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A review by pgdk
The Woods Are Dark by Richard Laymon
2.0
I started this book expecting a gross-out, mind-fluffy, fast-paced read. In the end all three boxes were ticked but ultimately the book was little more than the sum of its parts. I thought the characters were so thinly drawn as to approach no-dimensional, as oppose to two, which would have at least been something . The characters motivations were also fairly thinly sketched and not at all believable . I would say you couldn't make this stuff up, but this book exists, so...
In terms of scare factor, this book didn't really meet the mark for me either. Aside from a couple of genuinely horrific scenes I found the rest of the book to be pretty tame. I also found that I didn't care if a character died, because they were so poorly drawn.
In terms of positive aspects of the book, two of the female characters give the reader a glimpse into the lives of the people who dwell in the town, which ended up being more enjoyable than the action in the woods! Scenes particularly involving the younger of the two, while completely ridiculous, were nonetheless highly entertaining.
All in all, an occasionally entertaining, but ultimately unfulfilling, ride with precious few scares but plenty in terms of gross-out imagery and gore.
Read this if: You want a fast-paced, easy read, which has mild scares, some gross-out moments, but aren't looking for anything that remotely makes sense.
Spoiler
(sexy girls, virginal daughter-type, male rescuer, cannon-fodder family, etc - yawn!)Spoiler
(guy who has been sacrificing outsiders to forest monsters all of a sudden decides to jeopardise his and his families lives, because he thinks a girl is hot)In terms of scare factor, this book didn't really meet the mark for me either. Aside from a couple of genuinely horrific scenes I found the rest of the book to be pretty tame. I also found that I didn't care if a character died, because they were so poorly drawn.
In terms of positive aspects of the book, two of the female characters give the reader a glimpse into the lives of the people who dwell in the town, which ended up being more enjoyable than the action in the woods! Scenes particularly involving the younger of the two, while completely ridiculous, were nonetheless highly entertaining.
All in all, an occasionally entertaining, but ultimately unfulfilling, ride with precious few scares but plenty in terms of gross-out imagery and gore.
Read this if: You want a fast-paced, easy read, which has mild scares, some gross-out moments, but aren't looking for anything that remotely makes sense.