Bite by Richard Laymon
I read Bite by Richard Laymon five or six years ago and for some reason it popped into my head again recently. I went to the local used bookstore and picked up a copy and gave it a reread. I remembered that I liked the premise - a woman shows up on her high school boyfriend’s porch one night and asks him to help her kill a vampire. But I also remember there was a big problem I had withe the story, but couldn’t remember exactly what it was. Boy did it all come flooding back.
More and possible spoilers after the jump.
First off, leaving aside the fact that the narrator doesn’t really seem to be that shocked, or even have a quick moment of doubt about someone he hasn’t seen in ten years then shows up and asks him kill someone (a vampire no less). I though that this might be a plot device showing how the narrator was just as obsessive as some of the other characters in the book. But as I read, it didn’t seem to be the case. But calling her crazy and slamming the door in her face would make for a pretty short story.
My real problem with the story was that although the the narrator was constantly in life threatening situations, all he could think about was sex. Now don’t get me wrong, I am not a prude, but when a knife wielding psychopath is chasing you and your lady friend around the desert are you really going to be more interested in checking out her butt as she runs then the pressing issue of said psychopath? And it wasn’t once. It was constant. I have been a 14 year old boy and though about women less when I was bored then then narrator did when he was trying to talk a hostage free.
Plus listening to some reactionary drivel of Laymon’s spouted through one of the characters how anything bad that happens to a child is ALWAYS the mother’s fault was abit off putting. Needless to say, this book would not be high on my recommendation list.
