The Woods Are Dark - Richard Laymon

Written in 1981, The Woods Are Dark is Richard Laymon’s second novel. And it shows. The story is set in the town of Barlow, where the locals kidnap and rob tourists to take out to the Killing Trees, where they are offered as sacrifices to the barbaric Krull tribe that live in the woods. People like Sherri and Neala, and the Dills family are rounded up by the town’s “Delivery Men.” This arrangement has gone on for generations, as tourists are robbed ...
...chaining her to one of the Killing Trees and leaving her for the Krulls, he decides to break the rules, rescue the girl and flee Barlow, taking his sister and niece with him. I enjoyed the first half of The Woods Are Dark. It’s a fairly short book, so it’s action all the way; there’s a lot of violence and monsters, as one would expect in a good horror story. Initially, the characters are believable. Unfortunately as one looks at them in more depth, ...

tuftie 15.07.2007 · Read full review
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Review of The Woods Are Dark - Richard Laymon

...fight for their lives. The book is straight to the point no messing around describing leaves and boring stuff, just fast moving story line and scarey but with exciting writing. I never read a book from cover to cover untill i read one of laymons . I've given people who don't read Laymon the first chapter and told them to read it. My father was hooked and my mother threw the book down after the first few pages and wouldnt read any more ... bit too ...
...it drags you in like the woods drag in the characters. Neala and her friend Sherri are traveling the backroads of California, thinking that they're in for a relaxing vacation of hiking through the woods. They then would find themselves shackled to one of the six dead trees in the woods. Waiting for Them to come. The Dills family are heading up to the mountains for a fun vacation and a family outing. What harm could it do to spend the night in the ...

kissesofgold 18.08.2007 · Read full review
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Review of The Woods Are Dark - Richard Laymon

Deep in the woods there are six dead trees growing in a clearing.They are known locally as the killing trees. Its to these trees that travellers captured when they stopped in Barlow are taken and chained up to left out for the crazies that roam the woods. Its an arrangement that has gone on for many years.The residents of Barlow provide people for food and breeding for the crazies and the crazies stay away from the town and no harm comes to ...
...entire family is taken to the killing trees. This arrangement has always worked well for the residents of Barlow.They were able to keep any belongings or vehicle owned by a victim and allowed to live their lives in relative peace. Until now.While doing a drop off out at the trees Robbins finds himself attracted to one of the intended victims Neala.Warning his sister and niece of his intentions he undertakes a daring rescue mission and finds ...

erinmitch 15.06.2004 · Read full review
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Review of The Woods Are Dark - Richard Laymon

My all time favorite horror writer. I thoroughly enjoyed this (I can't think of one of his books that I haven't). Gripping, dark, intelligent and typically gruesome. A real must-read for Laymon fans! ...

ang2911 09.09.2008
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Review of The Woods Are Dark - Richard Laymon

The Woods Are Dark was only Laymon's second published novel, and his writing has improved a great deal since then. That's not to say it's a bad book, but it is much more straightforward and simplistic than his later novels, and only about half the length. There are no brilliantly clever plot twists here, or complex characters: the style of writing is simple and to the point. It's a tale of a group of bizarre creatures who abduct and murder people ...

philsammie 13.07.2000 · Read full review
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Review of The Woods Are Dark - Richard Laymon