Darkness, Tell Us

Another great Laymon

Corine Dalton, a college English professor, invites some students over to celebrate the end of the semester. They find an old Ouija board, one that gave Corine and her dead police officer husband some bad messages before his untimely passing. Nevertheless, they use the board and contact Butler, a spirit who offers to show the kids where to find a treasure and they take off after it. Corine feels responsible so she takes off after the kids. Lots of sex, blood and gore in this typical Laymonesque fun ride and as always it's Richard Laymon's skill with words and characterization that keep us intrigued, keep us turning the pages. I loved it. I wish he was still with us, so he could write more just like it. Five Stars. Reviewed by Stephanie Sane

Wowee wowzers wow. If you love juicy books that keep you up all night reading, then Laymon is the way to go! Lana, Angela, Doris, Howard, Keith and Glen set out on an expedition 500 miles away from their homes, looking for a treasure promised to them by Butler, a spirit they contact on their end of school year summer party, through an Ouija board. I love how Laymon can have 6 characters, who are all different from each other, who's names you actually remember and who you begin to care for. I have read way too many books with one dimensional characters who's name escaped me after 5 minutes. This book kept me glued to its pages till 2 am every night, for four nights. The kids set out on their trip to Calamity peak, soon to be followed by their teacher, the owner of the board and her lover. Now if you have ever had experience with Laymon and his "lost in the woods" type books, this is a gem! Nothings scarier than dark quiet thousands of forest miles, with random scary characters only he can create. They are soon confronted with the local madman, but they do not stop on their pursuit of the treasure. So far all the clues they got from Butler were true so they do not stop. Other than the madman and the vast space they travel through, the characters are involved in their own romantic situations, and Laymon does his usual job with the teenager raging hormones. Maybe bit too much sex stuff for my taste, but didn't spoil the book for me at all. I absolutely loved the gory ending, It was extremely intense, just when you felt all was good and safe, the cold nasty dread creped up and took it all away!! I cant stop thinking about it, I love how good books end up with a great ending. No disappointment there! Overall a great read, the 400 pages breeze buy in this captivating and hellowa juicy book!

This was my first Laymon book. the comment's i had read about Laymon being "King without a conscience" was what attracted me, i suppose. And i'm glad it did, too. The plot is pretty simple. A group of college students use the Ouija board at their professor's house. They contact a ghost named "Butler" and are promised a fortune if they go up to the mountains. As an aspiring writer, i try to learn from every novel i read, and i'm constantly looking for flaws to try and avoid in my own writing. This book isnt spectacularly written. The characters are pretty well developed, but not brilliant. The voerall plot was a brave because there's very little appealing about it, really. It really reminded me of the typical horror film in which their sex, teens and a strange murderer. and it's pretty much a game of treasure hunt and survival mixed in. But... It was good. Having said all that, i read it, i couldn't put it down, in fact, and i thoroughly enjoyed it. it just goes to show that even the simplest, farfetched plot can be worth trying.

With each new Laymon book (many of which are technically reprints) it becomes increasingly evident that his untimely demise will continue to impact the Horror community for years to come. His name is getting closer to legend and rightfully so. One need look no further than Darkness, Tell Us. A fascinatingly juvenille tale, filled with chewy pulpy gore, that's way over the top. This is quite possibly the weirdest cautionary tale involving a ouija board ever; but you keep reading because you gotta see where he's going with this. Usually with Laymon it isn't anywhere near where you thought. We get ghosts, a muscle bound psycho with a limited vocabulary, a survivor of childhood atrocity, and lots of violence. There's sex, blood, and an omnipresent feeling of unease. Laymon puts his characters and his readers through the wringer, writing like an efficient, yet cruel, drowner. He lets the audience gasp for breath, even letting them be lulled by seemingly calm waters before forcing them back under into the dark and depravity of his sickly sweet mind. No amount of squirming and thrashing can save you, your lungs will fill. So what makes Darkness, Tell Us so great? It's yeah right fiction that's a frickin' blast to read, not for the wusses or the prudes, but for us sickos who appreciate nasty stuff happening to make believe people. This is the type of horror that kiddies definitely ought to hide from the folks. Truly representative of Laymon's mad genius. He was a master confectioner with a flair for the fantastic who will be sorely missed.

I can't say enough about this book. I've read it twice now, and it held up even through the second read. The characters are engaging, the pacing never leaves you bored, and the story idea is awesome. The wilderness is a scary place to begin with, but after reading this book, I won't be camping for a while. Okay, so maybe that's an exaggeration, but still, this book is a great example of what Laymon does best - he hooks you with characters you can actually care about, and then he does horrible horrible things to them that only work to make you care about them even more. I'm a great big Richard Laymon fan, and this is one of my favorites. Please read this book, you won't regret it.