Richard Craze

Advantages: Fast paced and exciting
Disadvantages: No time for character development

...One Rainy Night is fast paced, non stop action all the way. It's the story of a night when rain falls, turning everyone it touches into a crazed killer! The entire novel covers a period of just a few hours - there's no gentle introduction or setting of scene, the violent action is relentless. Just as with Flesh, I've always thought One Rainy Night would make an excellent movie: it has all the action, shocks and violence that a good horror film needs. But as a novel it has some of the same drawbacks as Flesh too: there's no time for subtlety or well defined characters here. But that's not a major problem since this is a punchy novel about fast moving thrills, as opposed to suspense or character development. For sheer excitement, this is one of Laymon's best.... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average off topic

Advantages: Even by Laymon's standards, this is great.
Disadvantages: Absolutely none at all!

...Out of all Richard Laymon's excellent novels, Island is my favourite. It has everything you could ever want from a novel, including an absolutely jaw-dropping final twist. It's the story of a group of people who are shipwrecked on a tropical island, only to be hunted down by a crazed killer. This might not sound like the most original premise you've ever heard, but it's what Laymon does with this basic idea that is so special. The writing is absolutely flawless, and the characters are utterly believable and never dull. It's written in the form of a diary, from one character's point of view, and is so well crafted that you genuinely feel you're reading the words of a real person, rather than the author's words. Laymon somehow manages to make the novel fast moving and exciting, and yet still full of suspense. It's one of those books where... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Interesting ideas and characters
Disadvantages: Philosophy gets a little annoying

...It's really, really difficult to talk about this book without revealing too much and ruining the plot. The opening chapter is written by a dead person, so in case you were looking for a book discussing the interpersonal relationships of a tight knit group of friends when one of their member slips into a coma, take this as a warning, it isn't really about that, it's far weirder. Girlfriend in a Coma follows the lives of Richard, Pam, Hamilton, Wendy, Karen and Linus, who's early lives are punctuated by the tragedy of a childhood friend (sex-crazed football player Jared) dying of cancer, and Karen falling into a coma. From 17 to 30 something their lives appear as meaningless, depressing failures (failures in the sense that any sort of childhood dream is quickly abandoned), spiritually unfulfilled they are still somehow special enough... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful