Before picking up this book at Borders, quite uncertain with my decision, I had never heard of Richard Laymon. Honestly, what sold me on the purchase was the fact that it had to do with a group of characters marooned on an island- a scenario that never grows old for me- and because Stephen King was quoted on the jacket as saying, "If you've missed Laymon, you've missed a real treat." As King has never steered me wrong on the referral of other horror novelists, I picked it up and boy am I glad I did.
I am officially a Richard Laymon fan until the day I die... and then further.
"Island" is around the 300 page mark- an average sized book for mass-market paperbacks- and I read it in one sitting. I knew I had obligations the next day which would require a full night's rest, but I traded my comfort to find out what would happen next.
Laymon has an unbelievable ability to keep the pages turning. As a matter of fact, he had redefined the page-turner for me. When I think of something utterly captivating, something veritably impossible to put down until I have reached the orgasmic completion, I think solely of Richard Laymon. The man is the patron saint of prose.
That being said, I must mention that Laymon's works were very involved in depravity and sexual deviancy. If you have a weak stomach for rape or overt sexuality, by all means- stay away. But if you think you can tolerate it in the name of an unforgettably disturbing story- which I think most of us can- then you really have missed a treat with Laymon.
"Island" is about an unfortunately-named teen, Rupert, who goes on spring break with his girlfriend, Connie, and her family. While they stop on a deserted island for lunch, their boat mysteriously explodes, stranding them utterly with little-to-no hopes for rescue. But they aren't alone on the island- someone or something is picking them off, one by one. "Island" is continuing in the violence and debauchery one comes to expect with Laymon, though there is a lesser degree of violent sex than some of his other works. The sexuality within is mostly in part to Rupert's descriptions and internal monologues of Connie and her beautiful sister and mother, all of which are clad in only the bathing suits they had brought to the island before becoming shipwrecked.
This story is not a whodunit, which normally tend to annoy me, but rather a straight-forward suspense... even when we find out who is killing them off, about a quarter of the way through. You see, the conflict isn't discovering a culprit, but trying to find a means to hide or overcome it. It's truly a remarkable tale, right down to an ending which left me simultaneously triumphant and aghast. It was an exploration of human nature and opportunism at its best and worst.
You might note that I have yet to say anything bad about Richard Laymon's "Island." The reason for this is simple... This is my first review that ends in a 10 out of 10 rating. "Island" had a narrative which brought me right to the island with them, experiencing every little nuance of their misadventure from the very first page... and long after the last had expired. I absolutely love this book and will recommend it to everyone I think might be able to stomach the aforementioned overt sexuality without growing too bashful.
The P.S. Zone: If there's anything that I don't like about Laymon, it is certainly the amount of rape or thoughts of rape, which I'm an adamant opposer of in all senses. However, we read horror fiction to become disturbed... and now and then, when ghoulies and ghosties and long-legged beasties are too fanciful for a bleak tale, there is nothing more unsettling than a horror novel without supernatural events. These things could- and have- actually happen to people. And the ultimate revulsion of a rape is so much more pungent to me than the usual unoriginal serial killer, no matter how many angles and plot twists it takes.
Stay Scared.
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