Laymon or Ketchum?

[yaeyo]

I've noticed the Richard Laymon post and he obviously has a lot of fans here. Ive had a debate at the richard laymon kills site about who is a better writer though-him or Jack Ketchum. Although I am a big laymon fan(both One Rainy Night, and Lonesome October were the shit along with plenty of his other novels are the shit) but i think Ketchum is a better writer. His character development is much stronger, and the horror that goes on within the pages of his novels leaves a much longer lasting impression than Laymons works do. As far as pure entertainment goes, Laymon is most definitly THE MAN, but as far as writing skills go I think Ketchum is better. Now at the richardlaymonkills site(good site btw) its kinda hard to argue my point since most people there are going to favor Laymon(obviously), someone even called him a hack. I figure this site is neutral and I can maybe get more objective opinions. So please include your opinion and the reasons behind it. If you need help coming to a conclusion read "Off season" by Jack Ketchum then read ANYTHING by Richard Laymon.

[EoghainFOKeeffe]

I post on RLK too, yaeyo. I agree, it's a great horror site.

I'm afraid I can't argue about the Laymon vs Ketchum debate. because the only Ketchum book I read was JOYRIDE and I can't remember anything about it. I read it during a ridiculously long stopover in Dublin when my plan was delayed for hours - so I was too annoyed to get into the book.

But I can say that, in real life, Laymon and Ketchum are (were?) very different. Ketchum is a total party animal - he's always rushing around with a big grin on his face, rounding up people (and strippers) to bring back to his hotel room for some big party. Laymon, on the other had, was more like the kind of person you'd expect a writer to be - quieter, very friendly and always willing to talk about books or writing.

[EoghainFOKeeffe]

Hmm. I posted this morning but the thread STILL hasn't moved up the board. Let's try again.