Type of bind: Mass Market Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN num: 9780843950748
ISBN number: 0843950749
Label: Leisure Books
Manufacturer: Leisure Books
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 400
Printing Date: 2003-03
Publishing house: Leisure Books
Sale Popularity Level: 532373
Studio: Leisure Books
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Rated by buyers 
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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.
Rated by buyers 
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One of the things I like best about Mr. Hautala's stories is the range and diversity. From circus dancers to IRS agents, they all have a place in the crazy universe of BEDBUGS. My favorite story is "The Schoolhouse", which is a delightfully creepy trip back into the nightmare of grade school.
I read this book in two nights and loved every minute of it. Mr. Hautala's prose style is easy to read and he knows how to write a rocking good story. BEDBUGS is destined to become a classic!
Rated by buyers 
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One day I felt like I wanted to get myself scared a bit. So, after doing a bit of searching at the library for books with scary short stories, I found this book. I expected to find some fairly scary stories inside. I expected wrong.
First there was "The Back of My Hands", a story where a guy kills his talented brother and takes his brother's hands for his own . It was an OK story. It wasn't too great, but it wasn't horrible either. It felt more tedious to read than anything else. And for the record, it wasn't scary at all. Anyway, after reading it, I expected it would be one of the worse stories in the book, and the rest would be better.
Next up was "Schoolhouse". It was slightly better than "The Back of My Hands". Basically, a guy is afraid of his old schoolhouse, and, as per usual horror story tradition, ends up trying to "confront his fears" by going in. It was also tedious, and not scary at all. So I kept reading.
"The Voodoo Queen" was bad. While the ending was a bit ironic, otherwise the story was just garbage. The constant swearing and sexual references were really annoying. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't automatically conclude something is bad because it has a lot of swearing or sexual references ("The Sopranos" is one of my favorite shows, for crying out loud!), but this not only had way too much, it didn't add anything to the story. Not that swearing ever does in the very first place. Anyway, the sexualness could have easily been toned down a bit to make it a little more interesting for any younger readers. And, as always, it wasn't even slightly scary.
By this time I was beginning to lose faith in the book, but kept reading. The subsequent one, "Surprise" was the worst so far. Other than the fact that there wasn't even the slightest bit of horror in it (the rest weren't scary, but at least there was an endeavor at horror), the swear words are so frequent it makes me cringe. Also, there was essentially no plot at all. A lazy guy drinks too much and has a heart attack outside. His wife runs out to find him, he opens his eyes, she screams, the end. Whoop-de-doo. Sorry for ruining the "surprise ending", but that's all there is in this story. See, that's not scary. That's not even GOOD.
Now I was considering just returning the book and being done with it. But I felt I should give it some more chances, so I turned to the subsequent story, "Tunnels". Finally, an almost worthwhile story! It was actually almost scary, and the suspense was built up pretty well. The only complaints I have about this are the swearing (as always) and the fact the ending is a bit confusing. I mean, I think I understood it, but the author should've made it more clear. This story managed to renew my interest in the book.
So I started on the story "...From A Stone". This story, while very boring and as always having way too many swear words (which in lots of these stories ruin the already almost non-existant suspense) had an interesting and somewhat ironic (yet totally fake) ending. It wasn't too great a story, but I continued on.
"Crying Wolf" didn't have as many swear words, at least, but really wasn't that interesting a story. As with pretty much every other story in this book, it wasn't scary at all. Maybe I'm complaining too much about it not being scary, but this book is SUPPOSED to be full of scary stories. And at least being a little scary can maybe make them more interesting. Anyway, even though this story had a bit of a twist ending, I saw it coming early on.
"The Sources of the Nile" wasn't scary at all, just gross. It was just pure grossness. And boring. And pointless. And tedious. It's basically about a guy who sucks people's eyes out. See? I told you it was gross.
Next up: Silver Rings. Finally! A story almost almost almost almost almost almost almost almost worth reading! But this story doesn't even begin to fit the description of horror. It seems more romantic than anything else.
"Colt .24" was actually pretty interesting. It was actually more funny than anything else (it's a semi-classic "deal with the devil" story). It was actually pretty good.
"Bird in the House" really wasn't a horror story at all. And, as always, was boring and tedious. But anyway, the ending was a bit of a surprise, but that's the only redeeming feature.
At this time, I was considering just dumping the book and reviewing it and giving it 2 stars. It did have two halfway decent stories in it, after all ("Colt .24" and "Tunnels") But I felt I should at least read a little more and find out if the book got better, which I doubted. And so I came to "Cousins' Curse". This story was so sick, so perverted, and so just plain bad that I'm not even going to discuss what it was about. The best word that describes this story is "sick", and I'm going to leave it at that. Oh yeah, and even without the sickness, the story ... Read More
Rated by buyers -
I loved Bedbugs.
Over the years I have read and enjoyed many of Rick Hautala's novels. I find his style uncomplicated and to the point. Too many horror writers try too hard to be literary when what they should be doing is telling a good story. And telling a good story is what Rick Hautala does best. In Bedbugs he has offered up a veritable potpourri of nightmarish scenarios and offbeat characters, giving his readers a wide, cross-sectional look into the depths of a fertile imagination.
In my opinion Rick Hautala is a writer at the top of his form. Good going, Rick. Can't wait for the subsequent one!
Rated by buyers -
Since everyone else has pretty much gave you a pretty thorough description I'll keep it short and sweet, I loved it! I love reading Mr.Hautala's books, an easy to read writing style. He's one of my favorites, a true guilty pleasure!
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