Customer Reviews

Come Out Tonight

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

Sherry sends her boyfriend Duane out for some condoms. However, Duane doesn't return, prompting Sherry to go out after him. Who she finds, however, is Toby Bones--a disturbed teenager who has a crush on Sherry...a crush that is about to become something more. Something horrifying.

What ensues is 400+ pages of pure adrenaline, as Sherry puts up with Toby, as she plots her revenge. If nothing else, what "Come Out Tonight" has going for it is a strong female lead. And there is something truly terrifying in the character of Toby Bones...almost as if he's been ripped from the latest news headlines. What holds the novel down are the supporting characters, most of whom are annoyances...you almost wish Toby will jump out of the shadows and hack them up with butcher knives.

Laymon has always drawn a following of readers who expect gore, sex, and a tale as dark as the deepest cave. Well, they get it here. However, for those of you not into that sort of thing (I'm not), Laymon has an attribute that most of fiction's greatest writers aspire to: he makes everything suspenseful. There's not a page of this novel that won't pique your curiousity, making you want to turn the page to see what'll happen...and, usually, it's something unexpected. Laymon never fails to deal with the darkest parts of human nature (in his heroes AND villains), and "Come Out Tonight" is a perfect example of that. Not for the faint of heart or the weak of stomach, but a gripping, thrilling ride for those who dare to give it a shot.

Let's get something out of the way: Richard Laymon's "Come Out Tonight" features two stunningly illogical scenes: One has a woman violently attacked and nearly killed by a maniac and not wanting to call the cops because she doesn't want to tell them her boyfriend was out buying condoms. The other has the same woman jumping out of a moving car, the driver nearly running her over, and then running into a fast-food restaurant bloody and hurt, and not one single patron, who have seen the entire episode, is alarmed or offers help.

But you forgive Laymon these things because "Come Out Tonight" is the novel equivalent of a B-movie slasher flick. Heads are cut off, body parts are eaten, innocent people are taken down, and enough blood to fill a pool is spilled. And it's all great, silly, horror-extreme fun.

The book takes an unexpected twist about halfway through. I actually liked the second part better than the first because it is so straight-facedly weird. It's like a demented John Hughes film.

Laymon isn't a great writer, but his prose is so clean and simple that you'll find yourself unable to stop reading. You'll breeze through a hundred pages without even knowing it.

This novel is relentless. It throws you into the story from the first sentence and rarely lets up. There are things here that are audaciously unrealistic and sometimes breathtakingly implausible, but in a story like this it's hard to complain about such things. Instead of focusing on this, I just sat back and enjoyed the sick, twisted fun. And in "Come Out Tonight," there's plenty of it.

If you are not into reading about gruesome violence and depravity, don't read this book. If you are open to hearing about others committing such atrocities,then pick this one up. Only fans of Laymons world where every guy is looking to "get some" and every woman considers sex enjoyable and is readily available for such, will like this and most of his other books. I know I did. Does this make me sick and twisted? Probably, but it sure puts a smile on my face to read this totally non-PC, pre-Reagan era prose.

The story - while unbelievable - was fairly well written, and I found myself reading it late into the night just to see what happens next. However, like most of the reviewers here, I was completely annoyed by the fact that Sherry did not call the police after she ran into the taco joint, and her behavior in this book was anything but realistic. In fact, several characters in this book were so far-fetched that it was difficult to fathom how Laymon could come up with them. That being said, the story is STILL a page turner, and that is a testament to Laymon's ability to create and maintain a suspenseful story.

Richard Laymon is a legend in the horror genre. His work is brutal, violent and, at times, almost pornographic. His novel Come Out Tonight is no exception. It is the story of Sherry Gates, and her scrape with a demented underage serial killer.

The novel opens with Sherry sending her boyfriend, Duane, to a local convenience store for condoms. When he doesn't return she gets nervous and goes out looking for him. She finds Duane's van, but she doesn't find him. This sparks an all night search, a chance meeting with a helpful older man and an encounter with two charmingly innocent teenage boys. And, somewhere in between, she is kidnapped, beaten, and raped. The plot takes a number of surprising turns. And in the end, it becomes difficult to tell the good guys from the bad.

Come Out Tonight opens with a bang. The prose is quick and sharp. The story is interesting and the characters are fun, even if a little familiar to anyone who has read Richard Laymon's work. It is dialogue rich, and a very quick read. Unfortunately, like many of Laymon's novels, it lacks a certain amount of believability. It is difficult to ignore the glaring fact that all of this pain, fear and downright horror could be escaped by simply picking up the telephone and dialing three numbers: 9-1-1.

While the characters motives are suspect, and not adequately explained, this is still a fun novel. The reader just has to ignore the obvious holes in the plot, and the fact that Laymon's characters never make the right decision. They always run down the wrong corridor, or choose the wrong road, or alley. They are innocent, or ignorant, of their true situations, and they always think they can handle it. They never, when it is available, ask for help. And, of course, their actions always lead them into deeper, darker and more frightening places.

Fortunately it is not as difficult to ignore the weaknesses, as it would seem. Richard Laymon can weave a great story and make you want to ignore the blemishes. He does it with a sturdy understanding of the tale and its impact on the audience. He tightens the suspense like a noose around the reader's neck. He makes you want to believe the tale. It is very much like a campfire story. You know it is not real, and could never be real, but somehow it still enthralls and even scares you just a little.

The action is violent and stuffed with sex--most of the novel is filled with sexual torture, but somehow, as written by Laymon it is less disturbing and nasty than it could be; perhaps because it is seemingly written through the eyes of a thirteen year-old boy. It is more fantasy than reality. And that fantasy is somehow innocent and almost coy.

Come Out Tonight is not for everyone. If you are offended by violence, sex, or just about anything else, avoid this book. If, on the other hand, you like a little heady action and quick-shot violence you just might like this offering. Be careful and don't take it too seriously, or we all may have to question both our sensibilities and our sanity.

Ben Boulden
Gravetapping: a thing for books

I enjoyed this book, although I thought the ending was a bit unlikely. But then if I'm honest there were quite a few bits of the book that I felt were very unlikely - HOWEVER...it still kept me up til way after midnight because the tension was so good.
It'd make a good slasher film!!

I enjoyed this book, although I thought the ending was a bit unlikely. But then if I'm honest there were quite a few bits of the book that I felt were very unlikely - HOWEVER...it still kept me up til way after midnight because the tension was so good.
It'd make a good slasher film!!

Now I'm not really adverse to hearing a person's opinions on this book and that.Matter of fact when there is nothing to do I often sift around through the reviews of various books,music etc. here on Amazon.I'll admit to being a Richard Laymon fan.He delivers fast, quick reads that are peppered with graphic sex and violence.Never to be confused with the "greats whatever that means cause what I like to say is one man's Shakespeare is another man's Laymon.I have fun reading Laymon's novels yet according to several reviewers on this site I should seek heavy extensive therapy.I find that a very petty attack.I will readily admit that Richard Laymon is not everybody's cup of hemoglobin and if you want to bash his books for being baseless and immoral tales then go right ahead.I won't stop you.But when you attack his audience and fans as needing help in the melon I will feel compelled to write and state my case.So this book I haven't read yet but I give five stars cause I can rely on this author to deliver the goods.It doesn't mean I'm going to go out on a killing spree and rape millions.And come to think of it Shakespeare was at the top of the totem pole when it came to grand guignole violence...(hello Tidus Andronicus anyone lol.)So in closing I'll write that violence and sex have been around for ages and they'll always remain a market for them as long as the human populace remains intact.

Richard Laymon is great at writing novels that explore just how thin the veil is between civilization and savagery. He usually does this by putting a character in a situation where the normal restraints of civilization are at least temporarily absent. But a few of his books deal with the survivor and just how far a true survivor is willing to go to survive. This is one such book. The human monster in this book starts out as one although some readers will see a resemblance to the one in QUAKE.

A young substitute teacher named Sherry meets a human monster and gets sucked right into a world of terror. It starts when her boyfriend pops out to a convenience store to buy some condoms late one night while the Santa Ana winds blow. Shortly after Sherry's world gets turned over and then torn apart as the monster gets a hold of her. The monster also threatens her family. Sherry is subjected to a whole slew of horrors and degradations until the monster is done with her and moves on to her younger sister Brenda. Brenda gets a similar treatment along with some of her school mates. Does anyone survive? That is the beauty of a Laymon book. You can never be sure who will survive although you can usually guess a bunch that won't.

What makes this Laymon book different from say AFTER MIDNIGHT, is that we follow two different survivors, Sherry and then her sister. We also meet a few others along the way. But the read, with all of it's twist, turns and surprises, is all pure Laymon and no Laymon fan will be disappointed by this one. Definitely check it out.

Although this is one of Laymon's weaker efforts, it still has plenty of his trademark goodies -- violence, suspense, gore, and sex. The big problem with this one is the believability factor. Characters react in ways that seem ridiculous, but it's a fun read, nonetheless. For new readers of Richard Laymon, I'd first try "In The Dark", "Island", or "The Travelling Vampire Show".