Product Description

Mordock's Cave is a natural wonder, and thousands of tourists take the boat trip on the lake deep beneath the earth's surface. After a power failure, a group of tourists become trapped, and, emerging from the depths come the creatures who dwell there - creatures that nature never intended.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #50502 in Books
• Published on: 1993-01-21
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Customer Reviews

Dark, twisted and packed with gore. True splatterpunk!
Richard Laymon's 1988 tale "Midnight's Lair" was his 28th full length novel to be published.

The tale concerns a group of thirty sightseers who take an organised tour around an underground cavern named Mordock's Cave. During their guided tour, the power fails due to a fire breaking out within the hotel that is located directly above the cavern. The cave is submerged into total darkness, with the tourists left stranded underground. Soon the storyline takes a turn for the more macabre, with gore-fuled horror waiting for these prone individuals.

The story starts off in the style of a character driven disaster tale, until before long the storyline takes a swerve towards a much more grotesque and horrifying scenario. As with the vast majority of Laymon's novels, "Midnight's Lair" involves two main storylines that run parallel to each other. As the plot continues, the storylines merge, bringing with them a truly horrifying reality.

The tale has many similarities to Neil Marshall's 2005 horror flick "The Descent". Obviously Laymon's novel predates this film but quite some time. To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if "Midnight's Lair" wasn't the original inspiration for the film.

Written with Laymon's usual fast-paced, action packed, no holds bared style of writing, you'll find the novel difficult to put down at any point, with the next horrifying event just around the next corner.

The plot builds well, with regular references to past events that create a well constructed and cleverly developed story. Laymon uses multiple subplots throughout the tale, often revolving around individual characters that are amongst those trapped within the cave. This was achieved with detailed and beautifully developed characterisation that really draws the reader into the plot.

With the storyline drawing to a conclusion, Laymon throws in some all out splatterpunk that gives Shaun Hutson or even James Herbert a run for their money. The grand finale to "Midnight's Lair" really shows the bottomless depths to Laymon's dark and twisted imagination.

This is 253 pages of pure splatterpunk heaven, delivering classic Laymon horror with a no holds barred approach and a reflection of his truly twisted imagination. Absolutely great stuff!

Laymon Is Fab
I have recently become another loyal reader to laymon. This book is another good one. Quick and easy to get on with but still has the gore and sexual urges from the different characters. Quite short found the ending came like a rocket but still worth the read.
It seems to be a normal tour in the cave until the lights go out. No power, how will they get out? Maybe they could dig through a blocked part of the cave, but in trying to get out what are they letting in?

Bit of a shock to find out what is in the depths!

I have also read the Lake, Endless Night, Fiends and Alarums.
First 2 Brill but all worth a read.

Brilliant, Laymon at his baddest.
I found Midnights Lair exciting, scarey, shocking, all you would expect from a Laymon novel really. The characters are, as usual, believable, shocking and some of them are as always discusting. The plot is brilliant and the book is well writen and enjoyable to the end.