Bite

Rating:
Summary: Tons of suspenseful fun!
Review: This book was quite the page turner! I almost hesitate to call it a horror novel, though. It's more of a suspense novel with a slight horror element. I've been reading Laymon since high school and this is one of his more believable and best written pieces, yet. It's a one-track, first-person story, but the plot rockets at such a quick pace you're never bored. Reccomended.

Rating:
Summary: Not your typical vampire book!
Review: I loved Bite. I couldn't put it down. It kept me guessing until the very last. It was not exactly what I expected, but it was a pleasant suprise. I read One Rainy Night, and now I'm in hot pursuit on any Laymon books.

Rating:
Summary: BITE is one of Laymon's BEST pieces!
Review: I've never passed on/shared a book with more people than I did with Bite! At the end of each chapter it draws you into the next chapter in such a way that you can't put it down! I've never read a book like Bite before, as it literally makes you want to say - What are you doing! When the people in it do something which you can see is only going to make the situation worse! But, that's half the fun of it, as you never know just what is around the corner in a Laymon book. Especially in Bite.

Rating:
Summary: This book "Bite"s, all right.
Review: Hated it! Where does this man's good reputation come from? Stephen King is an apparent fan but I can't for the life of me figure out why. I've read a few of his books now and found them to be boring, without even the slightest chill. His writing style is fine but where's the horror? This book is very similar to another Laymon novel called The Stake. He likes to write vampire novels where the reader spends the entire time wondering when the vampire is going to show up. Don't waste your valuable time on this one.

Rating:
Summary: A gory good time
Review: Bite is one of those guilty pleasures, a book you pretty much figure you shouldn't be liking but once you let go of your prejudices and let the story take over, it's like a mad roller-coaster ride into the nasty places of the human mind. Briefly, boy meets old flame who needs him to kill a vampire for her. He does, and they spend the rest of the novel trying to get rid of the body. It's a horror novel, though not one that will scare you much, it's a road trip of the weirdest sort, and it's a comedy that is irresistibly spiteful, skirting the sharp edges of madness. This is not Stephen King, folks, this is the guy who runs the museum full of two-headed sheep and stuffed jackalopes. For lovers of flim-flam, the strange and the absurd.

Rating:
Summary: The first of many
Review: "Bite" was the first R.Laymon book I read. I love his style of writing - the way he immediately zaps you into the world of the story and you can't put it down. I must admit I'm no Stephen King fan as I basically find them rather boring and babble for too long. This book gets right to the point and keeps you interested. I must admit it never once actually "scared" me but then again I've not actually found one that does. It did make me want to keep reading though. Anyway, it's definitely worth reading. I'm now a keen R.Laymon fan.

Rating:
Summary: Not even a horror story
Review: I this the first (and most likely last) time I've ever read Richard Laymon. I bought this book because of Steven King's comments expecting a good scare.

What I got wasn't even a horror novel. This book is never scary. It also not about the supernatural or anything else that would qualify as fantastic.

The book presents us with several characters (both the good guys and the bad guys) that make dumb choices and then spend the rest of the book trying to deal with the repercussions. There were several places along the way where I just wished I could stop and smack one of the characters on the head and say "Wake up! Think about what you are doing."

After I finished the book, I donated it to the local library. I feel guilty about that now, because I may have exposed even more people to this drivel.

Rating:
Summary: A complete waste of time
Review: 'Bite' is about the worst book I have ever read. From the first page, the narrator is a pathetic wimp of a man, willing to do *anything* just to be near his long-lost love. The supposed bad guy is a joke, and the multiple misfortunes that happen to the lead characters get boring and unsuspenseful. I didn't even bother to finish this book. If this is indicative of Laymon's talent, Stephen King is a poor judge and should be ashamed to praise this piece of junk.

Rating:
Summary: How was Stephen King made to comment on this book?
Review: Well the book was very well written, but the dialogue and the first person narration simply killed the true meaning behind of things. There was very little insight on the deep feelings of others characters. We just had one guy doing all the narrating. The other characters were mere players and you can never know what goes on inside them or what the driving force behind their actions are. The character, Snow White, was pitted to be this all encompassing evil thing, but you can never understand his true motives except through the opinion of the narrator which is not very insightful. Then we had that narrator and the lead female character. This guy is definitely more than obssessed. He's downright scary. I mean, we know there are high school crushes out there, but I have never seen one as exteme as this one.

This book is not a recommended read. It's ok since you can finish it quickly and all, but to go through it all and read it. It's just a waste. I just don't know how big names like King and Koontz wrote a one liner for the cover?

This book belongs on the shelf of a King Soopers supermarket if you ask me.

Rating:
Summary: More bark than Bite...
Review: Here's how I see it:

It was a good book. Not a GREAT book. Not an AWFUL book. Just a good one. Laymon's done better before, and has done MUCH better since.

I'd really give it a 2 1/2. It's an in between thing.

What can I say, I wasn't impressed. It just didn't turn my crank. It had wonderful moments, it had great dialogue, it even had some enjoyable twists. What it didn't have is that extra spice that other trademark Laymons carry. Some like 'Body Rides' The Beast House series and unforgetables like 'Island' and 'Among the Missing'

It wasn't a waste of money. It's just one of those books that I probably won't be reading much more than once.