Resurrection Dreams [Mass Market Paperback]

Richard Laymon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2005

Vicki was the only one to stand up for Melvin, but even she had to admit he'd gone to far when he dug up a body and then tried to bring it back to life with the aid of a car battery. Years later, and now released from a mental institution, Melvin is back and after Vicki - or rather her body.

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

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Richard Laymon was born in Chicago in 1947 and grew up in California. Four of his books have been shortlisted for the Bram Stoker Award, which he won in 2001 with THE TRAVELLING VAMPIRE SHOW. Among his many acclaimed works of horror and suspense are THE STAKE, SAVAGE, AFTER MIDNIGHT and the three novels in the Beast House Chronicles: THE CELLAR, THE BEAST HOUSE and THE MIDNIGHT TOUR. Sadly, Richard Laymon died in February 2001. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 370 pages
• Publisher: Leisure Books (March 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0843951850
• ISBN-13: 978-0843951851
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #554,720 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A rivetting thriller much better than recent releases, March 18, 2005

By 

DanD - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Resurrection Dreams (Mass Market Paperback)

Let's face it: the last few Laymon novels have lacked something. Could be because a lot of them weren't published while the author was alive...there could've been a REASON he decided not to publish them. But throughout, they have borne Laymon's patented, edge-of-your-seat suspense. "Resurrection Dreams" has that suspense, and a lot more, making it one of the best Laymon novels to be published recently.

Melvin Dobbs was the outcast at his high school. Always the butt of the jokes, always picked on by pretty much everybody. Vicki never picked on him (not that she liked him more than everybody else) and in fact once stood up for him. Shouldn't have done that. Because, all these years later, Melvin is still infatuated with her. And she's returned home, to take up a job at the local doctor's office. And Melvin is still around, and still up to his old tricks...

At a high school science fair, Melvin tried to bring a girl back from the dead. It didn't work. In fact, it got him put in an institution. Well, Melvin DID learn from his mistakes--learned how to ACTUALLY bring people back from the dead. He's murdered several people in the process, and with his heart set on winning over Vicki, there ain't much this guy won't do. Aren't too many people he won't kill, or too many natural laws he won't try to break...

"Resurrection Dreams" has some gut-churning moments, as most of Laymon's books do. However, it doesn't have the overt sexual overtones that many of his others (especially the recent publications) do--which means it has more room for plot and character. While not his best, "Resurrection Dreams" shows that Richard Laymon was one of the best contemporary horror authors around. This one is for true horror fans--those who like their novels crisp, bloody, and unpredictable.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Exactly what you would expect, March 18, 2006

By 

Adam Craig (Columbus, OH) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Resurrection Dreams (Mass Market Paperback)

Let's face it, Richard Laymon was never really the same writer after he died... Resurrection Dreams is one of the multiple books that was published after Laymon's untimely death from a heart attack in 2001. Most of those books, it seems, weren't published when he was alive for a reason: they really weren't that good. The Lake is really the prime example of a Laymon novel that would have been better if it just remained on the unpublished shelf.

Resurrection Dreams, while it is definitely not one of his best, is still an entertaining, weird novel that kept my attention from the very beginning. The novel starts out with the main character, Vicki, participating in her high school science fair. The school freak, Melvin, who is mistreated by pretty much everyone, has decided to use the science fair to make a statement to the rest of the school. Melvin takes the body of a recently deceased student, and tries to re-animate her with a car battery. After that, we advance an undetermined amount of time, with Vicki returning to her hometown after graduating from medical school. She immediately encounters Melvin, who has spent most of the past years in a mental institution, but now he is out and "better." Since Vicki was the only one who was ever really nice to Melvin, he has a deep crush on her that really cannot be satisfied until he has her for himself. That is just the basic setup of the novel, I left out the details of what happens after that because I think that the novel is a lot better if the reader has no idea what is going to happen next. And, while ridiculously unbelievable, the novel kept on surprising me throughout.

In keeping with his normal theme, Laymon injected heavy amounts of violence and sex into this novel. Actually, the violence in this book seems to be some of the most graphic I can remember in a Laymon novel, which is really saying something. The characters in this novel are also well-done. Vicki is a good heroine, and Melvin is a great villain, who you grow to despise more and more throughout the book. This one is definitely recommended for Laymon fans.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A return to greatness for Laymon., March 7, 2005

By 

echoes999 (Bellingham, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Resurrection Dreams (Mass Market Paperback)

So this isn't quite a new release, it's actually a re-release of an older Laymon book that Leisure is putting out. But thank god for that. The last Laymon book that Leisure released was a book that Laymon hadn't finished by the time he died, but Leisure released any ways. That book was The Lake, and it wasn't very good.

The story begins with two friends, Vicki and Ace attending high school with the nerdy reject Melvin. Melvin's kind of out there and everybody picks on him, and Vicki's the only one who's nice to him. Well, Melvin has a surpise for his senior class at the annual high school science fair. He's dug up a fellow student that died the week before in an auto accident and snuck her in to be his experiment. By attaching battery cables Melvin attempts to bring his fellow student back too life in front of the entire senior class. Lets just say it doesn't go to well and Melvin gets sent away for a long time to the local mental hospital.

Vicki has left and graduated from medical school, and now she's back working for the local doctor Charlie. And Melvin's back too, having been released from the mental hospital, supposedly cured. But Melvin hasn't forgotten how Vicki was nice to him back in high school, nor has he stopped his resurrection dreams. Melvins killing people now and trying to bring them back to life so they can be his zombies, no matter how many times it takes.

Along the way we meet some strange and well written characters. There's Dexter Pollock, the retired police chief who owns the apartment building Vicki first lives at. He's not a nice guy and is actually quite a perv. There's also Jack, the handsome lawyer that Vicki falls quickly in love with. Ace, Vicki's best friend who is also a great comic foil in the book. Then there's Patricia Gordon, Melvin's first succesful ressurection, a nurse who is now Melvins slave, and who also does a lot of his dirty work.

I was really excited when I heard Leisure was re-releasing this older story by Laymon. I'd like to read all of his books since he's one of my favorite authors, but I don't have the money to order a bunch of them from Europe where you can get all of his books. The plot of the story is great, especially since it reminded me a lot of the movie Re-animator. This book has some of the same vibe as that movie. I'm also a really big fan of zombies, and since this book has quite a few, it makes it all the better. The characters are well written, not cardboard cutouts like lots of other books. Each character has there own personality quirks and all are fascinating to follow in this story. Plus, some of Laymons more recent books aren't to gory, but this one is very gruesome. This story isn't for the faint of heart. The only problem I really had with this story is its ending. I won't ruin it for anybody who hasn't read the book, but it seemed sloppily tied up, with not much thought put into it.