What a great sick book!
Bewertet mit 4 Sternen
! Note: this review is for the restored and uncut Leisure edition (ISBN 0843957506) !
This was my very first Laymon novel! Well, I read 'The Halloween Mouse', but I guess that's not representative for his usual work ;)
When I purchased the book, I was not aware of the different versions so I was glad to realize that I got the uncut version (which I actually chose by cover and availability). In the foreword, written by the author's daughter, she explains that the 'Landers' chapters had been removed from the old edition, and now she had put them back in. Bearing this in mind, of course I paid special attention to those chapters, which really give the story a completely different vibe.
The book is very graphic, and while I knew that the author had a liking for that kind of writing, I had no idea how far he would go. I've read my share of graphic and gore horror, but this one tops it all easily. The best thing was that it did not feel like an unnecessary or attention-seeking add-on, but rather fit, or even defined, the story. In the end, I was deeply disturbed (but, to be honest, also entertained) by the events, and it kept me thinking a while after I finished the book - how far would I be able to go to survive such an extreme situation? While I found no easy answer to that question, I can easily say that this book made me an instant fan of the author.