I am guilty, guilty of never picking up or buying a Richard Laymon novel. You see back when I younger and really started getting into reading horror novels was in High School, which was the early nineteen nineties, I mostly read Barker, Saul and King. Then in 1995 when I gradated High School, horror novels seem to come to a stand still, anyone and everyone was getting published but the problem is the material was not that great. Great small press authors where pretty much among the mix and never noticed, Laymon had made his mark before them, but was not widely known to the masses, during the great horror drought of the nineties he took his work over seas. I stopped reading horror novels until a new writer named Brian Keene hit the scene with a group of new, good horror writers. My interest was then sparked again and I’m reading more great material from some of the best writers around. Richard Laymon was one of the biggest supporters of the new brood of horror writers, they looked up to him as a mentor and friend. He is the man that many consider to be the main reason why the H.W.A. became better over the years. he helped horror become what it is today by giving the new blood the tools and knowledge they needed to keep the genre going. it’s just too bad that his life was cut short on Valentines Day of 2001. Horror lost a great hero way to early. So here I sit, a guy who never read his work, until now; and I realize what I’ve been missing all these years.
Although it was never released as a novel in the United States until now, Cuts is the first of many of Laymon’s novels to hit the United States after it’s success over seas, the book did have a limited release in a hard cover edition and this is the first time it will hit paperback thanks to Leisure. Laymon wrote the novel a while ago, and it’s nice to know that his work lives on.
Cuts is a character driven book, it follows the lives of many different people; a pretty girl named Janet, who’s just left her abusive boyfriend and is pregnant. A librarian named Lester who’s school teacher wife is having an affair with one of her students, while he begins one with one of her collogues. A famous writer and an aspiring actress are in the mix as well, but none of them are prepared to meet Albert a seventeen year old boy who likes to kill, cut, rape, stab and live like his victims. Cuts for the most part is a story about the rising of a madman, a killer, Albert. It follows Albert cross country as he kills his way towards California and comes into contact with some of the very interesting characters in this book.
Laymon is a true master of the genre, and although he can no longer grace us with his stories, he has gained a fan in me, one that will make sure his life work lives on for future horror fans to read. Cuts is brilliantly written, Laymon manages to connect with his readers though the many different characters that he brings to life in this book. I’ve always stressed that I enjoy great characters first and a good story second, this book follows that format. Laymon has a great way of bringing characters to life. He is able to present them in such a way that you feel their joys and pain. Cuts is driven by the needs of the characters, their needs to better their lives right down to the final act where they all come together. The book also has a very neat and surprising ending.
Overall, Cut’s is great piece of horror fiction, it’s a shame that Laymon is no longer with us, but the work he left behind is that of a true master. He has gained a fan in me and once I get a few bucks in my pocket and visit my local book store I will most definitely be picking up some more of his novels. Cuts will be hitting books stores this March in paperback edition from Leisure. It’s a great thriller from a true master.
– Horror Bob
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015