Rating: 
Summary: ONE GOOD NOVEL, FINALLY, AND THE HE GOES AND DIES!
Review: Quick and simple, I bought this book one day while waiting for a perscription to be filled and was blown away. I liked the cover, read the first chapter in the store and took it home, thinking it would be Steven King's "IT" light. How wrong I was!
It's one of those rare, fun books that you want to pass to your friends. The end is a little too much? Maybe a little too apocalypic? But the read was a gas, you don't mind. My only complaint is the lack of talent Laymon posesses in his other novels.
I liked this one, but my fanfare of horror until now did'nt reach much beyond Steven King. This book was far more fun than any King book could hope to be. All action, no long pointless story telling. But every other Laymon book I have read or tried to read just was, awful.
So, buy this book? Oh yes, you'll love it. Well crafted horror, but when you try his other books, um, thats the scary part!
Rating:
Summary: Best of Laymon
Review: I've read a good chunk of Laymon's work over the years, and I'm convinced that this book is definitely his best.The characters are in no way carbon copies of others you come across in horror books. Each one of them is carefully thought out. The same goes for the setting and plot. Laymon has covered the vampire tale before (Bite) but this story is more mindful of Dan Simmon's Summer of Night and, to an extent, even To Kill A Mocking Bird by Harper Lee. If anything else, this was a book for horror fans looking for a tale that takes place in a time perhaps not more innocent than the present, but unfettered by cell phones, computers, etc when teens and children had to use their minds to entertain themselves. Laymon is undoubtedly a master of a terse style that conveys so much. By comparison, many horror writers with flowery descriptions often fall short of the mark. Read it and remember that one summer where you felt everything was about to change, for better or worse, and you put off growing up in order to savor what little mystery and magic was left in the world.
Rating:
Summary: Vingage Laymon, Very Good Then, Better Now
Review: I suppose "The Traveling Vampire Show" could be called a coming-of-age story, however it's a very differet kind of coming-of-age story. Mr. Laymon has peopled the book with three very horny teenagers. There's shy, sixteen-year-old Dwight, chubby Rusty and the object of the boy's obsession-the cute, smart, independent tomboy Slim (real name Francis), who wields arrows and knives like a pro. One hot August morning in1963, while Dwight's out mowing the lawn, Rusty and Slim come by with one of the fliers that has been put up all over their little town of Grandville. The flyer advertises a one-night-only performance and Rusty is eager as all get out to get a gander at the featured attraction. Valeria is billed as a gorgeous, bona fide vampire, who'll stalk volunteers from the audience and feast on their blood. However, they are sixteen and you must be at least eighteen to be admitted to the midnight show. Dwight's attractive young sister-in-law Lee agrees to buy them tickets and accompany them. Since they have the day free, our horny teenagers decide to hike out to Jank's Field where the show will be held and try to get a peek at Valeria. Jank's Field is strictly off limits to the threesome. It's a barren, flat field which becomes horribly hot and dangerous in the summer. It's littered with glass, jagged rocks and snake holes. It was the burial ground for a serial killer. It was the scene of a violent riot following a boxing match. It's a breeding ground for bullies. And it's chock-a-block full of feral animals. The teens have several horrific encounters in the field, including a run in with a bully who Slim disables with her bow, a meeting with an evil dog and a run in with kidnapping twins in a black Cadillac. By the novel's end, Slim's body count is at least three, and she wounds several others. This is a humorous but sad, chilling but sensitive story that will remind you of what it was like to be young and horny. Not many writer's would tackle something like this, but then again, the late Richard Laymon was not like any other writer. He was often quirky, always scary and usually strayed where others fear to tread. He was a wonderful writer and this is a super book. Did I say it was scary?
Rating:
Summary: Vampire Vixens Sucked My Blood!
Review: I'm not ordinarily that big a fan of Laymon, but this is a great book that exceeds its genre. While it is a horror novel, it is far more a coming of age story focusing on a small number of teenage characters in 1963. The entire story takes place in a single day and night in August, which turns out to be one of those critical days in the characters' maturation - not to mention a wild and hairy ride, not only for them, but many others in their town before it's out. Laymon ordinarily turns on too much gore for the average reader, but here he shows admirable restraint - at least, until the nail-biting finale. The majority of the book simply chronicles the small-town daily existence of three schoolfriends, and some of their family and acquaintances, into whose mundane lives arrives The Traveling Vampire Show. The three are underage, and the mere fact that The Traveling Vampire Show is for adults only makes it all the more a siren's call to them: its central attraction is "Valeria," the one - the only - living vampire in the world; who, needless to say, doesn't wear much, and promises to take off more. Laymon's style is humorous and lively, and quite engaging. The only flaw with the book is that it wraps-up too quickly, not tying all the various story strands together that it has brought into play. It could have used an epilogue. There are some fascinating characters developed who simply disappear at the end of the story, aren't mentioned again, or who undergo a dramatic change that is dealt with in a mere sentence, when more space than that is really required for full satisfaction. Still, this is a wonderful roller-coaster ride of a book, with universal appeal in its treatment of the central characters.
Rating: 
Summary: THIS IS ONE SHOW YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS
Review: This book posthumously won Laymon the Stoker award that he has deserved for so long. For most of the book this is not really a horror story as a story of the friendships between Dwight, Rusty & Frances (who changes her names every summer, in this instance it's Slim) & their experiences growing up together in small town America in the 1960s. However excitement arrives one day in the form of posters advertising THE TRAVELLING VAMPIRE SHOW which is coming to their town. Unfortunately you have to be 18 to get in, but the kids won't let this stop them. Rusty & Dwight are especially keen to attend because they want to catch a first hand glimpse of the shows main attraction, Valeria: "The one and only known vampire in captivity! Gorgeous! Beguiling! Lethal!".
At times reading this book can be a bit of a hard slog but of course Laymon's trademark black humor is present throughout, but the big finale is the real payoff with Laymon outdoing himself in a masterful display of gore & sex & grossouts that will please any Laymon devotee. So reverse yourself a seat, this is one show you don't want to miss.
Rating:
Summary: absolutely great book
Review: This book was excellent! The best vampire book I have read in years by far! The plot was orginally, story well written and engaging. Once you start this book you will not put it down until you are finished. I wish more people were writing great vampire literature such as this.
Rating: 
Summary: No vampires, no horror, no action, no story!
Review: I just started reading Laymon. I started with Loathsome Night in October and while not great, it was a good read full of cheap thrills and a need to know what would happen next. I'd compare it to the kind of stuff Bentley Little writes: not high art, kind of hokey and cheap but fun. So as my second Laymon read I decided on this because of all the great reviews. Mistake. First of all the characters, while being between 15 and 17, all act like little kids. I think the writer was not able to get to the "place" in his mind and messed up as far as how one reacts at one's age. But the real gripe with this book is the story...there is none. Seriously, the first 300 pages is the main three characters deciding whether or not to go to the show! It's one big circuitous mess for 80% of the book. No vampire action if that is what you're looking for. If you are looking for Laymon's signature cheap thrills, look else ware. No horror, no sex, no action. Just kids walking around town trying to decided if they should go to a show.
Rating: 
Summary: Thirsty for blood, received glass of milk...
Review: Perhaps this was a clever little tale about childhood relationships, but I found none of the suspense or gruesome horror fun I craved. A campy, blandly entertaining book that lacks intensity and delivers the least interesting portrayal of vampires I have yet to see. If you are looking for a vampire novel, try salems lot or i am legend. The horror and suspense in this book is VERY tame!
Rating:
Summary: STOP! Save Your Money! You've Got To Believe Me!
Review: Stupid! Ridiculous! Moronic! Childish!, Don't believe the good reviews on this book they're lying to you! all of them liars!, either that or they have an IQ of 70 on a warm day (and that's being generous and polite). Richard Laymon's the most overrated (hack)horror writer out there(I've read 4 of his books and they all stunk), Read him only as a last resort or if you are easily entertained. Mr Laymon's writing style is immature, opportunistic, uncreative, sloppy, and plain old fashioned stupid. Please try "The Light at the End" by John Skip,Craig Spector or "Bring on the Night" by Jay Davis,Don Davis if you need a vampire fix, they are far superior.
Rating:
Summary: and you thought your childhood was screwed up...
Review: This book was all but perfect. It is a great story with a distinct feel of americana. During you truly find yourself rooting for the main character, who is quite likeable. This book delivers in the sense that by the end you are truly concerned about his welfare. The main lacking point in the ending. Laymon fails to tie up some of the loose ends which leaves the readers wondering well what happened next? All in all though a truly great book to read.
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