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The Beast House Richard Laymon 9780747247814 Books

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The Beast House Richard Laymon 9780747247814 Books

"The Beast House" is Richard Laymon's sequel to "The Cellar", which told the story of an old mansion in a fictional California town that was home to a man-eating (and woman-loving) beast. Cut to some years after the events of the first book. Nora and Tyler, two good looking librarians at a librarian convention (yeah yeah yeah, it's Richard Laymon, just go with it) decide to head to Malcasa Point, where an old fling of Tyler's lives. They're nearly jumped by a truck driver, but are saved by Abe and Jack, two former Marines. All four head to Malcasa Point. At the same time, famed author Gormon Hardy arrives at Malcasa Point with photographer Brian to investigate the Beast House and it's bizarre past. These two storylines collide with characters from the past book (Janice, Sandy, Maggie Kutch, etc.) as well as some new characters. It all leads to the usual Laymon climax where all heck breaks loose.

Once nice thing about "Beast House" is that one of my complaints about the previous book - that is, the fact NO ONE, even characters with military training, seemed able to combat the Beast - is gone. Fights are a little more realistic, and characters who are supposed to be able to take care of themselves in a fight, even against elderly women with knives, are actually capable of doing so. Also, the relationship between Tyler and Abe is a little more believable than Jud and Donna in "Cellar" - though it still has all the staples of a Richard Laymon romance (the extended awkwardness, the tension, the borderline insta-love, etc.).

Something that surprised me about "Beast House" is just how tame it was compared to "Cellar". Compared to the latter, the former has significantly less death and sex. Now, I'm not using that AGAINST the book, but it is something noticeable when you compare the two. Don't get me wrong: people DO die (some not even by the Beast's hands), and there is SOME of Laymon's peculiar brand of perversion (including the reveal of the Beast's special you-know-what), but compared to the original it's not as prevalent. Truth be told, I was amazed how many characters were still alive at the end. Again, I'm not saying that was bad, it was just surprising.

A question probably on some reader's minds is this: should you read "The Cellar" before you read "The Beast House"? In truth, you can probably read "Beast House" and not feel lost; Laymon does a good job of filling in all the "need to know" details. At the same time, if you want to feel emotionally invested in a lot of "Cellar" characters who make a reappearance in "Beast House", you might want to go and read "Cellar". The best comparison I can make is whether you can watch "Kill Bill Part 2" without watching "Kill Bill Part 1": yeah, you can do it without losing too much, but if you want the full affect, you might as well watch the first one.

All in all, "Beast House" is your usual brand of Richard Laymon fun. Ah, Laymon, I wish I could quit you.


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The Beast House Richard Laymon 9780747247814 Books Reviews

Although it is relatively common with movies, sequels are less common with horror novels. While even the big names of horror - like Stephen King or Dean Koontz - have resorted to sequels occasionally, the bulk of their work are standalone tales. Similarly, Richard Laymon generally did not write sequels; the exception, however, are his revisits to his first novel, The Cellar. The second of his "Beast House" books is appropriately called The Beast House.

The Beast House introduces Tyler and Nora, a couple of Southern California librarians who have gone up the coast on vacation. As is typical with Laymon heroines, they are young, beautiful and sexy, the last characteristic of which is described on almost page in the early stages of the book. Nora is the wild one and Tyler is still sulking over a long-ended relationship with Dan. Since he is around the Bay Area, Nora coerces Tyler to track him down.

This leads them eventually further north to the isolated beach community of Malcasa Point, home of the Beast House. Along the way, they get attacked by a would-be rapist but are saved by a couple ex-Marines named Abe and Jack. Soon enough, Tyler is falling for Abe, but she still feels the need to find Dan. Readers of The Cellar may remember what happened to Dan during his brief appearance in that novel, and soon enough so will Tyler.

Also in Malcasa Point is horror writer Gorman Hardy who is intending on writing a nonfiction book about the Beast House. This will lead the sleazy writer down unexpected paths as he determines that this is a must-write book and that nothing will stand in the way of his writing it. Hardy will eventually get Tyler and company involved with the Beast House.

And what exactly is the Beast House? It is a haunted house occupied not by ghosts but by semi-human creatures which are intent on savagely killing any unauthorized male occupants and reproducing with any woman they can get (sexual violation is a common theme in Laymon novels). As The Cellar had shown, these creatures are killable, but not easily.

The Beast House is another successful effort by Laymon, a fast-moving read that also resolves certain open issues from its predecessor. Although it does stand alone, I do not suggest reading this book unless you've read The Cellar first. If, however, you have read that book and enjoyed it, you should be quite happy with this one.
My introduction to Laymon came in what turned out to be a "backwards" reading of the Beast House series. I'd found Midnight Tour first and ended up reading the series in reverse, accidentally. What I found was a series where each book can stand on its own, but when read in order is a truly pleasurable read. Some reviewers debate the length of each book or one over the other. Yep, Laymon could have "done things better," but who cares. The Beast House and each of the other two offer up a great read, entertaining, and a wonderfully fun way to loose yourself in a book. Do note that at some point prior to his death, Laymon added a 4th book. Its a short version of a book and I'm not sure, but suspect it was to be a full, 4th installment. In my opinion, skip reading it. While good, its disappointing in its short length and I was left feeling unfulfilled and frustrated. Enjoy 1-3 and let yourself go into the fun of this great series! I'm on my 4th read through and enjoying the journey yet again!
I read this prior to the other Beast House chronicles, but from the first page, was eagerly awaiting what would happen next. It is long on incidents and character studies, but don't let them disappoint, as they are necessary, and I discovered that some of the characters made me rather "nervous". Starts with a young woman who still longs for a long, lost love, unable to let go of what they shared. Her friend is the mouthy, aggressive type, who urges her to hunt him down. Finally, the woman decides to find him. Won't go any further. This book is a great read for us horror fans. I'm going to read more from this great author.
"The Beast House" is Richard Laymon's sequel to "The Cellar", which told the story of an old mansion in a fictional California town that was home to a man-eating (and woman-loving) beast. Cut to some years after the events of the first book. Nora and Tyler, two good looking librarians at a librarian convention (yeah yeah yeah, it's Richard Laymon, just go with it) decide to head to Malcasa Point, where an old fling of Tyler's lives. They're nearly jumped by a truck driver, but are saved by Abe and Jack, two former Marines. All four head to Malcasa Point. At the same time, famed author Gormon Hardy arrives at Malcasa Point with photographer Brian to investigate the Beast House and it's bizarre past. These two storylines collide with characters from the past book (Janice, Sandy, Maggie Kutch, etc.) as well as some new characters. It all leads to the usual Laymon climax where all heck breaks loose.

Once nice thing about "Beast House" is that one of my complaints about the previous book - that is, the fact NO ONE, even characters with military training, seemed able to combat the Beast - is gone. Fights are a little more realistic, and characters who are supposed to be able to take care of themselves in a fight, even against elderly women with knives, are actually capable of doing so. Also, the relationship between Tyler and Abe is a little more believable than Jud and Donna in "Cellar" - though it still has all the staples of a Richard Laymon romance (the extended awkwardness, the tension, the borderline insta-love, etc.).

Something that surprised me about "Beast House" is just how tame it was compared to "Cellar". Compared to the latter, the former has significantly less death and sex. Now, I'm not using that AGAINST the book, but it is something noticeable when you compare the two. Don't get me wrong people DO die (some not even by the Beast's hands), and there is SOME of Laymon's peculiar brand of perversion (including the reveal of the Beast's special you-know-what), but compared to the original it's not as prevalent. Truth be told, I was amazed how many characters were still alive at the end. Again, I'm not saying that was bad, it was just surprising.

A question probably on some reader's minds is this should you read "The Cellar" before you read "The Beast House"? In truth, you can probably read "Beast House" and not feel lost; Laymon does a good job of filling in all the "need to know" details. At the same time, if you want to feel emotionally invested in a lot of "Cellar" characters who make a reappearance in "Beast House", you might want to go and read "Cellar". The best comparison I can make is whether you can watch "Kill Bill Part 2" without watching "Kill Bill Part 1" yeah, you can do it without losing too much, but if you want the full affect, you might as well watch the first one.

All in all, "Beast House" is your usual brand of Richard Laymon fun. Ah, Laymon, I wish I could quit you.