Posts Tagged ‘Horror Fiction’
When I was but a wee lad, my family and I used to go on vacations. During these we never left the country, but we generally always left whatever state we resided in at the time. Since I was basically an only child, when it came to choosing touristy destinations, I was outnumbered. It’s not so much that they didn’t care what I wanted to do, it’s just that we have vastly different sensibilities. This is excruciatingly apparent in the realm of entertainment. I’m just not the sort of person who finds Civil War battlefields
or pioneer museums all that exciting. The rock shops weren’t so bad, particularly if they had colorful stones or books about dinosaurs, but no child should be subjected to Silver Dollar City (located in Branson, Missouri) when they live in a country where Disneyland or Six Flags is available. Granted, if left up to me our vacations would have mostly consisted of nationwide tour of Chuck E. Cheese or Showbiz Pizza restaurants, but it sure would’ve been a blast!
I’ve digressed, though. What I was working up to, in my own tortuously slow way is the subject of tourist traps. Not the grand, college fund draining types, but rather those of modest means in obscure locations. Roadside ice cream parlors, museums of no repute and guided tours of locations no one has ever heard of. As a child, these places were mysterious and usually disappointing. The people who ran them seemed either like retirees from the carnie circuit or formerly unemployable history majors. Just an all around creepy vibe.
The story in Midnight’s Lair, penned by the venerable Richard Laymon, reminded me of these places if they’d had a bit more cash. There’s a hotel and a main attraction: Mordock’s Cave. It’s a sprawling underground cavern filled with stalagtites and stalagmites and all that. Of course, this isn’t why anyone visits the cave. No, they go to this fine family-run ‘resort’ to indulge their morbid curiosity with the legend of Elizabeth Mordock’s ghost. Ely Mordock, the man who first set up camp here build a wall called Ely’s wall and.. well, if you want the whole spiel, that’s what the book is for, right?
That’s just the backstory, the real story is about what happens when a group of tourists get trapped in the cave with their guide (and our protagonist), Darcy. If you can imagine being trapped in a dark, damp subterranean cave with a group of strangers then I’m sure you can envision the sort of pandemonium that takes place here. As usual, Laymon also tells another story of what’s going on above those trapped below. He juggles the various storylines so well I end up practically forgetting the rest as I read any given one. The man is a masterful storyteller and Midnight’s Lair is no exception to the kind of work I’d come to expect from him, even though it was originally attributed to his pseudonym Richard Kelly.
If you have even the faintest familiarity with Laymon novels then you most likely assume this tale goes far beyond any typical ghost story. I’m pleased to inform you that if that was your assumption, you’re entirely correct. This book is gruesome, engaging and entirely perverted. I loved it! Instead of just grossing us out or painting out lurid sexual fantasies, Laymon seems to be making alot of social statements about his character’s personalities and substance as individuals. It’s always a delight to see who will survive a Laymon story, but Midnight’s Lair is particularly fun, most likely because there are so many characters involved.
Were I to sum up the overall style of the book, I’d call it a disaster-meets-psychos-who-are-connected-with-monsters. I guess I did just sum it up afterall. This is a perfectly blended concoction of horror that I’m pleased to award a 5 out of 5 to. It’s good stuff, Maynard.
Until next time, this is GlowStormLion, tunneling beneath the floorboards of the universe, gnawing at the ties that bind us one to another. I’m trying to say I’m seeking liberation from materialism. Honestly.
When I first began seriously reading the works of Stephen King a few years ago, one of my first books was Four Past Midnight. This book is a compilation of four novellas or short stories, however you want to look at it. This was back in the dark, hot house where I first read Carrie. The thing is, I only read two of the four stories at that point, which is unusual for me because I’m generally doggedly determined to finish even the worst books or movies I’ve ever witnessed. Over a year later I picked up the book again and read the other two stories within.
You might be thinking that the book must be a stinker if I stopped reading it after only two stories, but that’s not the case. I had access to a large collection of reading material at that point, before I sold everything I owned and journeyed around the country. Fortunately, since this was a collection of unrelated stories, it didn’t ruin the reading experience. I picked up right where I left off. To me, that speaks volumes in and of itself, but let’s learn what I thought of the actual stories.
Now I’m not going to review these in any particular order, but I’ll try not to cross back and forth among the stories I’m referencing so you’ll be able to keep it all straight. The hardbound edition I had was a monster of a book, over 700 pages in all, I believe. This is the sort of reading I generally sit at a desk or table for. Let’s skim through what Four Past Midnight has to offer, amigos.
The Library Policeman – This story stars a guy in a small town, Sam Peebles, who’s a realty/insurance agent. He’s got to make a speech and to spice up this speech he plans to patronize his local library. At first, you may get the impression that this would be a silly or humorous story, but King goes ahead and kicks you in the butt for that one. I didn’t take it very seriously at first, but thankfully it lived up well past my expectations. The ambience is right, the flow feels like life in a small town because as always, King’s managed the details of his subject matter quite well. There’s a sincere tale here that explores fear, guilt and the process of growing up (including all that it entails for both the adult and child). While I did enjoy this story immensely, it’s not my favorite. However, it does deliver the goods to fans of traditional King stories.
Secret Window, Secret Garden – Here we have one of my favorite themes in all of modern literature: the writer writing about writers writing. To your left is me being entirely sarcastic, lying through my teeth. If you can get over the whole ‘writing about writers’ gig then I don’t see any reason you won’t enjoy this story if for no other reason than the mystery it presents. While sometimes movies butcher the story that the book they’re based on carries, Secret Window, Secret Garden does no such thing in film-form. If you’ve seen the movie it covers everything within the book and arguably is better since you can see the characters rather than just descriptions of them. The story itself centers around the consequences of success, even the battle to cope with the emotional realities of getting what you set out to obtain. The antagonist is alot of fun to read about, a real character even though he’s not some sort of supernatural monster – or is he? The mystery unravels slowly here, so take your time to savor it.
The Langoliers – Out of all the stories in Four Past Midnight, this one in particular is vying strongly for most original. It’s definitely a thought-provoker, but it’s also a bit outlandish for my tastes. I’m not a person who’s terrified of planes or traveling, so it wasn’t scary to me and the scary parts seemed more cartoonishly over-the-top than genuinely frightening. Really, though, the meat is in the interesting scenario King is posing for the reader. There’s the strong question of ‘what would you do if this happened to you?’ combined with a Twilight Zone-esque setting. It works together quite well and provides an interesting angle for insight into the characters in the story. Not a bad read, just difficult to be all that moved by.
The Sun Dog – Finally, we come to what is definitely my top choice for best story of the compilation. We’ve got young Kevin Delevan as our central protagonist who comes into possession of a Polaroid camera. As soon as I read that part, I was hooked. I have loved Polaroids for as long as I can remember (atleast age 4) which I first saw one. The process of the photographs developing is fascinating. The story has Kevin visiting a junk store which adds even more points because I can thing of few things I enjoy more than pawing through old stuff, especially if I can buy it! Also, there’s my whole my-favorite-animals-are-dogs thing I’ve had since childhood, too, so it all just sort of converged in this story for me.
The premise here is awesome. Old technology doing weird things makes for a completely captivating story and even though it’s not delving straight into claw-your-face-off horror, it’s keeping you entertained. A lot of this story is told in dialogue. While that apparently bothered some people, I appreciate King’s attempt to try and capture the essence of a story you’d speak rather than simply write because it came off more naturally this way.
If you’re going to take a chance on Four Past Midnight like I’m recommending then I say be a rebel! Discard the order the stories are in and read ‘em like this: The Sun Dog (to set up the mood), Secret Window, Secret Garden (to give you a bit of a jolt), The Library Policeman (to shake you up further), and then end it all with The Langoliers (in case you don’t like it since it’s very different from the rest). I think you’ll find it to be a 4 out of 5, as well.
I’m going now, but when I get back I’ll still be GlowStormLion. And I’ll still be exploring dark, dusty thrift stores in search of obscure treasure other people consider comedy items.
Originally Published June 30, 2006
"Shot through the heart and you’re to blame, darlin’ you give love – a bad name." – lyrics from You Give Love a Bad Name by Bon Jovi
I have to admit I’ve read a few books about vampires. I’ve seen a few movies featuring undead bloodsuckers. Hell, I’ve played a few games AS an immortal with a taste for precious fluid vital to human existence. Not to say I’m jaded, but it’d be hard to really shake me when it comes to vampires. Hardly anyone seems to get creative these days. It’s all such an established rut. Leave it to Richard Laymon to burst forth like a hand out of a coffin and pound one in just below the breastbone.
The central character in The Stake is Larry Durban. Larry’s a horror novelist. The moment I read this information within the first few pages, I had to choke back a scream of outrage and grip the book tightly in order to avoid tearing it into confetti because the book wasn’t mine, it was Red Hawk’s. So violent is my disgust – no, LOATHING – of the foul concept of "writer’s writing about what they know best: being writers" that I almost did not pursue the story past its opening pages. I absolutely despise it when Stephen King does it, to me it’s similar to a singer singing about singing or a painter painting a painting about painting. See how annoying that sentence was? Excellent. Then you get my drift.
Larry is a likeable guy and suspiciously like Richard who has crafted him, if you ask me. Larry has a daughter Lane and through the course of the book we get quite familiar with her. The relationship between Lane and Larry is a subplot, but it’s the sort of gripping subplot that Laymon is famous for. It actually adds depth and the way Laymon writes about the father-daughter dynamic seems to be straight from the heart. In fact, the way he writes about writing (grr..) is also quite candid. It all feels very realistic.
You know, typically in any given vampire tale, we’re confronted with the monster as either a terrifying beastial creature or a sulking victim of the universe at large. Goth or shock-rock, pick your genre. Well, good old Laymon is not about to let a little thing like "conventional techniques" stand in his way. Oh, no. We’ll have to wait a damned long time to get to know the vampire of The Stake. Trust me, though, you’ll like him. Or her. I’m being mysterious here.
The main issue that I had with The Stake is that it’s hard to put down. I missed meals, favorite television shows, it was a real mess. When I quoted Bon Jovi (as I often do in times of distress [edit: he's lying]) above, I mean it. You’ll fall in love with this book, but it will not be a sneaky little affair where your partner feels it’s probably ‘just a good friend’, no Laymon books are more like having your partner walk in as you’re unchaining your sweating adulteress from the bedposts and scrambling to figure out how to explain the bullwhip and all those stains on the new sheets. It’s a guilty pleasure, all right, but it’s a damned fantastic one!
I unilaterally refuse to offer any sort of hints as to what the story of The Stake is beyond what I’ve said already. The beauty of any Laymon book is discovering the story precisely as his writing intends for you to do. To even attempt to ’summarize’ the book would be along the lines of trying to explain the concept time to a four year old. I’ve actually done this so I can tell you from experience it’s frustrating and pointless. Just wait and learn.
Naturally, The Stake receives a 5 out of 5 in this review. Intelligent readers will agree wholeheartedly. The ignorant will perish, fools are soon parted from their money, etc. Do check this book out, it’s an incredibly worthy read.
So for now I leave. I shall return. In the meantime, I am GlowStormLion-http://www.sinminx.com and I’m uttering curses that will burn your soul to ashes. Thank you!
This article was donated from a site that no longer exists.
Originally published: June 26, 2006
"So which is better, the book or the movie?"
This seems to be a common question among fans of almost any book based on a film or vice-versa. Generally this question is followed by a raging argument. There are those purists who insist that no film can possibly do any book justice and there are those film fanatics who couldn’t possibly stand to read through an entire book just to get the story they feel they can get live on screen. I fall into a third category. I enjoy both. To me, it’s like comparing cats to dogs or apples to oranges. Both mediums have their strong and weak points when it comes to story telling entertainment value.
I saw Dreamcatcher the movie
before I ever read the book. I enjoyed the hell out of the movie and you can be sure I’ll review it right here on Happy Horror in the not so distant future. When I first got a copy of the book from the library, I wasn’t entirely thrilled. I was worried that knowing the basics of the plot might ruin the joys I normally experience from the first time I read a book or watch a movie.
I couldn’t have been more wrong, strangely enough…
Now, Dreamcatcher is not what I would consider typical Stephen King fare – in a way. I wouldn’t normally associate Stephen King with a more science-fiction angle. Yes he’s done it and yes, it’s been fairly good in my experience, but usually he has a more traditional monster or ghosts or generally messed up human beings. On the other hand, the setting of Derry, Maine and a group of four close friends (all male), is indeed right up King’s alley. Beav, Henry, Pete and Jonesy will most likely all feel quite familiar to King fans. It’s easy to get into the rhythm of the story.
Rather than ruin the story of the book I’d like to use this review to highlight a few things. One of the primary characters in the book is a boy with Down’s Syndrome. It seems that many times authors will employ a ‘non-traditional’ character more for shock value or sadly, in exploitative ways. I didn’t find this to be the case with Duddits in Dreamcatcher. King shows a realistic sensitivity to the relationship between the four boys and Duddits which allows the story to come alive in a much more believable way. There’s humor, but not mockery. There’s observation without over analyzation. In short, it’s tasteful.
For such a long book (to me, at least), Dreamcatcher isn’t a slog of a read. Granted, I read it each night by streetlight in a parked car during the late Fall so it could happen that I had a unique reading experience. It certainly makes the book a bit creepier than it might have been if I’d read it from within the safety of a warm, well-lit room. Rest assured that the villain of the story is exceedingly disturbing in a very clever way. Seeing a new twist on a often over-used archetype like the vampire, mummy or alien is always a pleasure. You’ll have to read the book to see which of these the bad guy turns out to be.
If you’re looking for a good book that will take a bit of time but entertain you the whole way through, I can definitely recommend Dreamcatcher. The story is sound, the characters are believable and the villains (yes, there’s more than one) lend themselves to a solid 4 out of 5, as far as a rating goes. Oh… did I mention there was an element of conspiracy here, too? You betcha and that’s the sort of thing that makes a general horror story grow from a jumper/cringer right into the big leagues of great noveldom. Check it out, I’m pretty sure you’ll enjoy it.
Until next I attempt to arrange letters into words and words into coherent thoughts, this has been GlowStormLion expressing universal truths at less than half the price of my competitors!
