The Light at the End by John Skipp

The Light at the End Reviews

• 
  Dave Edmunds

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• 
  Phillip Black

  Let´s take a ride on the Midnight Meat Train again! Two years after Clive Barker´s short story of the same name, the splatterpunk duo Skipp/Spector created their own ghoulish subway terror with their classic The Light at the End. After a wild start in the dark tunnels, we follow a group of people roaming the filthy streets of 80's Manhattan to find a young graffiti artist named Rudy. Rudy has been a bad bad boy after he got bitten by a vampire on the subway and developed some megalomaniac ideas, enjoying his new gained powers. This is a splatterpunk novel, so expect all kinds of trigger warnings - that said, I enjoyed this old school gorefest not only because of all the icky stuff but because of the authentic descriptions of New York´s darker corners at that time. I have a soft spot for those early exploitation movies and loved that the authors placed some scenes into the grindhouse theatres on 42nd Street as well. There are some cheesy elements in here too: In my opinion vampires shouldn´t run around with glowing red eyes, but maybe that´s just me.
  I recommend this novel to everyone who enjoys fast paced high energy horror novels with a lot of violence and pitch black humor. So please don´t expect Dostoevsky here.
• 
  Kelsi - Slime and Slashers

  Loved, loved, loved. Wonderfully written with surprising emotional elements sprinkled throughout. Splatterpunk done the way it should be! That's no surprise as authors Skipp and Spector really are the fathers of Splatterpunk - and The Light at the End was their first novel together!
  
  This is probably my favorite vampire novel that I've read thus far. Gnarly with great imagery and some heart here and there! Highly recommend for those looking for a vintage horror gem!
• 
  Deacon D.

  Rereading this one after more than 30 years, I couldn't help but think to myself, "What the hell took you so long, man?"
  
  Loved this book then, loved it even more now.
  
  Highly recommended!
• 
  Bracken

  When I first read this 25 years ago I really enjoyed it. Rudy Pasko, the villain, is still a wonderfully developed and lasting character--equally an object of fear and contempt. The book remains a vanguard in (at that time) the burgeoning Splatterpunk literary movement and is worth a read for the pull-no-punches horror imagery and the very well-paced final third of the story. I found myself wishing that the subplot with the homeless in the tunnels was expanded and the character list was thinned out a bit to give more time for a couple of the mains to shine through, but all told, the book is most worth the read for the contemptible Rudy Pasko.
• 
  Alex (The Bookubus)

  A ragtag group of people join forces against a vampire stalking the streets and subways of NYC.
  
  1980s New York makes an excellent setting for a vampire story and this was a fun and fast-paced ride with plenty of blood and guts. It also had a couple of emotional moments that I honestly was not expecting from a splatterpunk novel.
• 
  Bill

  I listened to this one on audio and enjoyed it. Chet Williamson is a great narrator.
  
  I can see where this would have been the start of something “splatterpunk” in 1986, but by today’s standards it read (listened) a bit elementary. The writing, at times, was very basic. There really wasn’t anything shocking or overly gratuitous going on either. I will say that it was a very quick and entertaining listen and it definitely kept my attention throughout.
  
  I liked it, but was hoping for more “splatter”. Or more “punk”.
  
• 
  Craig

  This was Skipp and Spector's first original collaborative novel. It was a story of extreme horror and violence and gore, and was splatterpunk before there was a word for such a thing. It's a vampire novel that had a lot to do with spawning (siring?) the proliferation of vampires who came to dominate the shelves in the following decade or three. I remember reading somewhere that Joss Whedon credited it with inspiring the character of William the Bloody, Spike himself, in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I can't recommend it to readers with a low tolerance for violence or gore or abuse, but hardcore horror fans have to read the Skipp and Spector books.
• 
  Phil

  Skipp and Spector's debut novel quickly became something of a classic and I can see why. Published in 1986, TLATE contains a broad cast, including the lead Rudy-- a vampire without a clue. Rudy was 'turned' on a subway; the so-called 'train of death', pulling into a station with only dead bodies aboard. The master vampire, some 800 years old, paid a visit to NYC and decided a good feed was important before heading to Europe, and he thought he would leave a little surprise in NYC as well-- Rudy.
  
  Rudy is a great character-- pompous artist, snide and mocking, but when he wakes up in the subway tunnels he has no clue about being a vampire. With visions of becoming a king of sorts, he decides to first take care of his ex and other associated people who pissed him off in life. The ex and other associated people slowly become aware of what Rudy is and decide to go after him themselves, as the cops would never believe them...
  
  TLATE felt like a flashback to the 80s, with lots of references very artfully done to various politicians, economic trends and of course, Jimmy Swaggart. The pacing is more relentless than fast, but the bulk of the story transpires in one week. Rudy's discovering his new talents really drove the novel and broke with standard vampire tropes-- he knows he has new powers, but struggles to understand them, being at the same time driven by his ego to seek the death of his ex and other people who pissed him off. Rudy emerges as almost a tragic figure, even as he reaps death and mayhem in NYC. Without spoilers, I felt the ending was rather weak, and it departs from their later work as well. Skipp and Spector may be the founders of splatterpunk, but I would hesitate to brand this novel with that title. 3.5 wooden stakes rounding up.
• 
  Lizz

  I don’t write reviews.
  
  This was a ride! Very 80’s, very goth, very wild. I must be immune to splatter punk, since the gore didn’t seem too crazy. I enjoyed the vampire hierarchy as displayed by the ancient one and his punk spawn, Rudy. It was a bit satisfying when Rudy was put in his place.
  
  The group of characters was surprisingly likable. Their bravery was mixed with sane, natural fear as they hunted down the insane predator Rudy through the dark of NYC. Old friendships are lost and new romances and friendships forced. It was all written quiet nicely. There were occasional creepy moments.
• 
  Marie

  This was a really good book. I didn't realize it until I was into it for a bit that I had read this book years ago but I didn't remember alot of the storyline. The story is about people getting murdered on subway trains and in the subway tunnels by something other than a human. Not giving away spoilers here about what kind of creature it is as you will just have to read the book. Giving it 4 stars.
• 
  Cody | CodysBookshelf

  A dated, pulpy, and ultimately unfulfilling vampire novel as poorly drawn and unlikable as the characters that populate it, The Light at the End is often credited with jumpstarting the splatterpunk movement and, damn, what a bummer of a start to the movement.
  
  A few delightfully gruesome scenes of terror and a couple glimmers of something approaching true character development isn’t enough for this to earn more than 2 stars from me. Throw a rock and you’ll hit a better vampire novel than this: yeah, the vamps in Twilight sparkle but at least you can remember their names, huh? The cast here is too large by half—a true paring down of the characters should have been essential.
  
  Written with an off-putting cockiness unbecoming to anyone out of middle school, this isn’t the edgy, revolutionary punk statement I think it pretends to be. Maybe these authors would go on to write novels worthy of their reputation, I don’t know. The back of my paperback copy declares this a “guitar note fingered by Satan”. Uh, not quite. I think it’s time I read Carmilla. . .
• 
  Chris

  Terrible - I cannot believe the reviews this novel receives. Perhaps it's simply how dated the novel is by this time, but the characters are unbelievably flat, boring, and derivative. It's cookie cutter genre fiction written by a pair of guys who don't seem to actually love words very much at all - the writing is stiff and makes action and characterization all the more awkward. I can't even finish reading this - it's awful.
• 
  Octavi

  Vampiros, gore y el mundo subterráneo del metro. Muy entretenido.
• 
  Olethros

  -Si quieres conocer el verdadero carácter de alguien, dale poder y observa-.
  
  Género. Narrativa Fantástica.
  
  Lo que nos cuenta. Un mal tan antiguo que hasta el propio Vlad trató de ganarse sus favores, se toma unas breves y traviesas vacaciones en Nueva York que dejan como resultado una carnicería y un nuevo vampiro, Rudy, que irá descubriendo sus capacidades sin ningún tipo de guía y que actuará en función de su malsana personalidad. Pero sus actividades llamarán la atención de varios personajes.
  
  ¿Quiere saber más del libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
  
  
  http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
• 
  Dan

  Most definitely one of the best, yet somewhat overlooked, vampire novels of the twentieth century. Also said to have started the Splatter-Punk movement in horror-fiction. Dark and gory, punk rock vampires terrorizing New York City during the early nineteen-eighties.
  Joss Whedon has actually said that this book served as the partial inspiration for the character,
  Spike.
• 
  Ms. Nikki

  Death
  comes quickly
  in the night.
  Sinister intent.
  
  Man,
  in the end,
  inevitably accepts.
  
  by Nikki
  
  Free on Amazon 4-11-13
  
  I get it; The Original Splatterpunk-ers. I don't get the mediocre writing or over-easy characters. They're practically running all over the pages. There were times when I wanted the story to move on and end. Joseph was hulking it up constantly and really needed to be medicated. Stephen, was an annoying snot. None of the cast were likeable. The story was not as tight as it should have been with so many players in the mix. I could go on, but I'd rather not. The best part was the demise of Rudy on the train. Great description. Just an alright, okay read.
  
• 
  Chris

  Plot-wise--great book, clever story arc and a fantastic ending. As a vampire story (ie was the vampire sufficiently evil, nasty, unromantic and fear inducing?) excellent. Characterization--so so. My main complaint was that the writing style was quite juvenile at times. Overall I gave it 4 stars but would have trimmed it a bit and liked a more polished writing style.
• 
  Brian

  The Light at the End is an excellent, rip-roaring novel that serves up a classic horror novel creature the way it should be portrayed: as insidiously, viciously evil.
  
  I only docked the book one star because of the ridiculously clichéd 1980s homophobia underlying the story.
• 
  William Oarlock

  The introductory subway slaughter is perhaps the most powerful vampire opening attack since Varney the Vampyre.
  
  Would also have been a far better ending if the obnoxious bully-boozer-momma's boy human protagonist had died 'heroically'.
• 
  A.R.

  Such a great vampire tale, like you wouldn’t think possible, the twin machine-gun fire of lovable characters and character arc making you do a dance of the dead. It’s bigger than splatterpunk; there’s a wisdom to it. You’d be a fool to pass this one up.
• 
  Patrick

  Amazing. So much grime and grit and so much fun to read. I love these guys and this is for sure in my top 5 vampire novels of all time!
• 
  Alondra Miller

  4 Stars (Review to Follow)
• 
  Dez Nemec

  I found this book on some best horror list and added it to my to buy pile as it sounded interesting. After having a bad day, I splurged on a Thriftbooks buy and it moved to the TBR pile. Looking at the length, I wasn't sure how long it would take me to get through it. Turns out it only took a little over 24 hours.
  
  The story opens up with 10 people being slaughtered in a subway car. What follows is an excellent vampire story that envelopes the reader and drags them in. I saw that some people thought the writing was juvenile, but I was too involved in the story to really notice, so how bad could it be?
  
  A thoroughly engrossing tale. One of the better vampire stories I have read in a long time.
  
• 
  Stu Corner

  Problematic...
  
  I'm not huge on vampires, but I'd heard that Skipp was the OG of splatterpunk, so, I gave It a go.
  It started off pretty strong, but quickly went downhill due to the insane amount of characters that are thrown at you within the first few chapters, leaving you unable to get properly sucked in to the story.
  I tried. DNF.
• 
  Zulfiya

  As a voracious reader, I always try to explore fringe genres, but my heart is forever with the well-written books with believable and fleshed-out characters, human drama and serious choices both characters and readers have to make.
  Horror is one of those borderline cases when an exceptionally well-written novel with flawed but interesting characters and an insight into the psyche of a human mind cam enthrall me. Unfortunately, I believe this is not a case. I gave this novel three stars, but this rating is only valid within the frame of splatterpunk fiction (a literary genre characterized by the explicit description of horrific or violent scenes). In the bigger frame of fiction, this novel deserves only two stars.
  The novel is definitely abundant in scenes of violence and gore, and some of them are truly repulsive if you look at them objectively. On the other hand, everyone knows, objectivity in portrayal is not the most laudable adjective. The subjective perception is everything in fiction. The more you can relate to it, the more memorable the writing is. This is what this book lack. Despite the gory and grisly scenes, they did not stir any feelings of fear or repulsion. The setting was a traditional one for a vampire story. I am very well aware that we do not have many choices when it comes to the time of the events in a horror novel, but the nights in the novel, although they harbor ugly scenes of murder, do not create the natural spooky, creepy feeling. Night is just a time when most of the events took place in this novel, and the dark enigma of the wee hours till dawn is totally non-existent.
  The other thing that is only attributable to the zeitgeist, but still quite unpleasant is homophobia. The evolving values of today's world warp my interpretation and leave the tangy, bitter and unpleasant sediment in the wake of the book.
  To counterbalance my negative arguments, I still want to justify my choice for three stars (again only within the frame of this genre). First and foremost, the vampire Rudy is a nasty, ugly being from the very beginning. He does not suffer from the complex of modern vampirism – I am a vampire, but I want to be a good guy, and I am conflicted, and my soul is torn apart by my intentions and true identity. He is rotten through and through. There is not a morsel of goodness in him. This is how monsters should look like.
  Surprisingly, the books also provides an interesting insight into the philosophy of nihilism. Although the premise for this view is interesting and appealing (our world is non-cognizant, and we will never learn what is good and what is evil, and justice is not inherent in our universe; thus there is no point in trying to better the world around us), but the development of this idea leads to acts of terrorism and extremism as well as to the utmost egotism and gratification. This is clearly manifested in Rudy, the human being and the vampire. It is rarely a case when such a complex idea could be clearly explained and put into the appropriate context.
  The most memorable moment in the novel has nothing to do with the imaginary horror, but with our human history. The character with the Holocaust past narrates the story of his experience, and this is the most disturbing moment in the whole books. I find it both enlightening and nonsensical. It is a story that is harrowing in its nature due to our own ability to acquiesce to the dogma and doctrine of ethnic cleansing; a reminder of that kind even in the most grotesque context is always a necessary reading experience. Conversely, the setting for the Holocaust survival story is the most bizarre one – who would anticipate this story in a horror novel about vampires? Consequently, it does contribute to the jarring discrepancy of ideas within the book.
  
• 
  Jordan Anderson

  1986.
  New York City.
  
  No other place in the world contains such a plethora of different walks of society. And nowhere is that more clear than on the subway. What’s also clear is that despite its importance, the subway is gross, dirty and unsafe. Whether it’s the chance of sitting next to a dirty bum or getting mugged, you ride the subway at your own risk. It’s even more dangerous when a serial killer rides the rails, slaughtering passengers and drinking their sweet, life sustaining blood.
  
  
  It doesn’t take long for all hell to break lose when an unlucky victim falls prey to this vampire, and, as he discovers his new found powers of vampirism, t’s up to his friends to put a stop to his evil ways before the entirety of the lower east side becomes a warren of undead bloodsuckers.
  
  Widely regarded as one of the best vampire novels ever written and seen as the the first true “splatterpunk” novel, I can understand why people go nuts over The Light at the End. Really, I can. I mean, the book is mean, excessively violet and gory, and contains some of the most ghoulish and gross vampires in recent literature. Plus, it’s written sarcastically, with an acerbic style that oozes counter culture at every juncture and makes no apologies for its almost dark humor like tone.
  
  
  But I feel that’s the only reason people enjoy Light at the End Because if we’re going on story elements alone, this one is lacking anything significant.
  
  Yes, it’s bloody and sprays viscera at every chance it gets, however that’s all it does. The characters are too numerous and the ones that get more than a few minutes of page time all manage to get under your skin to the extent that they’re annoying. Our female lead just wants to get laid and gets jealous at everyone who manages to do the deed. Joseph, the main male protagonist walks around angry at everyone, and would benefit from therapy instead of killing vampires. And speaking of vampires, the antagonistic creature is a whimpering simp who’s only claim to fame is that he manages to be in the wrong place and wrong time.
  
  The story itself goes on a pretty pedestrian path (complete with stakes and holy water). It’s only unique feature is that most of the settings involve New York subway trains instead of Transylvanian castles.
  
  Maybe I’m just not into this kind of writing anymore and I’m really a literary hipster who prefers more depth in his reading choices, but whatever the case, I found this to be a chore to get though as I was bored from about 25% of the way on. Had this been cut down by about pages, I probably would have enjoyed my time reading it a bit more. Oh well. Such is life.
  
  2 stars.
• 
  Snood

  The beaten-up used copy of this novel I found at a thrift store has "Dracula for stoners, man" scrawled on the first page. Honestly, I can't think of a better four words to sum the story up.
  
  I am not a fan of vampires in general. I can't explain why, but I've always found them to be a boring monster when compared to werewolves, cryptids, or genetically altered animals. The pomp and arrogance about them makes them feel more like a human villain than a real monster. Rudy Pasko is a REAL monster though. There's something fascinating and terrifying about an immature person given incredible power over others. The lack of a typical vampire's ageless lack of emotion and perfect composure make him both vulnerable and dangerously unpredictable, which makes for a much more interesting character. This was another novel with an absolute gem of a climax. I read the last third or so of the book in just two unbroken sittings and looked up to find two hours had passed.
  
  Despite being heralded as a progenitor of the splatterpunk genre, The Light at the End does not reach the heights of mindless gore that I was worried it would based on what works it inspired. It is by no means tame though, in either violence or gratuitous sex scenes (it is the 1980s after all). Unfortunately as a result of when it was written, it captures the homophobia of the era as well. The minor character of Jeremy is played up as a typical camp gay stereotype and the f-slur is used in narration, not just dialogue. This does add to the grimy 1980s New York atmosphere, but could have been left out without impacting the story at all. The depiction and treatment of women and the homeless left a bit to be desired as well, but not to the same extent. Homeless drunks were once again cast as throwaway victims and there were scenes of sexual violence, but one female character is given the opportunity for revenge without dying immediately after.
  
  Overall, it was a fantastic monster novel if you can get past the more unsavory elements that tripped up my enjoyment.
• 
  Kenneth Skaldebø

  That one goes in my top 20 vampire novels!!