Dreadful Tales

Richard Laymon is the undisputed champion of Splatterpunk. During his career he wrote over fifty novels and eighty short stories. It wasn't until after his death that he was beginning to make sales in his home country. However, he was extremely popular in Europe and especially in the UK. He often thanked his UK readers for allowing him the chance to write full time. Dreadful Tales (2000) showcases the very best of his short fiction and is essentially the UK equivalent of his Bram Stoker nominated collection, A Good, Secret Place (1994). Laymon was known for his love of blood and guts and graphic depictions of violence, and became part of a movement known as Splatterpunk, writing alongside other authors such as Steve Gerlach, Brian Keene, Jack Ketchum, Joe R Lansdale, and Edward Lee. Not known for writing quiet horror, Laymon was nevertheless a talented writer. It just happened that his content offended certain groups of people, those that adopted the Mary Whitehouse mentality. It would be publications like The Village Voice that would inevitably stall the careers of writers like Ketchum and Laymon in the United States, but you can't keep a good man down and, luckily for those of us this side of the ocean, Laymon found a publisher, a niche, and a fan base. Thanks to Headline Publishing books like Dreadful Tales were made publishable. There is a short introduction before you can wade into twenty-five short tales of terror, and not one of them dreadful.Contents:Invitation to MurderThe GrabSaving GraceBarney's Bigfoot MuseumHermanThe ChampionThe MaidenA Good Cigar is a SmokeI'm Not A CriminalOscar's AuditionInto the PitSpookedThe Good DeedThe Direct ApproachGood VibrationsPhil the VampirePaying Joe BackThe Fur CoatBlarneyDracuson's DriverRoadside PickupWishboneFirst DateStickmanMop UpThere are three hitchhiker tales here, one bigfoot (sasquatch), a vampire tale, a few noir crime tales, some crazed serial killers, a walking scarecrow, a mummy, an invisible friend, a strange creature in a tank of formaldehyde, and other strange happenings. If you enjoy reading this, I would also recommend Out are the Lights and Other Tales (1982) and Fiends (1997). Laymon was further Bram Stoker-nominated for Flesh (1987) and Funland (1989). He won the award posthumously in 2001 for The Travelling Vampire Show (2000).

The product arrived on time and in great condition

What can you say about Richard Laymon that has not already been said? A talented short story writer but could not be sustained (In my opinion) in novels. This is some of his best work.

Brilliantly written! If you’re a Laymon fan you’re going to love it! Book came in excellent condition. Very happy all round

A stunning collection of short stories by a true master. Richard Laymon.

Richard Laymons books are all very good to read again and yet again...........

My favourite Laymon book, Dreadful Tales is the '80s/'90s pulp author at his best, illustrating what he did well as a writer. Richard Laymon was very one-dimensional and magazine-y as a writer, which I mean as an observation more than a criticism, really. I find him interesting as a writer because he's the only one I can think of who combines extreme violence with a light-hearted, undemanding appeal. Of course, if you're not inclined towards stories filled with extreme violence you're not likely to find them all that light-hearted, but Laymon seemed to take a cheeky, how-much-can-I-get-away-with approach to the material that appeals to his readers.The characters are defined by simplistic motivations, basically sex and revenge, and the tone is pure pulp. As a result, what you get isn't very satisfying if you're looking for something thematic and stylised, but is if you just want a pacy, clever, and well-constructed story.The Dreadful Tales are basically Tales of the Unexpected with added sex and violence. They mostly hinge on a final twist and are generally about everyday people entering topsy-turvy situations, like "The Champion", in which a man goes to a bar and finds himself coerced into a savage spectator sport.The best of the bunch is the first, "Invitation to Murder", a straightforward crime story that shows what Laymon often said about his own writing, that it was often more crime-oriented than anything supernatural, just "bad people doing bad things".Satire isn't generally a strong suit of Laymon's, given that it requires more stylistic depth than is in his usual wheelhouse, but he reaches it here with a story about a horror writer known for his use of sexual elements who becomes entangled with a sexually aggressive female neighbour. None of the stories are bad, though the last, "Mop Up", is my least favourite. It's a zombie apocalypse story that's pretty much par for the course in that genre. If you like The Walking Dead, you'll like this.The morality of the stories is pre-MeToo and contains the sort of sexualised violence that wouldn't be permissible even in a lot of horror fiction these days. There's not much in the way of rape, unlike many of Laymon's novels, but for example, there's a story called "The Good Deed" about a couple of lads who find a girl in a cage in the woods.The tension of the story is in their debate as to whether they should exploit the situation, or do the good deed and let her go. Given that they're both basically still children, the moral element works in a coming-of-age sort of way. Part of growing up is learning who you are in terms of your morality, whether you're someone who will do the right thing, the good deed, and the story's premise externalises that conflict. But it ends on a note of "if you're nice to girls, they might give you a little something in return!" that'll make many cringe.Nonetheless, Dreadful Tales is a fun and breezy read, a sort of Reader's Digest for horror fans. It represents Laymon at his leanest and best.

Richard Laymon was truly one of a kind. His succinct all-American writing style would propel you through each story at a break-neck pace, fast enough to leave Stephen King and Dean Koontz back at the starting blocks.This filthy collection of stomach-churning short stories is no exception to the rule. There are some excellent bait-and-switch endings to smile wryly at (The Maiden, I'm Not A Criminal) and the rest is good old crimson gore.You'll read all these in record time, and read them all again a second time. You mark my words, it's worth your time!