The Crow's Caw

IN LAYMON’S TERMS edited by Kelly Laymon, Steve Gerlach, & Richard Chizmar (To be Released August 1, 2011 by Cemetery Dance Publications / 615 pp / hc)

Arguably one of the most eagerly-awaited titles in recent horror fiction, this mammoth tribute to the late Richard Laymon is jam-packed with fond remembrances, original fiction inspired by Laymon, some rare Laymon shorts and oddities, and even an 18-page pictorial courtesy of Richard’s wife.

Part One: After opening pieces from Kelly Laymon and Steve Gerlach (both will be cherished by long time Laymon fans), former Leisure Books editor Don D’Auria gives a brief history of his personal love for the author as well as how he began to publish his catalog for the mass market.

The always reliable Norman Partridge delivers the first Laymon-inspired story, followed by a brief piece describing what he liked best about the late author.  Next up is ‘Meeting Joanne’ by Bentley Little and it delivers big time to both Laymon AND Little fans; one of the best stories here IMO.  We then dive into another goodie from Jack Ketchum titled ‘Hotline’ then a decent werewolf tale from Regina Mitchell.

Bookseller Alan Beatts shares some interesting accounts of his few meetings with Laymon, then Brian Keene gives us ‘Castaways,’ a short version of his Laymon-inspired novel of the same name.  Brian Freeman has one of the better segues into his fine short story, while Ryan Harding’s ‘Development’ is a nasty little ditty you’d swear was written by Laymon himself.

John Urbancik’s ‘Fauxville North’ is the second werewolf tale of the anthology, and ‘Daddy Wound’ by Jacqueline Mitchell keeps the thrills coming.  Gary Brander’s remembrance is one of the more personal here, and his tale, ‘Campfire Story,’ has all the elements Laymon fans love.  Simon Clark’s ‘Ham’s Not There’ is a fantastic take on the invisible man thing while Gina Osnovich’s ‘Edge of Town’ really brings on the Laymonesque goodness.  One of the more original tales comes from Michael T. Hyuck, Jr.: ‘Deep Dawn’s Jongluer’ deals with a mute artist (although she can hear) and a nasty experience she has aboard a ship.  Sheri White’s remembrance will appeal to anyone with kids, then Tom Piccirilli’s ‘New York Comes to the Desert’ mixes two genres he has mastered: horror and noir (plus a little dark humor I’m sure Laymon would’ve loved).  Adam Pepper’s ‘The Lonely Room’ is a standard (although well-executed) “continual” type story about a sleazy motel with a possessed room (Pepper’s remembrance piece will be of interest to HWA members).

Part Two: The middle section features lots of Laymon goodies; there’s early poems (that are scans of the original type-written pages) and a story Laymon had published in a 1970 issue of ELLERY QUEEN MYSTERY MAGAZINE.  Then there are 20 pages of a newsletter Richard edited titled ‘Smokers Blend’ that features tips, advice, and humor pieces geared toward pipe smokers (while I didn’t read all of this part, it was interesting to see what our favorite horror writer did when not scaring people silly).  There’s stories from Debonair magazine, a GREAT witch/movie story titled ‘Cut’ from 1985’s ‘Bestseller #23,’ a wonderful interview conducted in 1995 by Ed Gorman for Mystery Scene, 3 stories that originally appeared in Cemetery Dance magazine (each one better than the last) and a killer Halloween story called ‘Boo’ from 2000’s ‘October Dreams.’  The section ends with 16 pages of photographs, my favorite being Laymon at a book signing with Bentley Little and J.F. Gonzalez (Little only did 3 signings in his career [according to a 2005 issue of THE HORROR FICTION REVIEW], this one because his friend Richard Laymon had asked him).  Despite all the testimonies in the book, you could tell how much Laymon loved his family, friends and colleagues just by looking at these priceless photos.

Part Three: Matt Schwartz gives a funny account of how he became a fan, and compares the goodness of Laymon’s novels to the goodness of Melrose Place (trust me—it works!).  Steve Gerlach’s remembrance is one of the shortest, yet one of the most memorable, and his story ‘Dead of Night’ has no problem putting chills on your spine.  James Futch’s ‘Cover’ is a clever (and brief) take on the zombie thing, while Michael Oliveri’s ‘Behavior Therapy’ works great after his neat intro/remembrance).  Rain Graves claims (in her memoriam) she’s worried how Laymon fans will take her story; with ‘Wild Card,’ she has nothing to worry about.  John Pelan’s ‘Another Saturday Night’ features a sleazeball thief who picks up a goth chick whose ritual sex-thing turns out to be much more than a fetish.

Robert Freese’s remembrance is one of my favorites here: he explains why he wrote a review of Laymons writing book, ‘A Writer’s Tale,’ and how he tried to have it published in Fangoria Magazine.  The manuscript was sent back to him mutilated (!), and needless to say the letter was not published.  Fans will eat this story up, but I wish Freese’s actual review was included here (would have been quite appropriate).  Donn Gash follows this with an equally-as-cool remembrance titled ‘Pushing Buttons’ which flies in the face of critics who never “got” Laymon’s fiction (especially his characters).

‘Dig’ is a fun “buried alive” story by William D. Carl that features a truly grizzly ending; Holly Newstein & Ralph Bieder II deliver ‘Prayers,’ about an office worker whose life takes drastic changes after he sends a donation to a charismatic TV preacher.  Mark Justice’s ‘The Red Kingdom’ is a sex-charged thriller dealing with blood-soaked “amazons” attempting to bring their Dark Lord back to earth (did I mention this one was sex-charged?).

More so than almost any other tale in IN LAYMON’S TERMS, Bryan Smith’s ‘Pizza Face’ truly captures the feel and aura of Laymon’s own short stories; it’s a tense home invasion tale with well-timed humor and intense violence.  Dick would’ve been quite pleased with this one!

Brett McBean’s ‘The Genius of a Sick Mind’ is a well-done cat-and-mouse story, although at this point in the anthology the Laymonesque twist endings become a bit predictable—such as in Sebastien Pharand’s ‘Little Monsters,’ about an old man who guards his property from small creatures (you’ll see where this one’s headed by the middle of the first page).  It’s a well-written tale, if a bit familiar.

I didn’t care for Jonathan Torres’ ‘Bestiality,’ about 2 low-lifes who capture stray “animals” for an experimental lab.  It’s five pages of rape and unpleasantness that I didn’t find any humor in (thankfully, Torres’ remembrance is quite nice).

Ron R. Clinton’s ‘The Diner’ is an ode to Laymon’s ‘The Beast House,’ and features a poor soul wandering into a restaurant that serves more than just coffee.  Troy Taylor’s ‘The Keepsake’ is a vampire story that—while good—could’ve had a better ending.  While ‘Coastal Pickup’ is another one you’ll figure out early on, Brent Zirnheld’s mysterious female character kept it interesting.  Nicole Cushing’s tribute to Laymon’s ‘The Traveling Vampire Show,’ titled ‘Scabby Nipples and Sharp Teeth,’ is another vamp yarn, albeit with a wonderfully demented conclusion.

Weston Ochse’s ‘Crashing Down’ takes a nice turn and gives a fresh look at death and suicide (it’s also one of the creepier stories here).  Michael McCarty & Mark McLaughlin’s ‘From the Bowels of the Earth’ wins for funniest story, about a nerd who reluctantly becomes a demon hunter.  I can’t say enough good things about Robert Morrish’s ‘Still Life with Mother,’ a disturbing Norman Bates-like tale with a flavor all its own, while Roger Range’s ‘Scavengers’ pits blood-thirsty coyotes against an average American family (and like a Laymon story, NO ONE is safe here).  Slick ending, too.

Patricia Lee Macomber pulls off an amazing feat in an anthology full of (mainly) extreme, gory tales: ‘Past Tense’ not only has a happy ending, but holds its own here thanks to the great, suggestive prose that’s as tense as the more graphic entries.

Philip Robinson’s eerie ‘Occupied’ deals with a creature living inside an oak tree and the homeowner who must deal with its insatiable bloodlust, while a kinky couple go for the gusto in Jim Millman’s ‘For the Light,’ a short and face-paced thriller.

If any remembrance in IN LAYMON’S TERMS can bring a tear to your eye, it’s Geoff Cooper’s, but his following hostage story, ‘Strangers: Good Friends and a Bottle of Wine’ will quickly put your heart in your throat.

The final piece of fiction comes from the always demented Edward Lee, whose ‘Chef’ is a hilarious take on the undead (and culinary arts!).  And it all concludes with a beautiful and bittersweet ‘Dream’ from Matt Johnson.

Like any anthology (especially one of this size), there are a few forgettable stories, but even those had their hearts in the right place.  Richard Laymon’s 1987 novel, ‘Night Show,’ inspired me to write more than any other novel I had read up to that point, so it was nice to read so many similar testimonies (and everyone who was fortunate enough to meet Richard only had super-positive things to say about him).

IN LAYMON’S TERMS serves as a fond tribute to a writer who literally had HORROR running through his veins, an author who stood up for the genre and went out of his way to support and promote both seasoned and new writers, and a man who—despite the dark, extreme stories he made a living from—was one of the nicest, family-oriented guys the horror fiction scene had ever known.  Regardless if you’re a fan or not, this book deserves to be on any horror fan’s bookshelf.

As I’m sure every contributor to this anthology would agree: “The Dick would be pleased.”

- Nick Cato

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