was bi.
Neala felt their friendship was a lie.
In the Woods, would they live or die?
by Nikki
Well, it started out fun then ventured into outlandish.
~Lander lost his mind a little too quick.
He was checkin' chicks out before he even found out about his "loving" wife.
~Johnny and Neala doing the nasty OUTSIDE while on the lookout.
~Sherri watching.
~Sherri's reason for watching.
~The story of the Devil.
It was fun to a certain extent and that's all I can say.
May 1, 2024
Laymon has always been hit or miss for me and this tale definitely veers towards the latter category. It has its moments and I found parts of the story fast-moving and exciting. However the usual obsession with sex, nudity and female body parts is totally over-played, even by normal Laymon standards. The characters were so one dimensional that I often found myself amused by their plight, rather then terrified, which is not a good sign.
It does not help that I was comparing this to the truly terrifying Off Season by Jack Ketchum.
Three stars for the B movie entertainment value!
It does not help that I was comparing this to the truly terrifying Off Season by Jack Ketchum.
Three stars for the B movie entertainment value!
April 18, 2022
It was okay. I guess I was expecting to be blown away and I wasn’t really. It was more edgy and weird than anything, but it was plenty graphic and perverse if that’s what youre in the mood for.
February 15, 2016
The Woods Are Dark has a checkered history. As the story goes, this novel was to be Laymon's big break into the world of horror, but the publisher requested rewrites and cuts, which, along with a copy-editing process that messed up a lot of the grammar, doomed the book -- and Laymon himself -- to obscurity. The novel has since been restored to its original version, but a lot of the blame for Laymon's lack of recognition in the US is placed on this book's original publisher. As his daughter tells us in the foreword, the changes the publisher requested made the book unreadable.
I've read this book before, though it was several years ago, and I don't remember much about it. I read it before the novel was restored, so I couldn't say how the two books differ, but if this is the original version of the story as it was submitted to the publisher, I'd say that part of the blame belongs to Laymon, too. This novel is terrible.
The story is about a community of cannibals, living in the woods and feasting on the victims that the residents of a nearby town supply to them. Visitors to the town become the victims, and Laymon gives us six people who become the potential victims -- two friends on a hiking trip, and a family of three, plus one boyfriend. It doesn't take long for them to wind up in the hands of the townspeople and then the cannibals, which I think harms the story. Laymon seemed so eager to get to the action that he forgot to create characters to support his story. And for a story about survival, those characters are pretty important.
Like those in The Cellar, the characters in this book are defined by a single trait, making them shallow. They're nothing but cardboard standouts to support the shock of the story, which results in a book that lacks any attachment with the reader. The victims all seem like good people, but it's hard to care about them when we don't know enough about them. It's like we're expected to empathize with them simply because they're friends, or family, or lovers, but that's it. Laymon attempts to give some depth to the father character by having him descend into madness while quoting Shakespeare, but it wasn't believable. There's no real development of any of them to make them stand out above the story.
Laymon also tries to create some complexity with one character who shows regret at taking the victims to the cannibals, even having him apologize to them as they leave them to their fate, but then we find out the only reason he has second thoughts is because he finds one of the women so attractive. He fantasizes about what kind of life they could lead, and then goes back to save her. He's not willing to help her friend or the other family that's been left there, and the only reason he does is because the woman he came to save insists upon it. So he's not a complex character at all; he's just a guy who thinks he can impress a woman he left to die by saving her. That's not as bad as the woman he saves, though, as she falls in love with the guy within the span of one night, even after he admits all that to her.
Other reviews of Laymon's work talk about how obsessed his characters are with sex, and I can see what they mean. It's really all these folks think about, even as they're being chased by cannibals. In the opening pages, one character hopes to find a mountain man to satisfy her on her camping trip, wishing the same for her friend. A chapter or so later, a father can't stop thinking about his daughter having sex with her boyfriend, and then later has the gall to refer to her as oversexed. Later, as they're being chased by the cannibals, one woman stops and suddenly becomes acutely aware of her stiff nipples. Later still, one of the men, after stripping down in order to blend in with the cannibals, comes across two of the cannibal women in a stream having a quickie, so of course he gets an erection and starts thinking about killing one of them and raping the other. Keep in mind that this is one of our protagonists, who has just raced off into the dark woods to save his wife, leaving his daughter and the other victims behind.
Laymon's narrative is odd, too, as he throws in several asides that have nothing to do with the story. There's a page or two that talks about the father, now naked, running through the woods and having to adjust to running so that his genitalia don't slap against his legs. This same guy, when he finds himself in a group of the cannibals, starts to urinate. Laymon doesn't clarify why he does this, either. It just happens, and Laymon tells us about it in a casual style, as if to say, "Of course he started urinating; why wouldn't he?" We don't know if it's out of fear, for marking territory, or to blend in. It's just there, standing out like ... well, like a naked man urinating in the woods.
There's also the casual racism of a remark like "Rotsa ruck" just tossed into a conversation. Again, there's no context for the remark, nor any real point. Why Laymon didn't just go with "Good luck" is beyond me, though this book was originally written in 1980. Times were different then? I guess?
I don't expect a lot of horror from the 1980s to be great, but I do expect people with reputations like Laymon to show some indication of why they're so well-regarded. Jack Ketchum told a similar story with Off Season, which I also disliked, but at least Ketchum's style made his story stand out above the dreck of a lot of horror from that time. The Woods Are Dark reminds me why casual readers consider horror to be juvenile. That this book is somehow considered to be one of Laymon's finest works concerns me.
I've read this book before, though it was several years ago, and I don't remember much about it. I read it before the novel was restored, so I couldn't say how the two books differ, but if this is the original version of the story as it was submitted to the publisher, I'd say that part of the blame belongs to Laymon, too. This novel is terrible.
The story is about a community of cannibals, living in the woods and feasting on the victims that the residents of a nearby town supply to them. Visitors to the town become the victims, and Laymon gives us six people who become the potential victims -- two friends on a hiking trip, and a family of three, plus one boyfriend. It doesn't take long for them to wind up in the hands of the townspeople and then the cannibals, which I think harms the story. Laymon seemed so eager to get to the action that he forgot to create characters to support his story. And for a story about survival, those characters are pretty important.
Like those in The Cellar, the characters in this book are defined by a single trait, making them shallow. They're nothing but cardboard standouts to support the shock of the story, which results in a book that lacks any attachment with the reader. The victims all seem like good people, but it's hard to care about them when we don't know enough about them. It's like we're expected to empathize with them simply because they're friends, or family, or lovers, but that's it. Laymon attempts to give some depth to the father character by having him descend into madness while quoting Shakespeare, but it wasn't believable. There's no real development of any of them to make them stand out above the story.
Laymon also tries to create some complexity with one character who shows regret at taking the victims to the cannibals, even having him apologize to them as they leave them to their fate, but then we find out the only reason he has second thoughts is because he finds one of the women so attractive. He fantasizes about what kind of life they could lead, and then goes back to save her. He's not willing to help her friend or the other family that's been left there, and the only reason he does is because the woman he came to save insists upon it. So he's not a complex character at all; he's just a guy who thinks he can impress a woman he left to die by saving her. That's not as bad as the woman he saves, though, as she falls in love with the guy within the span of one night, even after he admits all that to her.
Other reviews of Laymon's work talk about how obsessed his characters are with sex, and I can see what they mean. It's really all these folks think about, even as they're being chased by cannibals. In the opening pages, one character hopes to find a mountain man to satisfy her on her camping trip, wishing the same for her friend. A chapter or so later, a father can't stop thinking about his daughter having sex with her boyfriend, and then later has the gall to refer to her as oversexed. Later, as they're being chased by the cannibals, one woman stops and suddenly becomes acutely aware of her stiff nipples. Later still, one of the men, after stripping down in order to blend in with the cannibals, comes across two of the cannibal women in a stream having a quickie, so of course he gets an erection and starts thinking about killing one of them and raping the other. Keep in mind that this is one of our protagonists, who has just raced off into the dark woods to save his wife, leaving his daughter and the other victims behind.
Laymon's narrative is odd, too, as he throws in several asides that have nothing to do with the story. There's a page or two that talks about the father, now naked, running through the woods and having to adjust to running so that his genitalia don't slap against his legs. This same guy, when he finds himself in a group of the cannibals, starts to urinate. Laymon doesn't clarify why he does this, either. It just happens, and Laymon tells us about it in a casual style, as if to say, "Of course he started urinating; why wouldn't he?" We don't know if it's out of fear, for marking territory, or to blend in. It's just there, standing out like ... well, like a naked man urinating in the woods.
There's also the casual racism of a remark like "Rotsa ruck" just tossed into a conversation. Again, there's no context for the remark, nor any real point. Why Laymon didn't just go with "Good luck" is beyond me, though this book was originally written in 1980. Times were different then? I guess?
I don't expect a lot of horror from the 1980s to be great, but I do expect people with reputations like Laymon to show some indication of why they're so well-regarded. Jack Ketchum told a similar story with Off Season, which I also disliked, but at least Ketchum's style made his story stand out above the dreck of a lot of horror from that time. The Woods Are Dark reminds me why casual readers consider horror to be juvenile. That this book is somehow considered to be one of Laymon's finest works concerns me.
August 9, 2018
Over-the-top insane Grindhouse-style fun.
You can't take things too seriously when a book is about hapless travelers that find themselves left in the woods as sacrifice to a group deformed imbred cannibals. And, with that premise, I probably don't have to warn anyone about offensive content with this one. It's a quick read, 215 pages of batshit craziness. It isn't even close to being a character-driven story. If you read this book, it should be strictly for the cannibals in the woods. The Woods Are Dark is a bit reminiscent of Wes Cravens cult classic film "The Hills Have Eyes" yet unique enough not to be derivative. So, if creepy ass cannibals in the hands of an author that is known for going "too far" doesn't scare you off, I think you might have fun with this one as well.
* I read the restored "Original and Uncut" version from 2008, not the original 1981 release that was apparently heavily edited by the publisher. The eBook is also currently available on Kindle Unlimited, along with many other books by Richard Laymon.
You can't take things too seriously when a book is about hapless travelers that find themselves left in the woods as sacrifice to a group deformed imbred cannibals. And, with that premise, I probably don't have to warn anyone about offensive content with this one. It's a quick read, 215 pages of batshit craziness. It isn't even close to being a character-driven story. If you read this book, it should be strictly for the cannibals in the woods. The Woods Are Dark is a bit reminiscent of Wes Cravens cult classic film "The Hills Have Eyes" yet unique enough not to be derivative. So, if creepy ass cannibals in the hands of an author that is known for going "too far" doesn't scare you off, I think you might have fun with this one as well.
* I read the restored "Original and Uncut" version from 2008, not the original 1981 release that was apparently heavily edited by the publisher. The eBook is also currently available on Kindle Unlimited, along with many other books by Richard Laymon.
November 8, 2017
Este libro es fruto de su época y tiene como referencia total las películas slasher de los 80 a lo
"Viernes 13" o "Halloween" . Leyéndolo me he sentido como viendo una película de estas y su argumento me ha recordado muchísimo a "Los chicos del maiz" de Stephen King.
Sangre en el bosque nos cuenta la odisea de un grupo de personas por sobrevivir a los "seres" que habitan en el bosque cercano al pueblo de Barlow. Estos seres apodados los Krull obedecen a una entidad más poderosa y se alimentan de los turistas que la gente del pueblo les proporciona como sacrificio.
Es un buen relato de terror pero para mi gusto les sobran algunas páginas que aportan poco a la história. Habría sido un genial relato si el autor se hubiera comedido en la longitud de su obra.
"Viernes 13" o "Halloween" . Leyéndolo me he sentido como viendo una película de estas y su argumento me ha recordado muchísimo a "Los chicos del maiz" de Stephen King.
Sangre en el bosque nos cuenta la odisea de un grupo de personas por sobrevivir a los "seres" que habitan en el bosque cercano al pueblo de Barlow. Estos seres apodados los Krull obedecen a una entidad más poderosa y se alimentan de los turistas que la gente del pueblo les proporciona como sacrificio.
Es un buen relato de terror pero para mi gusto les sobran algunas páginas que aportan poco a la história. Habría sido un genial relato si el autor se hubiera comedido en la longitud de su obra.
July 19, 2020
I can't tell you how many years ago I read this book. It was the original version, the one that I have come to learn that an editor massacred. I'm honestly not surprised. I don't recall too much of my original read, but it's safe to say that I preferred this version better. I didn't want to put the book down. I wanted to keep turning pages so the glorious story before me would keep unfolding.
This book is awesome. Possible one of my favorite Laymons ever (since reading this version?
This book is awesome. Possible one of my favorite Laymons ever (since reading this version?
April 30, 2022
This is not a book to be read by people susceptible to gore, horror, necrophilia, cannibalism, pedophilia and other... things...
I read the restored and uncut version of the book. Most Landers chapters are missing from the previous edition and I can see why. They are disturbing as hell. Beware. You have been warned.
This book is relatively small, with only 215 pages and right from the first chapter you are inside the rollercoast that finish in the last page.
You've got two separated sets of characters that are captured and left as food to some strange human beings, probably the result of inbreeding. After leaving them there, one of the captors, turns back because he wants to save one of the girls he just left. This result in the bloody chaos this book is all about.
My opinion on issues inside this book...
There are some issues here as I said before that can shock some people. Cannibalism, necrophilia, pervated sex or rape are the "usually" issues in other gore books/films. But pedophilia, if you can call it that is not a situtation most writers are willing to write since it can really hurt an author images It's a sensative issue. (In no way I am saying that it's okay. Don't get me wrong. It exists in our society, therefore people should write an talk about it). Killing a person is wrong, right? As wrong as pedophila? Less or More? - But writers write about it and we accept the acts in the book... as fiction. When I read this book, everything is/was fiction right? So what's the problem? This is the same thing as racism, necrophilia and other sad things humankind is capable of doing. I don't condemn a writer who writes a racist character, and neither I will condemn a character that commits an arson, kills, pedophile and so on... because this is FICTION. I don't believe the writer himself wants to eat or fornicate a dead person, is a pedophilie or wants to mutilate someone. If that would be, most horror/thriller/fantasy/sf writers would be mass murderers, crazies, madmen that should be lock up in a sanitarium. If it was possible to remove all sensitive issues of our fiction -we should have only a handful of boring books avaiable to read. I think most people are too sensitive to read about racism or pedophilia, because, unfortunally, it exits in our society and shames us, but we "accept" more easily a murder. But in my book, each one is wrong.
Sorry for my ramblings... What I was trying to say is... It's fiction. Read as fiction, but beware of issues that upset you. You have been warned.
Some spoilers ahead:
There are some things in this novel I didn't enjoy. First of all, the ending, who was that old man? A bit deus-ex-machina in my book. The love between the captor and the victim, a bit over-do? Stockholm syndrome? I think that sex scene was a bit too much unreal.
The characters are almost blank with the exception of Sherri who comes out of the closet, Cordelia who must do anything to survive and his Landers who became a bit insane, quoting Shakespeare with a perverse attitute of killing, fvcking and some pedophilie urges.
I can see why Warner remove all Landers chapters.
Page 73/74
"At this very moment, someone could be raping Ruth. I could the same to these, he thought. I could kill the grubby one. I could rape the pretty one, then kill her. It would serve them right. An eye for an eye. A rape for a rape." - "The tight hole that gripped his cock as he pushed roughly into her. God, it would be magnificient! Such stuff as dreams are made of. And he could do it, he really could." "God, to be able to take her in his arms, push his throbbing cock into her, watch the agony of pleasure twist her face!"
Page 127
"She was young. Thirteen or fourteen. Her tanned shoulders were bared."I'm Lilly""
Page 214/215
"What do they call you? he asked. "Lilly" - He touched her small breasts. "Buds and petals. Sweet nectar. Shall I spare you? Shall I take you to my palace?" Her hand slipped through the hanging hair, and touched him. "Perchance I shall." He put the hatchet away and lifted her. He kissed her breast.
END OF SPOILER
Conclusion
I think this book is quite good. A good gore novel that should be made into a movie. I advice to anyone who has read Laymon before. I won't advice to the fainthearted or people who are more suscetible to some issues I made references in the review.
I read the restored and uncut version of the book. Most Landers chapters are missing from the previous edition and I can see why. They are disturbing as hell. Beware. You have been warned.
This book is relatively small, with only 215 pages and right from the first chapter you are inside the rollercoast that finish in the last page.
You've got two separated sets of characters that are captured and left as food to some strange human beings, probably the result of inbreeding. After leaving them there, one of the captors, turns back because he wants to save one of the girls he just left. This result in the bloody chaos this book is all about.
My opinion on issues inside this book...
There are some issues here as I said before that can shock some people. Cannibalism, necrophilia, pervated sex or rape are the "usually" issues in other gore books/films. But pedophilia, if you can call it that is not a situtation most writers are willing to write since it can really hurt an author images It's a sensative issue. (In no way I am saying that it's okay. Don't get me wrong. It exists in our society, therefore people should write an talk about it). Killing a person is wrong, right? As wrong as pedophila? Less or More? - But writers write about it and we accept the acts in the book... as fiction. When I read this book, everything is/was fiction right? So what's the problem? This is the same thing as racism, necrophilia and other sad things humankind is capable of doing. I don't condemn a writer who writes a racist character, and neither I will condemn a character that commits an arson, kills, pedophile and so on... because this is FICTION. I don't believe the writer himself wants to eat or fornicate a dead person, is a pedophilie or wants to mutilate someone. If that would be, most horror/thriller/fantasy/sf writers would be mass murderers, crazies, madmen that should be lock up in a sanitarium. If it was possible to remove all sensitive issues of our fiction -we should have only a handful of boring books avaiable to read. I think most people are too sensitive to read about racism or pedophilia, because, unfortunally, it exits in our society and shames us, but we "accept" more easily a murder. But in my book, each one is wrong.
Sorry for my ramblings... What I was trying to say is... It's fiction. Read as fiction, but beware of issues that upset you. You have been warned.
Some spoilers ahead:
There are some things in this novel I didn't enjoy. First of all, the ending, who was that old man? A bit deus-ex-machina in my book. The love between the captor and the victim, a bit over-do? Stockholm syndrome? I think that sex scene was a bit too much unreal.
The characters are almost blank with the exception of Sherri who comes out of the closet, Cordelia who must do anything to survive and his Landers who became a bit insane, quoting Shakespeare with a perverse attitute of killing, fvcking and some pedophilie urges.
I can see why Warner remove all Landers chapters.
Page 73/74
"At this very moment, someone could be raping Ruth. I could the same to these, he thought. I could kill the grubby one. I could rape the pretty one, then kill her. It would serve them right. An eye for an eye. A rape for a rape." - "The tight hole that gripped his cock as he pushed roughly into her. God, it would be magnificient! Such stuff as dreams are made of. And he could do it, he really could." "God, to be able to take her in his arms, push his throbbing cock into her, watch the agony of pleasure twist her face!"
Page 127
"She was young. Thirteen or fourteen. Her tanned shoulders were bared."I'm Lilly""
Page 214/215
"What do they call you? he asked. "Lilly" - He touched her small breasts. "Buds and petals. Sweet nectar. Shall I spare you? Shall I take you to my palace?" Her hand slipped through the hanging hair, and touched him. "Perchance I shall." He put the hatchet away and lifted her. He kissed her breast.
END OF SPOILER
Conclusion
I think this book is quite good. A good gore novel that should be made into a movie. I advice to anyone who has read Laymon before. I won't advice to the fainthearted or people who are more suscetible to some issues I made references in the review.
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