Rating: 
Summary: interesting twist on a vampire story
Review: Richard Laymon has always been a guilty pleasurefor me; and I've read and enjoyed his paperbacks for years. So, naturally, when I saw a hardcover on the New Releases shelf at the local library I did a double take at the name "Laymon". Stake has all the typical Laymon elements of horror and underlaying sexuality, but Laymon makes this story more accessible to those more refined readers that wouldn't touch a pulp horror book. The Stake is a interesting twist on the vampires that contrasts the horrors we create as humans with the mythical horrors of the supernatural. I had hoped that the Stake would gain Laymon more mainstream acceptance, but, alas, Laymon seems to have all but disappeared afterwards, (I don't think he is published in the US any longer :-().
Rating: 
Summary: At last, vampire tale that is unique and original.
Review: Richard Laymon's sudden passing on Feb. 14, 2001 was a serious blow to horror's literary validity. Anyone who has read more than one of Laymon's books will know that. The Stake is a particularly good one, alternately fall down funny and curl up into a fetal position and cry for momma scary. A horror writer (who seems to be made from a mold quite similiar to Laymon's, judging from the little writer details and scrumptious in-jokes he throws in), his wife, and their neighbors/best friends find a gruesome secret in an old, deserted ghost town. The corpse of a woman with a stake driven through her heart. This is only the first in a long line of frightening and mysterious events that befall our characters, they're far too realistically drawn to be called heroes.As with Laymon's other stories I have read, the human monsters (which include a sadistic rapist and one loony vampire hunter) are far more disgusting and evil than the fantasical creatures that usually inhabit these sorts of tales, this makes the novel far more realistic and disturbing than its contemporaries. As with Laymon's other books I was sorry to see it end, I wanted to hang around the characters some more and see how the events colored the rest of their lives, they were THAT well drawn. Definitely a novel I will be revisiting and one I highly recommend.
Rating: 
Summary: Too much hanky panky!
Review: The book kept my interest all the way through, however a lot of the plot was ruined by too many horny characters. I got sick of reading about Larry's perverted thoughts and Jim always trying to feel Lane's breasts among other things. "The Ax" was good, it just needed to be cleaned up a lot.
Rating: 
Summary: two stories here - one interesting, one ludicrous
Review: The main story of two couples finding the staked, mummified female body is engaging. It gets very interesting as the main character finds out more and more about the identity of the dead woman and the circumstances surrounding her death. The secondary storyline concerning the daughter of the main character, however, does not have the slightest feeling of reality. Many of the scenes are just plain ridiculous. The writing in this storyline is extremely repetitive, also. If the words breasts, nipples, and sweat, were deleted, about half the text would be gone! When the main character, who is an author, has begun writing a book about the adventure he and his friends are having, he tells his friend that he may have to pad the story out to bring it to novel length. I can't help thinking he was mirroring Mr. Laymon's own dilemma in trying to stretch out the storyline of this book. It's too bad, because there is some good writing that got buried (sorry) in here.
Rating:
Summary: Much more than just a vampire tale
Review: The Stake is intrinsically a fairly straightforward tale, but one where the true nature of the vampire is not revealed until the dying chapters of the story. The real horror in this book is the relationship between the main characters and their friendships with others. Although not your normal vampire tale, the usual elements are all their in abundance but what has become almost a formulaic tale has been given a new breath of life by Laymon. Much of the action takes place in a deserted wild west ghost town and this place could be anywhere, maybe down the end of your road and you know you really want to go incase you too can have the same sort of find as Larry and Pete. There are two themes running the book, one is the tale of the vampire that is in their midst, well thats if she is really a vampire. The second is the way in which man interacts with each other, the true horror in this story being a psychotic mass murderer who touches on the lifes of Larry and his family. Whilst not one of Laymon's best books it has his trademark style which makes it engrossing and the midnight oil will burn long as you promise yourself just this one last chapter then I really will sleep!
Rating:
Summary: Much more than just a vampire tale
Review: The Stake is intrinsically a fairly straightforward tale, but one where the true nature of the vampire is not revealed until the dying chapters of the story. The real horror in this book is the relationship between the main characters and their friendships with others. Although not your normal vampire tale, the usual elements are all their in abundance but what has become almost a formulaic tale has been given a new breath of life by Laymon. Much of the action takes place in a deserted wild west ghost town and this place could be anywhere, maybe down the end of your road and you know you really want to go incase you too can have the same sort of find as Larry and Pete. There are two themes running the book, one is the tale of the vampire that is in their midst, well thats if she is really a vampire. The second is the way in which man interacts with each other, the true horror in this story being a psychotic mass murderer who touches on the lifes of Larry and his family. Whilst not one of Laymon's best books it has his trademark style which makes it engrossing and the midnight oil will burn long as you promise yourself just this one last chapter then I really will sleep!
Rating:
Summary: Fun, fun, fun, till her daddy takes the stake away....
Review: This is a true treat for Laymon fans! Larry, Jean, Pete and Barbara are four friends who go exploring through a ghost town only to literally fall upon a mummified corpse with a stake through her heart. Pete and (reluctantly) Larry cook up a money-making scheme: author Larry will write about their adventure with the corpse and finish off the story with a ceremonial de-staking. The question floating in the background throughout the novel is will this gal sit up once she's no longer staked?
I love how Laymon builds in real-life terror from human monsters in his tales. In this one, Larry becomes so obsessed with the corpse that he not only starts dreaming about her, he totally overlooks some very serious things going on with his wife and daughter. Teen daughter, Lane, finds herself fighting something far worse than a potential vampire. THE STAKE is quite a unique vampire tale. It's fun, it's suspenseful, it shows the true monsters for what they really are. This is a great book for any horror, vampire, or suspense fan. Try it, you won't regret it!
Rating:
Summary: it did keep me up
Review: This is my first exposure to Richard Laymon. The early plotting and character development seemed sophomoric and contrived. Early on, I was tempted to cease reading, but I am glad I overlooked these weaknesses because the book turned out to be a real page turner. Honestly, I did stay up into the wee morning hours to finish it. And even then, my sleep was fitfull because of my memory of some very vivid scenes. The graphic and anatomically detailed desciptions of sexual abuse (and the aftermath) are troubling, but they do seem appropriate within the context of the narrative. After all, we read such books to get a 'visceral' high. As well, it is somewhat discomforting to read about a 'happily married' family man lusting after teenage girls and incessently watching his neighbor's wife's breasts and 'rump' (it seems to be one of Laymon's favorite words). Once Laymon makes it clear that he is not going to pull any punches, the plot becomes ingrossingly unpredictable.Realizing that he was not constrained by 'good taste' or PC sentiments I was never quite sure what would happen. Yes, characters often behave in ways that make you say to yourself "no one would do that", but just the same, I wanted to know how this twisted tale would end. In short, it was graphic, thrilling and quite wicked. I recommend it highly.
Rating:
Summary: it did keep me up
Review: This is my first exposure to Richard Laymon. The early plotting and character development seemed sophomoric and contrived. Early on, I was tempted to cease reading, but I am glad I overlooked these weaknesses because the book turned out to be a real page turner. Honestly, I did stay up into the wee morning hours to finish it. And even then, my sleep was fitfull because of my memory of some very vivid scenes. The graphic and anatomically detailed desciptions of sexual abuse (and the aftermath) are troubling, but they do seem appropriate within the context of the narrative. After all, we read such books to get a 'visceral' high. As well, it is somewhat discomforting to read about a 'happily married' family man lusting after teenage girls and incessently watching his neighbor's wife's breasts and 'rump' (it seems to be one of Laymon's favorite words). Once Laymon makes it clear that he is not going to pull any punches, the plot becomes ingrossingly unpredictable.Realizing that he was not constrained by 'good taste' or PC sentiments I was never quite sure what would happen. Yes, characters often behave in ways that make you say to yourself "no one would do that", but just the same, I wanted to know how this twisted tale would end. In short, it was graphic, thrilling and quite wicked. I recommend it highly.
Rating:
Summary: Not your typical vampire book...
Review: This was my first book by Richard Laymon, and I found this one to be very entertaining. The whole basis of the novel, whether or not Larry will pull the stake out of Bonnie is almost a second thought compared to the other underlying story with his daughter Lane, and her infatuation with her teacher, Mr. Kramer. I honestly was enthralled with both stories, though I was happy how it ended. I recommend this book to any fan of the genre, it's a new twist on an old theme, and yes, like the others who have reviewed it as well, it will make you stay up late, just to finish "one more chapter".
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