Leisure Book Reviews and Random Thoughts


Luckily, this month I've got some books that will keep you warm - as in, lying in a steaming pile of bloody guts warm. Both of this month's books are examples of what Leisure does best. Here in the Northeast winter is still upon us. This time of year many people are feeling depressed, whether it's from the economy, the bad weather, or the lack of sunshine. New Year's resolutions are falling by the wayside. So what better way to escape the doldrums for a while than to sit down with a good book?


Crimson, by Gord Rollo


A good, if not exceptional, book that will keep you reading to the end. If you enjoyed Stephen King's IT you'll enjoy this as well. Call it King lite. A strong B.


Crimson was my first experience with Gord Rollo, and while it didn't knock my socks off it didn't do such a bad job that I wouldn't read another of Rollo's books. He's a talented writer who, based on this one read, hasn't quite found his own stride or voice yet. Not that he's a clone of anyone, although some would say the book's plot is, but his personality just doesn't seem to be coming through, as if there was no emotion behind the words.

In Crimson, four boys accidentally release an ancient evil, and then years later have to deal with it returning again. If this plot sounds familiar, it should. King did it best with It, but other writers have fished these waters as well, both for novels and short stories. Rollo adds enough twists, changes, and differences to make it his own - definitely no rip-offs here, although the homage is clear - and he does a great job of writing some truly frightening scenes. The characters are well-drawn, and the background of the small Canadian town is realistically painted.

Where the book falters is in a somewhat uneven pacing. In between the scenes of horror are some excellent - and necessary - scenes that lay the foundation for everything else, but there are also some scenes that kind of bog the pace down. Kind of like a race car whose gears slip once in a while when shifting. There's a lag, and then it picks up speed again. Luckily, there're only a few of these, and the rest of the book succeeds ably in building tension and then hitting the reader with nasty things springing out of the darkness.

Would the book have benefitted from a good content edit? Perhaps. Or maybe Rollo's writing needs a tad more seasoning and baking before it's fully cooked.
Whatever its faults, they're far outweighed by the plusses, and Crimson is definitely a book worth reading.

***

Dark Mountain, by Richard Laymon

Another treat for Laymon fans - Leisure puts out three books this month, and one of them is another Laymon reprint. Hurray! A classic Laymon effort, not so violent that it would turn off people who haven't read him before, but for some reason not a real popular book with oldtime Layman fans. In fact, this one shows a bit of maturity that a lot of his writing doesn't. A solid B.

Dark Mountain is a great Laymon book for people who are just discovering this master of horror for the first time. It's got enough blood and violence to please most horror writers, but it also delves into relationships and gives us more of a look into the characters than some of Mr. Laymon's other novels.

The plot is fairly simple. Two families camping in the woods discover that they're not alone. Now they've got to find a way to escape a powerful witch and her violent ogre of a son before they're all killed. Simple, yes, but in Laymon's talented hands it becomes a scary campfire tale guaranteed to chill anyone's bones.

This is a book that moves at a fast pace, and you could easily finish it in one day at the pool, on the couch, or on the plane. There are plot twists, acts of depravity, and gruesome murders around every corner, and the ending will knock your socks off. Some might say this book focuses too much on sex and not enough on the gore, but hey, no one's perfect! Read it, and enjoy it.

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JG Faherty is a writer of dark fiction. His recent credits include Cemetery Dance, www.wrongworld.com, Shroud Magazine, and the anthologies Bound for Evil, Bits of the Dead, Dark Territories, and Winter Frights. He writes regular columns, book reviews, and interviews for the Horror Writers Association newsletter, FearZone, and several other online and print venues. You can visit him at JGFaherty.com