Night in the Lonesome October [Paperback]

Richard Laymon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 4, 2001

Ed Logan is 20 years old and a sophomore at Willmington University. He's also been dumped by his girlfriend. Lonesome and broken-hearted, he goes for a late-night walk. He doesn't know where he's headed. He doesn't know what he's going to do when he gets there. And he has absolutely no idea of the strange people he is about to meet. Like Casey, the athletic blonde who roams the streets as if she's on a mission. And then there's Randy, who's definitely on a mission - to make Ed's life hell. And then there's the others. Not exactly people. And very definitely not friendly. If Ed's not careful, he's not going to make it home at all...

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Night in the Lonesome October is the first book published since the death of author Richard Laymon, and it is ironic that this is among his richest and most atmospheric pieces.

Laymon's hero Ed Logan is brimming with anticipation for his second year at Willmington University. He's been missing Holly, whom he fell in love with the previous year. But when Ed returns to campus, Holly doesn't. He receives a letter that destroys his hopes; she has fallen in love with another man and won't be coming back. Virtually destroyed by the news, Ed struggles to study and even to sleep. Leaving his apartment one night for a walk, he finds that he has moved into what might almost be a different world. There are others out on the streets; are they human, these figures who hide in the shadows? Certainly, the prey they seek is marked for a grisly end. Needless to say, Ed becomes involved with these sinister figures, particularly a mystery girl who will change his life.

The fashion in which Laymon insinuates these otherworldly elements into the otherwise normal world of his hero is brilliantly done, with Ed's distraught emotional state seeming to act as a catalyst. In all the best horror tales, the hero is not just menaced by nameless evil, but becomes inextricably involved with it. That is certainly the case here, and the attention paid to his central character is just as rewarding as the horror set pieces:

I swept the beam a small distance to the left. Near the far end of its reach, it dimly illuminated a low, squatting circle of men. Hairy, filthy, bloody. All of them looking at us. Chewing. Blood spilling from their mouths....

--Barry Forshaw, Amazon.co.uk --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

On February 14, Laymon died of a massive heart attack, at age 54. His death carried a particular poignancy because of late, after several years during which he couldn't find an American publisher even as his books climbed bestseller lists in England and Australia, he was enjoying a comeback here, with his current and backlist work being issued by Cemetery Dance and Leisure Books (e.g., his novel The Last Vampire, published by CD in 2000). Some of Laymon's problems with American publishers arose from the downturn in the horror market in the '90s; more came from what many considered excess sexual violence in his books.The poignancy of his death shades into irony because his first posthumous publication (there are more to come) not only features less of the sexual violence that in fact did mar some of his books but also highlights his tremendous strengths as a writer. This is at once one of the eeriest, and one of most immediate, horror novels of recent decades. It details what befalls a lovesick young man as he wanders on successive nights through his college town. Ed Logan, 20, just ditched by his long-term girlfriend, takes a seven-mile walk late one night from his apartment to Dandi Doughnuts the first steps in an odyssey that finds him mixing with a new girlfriend, cannibals ("trolls") living underneath neighborhood bridges, a gay college student with the hots for Ed, violent or potentially violent sexual predators both male and female and, most memorably, a fellow night-traveler: an 18-year-old homeless girl named Casey who teaches him to embrace the wonders and terrors of the night. The novel unfolds like a series of dreams some nightmarish, some amusing, some wet and is related in the extreme detail of moment-to-moment narration that allows Laymon, at his best as he is here, to plunge readers fully into the alternate reality of another's experiences. Due special praise here are the visceral truths of young adult life that Laymon plumbs in his characters. But above all, this novel, like so many of his others, is just good old nasty fun to read; it's a traipse through unknown territory, with jack-in-the-boxes of all sorts lurking just behind the next shadow or page.With Laymon's death, horror has lost one of its rarest talents. Horror fans know this, but, sadly, few others do. That horror remains literature's shunned child needs no further demonstration than that most major media (e.g., the New York Times) ignored the death of Laymon, who was, in addition to the author of more than 30 novels, some of them bestsellers, the president of the Horror Writers Association of America. RIP.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Headline Feature (October 4, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0747258309
• ISBN-13: 978-0747258308
• Product Dimensions: 4.4 x 1.2 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (64 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,989,193 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Instant Classic, April 13, 2001

By 

Jane Osnovich - See all my reviews

This review is from: Night in the Lonesome October (Hardcover)

Ed Logan is a typical college student until his girlfriend Holly dumps him with a "Dear John" letter. To ease his mind he takes a 7-mile late night stroll to a donut shop. On his journey he encounters the first of many strange and scary characters that populate this novel. He also gets a glimpse of a mystery girl sneaking into a house that triggers his imagination, as well as an obsession. Ed begins to discover that the small college town he lives in becomes a completely different place after the midnight hour. The characters that come out at night are odd, to say the least. Ed becomes addicted to these nocturnal journeys that threaten his school, his budding relationship with Holly's sorority sister Elaine, as well as his life. I`m trying hard not to give away too much of the story since this is one of those novels where every chapter is a new twist.

This novel is a fast read and an excellent read. I was hooked from page one and couldn't put it down. I had to see what other dweller of the night Ed would encounter next. It is filled with all the classic Laymon hooks, brutal violence, a strong sexual undercurrent, and great characters. Oh yeah, and cannibals. It's creepy, it's scary, sometimes it's downright shocking. It also makes you wonder what kind of weirdos are living in your town. The ending was unexpected and very satisfying. This is what horror fiction is supposed to be. This novel easily makes it into my list of favorites. If you are looking for the kind of book that makes you scared to leave the house, this is it.

Does Ed find out who the mystery girl is? Does he get home safely? And what about the bike hag on the cover? You'll just have to read it and find out.

Richard Laymon is a legend and he will be greatly missed by all his fans.

33 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It isn't very good ... but I really enjoyed it, October 9, 2002

By 

Glenn McDorman (Denver) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Night in the Lonesome October (Mass Market Paperback)

There is no getting around it: Night in the Lonesome October is not a good book. The premise, apparently, is to take a common setting (nightime in a small college town) and turn into something strange. Laymon sets this up with some skill, but, ultimately, fails to deliver on it. There is nothing sinister or evil going on in this town, just a lot of unexamined bizarre people who happen to be out at night. The plot is virtually non-existant, and the characters are horribly under-developed. The setting, which ought to be subtle, is repetitive and blunt. There is some sort of sexuality every five pages, all of it unrealistic and gratuitous.

In the end, what we are left with is a book that is not really a novel at all, but a series of fantasies that Laymon has about his college years. It would be great if we could all meet a young, gorgeous, intelligent, and funny woman who has read our favourite book and likes to have sex all the time and in any location. Greater still, would be to have to choose between her and the mysterious, yet sensitive and beautiful, woman. Or, even better, to have them both ...

What could have been a believable series of mishaps is destroyed by using characters that belong in a romance novel than characters that are actually representative of a bunch of college kids.

Yet ... I really enjoyed the first three-quarters of the book, and was only slightly let down by the ending. Certainly, after finishing the book and thinking about it, I realize that is not good, but it is good fun. If you have a lot of time, or are looking for a quick escape, this is a good book for you. You will enjoy the experience, even if you might feel a little guilty for it later. If you are in search of a "horror" book that will thrill and shock you, this isn't it at all.

Finally, there is an interesting aside. There is a Roger Zelazny book of the same name that has a similar feel to it. Both authors have taken the same vague premise of inhabiting a typical setting with strange people, and seeing how things work out. Zelazny's book is significantly better, but it may not fulfill the same entertainment desires as Laymon's. Definitely give it a read, though.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Darn you, Laymon!, June 25, 2004

By 

gothic cowgirl (NorCal) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Night in the Lonesome October (Mass Market Paperback)

Thanks a lot, Dick. The last time I stayed up all night reading a novel from beginning to end I was nine years old and discovering Stephen King by way of "Christine." So last night I was up until four in the morning so I could finish this book, Night in the Lonesome October, and now I have to work a full day on a couple hours' sleep! While I didn't learn any pithy lessons from it, it sure was a page-turner. A good, fast, fun read. Standard but reliable Laymon. Not recommended for those wanting to get a full night's sleep.