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Cuts
Many people have a hobby that verges on obsession. Albert Prince’s obsession happens to be cutting people, especially pretty girls. There’s nothing he loves more than breaking into a stranger’s house and letting his imagination—and his knife—run wild. Albert’s on the run now, heading cross-country, but he’s not about to stop having fun....
--This text refers to the Audio CD edition.
--This text refers to the Audio CD edition.
310 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1999
62 people are currently reading
1314 people want to read
About the author
Richard Laymon
216 books2,270 followersRichard Laymon was born in Chicago and grew up in California. He earned a BA in English Literature from Willamette University, Oregon and an MA from Loyola University, Los Angeles. He worked as a schoolteacher, a librarian, and a report writer for a law firm, and was the author of more than thirty acclaimed novels.
He also published more than sixty short stories in magazines such as Ellery Queen, Alfred Hitchcock, and Cavalier, and in anthologies including Modern Masters of Horror.
He died from a massive heart attack on February 14, 2001 (Valentine's Day).
Also published under the name Richard Kelly
He also published more than sixty short stories in magazines such as Ellery Queen, Alfred Hitchcock, and Cavalier, and in anthologies including Modern Masters of Horror.
He died from a massive heart attack on February 14, 2001 (Valentine's Day).
Also published under the name Richard Kelly
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 120 reviews
March 27, 2023
This was the best Laymon in quite a while. We have different characters depicted in a way only this author can do: Albert, a murderer who likes cutting up people, especially women. This habit was triggered by having to pay for sex and not having enough money. Lester, a librarian and frustrated husband. His wife Helen, a teacher is screwing her brains out with a student. Janet, a pregnant support teacher, Meg, her best friend and their relationship to Dave and Mose. Where is the horror you might ask? This definitely is brought to you by Albert, the unstoppable slasher. What is Laymon? Well, the numerous "large and loosely swinging breasts", "nipples pointing straight out, pink and stiff like erasers on brand new pencils" and "space available between her legs". Liked his dialogues, the allusions, the humor and the naturally evolving plot. What a great Laymon. Here he really cuts like a knife (great cover too)! Highly recommended!
December 23, 2015
I decided to read this book as a buddy read with a friend. And I gotta say it is another story wrote in pure Laymon style. Again, very fluid and easy to read, definitely a one sitting book with a lot happening.
In this story we have Albert, a 17 year old deranged serial killer, who is on a cutting/killing rampage as he travels across country from Chicago to California, taking as many victims as he can. Cutting people in general seems to be his favorite pastime.
This is wrote in true Laymon style once again. He definitely spares nothing with this one. A very action packed, dark, and gruesome plotline with murder, rape, torture and much more. At times it did it was pretty unrealistic, and I am not talking about our psychopath, he was very realistic, but that is also pretty true to Laymon's writing style. It did flow very well and was a quick read. I would have liked to know a bit more about Albert growing up. You get the hint that he had witnessed something pretty gruesome as a child.
The only issue I had with this story was that there seemed to be a lot of characters to keep track of in the beginning. It did get a little confusing trying to keep everyone straight. I have to say though that they were all pretty colorful with some pretty warped thoughts. I think it would impossible to be bored with any of them. They definitely keep the readers on their toes. I did not expect the ending of this book at all, but it was certainly satisfying.
Again I recommend this book to anyone who likes Richard Laymon, or anyone who likes dark horror/thrillers. This is not a favorite book by any means, but it was definitely entertaining and gasp worthy in many places.
In this story we have Albert, a 17 year old deranged serial killer, who is on a cutting/killing rampage as he travels across country from Chicago to California, taking as many victims as he can. Cutting people in general seems to be his favorite pastime.
This is wrote in true Laymon style once again. He definitely spares nothing with this one. A very action packed, dark, and gruesome plotline with murder, rape, torture and much more. At times it did it was pretty unrealistic, and I am not talking about our psychopath, he was very realistic, but that is also pretty true to Laymon's writing style. It did flow very well and was a quick read. I would have liked to know a bit more about Albert growing up. You get the hint that he had witnessed something pretty gruesome as a child.
The only issue I had with this story was that there seemed to be a lot of characters to keep track of in the beginning. It did get a little confusing trying to keep everyone straight. I have to say though that they were all pretty colorful with some pretty warped thoughts. I think it would impossible to be bored with any of them. They definitely keep the readers on their toes. I did not expect the ending of this book at all, but it was certainly satisfying.
Again I recommend this book to anyone who likes Richard Laymon, or anyone who likes dark horror/thrillers. This is not a favorite book by any means, but it was definitely entertaining and gasp worthy in many places.
June 20, 2023
One of Laymon's horniest books. Really love it.
March 28, 2025
Classic Laymon, for better or worse. Chock full of sleaze, brutal murders, a large cast of wacky characters and a plot that seems off the cuff, and yet all ties together in the end. And speaking of the end, the finale in this one is full on bananas! One hell of a climax featuring the most insane group of teachers you’re likely to ever come across. And that ending is so ludicrous, you’ve got to love it!
March 26, 2025
One of the better Laymon novels. We follow a 17 year old serial killer, cheating wives, outrageous teacher parties and plenty of hilarious dialogue and scenes as laymon is known for. A good body count in this one as well.
September 28, 2015
CUTS is an average outing for Laymon. As evinced by the title, there is a lot of cutting and stabbing, but the book is disjointed, and drags on far too long, even at its modest length.
There are some fun, goofy moments throughout, and it isn't a major disappointment, but I think it would have worked much better as a novella.
One or two plot threads started out promising, and then simply fizzled out, never to be picked up again.
There are some fun, goofy moments throughout, and it isn't a major disappointment, but I think it would have worked much better as a novella.
One or two plot threads started out promising, and then simply fizzled out, never to be picked up again.
July 15, 2008
Of all of Laymon's books that I have read, this is by far my least favorite. It sounded entertaining enough; I like serial killer books, all of the reviews on here made it out to be a great read... I haven't been this bored reading a book in a long time.
Short summary: There's a 17 year old serial killer on the loose, armed with a switchblade. He successfully manages to evade the cops on a cross country killing spree even though he's not at all a bright individual. Meanwhile a pack of teachers who all teach at the same school have more drama going on between them then all of their students combined. Most of the teachers are cheating on their spouses, complete alcoholics, obnoxious, pretentious and violent. Of course there is one who isn't, his name is Ian and he's the quiet silent type - our obvious good guy. Then we have the girl fresh out of the bad relationship and just trying to find a nice guy - our obvious heroine. The young serial killer makes it with amazing speed across the country to our pack of teachers and well, that's the rest of the story.
The biggest problem I had with this book is that I didn't buy into it at all. Our serial killer is such a weak character that he's completely uninteresting. The majority of the book follows him across the country killing people as he goes... but there is no motivation, no quirks or fun things for the audience to get to know him. Perhaps he is supposed to be the epitome of evil, but in reality he just comes across as a dork with a knife that gets lucky. I don't have a problem with the main character of the book being a bad guy, but he's missing anything at all to attract me to the character, for example: the suave brilliant evil of Hannibal Lecter, the sheer insanity and maniacal genius of the Joker, the sinister apathy of that guy in Shindler's List... MAKE THE BAD GUYS INTERESTING. This bad guy was just so boring, and from there we cut back to the teachers. Everyone is miserable; they all quote famous novels and spout off philosophical BS at each other while cheating on their spouses, screwing their students, and whining about this or that. Now there are a lot of interesting characters mentioned on the back, most of them however are only bit players.
Like all Laymon books, love at first site is complete and unwavering. There are quite a few large plot holes, and I personally had a real issue with our leading female character who makes such a huge deal about being pregnant and how much she wants and loves the baby, then proceeds to drink alcohol and coffee on every page she's on. Add to that the realization that Laymon has no idea how women's clothing works (sorry Laymon, but raising your hands in a mini-skirt doesn't have the same effect as raising your hands in a short dress - try one on and you'll figure it out)
In the end what we have is 304 boring pages of empty characters having sex, dying, or lusting over one another. It's really rather sad... There are plenty of other Laymon books to read for a fun time, this is not one that I would recommend.
Short summary: There's a 17 year old serial killer on the loose, armed with a switchblade. He successfully manages to evade the cops on a cross country killing spree even though he's not at all a bright individual. Meanwhile a pack of teachers who all teach at the same school have more drama going on between them then all of their students combined. Most of the teachers are cheating on their spouses, complete alcoholics, obnoxious, pretentious and violent. Of course there is one who isn't, his name is Ian and he's the quiet silent type - our obvious good guy. Then we have the girl fresh out of the bad relationship and just trying to find a nice guy - our obvious heroine. The young serial killer makes it with amazing speed across the country to our pack of teachers and well, that's the rest of the story.
The biggest problem I had with this book is that I didn't buy into it at all. Our serial killer is such a weak character that he's completely uninteresting. The majority of the book follows him across the country killing people as he goes... but there is no motivation, no quirks or fun things for the audience to get to know him. Perhaps he is supposed to be the epitome of evil, but in reality he just comes across as a dork with a knife that gets lucky. I don't have a problem with the main character of the book being a bad guy, but he's missing anything at all to attract me to the character, for example: the suave brilliant evil of Hannibal Lecter, the sheer insanity and maniacal genius of the Joker, the sinister apathy of that guy in Shindler's List... MAKE THE BAD GUYS INTERESTING. This bad guy was just so boring, and from there we cut back to the teachers. Everyone is miserable; they all quote famous novels and spout off philosophical BS at each other while cheating on their spouses, screwing their students, and whining about this or that. Now there are a lot of interesting characters mentioned on the back, most of them however are only bit players.
Like all Laymon books, love at first site is complete and unwavering. There are quite a few large plot holes, and I personally had a real issue with our leading female character who makes such a huge deal about being pregnant and how much she wants and loves the baby, then proceeds to drink alcohol and coffee on every page she's on. Add to that the realization that Laymon has no idea how women's clothing works (sorry Laymon, but raising your hands in a mini-skirt doesn't have the same effect as raising your hands in a short dress - try one on and you'll figure it out)
In the end what we have is 304 boring pages of empty characters having sex, dying, or lusting over one another. It's really rather sad... There are plenty of other Laymon books to read for a fun time, this is not one that I would recommend.
January 11, 2025
Laymon really lays it on thick in this novel. He turns a bunch of people's lives into a manically fun time. The "Cutter" is Albert, a high school kid with a knife fetish. He takes it a bit too far. He starts out on the East coast and makes his way to California where he enters people's lives that don't need any more problems. But he does. Really a great book.
March 23, 2025
Laymon writing as only Laymon does, and for me, it's upper tier Laymon. It is absolutely ridiculous, violent, smutty, and super fun.
February 6, 2018
On an old episode of LATE NIGHT WITH CONAN O'BRIEN, Norm MacDonald once told a 4-minute joke that ended in a bad pun. Conan's sidekick, Andy Richter, said listening to the joke was like taking a 12-mile hike just to look at a turd.
The same could be said for Richard Laymon's CUTS, a book that is all build-up with virtually no pay-off.
To be fair, in the moment-to-moment sense, CUTS is a decent enough beach read. The story thread involving Albert the serial killer is overly gory and not very convincing (especially when he dresses up in drag and no one suspects he's actually a man), but the parts featuring the novel's other characters are generally well done. Janet's run-ins with her creepy ex-boyfriend, for example, contain more genuine tension than any of the book's slasher nonsense. Lester's relationship issues with both his wife and his much-older secret lover were interesting. Ian's interactions with his fellow high school faculty members were fun.
Narratively, though, the book is a total train-wreck. Janet's boyfriend ends up being a pointless side plot. Ditto her new job as a substitute teacher. Her last-minute romance is never explored. Lester exits the story without resolving any of his life issues. His entire chunk of the novel could be removed without affecting much of anything. Ian is mostly an unnecessary character, as well. And we really didn't need to spend so much time watching Albert dispatch victim after victim.
In other words, very little in this story serves to drive the actual plot. Laymon does a good job establishing a group of interesting characters and injecting a lot of dramatic conflict among them, but to what end? I wish he'd left out all the serial killer stuff and just written the novel as an interpersonal drama, like the movie MAGNOLIA or something. But one thing we all know about Laymon is the man had virtually no range, so it's no surprise that CUTS finishes in much the same way that all his other novels do: stab, stab, stab; fight, rape, fight; bad twist ending. Meanwhile, all the more creative and interesting aspects of the story dissolve into nothing, leaving you with the question, "What the heck was I supposed to take away from this?"
The same could be said for Richard Laymon's CUTS, a book that is all build-up with virtually no pay-off.
To be fair, in the moment-to-moment sense, CUTS is a decent enough beach read. The story thread involving Albert the serial killer is overly gory and not very convincing (especially when he dresses up in drag and no one suspects he's actually a man), but the parts featuring the novel's other characters are generally well done. Janet's run-ins with her creepy ex-boyfriend, for example, contain more genuine tension than any of the book's slasher nonsense. Lester's relationship issues with both his wife and his much-older secret lover were interesting. Ian's interactions with his fellow high school faculty members were fun.
Narratively, though, the book is a total train-wreck. Janet's boyfriend ends up being a pointless side plot. Ditto her new job as a substitute teacher. Her last-minute romance is never explored. Lester exits the story without resolving any of his life issues. His entire chunk of the novel could be removed without affecting much of anything. Ian is mostly an unnecessary character, as well. And we really didn't need to spend so much time watching Albert dispatch victim after victim.
In other words, very little in this story serves to drive the actual plot. Laymon does a good job establishing a group of interesting characters and injecting a lot of dramatic conflict among them, but to what end? I wish he'd left out all the serial killer stuff and just written the novel as an interpersonal drama, like the movie MAGNOLIA or something. But one thing we all know about Laymon is the man had virtually no range, so it's no surprise that CUTS finishes in much the same way that all his other novels do: stab, stab, stab; fight, rape, fight; bad twist ending. Meanwhile, all the more creative and interesting aspects of the story dissolve into nothing, leaving you with the question, "What the heck was I supposed to take away from this?"
March 16, 2023
Solid read overall. Very good pace that really keeps moving along. A lot of side stories that all tie together in the end nicely. Loved the surprise ending. Sort of a lot of people to keep track of for a Laymon book, and most of them were teachers so at times it was hard to keep track of them all since they are not really main characters. And of course, lots of perversion, as always with Laymon ha. One character (Lester), wish his story ended better, you sort of feel bad for him. Should have been his cheating, cold, wife instead. Otherwise, a great, quick read.
October 15, 2015
What an ending! Love it!
January 27, 2023
Pretty standard Laymon. Not bad and honestly a bit ambitious with all the different plot lines. Some cringe-worthy moments, tons of blood and gore, a low “rump” count by Laymon standards. And a very satisfying ending. I’d recommend to a Laymon fan, to a slasher fan but, like most Laymon, probably not to anyone else.
September 4, 2024
3.5 stars rounded up.
Cuts is actually my first book by Richard Laymon. Reading this felt like a 90’s Friday night; pizza, popcorn and renting a movie from Blockbuster. It is very reminiscent of a campy, gory, sex-fueled 80’s slasher flick. I read this mostly at the gym and it kept me entertained enough to make my workouts go by quicker.
If you do read this; be warned there are definitely some triggers.
Cuts is actually my first book by Richard Laymon. Reading this felt like a 90’s Friday night; pizza, popcorn and renting a movie from Blockbuster. It is very reminiscent of a campy, gory, sex-fueled 80’s slasher flick. I read this mostly at the gym and it kept me entertained enough to make my workouts go by quicker.
If you do read this; be warned there are definitely some triggers.
April 28, 2018
Mal wieder ein Laymon, den ich fast binnen einem Tag gelesen habe, da "Die Klinge" eher zu seinen kürzer gehaltenen Romanen zu zählen ist. Wie schon gewohnt, bekommt man es hier in Form von Albert mit einem gnadenlos-durchgedrehten Charakter zu tun, der keine Skrupel kennt und nur fürs Töten lebt, nachdem er unappetitliche Dinge mit seinen Opfern anstellt.
Aber es treten auch zahlreiche Nebencharaktere auf, die zum Schluss alle aufeinandertreffen und die Handlung somit in einer Art Showdown mündet.
Laymon ist nichts für zarte Gemüter, aber ich lese seine Bücher sehr gern, da sie zwar gewalttätig, sexlastig und auch menschenunwürdig sind, aber so überspitzt, dass es schon wieder lustig ist und Spaß macht. Daher hat mir auch "Die Klinge" wieder unterhaltsame Stunden beschert.
Aber es treten auch zahlreiche Nebencharaktere auf, die zum Schluss alle aufeinandertreffen und die Handlung somit in einer Art Showdown mündet.
Laymon ist nichts für zarte Gemüter, aber ich lese seine Bücher sehr gern, da sie zwar gewalttätig, sexlastig und auch menschenunwürdig sind, aber so überspitzt, dass es schon wieder lustig ist und Spaß macht. Daher hat mir auch "Die Klinge" wieder unterhaltsame Stunden beschert.
December 11, 2018
3 AND 1/2 STARS
While Cuts is one of my least favorite Richard Laymon novels, it was still a treat to read. All the classic Laymon elements are still there - spontaneous violence, sex, and twisted perversions. The story seemed difficult to find what exactly it wanted to become, but in the end, Laymon pulled it together. I especially enjoyed the very end, which was a lot of fun and made up for some of the weaker parts of the book. My favorites are still In The Dark and Island, both in my top 10 horror of all time. Laymon forever!!!
While Cuts is one of my least favorite Richard Laymon novels, it was still a treat to read. All the classic Laymon elements are still there - spontaneous violence, sex, and twisted perversions. The story seemed difficult to find what exactly it wanted to become, but in the end, Laymon pulled it together. I especially enjoyed the very end, which was a lot of fun and made up for some of the weaker parts of the book. My favorites are still In The Dark and Island, both in my top 10 horror of all time. Laymon forever!!!
August 20, 2025
I wish Richard Laymon was still around, writing books. This was another quick and fantastic read that had me laughing numerous times. This was definitely a five-star book for me.
November 29, 2017
Full disclosure, Richard Laymon is a god in my eyes, and in my most humble of opinions, a better horror writer than Stephen King (patiently awaits backlash from King fans) However, this was probably one of the single worst Laymon books I've read. When you pick up a Laymon book, you likely expect a brutal, nasty little tale filled with graphic sex and excessive violence, but this book seems to be greatly lacking in both of those departments. The deal killer for me, however, was the seemingly endless sub-plot depicting a group of school teachers who do virtually nothing but bitch about their jobs and fool around with one another. Aside from the occasional murder/rape committed by the book's antagonist, the book is more or less just chapter after chapter of this teacher banging one of her students, or this teacher cheating on his wife with this other teacher, or this teacher having a crush on this other teacher's daughter, and so on. I tried very hard to get through it, but having made it nearly 75% through the book and realizing that I have zero motivation to sit down and actually finish it, I finally ran out of patience. Love Laymon to death, but this was just too weak to keep me interested.
April 28, 2024
Solid entry into the laymon catalog. Not quite his best work, but it's a duty l short one and keeps the pages turning and the cringes coming the whole time. Fantastic ending as well that I won't spoil
May 13, 2016
I think I've outgrown Laymon's novels- I almost sprained my eyes from all the rolling they did over some of the scenes. Every character in this story is messed up and unlikable (well, maybe not Ian, but like all the characters, he's not fully fleshed out). Certain characters and storylines just get dropped without explanation
Spoilers ahead:
I kept waiting for Janet's crazy ex to pop up and get killed by Albert, but he's never mentioned again after Janet decides to ditch him to go to the Halloween party... so I'm not sure what Laymon was trying to do with that character.
Honestly, the characters all do such insane things that serial killer Albert appears to have more sense. First Janet's live in boyfriend demands Janet abort their baby but then threatens her and her friends if Janet doesn't come back with him.
Janet, newly pregnant and literally just broken up with her boyfriend, goes on a date with sad sack Mosby (who pretty much sexually assaults her, but that's okay because he has low self esteem, which make Janet think he'd be perfect for Meg) because I guess being single is the worstb thing ever.
Meg.. Janet's friend, beast to her beauty, is so hard up for the attention of an attractive male that she sleeps with Janet's ex. And claims to be so desperate that she'd do it again. Wtf?
Lester is married to the ice queen, Helen, but enters into a weird affair with the older Emily Jean (which involves bizarre role playing, with her pretending to be her daughter May Beth). But then, suddenly Lester seems to really be into Emily jean (although he's still hoping to bang May Beth), and then, boom! he's suicidal and homicidal. Helen is without any redeeming qualites. She sleeps with a student, lies to her husband that it's Ian she had the affair with and then tries to goad Lester into killing Ian (I assume because if Ian dies then she wouldn't have to quit her job).
May Beth goes off with Albert because she's a whore? Because all the women in the book are just desperate for sex and or money. However, May Beth does have some moxy, so points for that.
Janet, who agrees to meet up with suddenly insane Dave, ditches him to go to a Halloween party, which is populated by promiscuous faculty members. She and Ian fall in instalove, but she's attacked by crazy (and if course slutty) Mary, simply bc Mary thinks she might be flirting with her paramour, Ronald (who's wife Dale is also a teacher and at the party).
It was all just too messed up, and that's without Albert's pension for humping knife wounds. It's a shame, because when I first read Laymon (the Traveling Vampire Show), I thought I'd found another horror author who's books I could devour, but all the rapeyness piled on top of more rapeyness just pisses me off. His books are like blood soaked letters to Penthouse.
The story moved along swiftly, even if it made little sense, so I guess that's a point in it's favor? I honestly can't recommend his books anymore though, Laymon might have been a real sweet guy when he was alive, but his books read like the fanatasies of some deranged, horny teenager.
Spoilers ahead:
I kept waiting for Janet's crazy ex to pop up and get killed by Albert, but he's never mentioned again after Janet decides to ditch him to go to the Halloween party... so I'm not sure what Laymon was trying to do with that character.
Honestly, the characters all do such insane things that serial killer Albert appears to have more sense. First Janet's live in boyfriend demands Janet abort their baby but then threatens her and her friends if Janet doesn't come back with him.
Janet, newly pregnant and literally just broken up with her boyfriend, goes on a date with sad sack Mosby (who pretty much sexually assaults her, but that's okay because he has low self esteem, which make Janet think he'd be perfect for Meg) because I guess being single is the worstb thing ever.
Meg.. Janet's friend, beast to her beauty, is so hard up for the attention of an attractive male that she sleeps with Janet's ex. And claims to be so desperate that she'd do it again. Wtf?
Lester is married to the ice queen, Helen, but enters into a weird affair with the older Emily Jean (which involves bizarre role playing, with her pretending to be her daughter May Beth). But then, suddenly Lester seems to really be into Emily jean (although he's still hoping to bang May Beth), and then, boom! he's suicidal and homicidal. Helen is without any redeeming qualites. She sleeps with a student, lies to her husband that it's Ian she had the affair with and then tries to goad Lester into killing Ian (I assume because if Ian dies then she wouldn't have to quit her job).
May Beth goes off with Albert because she's a whore? Because all the women in the book are just desperate for sex and or money. However, May Beth does have some moxy, so points for that.
Janet, who agrees to meet up with suddenly insane Dave, ditches him to go to a Halloween party, which is populated by promiscuous faculty members. She and Ian fall in instalove, but she's attacked by crazy (and if course slutty) Mary, simply bc Mary thinks she might be flirting with her paramour, Ronald (who's wife Dale is also a teacher and at the party).
It was all just too messed up, and that's without Albert's pension for humping knife wounds. It's a shame, because when I first read Laymon (the Traveling Vampire Show), I thought I'd found another horror author who's books I could devour, but all the rapeyness piled on top of more rapeyness just pisses me off. His books are like blood soaked letters to Penthouse.
The story moved along swiftly, even if it made little sense, so I guess that's a point in it's favor? I honestly can't recommend his books anymore though, Laymon might have been a real sweet guy when he was alive, but his books read like the fanatasies of some deranged, horny teenager.
March 16, 2014
Klappentext:
Alte Liebe rostet nicht
Der psychopathische Albert mag Frauen. Doch die Frauen mögen Albert nicht. Unmenschlicher Hass treibt ihn dazu, alle Grenzen hinter sich zu lassen. Albert beginnt einen mörderischen Streifzug durch die USA – immer auf der Suche nach Opfern. In Kalifornien kreuzt sein Weg das Schicksal einer Gruppe junger Intellektueller. Auf einer Halloweenparty treffen alle zusammen – das Blutbad beginnt ...
Meine Meinung:
"Cuts" hieß der Originaltitel von "Die Klinge", der 1999 erstmals in den USA erschien.
Da Richard Laymon leider am 14.02.2001 verstorben ist, ist dies also eines seiner letzteren Werke. Nun erschien dieser Titel endlich auch bei uns in Deutschland und natürlich war ich als großer, großer Laymon- Fan sehr gespannt.
Mir hat "Die Klinge" gut gefallen, muss aber ehrlicherweise sagen, das mich andere Werke (wie z.b. "Das Loch", "Die Gang", "Nacht", "Die Familie".... - um nur einige wenige zu nennen) von Anfang an mehr geflasht haben. Als begeisterter Leser, hat man eben den direkten Vergleich und es ist sicher verständlich, das die Erwartungshaltung enorm ist.
Doch bei "Die Klinge" hat mir persönlich irgendetwas gefehlt. Natürlich war es unverkennbar ein Laymon, aber mir fehlte der gewisse "Kick". Oft hatte ich beim Lesen das Gefühl, das Laymon bei dieser Geschichte die Handbremse gezogen hielt. Wo es in anderen Werken immer richtig "zur Sache" kam, wurde hier oft ein Cliffhanger gesetzt und an einem anderen, viel späteren Zeitpunkt erst wieder angesetzt. Ich sag jetzt einfach mal "das Beste", diese Grenzüberschreitung, das, was die meisten Leser so begeistert, war für mich persönlich in viel zu abgeschwächter Version vorhanden. Für viele Leser sicher noch mehr als genug (Gewalt, Sex, Mord, Blut), aber wie schon einmal gesagt - die Erwartungshaltung ist eben sehr groß und als Leser, der fast alle Werke kennt, ist man eben schon viel viel schlimmeres gewohnt.
Typische Horrorelemente waren diesmal nicht vorhanden - was aber nicht schlimm war. Es war eher eine Art Thriller, jedoch ohne Polizei oder Ermittlungen. Wir begleiten u.a. Albert auf seinem blutigen Streifzug durch die USA, flüchtend vor der Polizei.
Nichts desto trotz, war die Story schon sehr genial und gerade der fiese, erst 17jährige Albert war mal wieder ein Bastard der ersten Klasse und wegen einer gewissen blutigen Aktion gleich im ersten Kapitel - die sofort seinen Charakter verdeutlichen sollte - verabscheute ich ihn regelrecht.
Dann gab es noch die Personen Lester, Helen, Janet und Meg, Ian - die wir einige Zeit begleiten dürfen und ihren spannenden Beitrag zur Story liefern.
Fazit:
Wieder mal ein guter, durchaus spannender Laymon, der mich zwar überzeugen, aber nicht absolut begeistern konnte. Einiges, eher unwichtigeres war manchmal zu detailliert erzählt, die typischen "Höhepunkte" zu abgeschwächt.
Für Laymon- Fans ganz ganz sicher Pflichtlektüre und unbedingt ein Must- have, für Einsteiger der Laymon- Werke, würde ich jedoch andere Bücher von ihm empfehlen (siehe oben).
Alte Liebe rostet nicht
Der psychopathische Albert mag Frauen. Doch die Frauen mögen Albert nicht. Unmenschlicher Hass treibt ihn dazu, alle Grenzen hinter sich zu lassen. Albert beginnt einen mörderischen Streifzug durch die USA – immer auf der Suche nach Opfern. In Kalifornien kreuzt sein Weg das Schicksal einer Gruppe junger Intellektueller. Auf einer Halloweenparty treffen alle zusammen – das Blutbad beginnt ...
Meine Meinung:
"Cuts" hieß der Originaltitel von "Die Klinge", der 1999 erstmals in den USA erschien.
Da Richard Laymon leider am 14.02.2001 verstorben ist, ist dies also eines seiner letzteren Werke. Nun erschien dieser Titel endlich auch bei uns in Deutschland und natürlich war ich als großer, großer Laymon- Fan sehr gespannt.
Mir hat "Die Klinge" gut gefallen, muss aber ehrlicherweise sagen, das mich andere Werke (wie z.b. "Das Loch", "Die Gang", "Nacht", "Die Familie".... - um nur einige wenige zu nennen) von Anfang an mehr geflasht haben. Als begeisterter Leser, hat man eben den direkten Vergleich und es ist sicher verständlich, das die Erwartungshaltung enorm ist.
Doch bei "Die Klinge" hat mir persönlich irgendetwas gefehlt. Natürlich war es unverkennbar ein Laymon, aber mir fehlte der gewisse "Kick". Oft hatte ich beim Lesen das Gefühl, das Laymon bei dieser Geschichte die Handbremse gezogen hielt. Wo es in anderen Werken immer richtig "zur Sache" kam, wurde hier oft ein Cliffhanger gesetzt und an einem anderen, viel späteren Zeitpunkt erst wieder angesetzt. Ich sag jetzt einfach mal "das Beste", diese Grenzüberschreitung, das, was die meisten Leser so begeistert, war für mich persönlich in viel zu abgeschwächter Version vorhanden. Für viele Leser sicher noch mehr als genug (Gewalt, Sex, Mord, Blut), aber wie schon einmal gesagt - die Erwartungshaltung ist eben sehr groß und als Leser, der fast alle Werke kennt, ist man eben schon viel viel schlimmeres gewohnt.
Typische Horrorelemente waren diesmal nicht vorhanden - was aber nicht schlimm war. Es war eher eine Art Thriller, jedoch ohne Polizei oder Ermittlungen. Wir begleiten u.a. Albert auf seinem blutigen Streifzug durch die USA, flüchtend vor der Polizei.
Nichts desto trotz, war die Story schon sehr genial und gerade der fiese, erst 17jährige Albert war mal wieder ein Bastard der ersten Klasse und wegen einer gewissen blutigen Aktion gleich im ersten Kapitel - die sofort seinen Charakter verdeutlichen sollte - verabscheute ich ihn regelrecht.
Dann gab es noch die Personen Lester, Helen, Janet und Meg, Ian - die wir einige Zeit begleiten dürfen und ihren spannenden Beitrag zur Story liefern.
Fazit:
Wieder mal ein guter, durchaus spannender Laymon, der mich zwar überzeugen, aber nicht absolut begeistern konnte. Einiges, eher unwichtigeres war manchmal zu detailliert erzählt, die typischen "Höhepunkte" zu abgeschwächt.
Für Laymon- Fans ganz ganz sicher Pflichtlektüre und unbedingt ein Must- have, für Einsteiger der Laymon- Werke, würde ich jedoch andere Bücher von ihm empfehlen (siehe oben).
January 12, 2010
This was my first Laymon book. I hated it. Passionately. The characters were both cliched and entirely unbelievable. The way the characters dealt with the situations they were placed in were generally senseless and akin to B-grade horror movies in which the naked-but-for-a-towel teenager walks alone into the woods, curious about a noise she heard while in the safety of her house. I didn't care for a single character within the novel, and therefore didn't care when they were mercilessly slaughtered. Yawn.
While I typically don't mind gratuitous gore if it adds to the story, it seemed as if Laymon just laid it on thick for the sake of shock factor. I honestly had the impression that his thought-process while writing the book was along the lines of "If I strew enough gory descriptions throughout each page, everyone will be too distracted to realise there's absolutely nothing worthwhile or even somewhat believable going on here".
In short, the combination of worthless characters acting in illogical ways and nothing-really-happening-save-for-the-gore scenarios just didn't do it for me. I added an extra star both for the fact that Laymon can at least string a decent sentence together and because there were a couple of situations within the novel that did have an effect on me (a scene that involved a pregnant woman and a cold ruthless killer will tend to do that for me).
While I typically don't mind gratuitous gore if it adds to the story, it seemed as if Laymon just laid it on thick for the sake of shock factor. I honestly had the impression that his thought-process while writing the book was along the lines of "If I strew enough gory descriptions throughout each page, everyone will be too distracted to realise there's absolutely nothing worthwhile or even somewhat believable going on here".
In short, the combination of worthless characters acting in illogical ways and nothing-really-happening-save-for-the-gore scenarios just didn't do it for me. I added an extra star both for the fact that Laymon can at least string a decent sentence together and because there were a couple of situations within the novel that did have an effect on me (a scene that involved a pregnant woman and a cold ruthless killer will tend to do that for me).
November 30, 2015
This book was a pretty good read. The story was pretty good it was more to t then you thought. Definitely a lot of action & there are a lot of twists in this book. The characters were pretty good I feel more than normal but it was pretty good. The beginning was back & forth with some different stories but the middle & the end picks up pretty nicely it was a good read IMO Laymon's ideas for books just amazes me & that's why he's definitely one of my favorite authors.
July 29, 2013
Not one of Laymon's best but I suspect it was one of his early works. Still pretty fun. Albert reminded me of the killer in Koontz' From the Corner of His Eye in sime ways. If you're trying Laymon for the first time I'd recommend reading The Traveling Vampire Show, The Stake or Body Rides over this one.
October 19, 2011
This is one of the few Richard Laymon books that I thought was complete crap. Most of it is just boring characters pretending to like each other and talking crap while you wait to see who the maniac wants to kill. Personally I wish they had just let him kill everyone and made me very happy.
June 15, 2019
More classic Laymon. This one really pushes the boundaries, in particular a scene near the end of the book that, in my opinion, goes too far. But as usual, it is done with relish and a maniacal laugh. Say what you will about Laymon, but he never disappoints.
February 7, 2015
Very good book! I really enjoyed the "edge of the seat" moments.
June 7, 2021
Richard Laymon's Cuts is an interesting novel that takes the simple story of a serial killer and adds a bit of a twist to it. If you've read Laymon before it's a bit different and shows a writer moving into new territory with subplots and characters that seem to have nothing to do with the overall story, but soon, it becomes clear they do. The main story of course is Albert and his reign of terror. This is where Laymon shines but then you have the other characters who seem to be a seperate entity and appear to have no bearing at all on the main story line. Laymon has a knack for the macabre but Cuts shows that Laymon is also capable of pulling off a novel full of suspense while keeping the gore and violence to a minimum. Albert is the kind of villain Laymon loves to create. He's the star of the novel but these other characters keep things from becoming too much of a cliche. As a Laymon fan, I liked the way the story progressed. It was as if he were trying to create a mainstream story while keeping his horror roots intact. The subplot of Janet, Ian, and even Lester kept you wondering how this would all tie in together, What did any of this have to with Albert? The ending itself is a bit lackluster, and a bit unbelievable but at the same time, it shows that as a writer, he can pull off something different and it all works well. You know you're reading a Laymon novel, even if at times it just feels like an experiment. There's nothing at all wrong with that and Cuts is easily one of Laymon's better novels. He's stripped away a lot of the cliches that most would associate with his books and creates a story that is both entertaining and violent.
While Laymon may have a cult following in the States, Cuts should have been the novel that pushed him into the mainstream. At its core though this is still a little violent for most horror readers which is unfortunate becasue there's more to this than just a guy with a knife killing random people. The strength here is in the characters themselves. You get inside their head a bit and see them as they really are. Albert is a killer on a mission, towards the end of the book you see how everything connects and leads to the violent finale. It moves swifly dragging you along. This is a writer who likes to shock and offend his readers. There's a reason why Laynon is such a respected author. He never takes the easy way out nor does he keep things simple. If you've never read Laymon before this is a great introduction. It has the violence we all come to expect but it also adds a layer of suspense to keep things interesting, He knows what his reader expect and he delivers while also adding newer elements to keep things from becoming to stale and boring. It's also nice to see writer's successfuly experimenting with the formula a bit and Cuts succeeds where other author's have failed.
While Laymon may have a cult following in the States, Cuts should have been the novel that pushed him into the mainstream. At its core though this is still a little violent for most horror readers which is unfortunate becasue there's more to this than just a guy with a knife killing random people. The strength here is in the characters themselves. You get inside their head a bit and see them as they really are. Albert is a killer on a mission, towards the end of the book you see how everything connects and leads to the violent finale. It moves swifly dragging you along. This is a writer who likes to shock and offend his readers. There's a reason why Laynon is such a respected author. He never takes the easy way out nor does he keep things simple. If you've never read Laymon before this is a great introduction. It has the violence we all come to expect but it also adds a layer of suspense to keep things interesting, He knows what his reader expect and he delivers while also adding newer elements to keep things from becoming to stale and boring. It's also nice to see writer's successfuly experimenting with the formula a bit and Cuts succeeds where other author's have failed.
November 10, 2025
Richard Laymon does it again. This book rocks right from the outset. The story takes place in 1975 and is about Albert Prince a dude who likes to cut people. At the start he wants to get laid and thinks he is in with a chance until the girl asks for cash. Not having the money, he takes her home, but he’s not happy about it. Later he spots a puppy, “Here boy…” Classic situation, killers starting with animals and moving to humans, only Albert moves very quickly to humans.
This book is about Albert, how he started killing and the ride he had. It starts with a break-and-enter job to get some cash for the high school hooker (mentioned earlier), when the owners return home. So starts his run across the country, and his killing spree.
This book has several storylines. We meet Janet Arthur, a pregnant woman who has just broken up with her dork of a boyfriend after he tells her to abort the foetus. She refuses and moves in with her friend, Meg. Meg is a complex character, so I won’t bother trying to explain her, the book does a good enough job of painting her.
Then there’s Ian a college professor who writes books in his spare time. We are introduced to Helen, the Ice Queen and Royal bitch to her long suffering husband, Lester, and she’s cheating on him with a student and he wants to cheat on her and finally manages. And there is a host of secondary characters, mostly they die.
Richard expertly ties all the storylines together and logically points Albert in the direction that the plot requires. I like how he weaved them together.
I found the sections with Albert exciting and fantastic and the scenes with Lester and Ian, great reading, but I felt bored and tired with the exploits of Janet and Meg, though they are needed scenes and helped move the book along with the perfect way for Ian and Janet to meet up.
The ending is a bit of a shocker and I don’t understand Janet’s reasoning. Why she did what she did. So, the first ending was a surprise and I enjoyed it. That’s the end of part one. Part two is twenty years later and Albert is a free man. He has one place he wants to visit with his switchblade. This ending was kind of what I expected. Although Mr Laymon did cover it up very well. A couple of times I doubted my belief of events to transpire.
This is a fantastic book and along with Triage and Island and Funhouse, it ranks as one of my favourites in my Laymon collection.
This book is about Albert, how he started killing and the ride he had. It starts with a break-and-enter job to get some cash for the high school hooker (mentioned earlier), when the owners return home. So starts his run across the country, and his killing spree.
This book has several storylines. We meet Janet Arthur, a pregnant woman who has just broken up with her dork of a boyfriend after he tells her to abort the foetus. She refuses and moves in with her friend, Meg. Meg is a complex character, so I won’t bother trying to explain her, the book does a good enough job of painting her.
Then there’s Ian a college professor who writes books in his spare time. We are introduced to Helen, the Ice Queen and Royal bitch to her long suffering husband, Lester, and she’s cheating on him with a student and he wants to cheat on her and finally manages. And there is a host of secondary characters, mostly they die.
Richard expertly ties all the storylines together and logically points Albert in the direction that the plot requires. I like how he weaved them together.
I found the sections with Albert exciting and fantastic and the scenes with Lester and Ian, great reading, but I felt bored and tired with the exploits of Janet and Meg, though they are needed scenes and helped move the book along with the perfect way for Ian and Janet to meet up.
The ending is a bit of a shocker and I don’t understand Janet’s reasoning. Why she did what she did. So, the first ending was a surprise and I enjoyed it. That’s the end of part one. Part two is twenty years later and Albert is a free man. He has one place he wants to visit with his switchblade. This ending was kind of what I expected. Although Mr Laymon did cover it up very well. A couple of times I doubted my belief of events to transpire.
This is a fantastic book and along with Triage and Island and Funhouse, it ranks as one of my favourites in my Laymon collection.
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