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Post by franklinmarsh on Nov 3, 2012 15:42:59 GMT
Richard Laymon - The Glory Bus Book Club Edition 2005 (Bluddy hardbacks!) One moment pretty young Pamela is a contented newlywed with a loving husband and a comfortable home . The next, she's the prisoner of a repulsive killer who has lusted after her since high school - and now intends to make her his slave for life. College kid Norman wouldn't say boo to a goose, so he's never going to throw bad-boy Duke out of his car or say no to Boots, the hyper-sexed hitch-hiker who tags along for the ride. Together the lawless pair take him on a wild journey that looks like it's heading for the electric chair. But when the glory bus comes along there's hope of salvation for all. Pamela and Norman are just two who climb on board. They don't know their destination is the furnace heat of the Mojave desert, where a special kind of welcome awaits the weary traveller. It can't be worse than what's gone before. Or can it? Published posthumously, there's some as might claim this wasn'teven written by RL. There's a cafe in the story in which part of the waitress's uniform is comprised of red shorts. Oh yes! |
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Post by dem on Nov 4, 2012 7:40:54 GMT
If it isn't Laymon's work then the author is a better than passable tribute act. It never once entered my head that it might be ghosted. The fact it reads as though he had no idea where he was going with the story, eventually fell back on a trusty old theme - Midnight's Lair, the lurkers under the grid-locked cars in Quake, lots of etc.'s - to bring it to an end, is as trademark RL as the perennial young woman in red gym shorts/ peril. I've another of the posthumously published ones, The Lake to finish someday, the only time I ever put down one of his novels and didn't pick up again. Is that of suspect authorship too? |
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Post by franklinmarsh on Nov 5, 2012 10:20:40 GMT
As far as I'm concerned The Glory Bus is Laymon through and through (ie not for those offended by the Gregory Pendennis Smoking Jacket Terror Library - who'd have thought it?) although the ending was a bit happy. A glorious (sorry) blood and love juice stained trip through Americana as only he could do. I see from the link above that my ex-batman, Herr Maitland raved about The Lake. ISTR it was pretty good, too. Looks like he mostly sustained the thrill ride from start to finish.
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Post by andydecker on Nov 5, 2012 18:36:37 GMT
Strangely I never could warm to Laymon.
I have read a couple, and always thought his characters rather one-dimensional. Tried it again this year, ordered the Traveling Vampire Show for the Kindle, read the first few chapters and thought the time period as unconvincing as the voice of the teenaged narrator.
Ah, you can´t like them all, can you?
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Post by erebus on Feb 13, 2013 20:55:17 GMT
The final Major Hardback published here by Laymon was sadly one of his poorest efforts. Of course its better than most, but after the joys of ISLAND, ENDLESS NIGHT, IN THE DARK, DREADFUL TALES and TRAVELLING VAMPIRE SHOW etc, his work sadly went out in a wimper after his very tragic death.
FRIDAY NIGHT AT THE BEAST HOUSE, published a few years later here was merely a flimsy novella that cannot carry a torch to the Beast House trilogy.
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Post by jamesdoig on Feb 14, 2013 3:11:33 GMT
FRIDAY NIGHT AT THE BEAST HOUSE, published a few years later here was merely a flimsy novella that cannot carry a torch to the Beast House trilogy. A lot of copies of this in hard cover are still found here in remainder shops for a couple of bucks. |
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Post by timothymayer on Feb 25, 2013 4:39:04 GMT
Richard Laymon gets a big reaction from horror fans. Never read any of his books, may get around to one of these days. I've always found it odd the same people who accuse Laymon of "going to far" don't have the same problem with Clive Barker.
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Post by ohthehorror on Jan 23, 2021 20:04:34 GMT
First published as an Ebook by Headline Publishing Group in 2012
 cover photo iofoto/shutterstock
It's been far too long since I've read any Richard Laymon and this one's been sitting on my kindle for years. A posthumous publication, I was in two minds whether or not to even bother and maybe just choose another, particularly since browsing Amazon I see they're practically giving Mr Laymon's novels away at this point. The complete Beast House Chronicles containing all four novels for example is priced at £2.63! I mean, it's astonishing really. Anyway, I browsed a few reviews and it seemed to be quite well liked by some, so here it is.
Rodney has lusted after Pamela since highschool and so does what any self-respecting perv does and kidnaps her, but not before he kills her husband. Heading off into the desert with her he makes for his house, no doubt to indulge himself with his new ladyfriend. The glory bus, which even now is yellow in my mind's eye is actually a dull grey colour and drives around the desert picking up people that need 'saving'. Pamela wakes up on the bus after escaping Rodney's clutches and finds herself among a host of other passengers, just not real ones. Rodney no doubt regretted giving into his desire to watch Pamela drop her knickers and take a pee, but can you really blame an innocent perv for wanting to perv?
In a parallel storyline, an affable nice guy called Norman stops at a gas station only to find upon returning to his car that bad-boy Duke and nympho, Boots are sitting waiting for him, and so off they go on the road trip from all hell. Norman, at first just goes along with it all due to not really knowing what else to do, but as the story continues and he despatches cop after cop and random person after random person, usually with at least a little help from Duke and Boots we begin to see Norman changing, and he ends up fitting in quite nicely with two of them. It was quite a nice little transformation I thought and really helped flesh out Norman's character.
The two storylines meet in a little almost-town called Pits where the entire population of 6 people enjoy snacking on people that don't quite make the grade. We find out subsequently that there's a nice little 'pit' with a mound of decomposing bits and pieces of corpses that were presumably rejected by the town's chef, who ends up dead himself too incidentally.
In amongst all these goings on is the usual fun and frolics with jiggling breasts and pale globular buttocks and the like, and not to forget the cafes uniform which includes the ever acceptable Red Gym Shorts, for which as always, I thank Mr Laymon profusely. Thank you sir.
Things come to a head when Duke and Boots decide they're going to take over the town, with Norman's help of course. It all ends badly though when Norman, now enamoured with Pamela seems confused as to which side he's on and just ends up helping to kill Duke after all. Corpses farting out of their headless necks is a thing here by the way. And methane explosions are a thing too. All very messy.
Boots gets a rum deal in this I think, and I get the impression Mr Laymon was having a lot of fun insulting poor ol' Boots as much as he possibly could. She's compared to a pig so many times by Norman during the course of things that I began to wonder if Mr Laymon didn't know someone he's modelled Boots after and was just poking her at every given opportunity because he could. Anyway, whatever the story with the Boots insults, you can rest assured that Boots is most definitely a one of a kind character and one that strikes me as being more of a force of nature than anything else. She ends up part of the final celebratory meal of course.
This was a wonderful ride, and a very pervy, sexy one too. I like it a lot.
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Post by ohthehorror on Jan 23, 2021 20:07:07 GMT
Having trouble inserting the imgur image here. Calling Dem...  |
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Post by dem on Jan 23, 2021 20:36:36 GMT
Having trouble inserting the imgur image here. Calling Dem... (Headline, 2005)  Steve CrispBlurb: One moment Pamela is a contented newlywed with a loving husband. The next, she's the prisoner of a repulsive killer who has lusted after her since high school ...
Norman wouldn't say boo to a goose, so he's never going to throw bad-boy Duke or hitchhiker Boots out of his car. Together the lawless pair take him on a journey that's heading straight for the electric chair.
But then the glory bus drives by, offering escape and a hope of salvation to all, and Pamela and Norman are two of those who ask to climb on board. They don't know their destination will be the furnace heat of the Mojave Desert, where a special welcome awaits them. It can't be worse than what's gone before — can it? |
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Post by ohthehorror on Jan 23, 2021 20:44:14 GMT
That cover does actually have a yellow bus too. Maybe that's where my mind's eye got the idea.
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Post by ohthehorror on Jan 23, 2021 20:51:02 GMT
OK, after a bit of faffing about I've managed to insert it into the post now. Thanks for that anyway dem. You're cover image does of course put the hopeless ebook covers to shame.
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