The Orchid Eater [Hardcover]

Marc Laidlaw (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1994

The author of Kalifornia creates a palpable sense of terror in a chilling tale of obsession and death, as a Southern California teenager and a serial killer become involved in a terrifying duel.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With unusual insights into the cruel extremism and vulnerability of adolescence, this suspenseful thriller of psychosis and serial killing follows the parallel stories of a young murderer and the boy he might have been in the quiet Southern California town of Bohemia Bay. After several years of street life and wandering, Lupe Diaz arrives in Bohemia to settle a score with his older brother Sal. Lupe blames Sal for his brutal castration (cauterized by blowtorch) at the hands of a gang. As might be expected, Lupe's psychological scars are far worse than his physical ones and he finds comfort in collecting a ghostly gang of victims. The drug-peddling Sal has a gang of his own, a group of gay runaways he shelters in his Bohemia Bay house. Elsewhere in town, Mike James, a bright, artistic high school student, finds an outlet for his thirst for action in a group of semi-delinquents from the local alternative school, led by an ex-con, ex-biker turned Bible-thumping Peter Pan. When some gay-bashing pranks bring Mike into contact with Sal and the dangerous Lupe, the three gangs collide with murderous results. Laidlaw ( Kalifornia ) peoples Bohemia Bay with colorful multidimensional characters, both teenaged and adult, and tells their grisly story with evocative prose in a penetrating, convincing voice. Clever plotting and a lively pace fortify an imaginative, offbeat and often unnerving tale.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

The Southern California turf of two gangs becomes a nightmare area for teenaged Mike, whose parents purchase a home in an affluent community. One group, misfits collected by the religion-spouting Hawk, pits itself against the young gays headed by the drug-dealing Sal. Rivalry turns to terror and violence upon the arrival of Sal's younger brother, a physically and psychologically damaged murderer who steals the key to Mike's new home. The author of Kalifornia ( LJ 12/92; Word of Mouth, p. 216) misses his target here in an uneasy blend of suspense and the rite-of-passage genre. Despite his novel's surface characterization and lack of tension, Laidlaw is an interesting writer whose style somewhat redeems this cautionary tale. For comprehensive modern fiction collections.
- Eric W. Johnson, Teikyo Post Univ. Lib., Waterbury, Ct.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 282 pages
• Publisher: St Martins Pr; 1st edition (March 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312105150
• ISBN-13: 978-0312105150
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,239,885 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A breath of fresh air, January 11, 2005

By 

D. Lynch "repetitious" (MN United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Orchid Eater (Hardcover)

I'm an avid reader, but lately I had lost interest in many books. Everything I was reading began to run together, and no book left an impression on me. Then one afternoon, I went into my classic game collection and pulled out Half-Life, booted it up, and took a walk down memory lane. BUT, upon playing this classic game again, I discovered a small hidden room I had missed the first time through, and inside were a few books on a shelf, one of which was titled "The Orchid Eater". Out of sheer curiousity, I checked it out on Amazon, and sure enough, it was a real book. THEN, I found out that the writer of Half-Life's storyline was also the writer of this book, and I decided that I had to get "The Orchid Eater".

This book was everything I needed - something completely different to break myself away from the monotony of current writers. I just wish I'd found it a little earlier, since it was written a few years back...

Anyway, the book is very exciting, one of those stories that is truly hard to put down. Laidlaw has a fantastic way of adding great detail, but never dwells on those details long enough to get tiring. Instead, he continues very strongly with the storyline and the characters at hand. His writing style is very modern and quite refreshing, and this book is a great example of that. There's a new twist every chapter, and in a story revolving around the activities of two seperate gangs, twists prove to be very exciting. At the beginning of the story, the tales of the two main characters couldn't seem more different, but they soon begin to grow together, until the two stories converge into a brilliant sequence.

I'd rather not give an entire description of the story, becuase it would take forever and it would ruin it for other readers, but I will end with: Buy this book if you like modern writing full of exciting twists... a LOT of twists. Highly recommended.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well worth the buy, January 11, 2004

By 

Tyler (Centerville, OH USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Orchid Eater (Hardcover)

I have been wondering what the Orchid Eater was ever since I discovered the titles hidden in the game of half-life. I looked it up on here for about a month or so and saw that no one had read it. That gave me the idea to tell everyone how good it is. It is awesome, and brilliant. However, if you do not prefer to read crude language, then for heaven sakes DON'T READ IT! But, if you want a really good read, written by a guy that has also written the stories for several famous PC games (like Half-Life), then read it, trust me, you will like it.

5.0 out of 5 stars Really Good + Fun Book, January 6, 2008

By 

Russ K. - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Orchid Eater (Hardcover)

I am not a reader type. I am the kind of person who only reads when needed to for school - and even then it's first chapter, last chapter and any online reviews/summaries.

I decided to read this book since it was written by the author to the storyline of my favorite game. Much to my surprise I actually enjoyed reading it. If you really want to, you can put yourself in with the main character and his friends. It is written that well that you can believe you're actually there, witnessing the events. Laidlaw is REALLY good at writing the suspense and conveying the necessary emotions. If something shocking happens, you feel shocked - you don't just feel like ... oh, that was interesting.

I may even go and read it again next year, or maybe sooner. Definitely worth a try.