Bedbugs Leisure Horror Horror Book Review

For people like me who really liked Rick’s recent book The Mountain King or his earlier Little Brothers you might be a little disappointed in this collection.  These stories read more like the books Rick wrote between the two I mentioned.  In other words they deal mostly with atmosphere, feelings, and creepiness and not horrible monsters.


I knew his monster books were not the norm for him but I decided to try the collection anyway.  I was not disappointed.  I would have liked to know when each story was written (there were no separate copyrights) so I could place them in his career but that did not really detract.


Some of the stories have appeared in theme collections and you will probably recognize those themes.  There are also a number of stories offered as tributes to other authors.  One of my favorites was Crying Wolf that was written in the style of horror great Richard Laymon (Hautula really nailed that one).


Readers have to remember that this is a collection spanning the years of a writers career.  That means that writing styles will differ, themes will vary greatly, and quality will have hopefully improved over the years.  Taking that into account, one is not surprised by anything in this collection.  Ghosts, werewolves, monsters, desolation, devils, psychopaths and dementia are the fare within.  If you want ravening monsters, stick with Little Brothers and The Mountain King, otherwise you should enjoy this offering.