Laymon is hit or miss for me. The Traveling Vampire Show is one of my favorite books despite the fact that nothing all that exciting happens until the very end. It's the characters in that book that hooked me.
The Beast House however doesn't feature characters I can latch onto in any way. There is a true-crime/horror writer and his protege attempting to steal a valuable diary from a buxom teenager and two ditsy women who are supposedly librarians who decide it will be a good idea to look up an old lover named Dan whom they haven't seen in five years . Who cares if he's married or worse yet bald and paunchy? They're supposed to be attending a librarian's convention in the town anyway and head out on a road trip wearing too tight t-shirts which attract the attention of every redneck with rape on his mind. Their virtue (ha, ha) is saved when two hunky young guys with absolutely nothing better to do come to their rescue. They all hit it off immediately, want to jump each others bones as well as become inseparable best buds. Awww. But wait! There will be no happily ever after for these dimwits. This is a Laymon novel not a romance. The chicks are still looking for Dan and their "search" for him leads them to the Beast House where the beast from The Cellar supposedly resides. I hope they all get boiled and eaten at this point because I am thoroughly bored. I'm quite a bit into this book and nothing at all has happened besides a little boob grabbing and some t-shirt ripping.
A little later: A few deaths have occurred and there is a clear distinction between the bad and the good characters but I'm still at the point where I could care less about any of them.
I have finally finished but admit to doing a lot of skimming to get through it. The majority of the book was deadly dull as we followed the aimless characters around as they looked for spooks and admired each others bums. A little action happens towards the end but it wasn't exciting enough to make up for the rest of the book. My husband says the last book in the series is better but I'm not sure I believe him.
The Beast House however doesn't feature characters I can latch onto in any way. There is a true-crime/horror writer and his protege attempting to steal a valuable diary from a buxom teenager and two ditsy women who are supposedly librarians who decide it will be a good idea to look up an old lover named Dan whom they haven't seen in five years . Who cares if he's married or worse yet bald and paunchy? They're supposed to be attending a librarian's convention in the town anyway and head out on a road trip wearing too tight t-shirts which attract the attention of every redneck with rape on his mind. Their virtue (ha, ha) is saved when two hunky young guys with absolutely nothing better to do come to their rescue. They all hit it off immediately, want to jump each others bones as well as become inseparable best buds. Awww. But wait! There will be no happily ever after for these dimwits. This is a Laymon novel not a romance. The chicks are still looking for Dan and their "search" for him leads them to the Beast House where the beast from The Cellar supposedly resides. I hope they all get boiled and eaten at this point because I am thoroughly bored. I'm quite a bit into this book and nothing at all has happened besides a little boob grabbing and some t-shirt ripping.
A little later: A few deaths have occurred and there is a clear distinction between the bad and the good characters but I'm still at the point where I could care less about any of them.
I have finally finished but admit to doing a lot of skimming to get through it. The majority of the book was deadly dull as we followed the aimless characters around as they looked for spooks and admired each others bums. A little action happens towards the end but it wasn't exciting enough to make up for the rest of the book. My husband says the last book in the series is better but I'm not sure I believe him.
This was my 2nd Laymon book. The first book (Endless Night) was a page turner. It kept me glued to the book the entire time. Although I wasn't really terrified, it was still intense. I couldn't wait to get my hands on another Laymon book. Unfortunately, this one was nothing like the first book I read. It was slow, the romance between two of the characters seemed forced and cheesy, and it was not scary at all. I think there might of been 30 - 40 pages throughout the book that I actually enjoyed. I think (but am not sure) that this was one of Laymon's earlier books so it's understandable that it might not be that great. I will most definitely give another book of his a try. This one was not for me though.
This is the sequel to The Cellar and it seems to conclude the horror and gore at The Beast House but I guess there are a couple more sequels to this saga! Well this one again was typical Laymon - full of sex, violence, and gore. In this one, a young girl, Janice, who works at the local motel in the town of Malcasa Point, where the infamous Beast House is located, finds a diary of the first owner of the house and decides to sell the story to a best-selling author. The author and his associate travel to the town, meeting with Janice, and agree to give her half of the proceeds from any book written about the house and its beast. In the mean time, Tyler, the former girlfriend of the cop who was killed at Beast House as related in The Cellar decides to try to look up her old boyfriend and possibly continue the relationship while being totally unaware that he is dead. She and a friend travel to Malcasa Point and meet up with a couple of ex-marines on the way. Well of course the marines, the author, and the girls all get involved in the horrors of the house and the beast(s) that seem to live there. Much gore ensues as in all Laymon novels.
If you have read The Cellar, then this one should also be read to find out what happens after the end of that story. Both novels are definitely not for the squeamish but if you like Laymon, these are probably must reads. Not sure if I will read the others in this series though, at least not for awhile.
If you have read The Cellar, then this one should also be read to find out what happens after the end of that story. Both novels are definitely not for the squeamish but if you like Laymon, these are probably must reads. Not sure if I will read the others in this series though, at least not for awhile.
