Madman Stan and Other Stories
2004
First Published
4.08
Average Rating
377
Number of Pages
The only surprises in this nifty story collection from Laymon are the intentional twists in nearly every tale. Laymon cognoscenti will get just what they expect from this celebrated and castigated writer: shock, suspense, sexual violence and prose as sharp as a slap. The 20 entries include recycled material (e.g., from Night Visions 7, which Wiater edited) as well as unpublished stuff. The lead-off tale, "The Hunt," is Laymon unvarnished, an intense story of a woman selected as a hunter's prey. The final story, "The Slit," is also prime Laymon, the author's psychological acuity on display as he traces the happy fate of a young man who likes to cut women. Also first-rate and representative of the author's better work is "A Good, Secret Place," wherein two male adolescents attempt to punish a nagging third only to see the tables turned; here as in so much Laymon, the author's understanding of the psyche of youth—callous, hypersensitive, obsessed with sex—is spot on. Some of the stories, though, are lesser, and often softer, relying on simpler biter-bit turnarounds or on poetic justice for their punch. Leisure Books editor D'Auria says in his forthright afterword, "I know you loved [these stories]." Every Laymon fan, and globally they are legion, will nod in agreement: even lesser Laymon is a treat.
Avg Rating
4.08
Number of Ratings
109
5 STARS
39%
4 STARS
39%
3 STARS
17%
2 STARS
6%
1 STARS
1%
goodreads
Author
Richard Laymon
Author · 51 books
Richard Laymon was born in Chicago and grew up in California. He earned a BA in English Literature from Willamette University, Oregon and an MA from Loyola University, Los Angeles. He worked as a schoolteacher, a librarian, and a report writer for a law firm, and was the author of more than thirty acclaimed novels. He also published more than sixty short stories in magazines such as Ellery Queen, Alfred Hitchcock, and Cavalier, and in anthologies including Modern Masters of Horror. He died from a massive heart attack on February 14, 2001 (Valentine's Day). Also published under the name Richard Kelly
