Blood Games by Richard Laymon Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Blood Games
Book Review: A promising tale weakened by Laymon's usual faults
Summary: 4 Stars
Richard Laymon had the dubious distinction of being an acclaimed American horror writer who never managed to make any serious inroads in America itself. While Europe has been reading and enjoying Laymon for years, only recently have mass market editions of some of Laymon's earlier novels begun appearing here in the United States. Unfortunately, Laymon himself is no longer with us to see America finally begin to acknowledge him, as he died an untimely death in 2001. This is the third Laymon novel I've read, and I have to say I enjoyed it much more than I did his novels Bite and One Rainy Night. The story is interesting and fast-paced, Laymon's decision to use flashbacks at critical points of the drama seemed very effective, and my anticipation to finish the novel never really dimmed. Still, though, the novel suffers from some of Laymon's traditional faults. The setup for the story isn't bad at all. Five best friends from college made a vow to get together for a week every year and continue the wild adventures they had back in college. It's an odd quintet, really: Vivian the gorgeous model, Abilene the most rational of the group, Finley the filmmaker with her constant video camera, Cora the strong girl of the group, and the overweight horror fan Helen. It is Helen's turn to select this year's adventure, and she can't wait to get her friends out to the isolated Totem Pole Lodge and tell them the story of the unsolved mass murder that took place there a number of years earlier. A couple of the young women aren't too enthused about staying in the creepy, deserted lodge, especially after they hear the story of how locals in the hills slaughtered everyone in the lodge some time back, but they decide to at least stick it out for one night. They enjoy spending time in the hot springs underneath the lodge, but things start to get a little unnerving when they figure out that someone else has been there with them at some point. When they then discover that the car keys have been lost, they decide to camp out in the woods, search for the keys in the morning, and then get out of Dodge. Such an uneventful ending is of course not going to happen here. Nope, Death comes calling, and the girls find themselves in a fight for their very survival.
I enjoyed the first half of this novel quite a bit; there's probably too much dialogue, but the girls were certainly interesting, and the tales of their college day exploits are actually quite amazing. When sinister things begin happening, though, their actions, responses, and much of their dialogue really don't ring true for the situation in which they find themselves, and they adopt courses of action that almost defy logic. Then there is the nudity issue. When the girls arrive and check out the hot springs, they strip down to bathing suits and then forego clothes all together. OK. As things keep happening and the dream week with the girls turns into a nightmare, they continue shedding clothes. Do women in their 20s make a habit of going nude whenever they're together? Sometimes they put their clothes back on, but this just seems to be a ploy designed to let Laymon to go on and on about how their wet clothes rub against their bare skin and the like. At a certain point, the constant emphasis on the girl's nudity and bodies grows old. If these girls existed in real life, I would know more about their bodies than they do. This overemphasis on nude female bodies makes the novel seem longer than it probably should be, and the later descriptions of the group's past experiences takes something funny and risqué and turn it into something silly, immature, and downright objectionable at times. I found my connection to the characters fading when it should have been rising, and this is the main fault I find with this otherwise enjoyable read. By the time I reached the climax of the action, I cared about these characters much less than I did earlier in the book, and this took a little something away from a perfectly acceptable but less than shocking dénouement. I'll keep reading Laymon, but I fear the man's overemphasis on sex may have kept him from ever reaching his true potential as a writer.
Book Review: Best book I've read in awhile
Summary: 5 Stars
This was the first book by Laymon I ever read and since then I've read as many as I can get my hands on. After returning it to the library I bought my own copy to reread later on.Book Review: Blood Games
Summary: 5 Stars
Richard Laymon was a heck of a writer. Whenever I read one of his books I find myself wanting to read more. Haven't read a book of his yet that I have't enjoyed.Book Review: Blood Games
Summary: 4 Stars
Blood Games,
Richard Laymon is a well respected author, known in many parts of the world with the exception of his native country "America'.
His books can be rather hard to find in the U.S.A, thanks to Leisure books and Cemetery Dance; reader in the U.S are now able to find Mr. Laymon's work among the shelves at their local bookstores.
Blood Games is not among my favorites from Mr. Laymon. This is due to the fact that I became increasingly tired of camping and hiking in the woods. This is a repeated theme that Laymon turns to often.
I never write reviews that give away story bits or plot, so I'll continue with my mere opinion of the book over-all.
The characters can be fun, the story was good but the flash backs were a bit tiresome. I also noticed a character that seemed to be a repeated character from Laymon's previous works. The ending wasn't very strong, although it did combine some good action with gore. I just wasn't fooled for a second; I knew the outcome the entire time I was reading.
Over all I enjoyed the book. I wouldn't recommend it as a first read to would be Laymon fans. I feel Mr. Laymon has better books on the shelves.
Book Review: Booooring
Summary: 1 Stars
Didn't think Laymon was able to write a slow paced, boring book until I read Blood Games. Nothing happens for the longest time, and I ended up skipping most of the flashbacks. Don't waste your times with this one, when Laymon's written so many fun, creepy, and fast paced novels such as Island, Bite, and In the Dark.