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A review by k_hanvey
The Woods Are Dark by Richard Laymon
2.0
I was interested in the plot of this book immediately. Cannibalistic humanoids lurking in the woods outside a small town? I'm hooked. Where this book fell short for me was in Richard Laymon's writing of the characters, especially the women. They were hyper-sexualized, even in the most mundane things. Also, the absolutely ridiculous idea that a woman, any woman, would be game to have sex in the midst of a life-threatening event with a man she barely knows who had a part in putting her in the aforementioned life-threatening event in the first place! It was absurd.
All that said, I didn't hate the premise and I somewhat enjoyed Cordelia's storyline. Not enough to redeem the book, but enough to not give it one star. Other than Laymon's obvious inability to write realistic women, this story also suffers from a lack of plot development and could have used another hundred pages or so to feel less like a short story from an anthology. Not a great book (or even really a good one).
All that said, I didn't hate the premise and I somewhat enjoyed Cordelia's storyline. Not enough to redeem the book, but enough to not give it one star. Other than Laymon's obvious inability to write realistic women, this story also suffers from a lack of plot development and could have used another hundred pages or so to feel less like a short story from an anthology. Not a great book (or even really a good one).