Customer Reviews

Triage

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Triage gathers three of the leading lights of horror fiction, Jack Ketchum, Edward Lee, and the late Richard Laymon, under one cover for a hellacious trio of novellas all spun off of the same premise: A man walks into a place of business with a gun, and starts shooting....

Richard Laymon leads off with the title story, "Triage". He takes the most straightforward approach to the subject matter, with a grim tale of Sharon, a woman trapped in an office building with the madman who just killed all of her co-workers. Laymon hammers the reader with all manner of grotesque, twisted doings, so faint-hearted readers might want to give this a pass. The more daring reader will find Triage to be a fast-paced walk on the dark side; Laymon makes his heroine too real for this to be chalked up as mere exploitation. I actually had a few moments where I was afraid to find out what was going to happen to poor Sharon next....Now how many books have YOU read lately that got a reaction that visceral out of you..? Laymon was one hell of a writer, and I'm sorry I didn't discover him until after his untimely death. He left a great legacy behind, though....

Edward Lee's story also stars a heroine named Sharon, but his take on the subject couldn't be more different. "In The Year Of Our Lord: 2202" takes place in outer space, aboard a ship bound for a top-secret destination. Lee quickly gets away from the book's theme, and spins his story off in a totally different direction, effortlessly combining theology, sci-fi, and horror into a gripping, fast-paced tale. I'm generally not much of a Sci-Fi fan, so for Lee's story to grab me the way it did is really a neat trick. I was absolutely floored by the ending. This is a must-read.

Last, but not least, is "Sheep Meadow Story", by Jack Ketchum. It's the shortest story, and although I liked it a lot, I thought it was the weakest one due to it's far-fetched ending. It's a more down-to-Earth story than it's companion pieces, but it manages to be funny, creepy, and touching all at once. Ketchum is clearly a VERY talented storyteller.

The book is part of a limited-edition of 1500, signed by Ketchum & Lee, and Editor Matt Johnson. (Richard Laymon passed away before publication.) As you would expect from the always dependable publisher, Cemetery Dance, the book is just gorgeous. The only problem is this: Stories of this caliber deserve to be seen by more people than this limited-edition could possibly reach. In a perfect world, these three Authors would be topping the best-seller list....

A woman sits alone at her desk, waiting for her shift to end, when her telephone rings. She hears a man whisper the words: "I'm coming to get you!" Seconds later, a man enters her work palce, holding on to a gun.

This is how the three stories of Triage begin. But what follows this differs greatly from one story to the next. The three masters of independent horror - Lee, Ketchum and the late Richard Laymon - each tell their own take based on this scenario.

Laymon's tale is dark and disturbing; the story becomes a race for survival as the killer chases after the heroine as she tries to find a place to hide in the building where she works. Lee's take, although fun and different, is a bit over the top and a little too long. He decided to bring his story to the year 2220 and sets in a a spaceship that just happens to be on a Godly misison.

The real reason to get this book is for Ketchum's take, which is called 'Sheep Meadow Story'. It takes the reader through a very realistic nightmare, where a down-on-his-luck man tries to make sense out of his disturbed existence. This story alone is well worth the price of the book. Another great story from an amazing, underrated writer.

This book is a great one for any horror fans. It has it all! I was greatly pleased by it and I know this is one book which I'll want to read again and again.

I only just recently found out that this book was released in paperback addition and that night I ran out and got it. I wasnt disappointed at all. Well, maybe just a tad disappointed.

I didnt really enjoy the Edward Lee story. It was too long (the longest story of the three)and it was about themes that I dont care to read about (Christianity and Science Fiction) two themes that Im not really into.

The other two stories by Richard Laymon and Jack Ketchum are superb and exactly what I expected. Laymons story "Triage" was the best only because Im a die hard Laymon fan and love anything he puts out. It has all the classic elements of a Laymon story. Extreme violence, rape, and of course revenge.

Ketchums story although different was good too. It is about a guy who is pretty much down and out in every way than finally gets the recognition he's wanted but in a Very different way than what you think is going to happen.

Overall if you like suspense and horror from 3 of the best out there than pick up this book. It is worth the price.

I bought this book on a whim after seeing it at Barnes & Noble on a recent walk-through. What drew me to the book were two of the three authors on the cover. Richard Laymon was (he died in 2001) a great horror writer and Jack Ketchum is an author I have wanted to check out for a while. I knew nothing of Edward Lee. What enticed me to buy the book was the premise on the back cover: "A stranger walks into a place of businessc and starts shooting." This alone is not so special a premise, but as a beginning for three authors to expand on, this was really intriguing. So, the premise is this: Three authors challenge themselves to start with the same premise and see where it takes them. This I could not resist. Three novellas starting with the same premise and developed by three distinctly different and respected authors. Read the intro to the book to see that this was a project started years ago, and finally put together now after Richard Laymonfs family gave the OK.

So howfd they do? Well, the first story is called "Triage" by Richard Laymon, and truth be told, it is pretty great. It has all the aspects of a great short story or novella. It hits you right away (I mean, the premise is "A stranger walks into a place of businessc and starts shooting"). And keeps on hitting you... again, again, and again, and then once again. This is 90 pages of wonderful rawness. You must read this.

The second novella is called "In the Year of our Lord: 2202" by Edward Lee. This story starts with the exact same premise and continues to unfold into a strange and often bizarre science fiction story laden with a religious theme (not in a bad way) and a definite proclivity for sex. This is the longest of the stories and takes a bit to get into, but the story is pretty good and although I am not a big Sci-Fi fan, I was still engrossed by the ultimate story. And Mr. Lee did inject a good dose of the Horror spice. All in all, it was an entertaining story, albeit my least favorite of the three.

The third story is hardly a novella. At only 40 pages, I would consider it a short story, but what a wallop it packs. As I stated earlier, Jack Ketchum is new to me, and now I'm hooked. This story was so good, I've already started Jack's first published book ("Off Season") as a follow up. His story, entitled "Sheep Meadow Story" pushes all the right buttons and the main charachter is so well developed (in only 40 pages!). This is a definite must read. It has it all and keeps you engaged with every word.

Great trio of stories here. You should really enjoy them.

-=R=-

Due to economic woes, I checked Triage out from the library instead of purchasing a copy. I am glad I did. Aside from "Sheep Meadow Story", by Jack Ketchum, there was little else about this book worth recommending.

The first story by the late Richard Laymon is true splatterpunk, and lets be honest, when readers look for a book or for an author characterized as splatterpunk, they are not looking for Shakespeare; they want a roller-coaster ride of story filled with generous amounts of graphic violence and raw sex. Laymon's story slam-dunks on both, however there is an underlining blandness to the story. We learn so very little about the main character that one wonders why we should even care about her. The gratuitous sex and violence were almost a relief for an otherwise dull storyline.

Edward Lee's novella was a plodding, joyless read and way too long. At times, I found the story ripe for skimming. Just as other reviewers noted, his story blurred the line between horror and science fiction.

Jack Ketchum's short story was the best of all, and the only one that made the book worth reading. "Sheep Meadow Story" came across more as general fiction than horror, but no matter, Ketchum's talent as a writer is abundant. Unlike Laymon and Lee, he maintained a sense of humor throughout his story, which made it a pleasure to read. His characters were believable and well developed. The main character, Stroup, is a down and out writer who can't make the rent much less make sense of his life. Stroup also seems to have a proclivity for alcohol and for dysfunctional relationships. I couldn't help but think that Stroup is semi-autobiographical of Ketchum. One of the best parts of the story was Ketchum's hilarious description of the characters that frequent Stoup's favorite mid-town Manhattan watering hole. Even though Ketchum is one of the pioneers of splatterpunk, and his novels are notorious for their graphic depictions of violence especially towards women and children, I found this story uplifting. I think this is to due to the joy that Ketchum has for writing, and it shines through his work.

I was looking forward to this book very much as I love Richard Laymon. I have also read a few Jack Ketchum bokks and enjoyed them, too.

The premise is very interesting, all three authors - Richard Laymon, Edward Lee, Jack Ketchum - have to write a story about a man who walks into a place of work and begind shooting people.

The first is around 100 pages long and is wriiten by Richard Laymon. I give this 5 stars it's easily the best story in the book and it's worth the price of the book for this alone. Sharon is sitting at work waiting as the clock slowl ticks toward 5 o clock so she can go home, when the telephone rings and a menacing voice tells her "I'm going to get you, Sharon!" Right before a man bursts into the offices and opens fire on her work collegues. The story takes off from here with Sharon (and a few others) in the builing trying to hide from the killer and escape death, extremely exciting and face paced, this is excellent and very highly recomended.

The second story is by Edward Lee and at about 160 pages, takes up over half of the book. Starts off almost exactly the same as Laymons' story for the first chapter (which actually made it reall fun top see it take off in a completely different direction later). However in this story, the killer is immeditaly disposed off. The story takes place 200 years in the future on a spaceship and how the spaceship is targeted by a Stana-worshipping terrorist organisation. Although I really enjoyed this story, there are an unbeliveable ammount of references to God and religion - litterally several times per page at some points! - but to be fair, it is important to the plot of the book and overall it feels more science fiction than horror, but this is certaiblt made up for the last 20 pages or so are some of the most brutal I've read! Overall I'd give it 4 stars.

The 3rd story by Jack Ketchum is completely different to the other 2 and is also very short - more of a short story than a novella at 40 pages, but still enjoyable. It starts off with a shooting scene again - this time with the mentally unstable protagonist as the killer - but this is just a dream and the main story is about how he hates the world in general. Cant really say much more without spoiling it as it's so short. I found it very funny in places which is always a good thing :). Warning: some may find this offensive as it has a lot of racist and homophobic dialogue. 4 stars.

Overall a very enjoyable book I would deffinatly recomend to horror fans or fans of any three of the authors. Also, I you like one of the authors, this is a good introduction to the others, too.

Excellent premise for a book with 3 novellas. Richard Laymon and Jack Ketchum write terrific stories and both should be highly rated. Edward Lee's story is the weakest of the group.
As usual Richard Laymon goes for the straight forward punch, while Jack Ketchum gives us something a little different.
This book is worth the money and it deserves a larger following.

One of the more disturbing things to see in the news is the story of the random shooting. Besides the fact that it could happen to almost anyone, it also serves as a reminder that there are a lot of people who could go off at any moment and start pulling the trigger. It's a horrifying concept, and let's face it, also fascinating: we rarely change the channel when there is a news story about a school or workplace murder spree, even if it has no real effect on our lives. Because it is both horrifying and fascinating, it is also fodder for horror writers, as in the anthology Triage.

Triage is a set of three stories by three mid-tier horror writers: Richard Laymon, Edward Lee and Jack Ketchum. All share a common opening which involves a man who goes into a workplace and starts shooting, but after that, each tale goes off in a different direction.

Richard Laymon's Triage is the first story, a novella that is essentially one long action scene, with law office receptionist Sharon clock-watching on a Friday afternoon. There's only ten minutes left in the day and she wants the day to be over. Soon enough, the clock is the least of her worries as a man enters her office and starts shooting. Sharon is lucky enough to escape the first barrage, but soon finds herself in a mostly empty building with the killer. Their cat-and-mouse game over the next few hours occupies most of the story. As is typical with Laymon (the only author of the three I've read before), the villain is both deviant and devious; even if Triage (the story) is somewhat lightweight, it is also a fast, suspenseful read.

The bulk of the book is Edward Lee's short novel, In The Year of Our Lord: 2202. This science fiction story opens very similarly to Triage - even the character names are the same - but soon goes off in a radically different direction as the killer is disposed of almost immediately. We then learn more of the world which this Sharon occupies: a theocracy created after the Christian Coalition took over the U.S. (Though Lee portrays this world as an unpleasant dystopia, I can imagine there are those religious extremists who will find little wrong with his setting.) Sharon finds out that the killer was a member of an anarchist group called the Red Sect, which is interested in sabotaging the secret mission she is participating in. While a generally fun read, I felt at times, it was a little too science-fictiony, with a few too many gizmos and a lot of exposition to explain how the world of 2202 functions.

The book concludes with Jack Ketchum's Sheep Meadow Story. The opening shooting in this tale is only a dream, one by the very disgruntled Stroup. Stroup is a loser, unable to earn much money or keep a relationship going. Hateful and angry, Stroup watches his life go from bad to worse, usually laying the blame for his problems on others. He owns a gun; will he be driven to make his shooting dream come true? Although easily the shortest of the three stories, Sheep Meadow Story also has the best characterization.

None of these stories are classics, but they are all entertaining, quick reads. Individually, and as a set, they rate four stars. If you're a fan of any of these three authors - or you want to broaden your horizons a little - pick up this book.

Edward Lee, Jack Ketchum, and Richard Laymon and three powerhouses in the world of horror. The first two are more bloody when they bring the pain, but Laymon also knows how to bring the hurt and he knows how to bring it in such a terrible way. That means that the three are nothing if not great at what they do, an this book is something sexy when you hold it to your brain and take it to town.

In this book, the three stories have an intersecting ideology in them and they all have distinct styles. The one thing about the book is that the three people are interesting because they have different ideas that run across the same flood plains, and because they all have something different to add to the ideology being preseted. That's why i like this book - if there is one thing that can be taken away from it, it is that each of these writers has a unique flavor to add to the fold, and that they all are genius in their own right. I personally enjoyed each of the stories - the weakest link was the Laymon tale but even it had strengths written atop of strengths, and I really didn't dislike anything about the book. I simply thought the whole thing was a good read, and that the book should be presented like it is presented - as one big jigsaw puzzle and not as seperate entities.

If you need something to hold you over between complete releases, then this could be the book for you. You will find something in here for almost everyone, and everything that you find here has a planned out beginning and end. It also shows that the people who constructed it have talent - they have enough to make me happy when I read their short stories, and they have it when I read their complete thexts. That is why i bought this and why i was happy with the pick-up, and this is why I am recommending t to everyone as a must in the horror realm.
I took off the one star just because of the third tale being a little weaker than the rest, but that isn't an insult. If anything, you should be happy to see Lee and Ketchum lingering in the same text.

This book proved to me why Laymon is my most favorite horror author, as his story - the 1st one in the book - Ruled!

Ed Lee's version was Awesome as well ~ a Futuristic version. . .

Jack Ketchum's was just Bizarre!

These stories will only take an hour or so, each to read (Lee's may take a bit longer) so if, like me, you read short stories while you are waiting for another novel to arrive, then this book's stories are perfect!

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