Flesh’ – Richard Laymon (Headline)

After a read that’s incredibly deep and engrossing, I like to freshen up a little (as it were) by reading a book that’s exactly the opposite. Sometimes, you just need a book that’s the equivalent of a Michael Bay movie to set you up for something that’s a little more challenging. Despite my thoughts on the last Richard Laymon book that I read (review here), he seemed like just the writer that I needed to read in this particular situation. It also helped that I had a book of his on the ol’ TBR pile that I hadn’t got round to reading. A perfect storm then? Not quite… Not at all in fact…

No one in town has ever seen anything like it; a slimy, mobile tube of glistening yellow flesh with dull, staring eyes and an obscene, probing mouth. But the real horror is not what it looks like, or what it does when it invades your flesh - but what it makes you do to others.

Now don't get me wrong, in one sense 'Flesh' did exactly what I wanted it to. It's a throwaway pulp horror novel that you can breeze through in a few hours and be ready for something more substantial. But at the same time, that's probably its biggest problem; every book needs at least a little substance, to back it up, and 'Flesh' just didn't have any. Can you have a horror story that's vapid? 'Flesh' certainly felt like it. When the blurb for a book is only a few lines long, that really speaks volumes (and not in a good way) about the content.

And that's the thing, I really wanted to like this book. I mean, if you're a horror fan then what's not to like about a book where a parasite gives people a nice buzz for killing and eating other people? Exactly. The concept is ripe for something really terrifying but Laymon wastes it on a procession of identikit young ladies who die (or come very close to it) whether they put out or not. Again, it's all about titilation over any kind of actual storytelling and it just left me feeling angry at a wasted opportunity. If 'Night of the Creeps' and 'Slither' could take the concept and run with it then 'Flesh' really has no excuse. I know those two films are horror comedies but there are some scares and 'Flesh' didn't even try and hit that target (Laymon did build up some tension but let it drip away before the payoff arrived).

I know it looks daft knocking a book for essentially doing the job I wanted it to. It just felt frustrating to feel like there was more to come from 'Flesh' and then for things to just carry on as they were. Funnily enough, I think it would make a half decent film but as a book it was sadly lacking.