The Cellar - Richard Laymon > Reviews (5)

The Cellar is one of those books which starts well, and then by the climax, the reader finds themselves thinking "Dear oh dear". I will begin this review by stating that the book has a pretty terrible ending, but don't worry, I won't spoil the ending (any further) in this review.

STORY
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The Cellar's main character is Donna Hayes, who has just learned that her extremely abusive ex husband, Roy, has just been released from prison. She flees with her daughter, Sandy, meaning to hide from Roy.

The pair end up in the town of Malcasa Point, where there is a famous house called "Beast House". Rumour has it that a terrible beast lingers in the house at night, and has committed a series of grisly murders. Even though one of these murders took place just three weeks earlier, the house is still open to tourists during the day.

This brings us to probably the biggest disadvantage about this book - It's just far too unbelievable. Surely the police would have shut down the house? But no, it's open for business.

The plot has many parts to it like this, which leave you thinking "Really?". Some of the stuff that happens in this book is just so ludicrous you actually have to read it again to make sure that is what you read.

CHARACTERS
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Donna - Donna is the main character, and the one we should all be behind. The hero, if you will. However, I just felt that she was somebody I'd love to slap in the face. Okay - she's on the run from a man who has done some horrifying things to both her and her daughter... Why would she let her daughter out of her sight for two minutes? Unfortunately, she does this every few pages, without a worry.

And another great idea from this character is to start sleeping with another man. Come on, really?

Sandy - Sandy is the twelve year old daughter of Donna. One of the characters you truly do feel sorry for, and back all the way to the end. However, I think Laymon made her a tad too stupid even for her age. Quite a dull, emotionless little girl.

Roy - One of Richard Laymon's great strengths is being able to create despicable villains that make you want to tear out the pages of the book with their names on them. Roy is definitely one of those characters. He is extremely evil, black hearted, and you will be hoping against all hope that he meets a bitter end from the start.

Jud - Short for Judgement, which is a clever name for the character, considering his role in the story. Jud is the brave man, who falls for Donna and wants to protect her. All the while, he develops a sort of passion for hunting down the beast...

Larry - A great character. He was involved in one of the Best House cases where he watched his close friend be murdered in the house, but managed to escape. He has nightmares about it nearly every night, but remains an eccentric and funny character, bent on revenge.

GORE & SEXUAL CONTENT
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Like all books by this author, this story is definitely not for children. There are some extremely graphic chapters that are honestly quite hard to read.

This book contains scenes involving rape, paedophilia, and even bestiality. In short - It's sick. Some chapters might even make you vomit.

APPEARANCE
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Never judge a book by its cover, but the cover IS pretty cool. It shows the cellar door with an ominous blue light glowing from behind it with the usual familiar Richard Laymon style lettering and title.

PRICE
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1p on Amazon! Of course, with £2.80 delivery... Still a great bargian though.

OVERALL
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It's definitely not my favourite book, or even my favourite Richard Laymon book. This was his first novel though, and I know things only got better from there. It's not terrible, I enjoyed it for the most part, I think that the climax, the main character, and the silly things that happen just let it down a bit. If you haven't read Laymon before, prepare yourself for some shocking scenes, and you will thoroughly enjoy it.