Rating: 
Summary: If you're not doing anything....
Review: ...And you want to pass the time reading, pick this one up by all means; just don't expect too much. I found the whole "body ride" concept to be intriguing. It reminded me of the X-ray glasses you used to see for sale in the back of comic books, only instead of glasses you kiss a bracelet, and instead of seeing through clothes, you see into people's minds and thoughts. I thought that was really clever. This is the first book of Laymon's that I have read, so I don't know if this is his normal style, but I wish he would have spent a little more time on character developement. The characters in the story lacked depth. The most developed character was Sue. The bad part about her character was the way Laymon wrote to portray her "hickness." All I kept hearing in my inner mind was the voice of "Sandy Cheeks" from the Spongebob Squarepants cartoons, and that kind of killed the sexiness that Laymon tried to portray about her. Speaking of killed and cartoons, did anyone else find some of the characters behaviors to be illogical with respect to killing? "Hey you just killed this guy that was trying to sexually torture me and kill me, but let's not tell the police." "Uhhhh....lemme see.....uhhhhh, ok." I found that attitude to be highly unlikely in any reasonable person. So, for the concept (and some rather steamy sex scenes) I bumped this from 2 stars to three. Hmmm...having sex while inside of your partner's mind...that'll send you away thinking.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting idea got lost somewhere
Review: Being a fan of Richard Laymon, I try to read everything of his I can get my hands on. Body Rides was no exception. Great idea - a bracelet that allows the wearer not to read minds, but to actually enter another person and tag along with them - seeing what they see, hearing what they hear, feeling what they feel, while their body is safely somewhere else. But, the 'rider' cannot communicate with the host, nor can they manipulate them in any way. So, what's the point? Reading this book, I thought of many ways to make it better, but of course, it wasn't my idea. The villain (Rasputin) had such a small undeveloped part that I wondered throughout whether there really was a villain in this book - and his appearance had no purpose except to explain why Neal (our 'hero') ended up with the bracelet in the first place. Long book, not a 'page turner' by any means, but an ok read for fans.
Rating:
Summary: Good plot goes nowhere
Review: Body Rides was an okay story, just okay. I'll admit the plot was very different and unique. I felt the plot could have been expanded a little more, considering its uniqueness. The ending was a crappy one and there were scenes in the story which seemed useless and out of place to the plot.
Rating: 
Summary: Body Rides are cool!
Review: Every 6 months, Leisure Horror publishes a "new" Richard Laymon title. "New" only in the sense that the novel was previously unpublished in the U.S. Most of Laymon's works were left unpublished in his native country, instead only available through a British publisher by the name of Headline Feature that distributed his books mostly in the U.K., Australia and Canada. Body Rides, which first surfaced under Headline in 1996, is reputed among many hardcore Laymon fans to be one of his best titles. As someone who has now read upwards of 20 Laymon books my concensus is this: Body Rides is solid and well worth a read but at the same time nowhere close to being a Laymon top-five. While returning a couple of video rentals late at night, Neal Darden hears a faraway scream coming from a wooded area on the side of the highway. He pulls over his car, grabs his unregistered Sig Sauer .380 pistol and heads over to the rescue. He finds a naked young female tied to a tree while a man is physically abusing her. Neal ends up shooting the man and rescuing the woman. The woman, named Elise, thanks Neal with her life and hands to him as a reward a gold magic bracelet. The bracelet enables someone to take "Body Rides", which means your spirit leaves your own body and enters the body of another unsuspecting person. The bracelet will prove invaluable to Neal, as the rapist he shot has vengeance on his mind. With the aid of the bracelet, Neal can step into the minds of others, including his would-be killer... In typical Laymon style, the novel starts off with a bang, with a series of intense scenes of rape, revenge and murder. After the first maybe hundred pages or so however things slow down drastically. Neal, wanting to flee the dangers he now faces in L.A., goes on a sort of joyride through the California and Nevada deserts, where he will find love and a temporary inner peace of mind. This joyride through the desert, which is a major portion of the book, is entertaining in its on way but sort of feels separate from the novel he started. It doesn't really do much as far as progressing the story and although I enjoyed it I couldn't help but wonder where Laymon was trying to go with all this. I guess the major bone I had with this Laymon was the absence of danger Neal faced throughout the book. The villain Laymon created is very menacing, a sort of skinny, shaggy-haired, greasy Charles Manson lookalike but his appearances throughout the novel were far and few, which I found took away from the novel's intensity. A thumbs up must be given to Laymon for creating truly great characters in this one however. Neal is quite likeable and most of his actions somewhat believable under the circumstances. Then there are the two women he loves, Marta, and a hillbilly girl named Sue. Reading about their love triangle was a blast, although I had a bit of trouble believing that two women who barely knew each other would be totally cool about sharing the same guy. If a lot of guys are lucky enough to have this happen to them in real life than I guess I've been missing out on something good. The novel's central premise of taking "Body Rides" was certainly very entertaining, it made for a lot of embarrassingly humouress situations, to which Laymon exploited its full use. Overall this was certainly a good Laymon but not one of his very best. For that, I would recommend "Island", "Travelling Vampire Show" and his sick n' twisted "Beast House" chronicles.
Rating:
Summary: Good Set-up that... Just... Runs... Out... Of... Steam
Review: I admit it - I'm a Laymon fan. Have been for about 5 years. So sue me. I was not only saddened but pissed off to hear of his death just a couple of years after I'd discovered his writing, so I was glad to see that Leisure planned on continuing to re-release his great books.
Great books. This wasn't one. It was... OK. The characters and the basic premise are outstanding and instantly engaging, but about a third of the way in, Laymon seems to lose focus. The side trip to Nevada by Neal was unnecessary; is there any reason he (Laymon) couldn't have combined the characters of Sue and Karen? It sure would have speeded things up.
Another gripe: The villain, 'Rasputin'/Glitt, seemed VERY ineffectual and weak; not at all up to normal Laymon villain standards.
And yet another gripe: The ending. I realize there was a moral here, but if I wanted to be hit over the head with a moral I'd go to church.
If you want excellent Laymon, read 'Island' and 'The Travelling Vampire Show'. If you want mediocre Laymon, read 'Body Rides'.
Rating:
Summary: Long ride for the concept.
Review: Neal Darden just wanted to avoid trouble and get his video rentals back to the store on time. But his short cut turns out to be a direct path to terror. Hearing a woman's scream for help, Darden grabs his concealed weapon and charges to the rescue, blasting the twisted assailant away with the aforementioned gun. The rescued damsel is very, very grateful, but reluctant to call the cops. Instead Neal takes her home and, after getting cleaned up, she bestows upon him a gift. A bracelet that allows the person wearing it to enter into the body and mind of others, without their knowing it. Then things go crazy. The attacker isn't dead, nor is he finished, and, as far as Neal goes, anything that can go wrong, does. Body Rides is filled with the kinky sex (not to mention Laymon's almost festishistic fascination with voyeurism), brutal violence and black comedy that the late, great writer was famous (or infamous, depending on who you talk with) for, but it also drags with unneeded detail which robs the middle part of suspense. Some of the characters also behave in a way that is great for the plot, but just doesn't jibe with human nature. At least with the nature of the humans I have known. But when the novel cooks, it is a fun ride.
Rating:
Summary: Long ride for the concept.
Review: Neal Darden just wanted to avoid trouble and get his video rentals back to the store on time. But his short cut turns out to be a direct path to terror. Hearing a woman's scream for help, Darden grabs his concealed weapon and charges to the rescue, blasting the twisted assailant away with the aforementioned gun. The rescued damsel is very, very grateful, but reluctant to call the cops. Instead Neal takes her home and, after getting cleaned up, she bestows upon him a gift. A bracelet that allows the person wearing it to enter into the body and mind of others, without their knowing it. Then things go crazy. The attacker isn't dead, nor is he finished, and, as far as Neal goes, anything that can go wrong, does. Body Rides is filled with the kinky sex (not to mention Laymon's almost festishistic fascination with voyeurism), brutal violence and black comedy that the late, great writer was famous (or infamous, depending on who you talk with) for, but it also drags with unneeded detail which robs the middle part of suspense. Some of the characters also behave in a way that is great for the plot, but just doesn't jibe with human nature. At least with the nature of the humans I have known. But when the novel cooks, it is a fun ride.
Rating:
Summary: Long ride for short concept.
Review: Neal Darden only wanted to avoid getting into trouble by staying off the main road as he crossed town to return the videos he and his girlfriend had just watched. Then he hears a woman scream for help, and the nightmare begins. Grabbing the gun he keeps concealed in his car, Neal runs to the rescue, shooting the assailant. But he and the potential victim fail to check the body to see if the attacker is, in fact, actually dead. In gratitude for saving her life, the woman gives Neal a special bracelet that allows the person wearing it to slip into another person's body and mind. Then things go bad. The attacker is still alive and, after Neal has left, he finishes his job and starts coming after Neal. Believe me, the book sounds better than it reads. Laymon, as he does in most of his books, has the story run in 'real time' and it bogs down in the middle with a plot twist that seems to exist just to add kinky sex to the mix of the story. Even worse, the characters act in the best interest of advancing the plot, not in exploring realistic human behavior in unrealistic circumstances. Laymon fans will enjoy it, but readers new to the late author will wonder what the loyal following is all about.
Rating:
Summary: Long ride for short concept.
Review: Neal Darden only wanted to avoid getting into trouble by staying off the main road as he crossed town to return the videos he and his girlfriend had just watched. Then he hears a woman scream for help, and the nightmare begins. Grabbing the gun he keeps concealed in his car, Neal runs to the rescue, shooting the assailant. But he and the potential victim fail to check the body to see if the attacker is, in fact, actually dead. In gratitude for saving her life, the woman gives Neal a special bracelet that allows the person wearing it to slip into another person's body and mind. Then things go bad. The attacker is still alive and, after Neal has left, he finishes his job and starts coming after Neal. Believe me, the book sounds better than it reads. Laymon, as he does in most of his books, has the story run in 'real time' and it bogs down in the middle with a plot twist that seems to exist just to add kinky sex to the mix of the story. Even worse, the characters act in the best interest of advancing the plot, not in exploring realistic human behavior in unrealistic circumstances. Laymon fans will enjoy it, but readers new to the late author will wonder what the loyal following is all about.
Rating: 
Summary: WOW
Review: One of the best books that i have ever read...WOW!!
One of his best ever :)
He comes up with these extra-ordinary concepts..Triple WOW.
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