Friday, September 27, 2019

The Beast House by Richard Laymon


(pb; 1986: second book in the Beast House Chronicles)

From the cover

“The house known as Beast House has become a museum of the most twisted and macabre kind. It is a monument to its own infamous past. On display inside was wax figures of its victims, their bodies mangled and chewed, mutilated beyond description. The tourists who come to Beast House can only wonder what sort of terrifying creature could be responsible for such atrocities. Surely nothing human.

“Bur some people don’t believe the beast even exists. They are convinced Beast House is a huge hoax, an elaborate tourist trap, Nora and her friends don’t believe. They are determined to find the truth for themselves. They will dare to enter the house at night, when the tourists hae gone. When the beast is rumored to come out. They will learn, all right.”


Review

Beast is a vast improvement on its predecessor, The Cellar. Beast is a great, fun B-flick of a splatterpunk─extreme horror─novel. It is a fast-paced, waste-no-words work, with its violence, rape-happy monsters, other disturbing sex and humor. Its characters, some of them seen in The Cellar, are stock and sometimes Scooby-Doo gang stupid and gung-ho. These observations are an amused appreciation, not a criticism in this case. Beast is one of the most entertaining B-movie horror books I have read in a long while.

Followed by The Midnight Tour.

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