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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Curate's egg, 15 Nov 2005
Having read my first Laymon novel, Funland (Which I was informed in hindsight was one of his weaker novels) I decided to give Laymon one more chance with this one. My friend had repeatedly recommended it so I relented and was surprised by its short length. I'd been alerted to Laymon based on the notion he was a horror writer. Well 2 books down the line and I'd have to strongly disagree. For me he's classed as a dark gothic fantasy writer, nothing more and nothing less.The Cellar is the first in a trilogy of the Beast House stories. It focuses on Donna, Sandy and Jud as they investigate the legend of Beast House all the while aware Donna's psychotic husband Roy's been released from jail and is after her. The mother and daughter abandoned their home as soon as they heard the news of his release, and made their way out to a small town in the back of beyond. This is where they hook up with Jud and his 'partner' Larry. Like Funland, Laymon does a decent job of painting a vivid picture of atmospheres. He doesn't particularly immerse the reader in a realistic description of places, but rather concentrates on the people in them and how they feel. He does this rather well. This is undeniably his main strength. However, his weaknesses are numerous. I've only read 2 novels by him and his overuse of the word 'rump' is mildly comical. Furthermore, he contrives situations out of nothing and doesn't make them believable. Several events have occurred in his books which I just couldn't swallow. Their suddenness thwarts any attempt the reader has at suspending their disbelief. Moreover Laymon doesn't seem to be that sure what kind of novelist he actually is. There are dark themes such as rape, paedophilia, heavy violence and graphic sex, but these are mixed in amongst other more mundane situations and it's hard to balance up where the author's trying to go. In this novel, there are so many themes which others might laud an author for incorporating. Instead, I find it mildly baffling. As for his basic writing style, it's decent enough without being anything outstanding. Some moments are quite confusing, and certain details are unclear, to the point of apparent plot holes. You're never quite sure if you've missed something or Laymon made an error. The Cellar gets a 3, just, because ultimately it is quite entertaining, and entertaining is exactly what a book is supposed to be. But certain aspects have it down at 2, while others, such as his main strength, push it up to 4. If you want horror, look elsewhere. Koontz and King are both better and more effectively immersive and descriptive. If you want a dark drama, well, you could probably do worse than Laymon.
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