SAVAGE by RICHARD LAYMON

[Uncle Jack]

Just started reading this novel by Richard Laymon and it is quite good so far. The synophis hint is as follows:

Whitechapel, 1888; Jack the Ripper is committing his last known act of butchery in the hovel occupied by the luckless harlot Mary Kelly. And beneath the bed on which the fiend is cheerfully eviscerating his victim cowers a 15-year-old boy. This is just the start of an extraordinary adventure.

Available from Amazon

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Savage-Richa...8380294&sr=1-2

[Celesta]

Just started reading this novel by Richard Laymon and it is quite good so far. The synophis hint is as follows:

Whitechapel, 1888; Jack the Ripper is committing his last known act of butchery in the hovel occupied by the luckless harlot Mary Kelly. And beneath the bed on which the fiend is cheerfully eviscerating his victim cowers a 15-year-old boy. This is just the start of an extraordinary adventure.

Available from Amazon

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Savage-Richa...8380294&sr=1-2

Yes, Uncle Jack, it's excellent and Laymon was a born storyteller, a real talent. What a monster JTR is, too. He meets up with some strong-minded protagonists.

[Esther Wilson]

I was thinking of getting this book but was a little hesitant. But if you suggest it I think I will head out and pick it up, thank you!

Esther

[Blackkat]

I picked it up two days ago and haven't started reading it yet, but the woman at the store said she loved the author and has read many of his books, I asked her what she thought about Savage and she said it was a very good read. So I got it.

[honey]

Im in the middle of reading this book just now, I was a bit hesitant at first, but it is a damned good read.

I think they have probably got JTR spot on.. just a shame they couldnt reveal the real name to go with the it!

[Christine1932]

Laymon is author of sleazy, graphic horror books, I understand. But some say this is not so extreme.

[Celesta]

Laymon is dead, BTW. Whether or not he writes the graphic books or not, Savage is a good, well-written story. Whether he concocted the JtR that fits perfectly with everyone's imagination or opinion, the book is still well worth reading.

[Khanada]

Whitechapel, 1888; Jack the Ripper is committing his last known act of butchery in the hovel occupied by the luckless harlot Mary Kelly. And beneath the bed on which the fiend is cheerfully eviscerating his victim cowers a 15-year-old boy. This is just the start of an extraordinary adventure.

Oh... Okay. Didn't recognise the title or author, but yes, looking at the description, I've read this. I think my S.O. found it somewhere, and given the mention of old Jack in the story, and we both thought it sounded good. Too bad it wasn't.

I'll probably be the only one who thought it was terrible, though.

[Christine1932]

Laymon is dead, BTW. Whether or not he writes the graphic books or not, Savage is a good, well-written story. Whether he concocted the JtR that fits perfectly with everyone's imagination or opinion, the book is still well worth reading.

OK, he WROTE sleazy, graphic books. I don´t know about Savage, though. It may be good book.

[Celesta]

Christine, That was for general information, for those who don't know he's dead, and was not meant as a critique. I'm not in the habit of assaulting people. I didn't know Lawson was dead until well after I'd read the book.

Khanada, The Ripper, as presented in this book, didn't fit my image of JtR, but I still think it was a good story. Of course, I've only read one of his books, as horror is not a favorite genre, but I think others here are more familiar with him.

[Christine1932]

Christine, That was for general information, for those who don't know he's dead, and was not meant as a critique. I'm not in the habit of assaulting people. I didn't know Lawson was dead until well after I'd read the book.

Khanada, The Ripper, as presented in this book, didn't fit my image of JtR, but I still think it was a good story. Of course, I've only read one of his books, as horror is not a favorite genre, but I think others here are more familiar with him.

Sorry, Celesta.

[Celesta]

No problem, Christine. It's hard sometimes to tell what tone of voice people are using on here sometimes.

I can't believe I called him Lawson.

[Christine1932]

No problem, Christine. It's hard sometimes to tell what tone of voice people are using on here sometimes.

I can't believe I called him Lawson.

[KatBradshaw]

I have read quite a few of Laymon's books although not this one. They are good horrors but do sometimes have some worrying sexual descriptions in them.
Will check this one out for my holiday reads.

[Khanada]

Khanada, The Ripper, as presented in this book, didn't fit my image of JtR, but I still think it was a good story. Of course, I've only read one of his books, as horror is not a favorite genre, but I think others here are more familiar with him.

I think my primary problem is that I was expecting a lot more London-and-gaslight sorts of "fun" than the book delivers. The tale quickly leaves London, and seems (to me) to become a laundry-list of "whatever can possibly go wrong absolutely will". For me, the book telegraphed itself strongly in quite a few places, which I freely admit is something I don't enjoy. I can overlook it if I'm engaged and enjoying the overall "package" of a story (book or movie), but when I'm largely disengaged halfway through, telegraphing gets harder to overlook.

It didn't fit my image of JtR, either, which is possibly more of a deal-breaker for me, at least in this particular case. After a point, it just seemed like it wasn't really Jack anymore, it was just a rather vague and unspecific Victorian supervillian. So for me, Jack just didn't keep in character very well.

Overall, I've certainly read much worse, in various genres. But I have to be honest and say that I didn't find it a very enjoyable read. Again, I'm not going to be surprised to be alone in this view, and I'm not bothered by that.