mystery111's review
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
scottneumann's review
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
kiki_carina's review
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
matt_x's review
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
varian_ross's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Everyone sucked, but it was still a fun read. The ending was rushed, and I wish the house had played a bigger role.
Also, so many boobs.
Also, so many boobs.
thee_eclectic_eccentric's review
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Gore, and Rape
bi_bibliophile's review
2.0
Contains minor spoilers
TW: Mention of rape
Ah Laymon, he's an author who I was skeptical about. Of course I knew about his less than flattering ways of writing women before I decided to read this book but I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Little did I know just how misogynistic his writing would truly be. Okay the book had a good concept and the overall writing style was easy to follow but good gods. I suppose you could say that he's an author "of his time" but really that's no excuse and it doesn't change how sexist and objectifying his views of women clearly are. The man sexualises every woman and girl in the book, I don't think a single woman got through the story without having her breasts described with great detail.
As I said, it did have a good concept and I did enjoy this story for the most part. Sure it had some parts I didn't like or really understand like the subplot about the cop wanting to cheat on his partner with a women he met (for like 5 minutes) while investigating the murders. The story is pretty predictable but it's basically a cheesy slasher set at Halloween with a load of teens and terrible teachers trapped in a house where they were having a Halloween party, of course it's going to be at least a little interesting. And the scene in the house with the gorilla suits is not something I will forget any time soon.
It's a decent but clearly problematic story but then it really went of the deep end with the finale. I know plenty of horror uses rape and sexual violence to create some kind of reality based horror and to get a reaction from audiences but this was so abrupt and poorly written it ended up seeming the mock the victims of such a vile and depraved crime. It genuinely feels like it was done to create a reaction of shock but my reaction was more one of repulsion.
Rated: 2/5 Stars
TW: Mention of rape
Ah Laymon, he's an author who I was skeptical about. Of course I knew about his less than flattering ways of writing women before I decided to read this book but I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Little did I know just how misogynistic his writing would truly be. Okay the book had a good concept and the overall writing style was easy to follow but good gods. I suppose you could say that he's an author "of his time" but really that's no excuse and it doesn't change how sexist and objectifying his views of women clearly are. The man sexualises every woman and girl in the book, I don't think a single woman got through the story without having her breasts described with great detail.
As I said, it did have a good concept and I did enjoy this story for the most part. Sure it had some parts I didn't like or really understand like the subplot about the cop wanting to cheat on his partner with a women he met (for like 5 minutes) while investigating the murders. The story is pretty predictable but it's basically a cheesy slasher set at Halloween with a load of teens and terrible teachers trapped in a house where they were having a Halloween party, of course it's going to be at least a little interesting. And the scene in the house with the gorilla suits is not something I will forget any time soon.
It's a decent but clearly problematic story but then it really went of the deep end with the finale. I know plenty of horror uses rape and sexual violence to create some kind of reality based horror and to get a reaction from audiences but this was so abrupt and poorly written it ended up seeming the mock the victims of such a vile and depraved crime. It genuinely feels like it was done to create a reaction of shock but my reaction was more one of repulsion.
Rated: 2/5 Stars
shane's review
2.0
Not up to the standard of the several others I've read by the same author. It feels like it's missing something, and rushes towards the ending which as it turns out, isn't able to live up to it's buid-up.
Read almost any of the others before this one.
Read almost any of the others before this one.
pjrochester's review
2.0
I always find that while Richard Laymon's writing is solid—his style is strong and his prose is easy to read and understand—it's in the way his stories hang together that everything comes apart.
Which is sad, really. It's almost as if he had this power with his words, this capacity to tell great stories, but was more interested in output than quality. The result being that his stories feel jumbled, and lack the kind of internal logic that makes them believable—in many respects detracting from any tension or terror he might otherwise be able to invoke.
There were so many times, while reading All Hallow's Eve when my mind rebelled, screaming "She did / said what?" (she invited the guys who'd just assaulted her into her home for cider? She agreed to go to a party being thrown by one of her high school students, like they're friends? He told the high school kids to have some fun on their own in a room full of booze?). Small things, sure, but they add up and ultimately strip away the illusion of Laymon's fictional universe.
All Hallow's Eve is a decent read. If a little confused and very brief. I just wish Richard Laymon could have paid as much attention to the story as I did for the couple of hours it took me to get through it.
Which is sad, really. It's almost as if he had this power with his words, this capacity to tell great stories, but was more interested in output than quality. The result being that his stories feel jumbled, and lack the kind of internal logic that makes them believable—in many respects detracting from any tension or terror he might otherwise be able to invoke.
There were so many times, while reading All Hallow's Eve when my mind rebelled, screaming "She did / said what?" (she invited the guys who'd just assaulted her into her home for cider? She agreed to go to a party being thrown by one of her high school students, like they're friends? He told the high school kids to have some fun on their own in a room full of booze?). Small things, sure, but they add up and ultimately strip away the illusion of Laymon's fictional universe.
All Hallow's Eve is a decent read. If a little confused and very brief. I just wish Richard Laymon could have paid as much attention to the story as I did for the couple of hours it took me to get through it.
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