If you like horror and enjoy reading for pleasure and entertainment only, you should take a look at Laymon. This is not Faulkner; you are not going to learn anything from this book. This is the second Laymon novel I have read, and I must say I enjoyed this much more than I did Bite. The characters were a little more real this time, and a couple of them were even likeable. I still can't really figure Laymon out; the whole time I am reading him, I have a gnawing feeling that the guy is just a hack, yet he does a good job of keeping my interest and entertaining me. He's just here to tell a good story, and it may be unfair of me to expect something more from him--Laymon certainly seems comfortable in his style, and I admire him for that. That in itself is the sign of a good, confident writer. And he does tell a good story. Action is the name of the game here; the writing style is very direct. Basically, all of the important characters wind up wet at some point, so we must judge them by how they act under abnormal and normal conditions in order to "understand" them. Good and bad exists in all of us, and Laymon certainly seems to recognize this fact. One thing sticks out in my mind--I am bemused by the fact that Laymon's characters are always hungry. They can survive an assault by a bunch of wet, black, terrifying people and then immediately sit down to eat: restaurant employees (those still alive) start serving dinner before dead rioters can even be stowed away. Denise and Kara, a teenager and young girl (the true heroes in my mind), eat popcorn in between acts of defending their very lives. When I think of some of the actions and events in this book now, they almost seem laughable. While you are reading it, though, these things don't matter. Laymon makes it all work somehow. Those disgusted by gore should not even be reading this review, yet Laymon's gore is not as bad as it is made out to be; the gore in this book belongs here, really, and it does not seem to be employed purely for shock value. Laymon is unique; some will like him and some will not, but you can't know how you will react to him until you actually try him out.