Customer Reviews

Madman Stan and Other Stories

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

...Because even in the short story realm of horror writing he can make you smile, wince, say 'ewww' out loud, and even surprise you when you're not looking.

The introduction by Stan Wiater states, Madman Stan was originally just madman - he had no name to finish his personality and after some prodding Laymon caved and gave him the name Stan... hmmm. While a very well done story, there is no real clear reason why this one is the title [and other stories] other than it 'may' be the oldest [1989] and was previously published in Night Visions 7. Regardless - the name is catchy and easily sucks you into 'other stories'...

As far as a collection goes, this one had it's ups and down. But the ups far outweighed the downs, which were nothing more than my personal preference for a story or the method of telling it. The stories were all very original with the exception of two that I felt were almost different takes on the same initial late night idea. Mind you they were both good, but were similar.

Atmosphere, as with most collections, varies from story to story - as does the pace and style of writing. The characters are classic short story characters. Well rounded and written just enough to make you really want more [hint - Mr. Laymon - full length novels out of The Hunt and Kitty Litter, with more Lazzy of course, would be much appreciated!!]

A story by story breakdown? Nah, that would ruin it for you... but how about some tidbits?
The Hunt - smart victim that does all the right things, very refreshing!
Eats - HA! If you're going to have dumb detectives, at least do it with flair and fun like Laymon does - great ending!
The Fur Coat - sometimes the line between beliefs and insanity is blurred with red spray paint =)
A Good, Secret Place - never saw that coming... i like being surprised!
Saving Grace - nice! some endings really just beg for more chapters...
Madman Stan - title story, glad i didn't have this babysitter... or ever babysit those kids!
Kitty Litter - i LOVE how many ideas are crammed into this one story. The kitty, the wicked threat, the whole thing... more!!
Slit - 'to kill or not to kill', that is not the question. The question is whether to kill or find another sick puppy to play with... From 'ewwww' to 'eh?' this one was full of insanity!

The other stories included are: The Worshipper, The Maiden, Bedtime Stories, Desert Pickup, A Good Cigar is a Smoke, Invitation to Murder, The Champion, The Good Deed, Paying Joe Back, Blarney, Pickup on Highway One, Spooked, and an Afterword by Don D'Auria

Should you check it out? Hell yeah! If you've never read Laymon this is a wonderful sampling of his various styles, if you have read him you'll enjoy these tidbits from his personal sanitarium. All around, I'll have to give this one a 5

This is vintage Laymon. 20 short stories and not a dog in the bunch. All the Laymon trademarks are here: adventures in the woods, dumb teenagers, crazy killers and of course Madman Stan.
Another quality book from Cemetery Dance.

If you're a Richard Laymon fan then you probably know what to expect when reading his work; violence, psycho killers, sex, and unexpected heroes. The only problem is that for the most part I think that his plots are better told in the form of novels, because then you at least get to know the characters better. Don't get me wrong his short stories are still pretty good the title one Madman Stan is good The Maiden, Bedtime Stories, The Champion, are all good horror stories. I really liked Invitation to Murder, it has a twist ending. Then some bizarre ones, like Kitty Litter and Slit. Overall I'd say give it a try, Laymon is a great writer and reading anything of his is worth it. But read his novels too, they're where he really shines.

I lucked out and found a used library edition of this book for sale on Amazon for a reasonable price. This book is hard to find for less than $100. Being a Richard Laymon fan I was aware that this collected quite a few of his short stories that were published in various magazines throughout his writing career. This book is typical Laymon with his ironical endings, crazed madmen, perverted deviants, and great plausible stories. This book contains my all-time favorite Laymon story KITTY LITTER, as well as many others that are fabulous. Also check out DREADFUL TALES though they have some of the same stories in common Dreadful Tales has many more that you should definitely not miss.