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review 2014-10-28 15:08
.99 Sale! That Which Should Not Be by Brett J. Talley
That Which Should Not Be - Brett J. Talley

On Sale for .99 Cents until November 4, 2014!

 

Disclaimer: This is a Lovecraftian influenced novel and I have never read H.P. Lovecraft. I have only seen some of the film adaptations made in the 80’s because my boyfriend was silly enough to let me choose the movies we rented back then. Yes, back then when one had to travel to an actual video store to rent a movie. From Beyond, Re-Animator, The Unnamable? How I loved them so but I’m guessing these flicks probably took some liberties with Lovecraft’s work.

 

This book may take liberties with Lovecraft’s intentions too or it may not.   Diehards will know the truth, but me? Hell if I know. What I do know is that, like many a themed short story collection, this one has a few that I enjoyed a little more than the others but there weren’t any duds and the style remains consistent throughout.

 

It’s written in what I’m assuming is Lovecraftian style (as if I would know). It’s heavy on the descriptive and atmospheric prose, the characters are typically intelligent fellows or hard-laboring types and the cast is almost entirely made up of these men with an occasional woman (usually with bad intentions) making an appearance. It’s all about the men encountering strange, unearthly madness inducing monsters. All of the stories are tied together by a legendary evil and a book that can bring forth the end of times for humankind. Creepy stuff, oh yes, you will find it here.

 

The basic story wrap-around story that binds them all together, is one of a young, eager scholar who sets out to retrieve a legendary book after he’s asked to do so by a professor he admires. A storm arrives and he’s stranded in a pub with a bunch of men who all have tall tales to tell. Strangely convenient coincidence or Cthulu’s influence? Again, hell if I know.

 

The men share their tales which are basically retellings of some of these classic horror gems.

 

*Wendigo

*Insane Asylum

*Creepy Convent

*Ghost Ship

 

They’re all quietly creeptastic and it’s easy to see where a few of them are going if you read too much horror as a kid. I’d have to say the Wendigo might be my favorite but I also loved the slow build of the asylum tale where the inmates far outnumber the staff and a young newbie is told, most ominously, "They are in charge. We just do what we can." Yikes, you just know some bad shit is going to go down but it doesn’t happen in a predicable way.

 

All of the stories are enjoyable if you’re in the mood for atmosphere and a slower pace and the wrap around story ties it all together so it never feels like a bunch of shorter stories tossed in for whatever reason. They all interlock together nice and neatly and are genuinely unnerving. 

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review 2014-09-30 23:25
$1.99 for One of My Favorite Laymon Books!
The Traveling Vampire Show - Richard Laymon

On sale today, 9/30/14,  I've read a few Laymon novels with varying levels of enjoyment. Resurrection Dreams I enjoyed for its gory over-the-top fun but I just couldn't get into Flesh or Funland.

Despite its title this book is not about vampires. It's about three 16 year old friends and their fascination with visiting the upcoming vampire show. It has moments of gore but mainly it's a coming of age tale focusing on these young kids. The lusty thoughts which I've come to expect from a Laymon book, and which usually crack me up for their out of place silliness, fit these characters and added to the tension of the book. The book takes place in the 60's when drive-ins were much more commonplace and the whole book has the feel of a good scary drive-in movie.

 

It begins when the three kids hike out to an abandoned field reputed to be the dumping ground of a serial killer hoping to get a glimpse of the visiting vampire before the crowds arrive. Instead they have a bad run-in with a mangy, possibly rabid dog and one of the kid's witnesses something she shouldn't. Then weird things begin to happen and they suspect they're being taunted by the traveling vampire folks. It's not until the very end of the book that the all out blood bath begins (and we learn some ugly things about some of our characters) but the tension leading up to it and the nice character study held my attention throughout it's 300+ pages. To date, this has been my favorite of all of the Laymon novels I've read.

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