Ladies' Night is a non-stop rollercoaster ride of sheer nerve rattling terror, previously deemed too violent for mass-market publication. In this modern tale of the ages-old battle of the sexes carried to the extreme, Jack Ketchum again provides listeners with an excursion into horror as relentless as a John Woo film.
Tom Braun and his wife, Susan, aren't exactly a picturesque couple. Thus it comes as no surprise that Tom continually spends late evenings in bars and cheats on his wife. Unfortunately, their son, Andy, is caught in the middle of his parent's childish banter and family chaos. One life-altering evening turns this family's, along with most of New York's, perceptions on the nuclear family and male/female relationships upside down.
When a tanker trunk with "Ladies Inc." emblazoned on the side crashes in a quiet area in New York, an area it doesn't have authorization to be in, it liberally spills its contents all over the road and into the surrounding atmosphere. The local authorities deem the contents of the spill to be safe, based merely on the assumption that products coming from a women's label are more than likely benign. Moreover, the smell emanating from the spill is one of sweet cherry, similar to lollipops, which must of course be harmless if not favorable. This aforementioned assumption proves fatally incorrect. The chemical load the truck was hauling procures a discomfiting, bestial effect in women, forcing them to savagely attack males in their vicinity - be they former friend or foe.
Tom, while at a local bar, absorbs the evening's strange turn of events with traumatizing clarity as he witnesses first hand the metamorphosis of surrounding women into gruesomely instinctual brutes and mantis-like predators. He must get home to his son Andy, who is currently alone with his wife, Susan - before it is too late. (A multicast production.)
©1997, 2011 Dallas Mayr (P)2011 David N. Wilson
"Lame to the core"
If it actually had a plot and a writer with a clue.
No
The narrater did well with the book he had. I feel bad that the poor guy had to read the entire book.
It was highly disapointing. After reading the reviews, I thought it was going to be kind of like the story "The Screwfly Solution." All that it was was pretty much like hearing HBO porn read to you by your uncle. It was just boring. I'm not a prude but, if you have to write about people masterbating at least 4 times within a 15 minute time span, your writing skills are seriously in question. I realize that the women are supposed to be "hypersexual" and all that but, there actually is a limit. We get it, they turn into nymphos, get on with the plot... oh, that's right, there isn't one. The 20 minutes of Ketchum whining about the book before it even started should have tipped me off to how the book was going to go.
If you're a lonely guy, you'll probably like this book. If you have a brain and want a good scarey story, search elsewhere.
"The female, zombie apocalypse"
Reads like a bad teenage male fantasy on acid; the female, zombie apocalypse! The narrative is urgent and intense but can be messy as the story transitions in "quick cuts". From memory in the prologue the author says that he was trying to write a movie script at the time and 'Ladies' Night' reads that way. It would make a great B-grade horror movie. The narrator's gravelly voice seems a bit abrasive to begin with but once the action kicks off it suits the story down to a t. I'm still not sure if I "like" 'Ladies' Night', but it certainly leaves an impression while it lasts.