Resurrection Dreams

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 The Lake is really the prime example of a Laymon novel that would have been better if it just remained on the unpublished shelf.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.

This book introduces the reader to a High School pencil necked geek by the name of Melvin (What else?). Melvin The Geek tries to reanimate a dead body at a Science Fair and is promptly dispatched to the Mental Asylum. After a few years Melvin gets released even though he is still one sick guy. He continues his experiments with dead bodies and has Rampant Hormonal Desires for Vicky, the pretty female Doctor in town.This is the usual Laymon fare of Lust Out Of Control, Graphic Violence and Necrophilia. I have no idea why so many people think that Laymon is a great writer. From what I can tell if you have read one of his books you have read them all. Read this book and if you enjoy it then like Melvin perhaps you should consider some Heavy Duty Medication and Therapy.I give this book 5 stars because once again Laymon successfully teases his reader with the promise of an original story but still retains the stock, cardboard characters with only the names changed.

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.

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.

In the town of Ellsworth, senior high school student Melvin, isn't having an easy time of it. He is constantly picked on - how he dresses, the way he acts and just about everything else. The only student who ever showed kindness to him is Vicki. But even Vicki is appalled when at the school science fair, Melvin displays the dug up, decapitated body of a fellow student, killed in a car accident, and tries to bring her back to life using a car battery to the shock and dismay of all those gathered at the fair. Melvin is placed in a mental hospital and Vicki goes on to college and medical school. However, she's never been able to shake the horrific images of the day of the science fair and of Melvin. Vicki returns to her home town, an internal medicine doctor now. She is joining an older, but still spry doctor is his family medical practice. As she gets closer and closer to Ellsworth, her fears of Melvin escalate. She knows she will have to face him again. Melvin is out of the mental hospital and is now the owner of his deceased parents' business, a gasoline and automotive repair station. After all these years Melvin still clings to the nice act Vicki performed for him and imagines a life for the two of them. Melvin also has still maintained his obsession with bringing the dead back to life. He prays upon strangers who enter the town and in a stroke of bad luck, stop for gas at his business. Melvin has tried many, many occult rituals to reanimate the dead, but none have worked.....until now. A great cast of characters live in Ellsworth. Including a handsome young lawyer named Jack who becomes the love interest of Vicki. Vicki hopes the bad times are behind her and that she can start a new life with her work at the clinic and with Jack. But, Melvin has other plans for Vicki and some of the residents of Ellsworth. As Melvin amasses his own group of loyal and eager to please zombies, Vicki cannot imagine the horror her life is to become. A great read by one of the true masters of horror.