Product Description

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...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #152214 in Books
• Published on: 2001-10-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 480 pages

Amazon.co.uk 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, who he fell in love with the previous year. But when Ed returns to campus, Holly doesn't. He receives a letter which 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...

About the Author
Richard Laymon took an MA in English Literature from Loyola University, Los Angeles. He worked as a schoolteacher, a librarian and a mystery magazine editor before concentrating on writing full-time. He died in February 2001.

Customer Reviews

The last, but by no means least
Richard Laymon fans, who have read his books in order, will appreciate that the latter stories have veered away from the blood and gore so prevalent in the Beast House books. Night in the Lonesome October is no exception to this rule. Following more closely to the likes of The Travelling Vampire Show - Laymon's latest novel, as the title suggests, concentrates on the peculiar folks who can be found wandering the dark & quiet streets of Wilmington on a lonely October night. Based around the mostly unsympathetic Ed Logan, a novice to "night-walking", - the reader is quickly introduced to a variety of characters both friends and fiends. Establishing quite who falls into which category, however, is pure Laymonesque such that you're never really quite sure what's next around the corner. What is missing in horror has been made up for by suspense.

Don't get me wrong - there are still the flesh-eating trolls & the naked girls, but the graphic descriptions & content have been toned down compared to that in his earlier works. This book is not for those who depend on the dripping bodies for their thrills... however, those with their own imaginations will find it a true delight. Having almost literally "grown up" together with the Richard Laymon stories - I find this yet another example of how much this great talent will be sorely missed.

Cathryn Hunt

A Fantastic Read!
This book should be marked "Warning once started you will not be able to put down!" Each chapter ends in such a cliffhanger I just had to carry on reading. This was my first Richard Laymon book and I have to say definitely the best to date. So if you're a fan of gut wrenching horror and suspense you have to get this book! Now!

Night in with Laymon's Lonesome October
This is an absolutely astounding book. This displays a natural someones talent at his best. The way Laymon writes is ingenious:
He writes the events through the bulk of a chapter, then lays back as he draws the chapter to a close . . . then BAM! something new starts happening . . . but he ends the chapter, so he makes you read the next chapter, then the one aftre that. I must be over exagerating this and im sure other writers use this process but more disscreetly, becasuse it such a simple way the get the readers hooked.

The actual story, as far as i can tell, is all over the place, but that, in this case, is a good thing because you can never guess what is going to happen, no matter how har you try. It will shock you, enlighten you (arouse you as well!).