The Works of Richard Laymon

[Camp_Crystal_Lake]

Is there anyone else here who enjoys the work of Richard Laymon?

I discovered his novels back in April of 2009, while browsing at a used book store. I was in the mood for a throwaway horror novel, where I'd read it once and never pick it up again. Well, while going from room to room, looking through the labyrinth stack of used books, I found a couple of used horror novels that had interesting synopses, so I decided to pick them up.

My first two purchases were Darkness, Tell Us and Night in the Lonesome October. I left the bookstore that day not realizing that I had found an author that I would enjoy much more than Stephen King. I read Darkness, Tell Us first and thought it was pretty good, but it wasn't until I read Night in the Lonesome October that I was hooked.

I found Night to be a very fun read that I couldn't put down. I had been through a break-up with my girlfriend, of four years, prior to reading Night and it helped me connect with the novel. I identified with the heartache of Ed Logan, and knew what it was like to want to just walk and reminisce about my failed relationship. I never had anything happen on my walks that would befall Ed Logan in the book, but through fond and sorrowful memories, I found a quiet beauty on my walks and a sort of peace about my past and future. I knew that my old gf would eventually recede in my memory, and would be replaced with a new love that would renew my interest.

Maybe, if it wasn't for discovering this novel at this specific point in my life, that I would never have connected with Laymon's works. He was not for all tastes, but I do enjoy his less splatter-punk novels the most.