As I may have mentioned in previous posts, Richard Laymon is my favorite horror writer. Fortunate for me, since the guy published a slew of titles over the course of the thirty or so years he was active prior to his death in 2001. Unfortunate for me, since unlike, say, Stephen King who routinely has print runs in the millions, Laymon's books were only moderately successful here in the US prior to the late 90's when Leisure Publishing finally got him the attention he deserved, which makes collecting his stuff problematic and, occasionally, expensive.
Some of the most difficult to find of Laymon's works were the short stories he wrote for Globe Fearon Education, who published them as part of their "Fastback" line. Fastbacks (a portmanteau of "Fast Read" and "Paperback") were intended for the young adult and early teen demographic, and marketed to schools for classroom use, especially for kids who either didn't enjoy reading, or who had trouble reading longer works due to learning difficulties. Each Fastback was roughly 25 pages, but printed at 75% of the size of a traditional mass-market paperback, with larger-than-average margins. The intention was to keep readers turning pages, and as to be expected, these Fastbacks are quick reads.
Between 1984 and 1987, Laymon sold twenty stories to Globe Fearon, for their "Mystery", "Horror", and "Crime & Detection" lines. One of these, Guts, was later reprinted under the title "The Hearse", meaning there are a total of 21 books you'll need to acquire to have a complete collection. I currently have eight, but given that last year I had exactly zero, I consider that a decent start.
Laymon Fastbacks don't come up for sale very often, and when they do they generally command high prices. They were cheaply printed and bound, intended to be read until they fell apart, then discarded. As we learned with the early days of comic books, anything produced to be disposable rarely survives long enough for someone else to take an interest in it, and that appears to be the case with these books. With that in mind, let's take a look at the ones I have managed to get my hands on! In chronological order of publication, I have...
Shootout At Joe's (1984)
And ordinary morning a Joe's Bar & Grill turns into a tense standoff when a woman walks into the joint and pulls a revolver. Wes, the guy behind the counter, tries to talk her down, but she's got revenge on her mind and she's not leaving until she plays a little target practice with Joe.
Dawson's City (1984)
Tony makes his living in the city as a snatch-and-grab guy: find a lady with a big purse, follow her for a while, and once she's distracted grab the bag and dash. After a meager early morning score in the subway, Tony looks for another target, and finds it hanging from the shoulder of a young, attractive woman. Unfortunately for Tony, he's picked the worst target imaginable for this heist, something he'd realize if he watched more TV.
The Caller (1985)
Cora's just moved into her new place, when the telephone rings. The voice on the other end isn't familiar -- despite Cora's explanation that she just moved in and he has a wrong number, the caller won't take no for an answer. What's more, though she has no idea who he is, he seems to know everything about her: what she looks like, what she's wearing, even who else she's calling on the phone. He claims he only wants to be her friend, even striking a deal to only call and talk to Cora periodically as long as she doesn't tell anyone else about him. If Cora breaks her end of the bargain, though, there's no telling what this caller will do to her.
Cardiac Arrest (1985)
Plucky teenage mystery writer Joyce Walther wakes up to the aromatic delight of coffee, then winds up in the center of a home invasion. Murph and Bud, two would-be jewel thieves, have concocted the perfect get-rich-quick scheme: while Bud holds Joyce and her mother hostage, Murph will go with Joyce's father to his jewelry shop, where he'll clean the place out. Nobody's supposed to get hurt, but when Joyce's mother suffers a heart attack, things go sideways for the criminals in short order.
The Lonely One (1985)
Doreen spends every weekend alone down by the boardwalk. She has for years: no friends, no dates, no one to talk to. She's a profoundly lonely woman leading a profoundly lonely existence. Until Ron spots her riding the carousel and strikes up a conversation. He seems like a nice enough guy, but even though Doreen tells him she isn't interested in his company and even tries to run away, Ron isn't willing to take no for an answer. He's going to get to know Doreen one way or another, even if it kills him.
Night Games (1985)
How far would you go to win a bet? Lyle just put up $500 and dared Janice to spend the night alone in the deserted Creekmoss house. If she makes it the whole night, he'll pay up -- if she leaves, or begs Lyle to come in and get her, she forfeits the money. Armed with an overnight bag, a doorstop, and a pair of handcuffs, Janice is determined to get Lyle's money one way or another. But there's a good reason the Creekmoss house is deserted. . . .
Beginner's Luck (1986)
Teenage sleuth and author Joyce Walther (previously seen in Cardiac Arrest) has stopped by the local bookstore to pick up a few copies of the magazine containing her most recent publication. On the way out the door, she's stopped by an undercover cop who tells her about a shady character he saw hanging around her car. Intrigued at the idea of helping the police bust a real criminal in action, Joyce follows him, not realizing she may be putting herself in a different kind of jeopardy.
Thin Air (1987)
The "Strange Occurrence Squad" tackles their fourth and final case when they're called in to investigate a man's claim that his wife vanished into thin air, right before his eyes. What results is an inter-dimensional nightmare that threatens to strand the S.O.S. far, far from home.
The final Fastback written by Laymon, Thin Air is the fourth in the "Double Fastback S.O.S." series. Double Fastbacks, as the name implies, are twice the length of a standard Fastback, clocking in at around 60 pages. The S.O.S. series centered on Theresa, Malcolm, and Clint: a psychic, a paranormal expert, and a tough-as-nails cop. Together, they investigate situations where reality itself seems to have gone wrong.
As you can see, I'm still missing more than half of Laymon's Fastback library. Most of these are decent little stories, with Night Games being exceptionally good in my opinion, and The Caller having a brutal twist that I did not see coming. If I'd found these when I was in school, I'd have devoured my way through all of them multiple times. They're perfect for their age range, and manage to be exciting and, at times, even creepy despite being aimed at younger readers.
I've always got my eyes open for more Laymon goodies, so keep your eyes peeled for future installments of my Laymon Odds 'n Ends, right here.
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STOPCheck out the last post from @hivebuzz:
One of these days I'll have to give one of his books a try. I'm not really a big horror reader but that's mainly because on the rare occasions I have strayed outside of Stephen King, I have been disappointed. I absolutely love Stephen King's books, especially his older stuff though (say, pre Needful Things).
What kinds of stories do you like? Laymon isn't for everybody, but there are a few of his stories and novels I would recommend to almost anybody. Let me know what kinds of things you like in your fiction, and I can probably find at least one thing of his that might be a good fit.