Flesh

By: Richard Laymon

Narrated by: Maynard McKillen

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.

©2009 Richard Laymon (P)2010 Audio Realms, Inc., all rights reserved. Produced by Audible, Inc. and distributed by Audible, Inc. and Brilliance Audio.

narrator could have done better

the narrator was lacking and the way the audio was edited made the story a little confusing at points.

Good but not the best

This is not Laymon's best book at all, far from it but being a Laymon fan I liked it quite a bit all things considered.

Good but not his best

Really like Richard Laymon, but the story took a lot longer to tell than it should have.

Might as well have been read by a robot...

I don't want to be rude or callous, but this was legitimately a tough book to finish - solely because the narrator was so distracting. Maybe it was his cadence, or monotone-ness, or some other facet of his speech that made this difficult. I listened to this at 1.35x speed and it still felt slow. I think I'd recommend an even faster speed if you really are willing to give this a shot.

The story was pretty good, not great but definitely worth a read. I do suggest reading it yourself though and not trying the audible version because of the reasons I stated above.

This was my second Richard Laymon book and I'm finding I do like his work it seems. Next book is The Traveling Vampire Show. Hopefully that provides a better audible experience.

-David

Flesh For Fantasy

Another twisted Laymon tale. It’s hard to comment without being a spoiler. Laymon writes with his usual unique flare creating a plot that puts his characters in evil predicaments.

Narration is so-so.

great horror/suspense entertainment..BUT..

i enjoyed the story,characters and interaction..but so much goes left unexplained?Will there be a sequel book?The narrator was okay,but ive heard Maynard McKillen perform better in other audio books!If there is a sequel i hope he narrates again but give him a few shots of tequila to loosen him up lol

good book but

I'm a fan of the author but the narrator was no good. At times he was great and others he was as flat as a computer

Horrible narrator but decent story

Struggled to finish only because the narrator reads like the voice from a computer that reads what you type out loud.

among ocks

and so does this book! Listen to it now or a puppy will die. No puppies were harmed in the writing of this review.

The characters are excruciatingly dumb

Flesh is fun, however the fun parts are completely eclipsed by some pretty awful writing.

None of the characters in this book have the ability to think through any of their decisions. There are innumerable moments in which characters fail to consider the most obvious flaws in any plans they make. At one point, a character decides to handcuff themselves to a railing, with the expectation that someone is going to free them; this someone being not at all likely to do that. The book is littered with moments like this. A character might decide to do something to scare another, but completely fail to consider what will happen immediately afterward.

Another issue is that the characters are obsessed with how others think about them when it comes to the opposite sex. They may be in danger for their lives, but they can only think about whether another character finds them attractive. This happens with both the male and female characters. Female characters constantly wind up in situations where they are embarrassed by being underdressed, while having plenty of access to clothing. This could be fun, but instead comes across as extremely neurotic. On top of this the characters have no chemistry with each other.

I'm just left with the thought "Are the straights okay???"

The characters have no sense of prioritization in general, and their failure to make any reasonable decisions makes for a frustrating listen at times. Timewise, there is far more of this kind of nonsense than actual action. I can really only conclude that this is a failing of the author, rather than something specific to the characters in this book.

Or maybe that's just not to my taste. Your mileage may vary ;)