Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I thought the premise was great but overall I was a disappointed. Perhaps I expected too much, but the book seemed cartoonish, reminding of an R-rated Scooby episode, the ending notwithstanding. The story is original and Laymon does a good job depicting the rural 60's setting. The characters are interesting, but their actions are sometimes puzzling and not believable. At times the teenagers acted like 10-year-old kids. If you are a big fan of vampire novels I think you should read this, but otherwise I can't recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: Has some bite.
Review: A good, original vampire yarn is hard to come by these days, but LAYMON pulls it off well with this story about innocence lost and terror found. THE TRAVELLING VAMPIRE SHOW is a punchy, swift read filled with good characters and some visually harrowing scenes. There are some short descriptive lulls, and a fair amount of eroticism that slows the momentum, making the novel a bit less intense than it coould've been. Almost all vampire stories have to add the flavor of sexuality, which I understand is part of the vampire mythos, however takes away from the creepy factor of a being who drinks human blood to live (undead, of course). This book elevates above most bloodsucking sagas I've read, but not above some of the better horror lurking out there.
Rating: 
Summary: Something different! Thank the gods!
Review: Being a bit of a vampire fanatic (to say the least) I'm always on the lookout for novels that break the barriers and traditions of vampire fiction. You know what I'm talking about. The tale dark and handsome male vampire figure that lures the helpless female into his lair. Or vice versa. They're predictable and I have a shelf full of them.Laymon's Traveling Vampire Show is a vampire novel that isn't a vampire novel. It's a coming of age story about three young friends, centering mainly around one dealing with his rising malehood and growing affection for his female companion. Vampires for the most part are just an -idea- throughout the novel. A mechanism for furthering the development of the characters, while the only actual encounter with vampires doesn't come to the end. I've subtracted a star for the abrupt end to the novel. It seems Laymon ran out of steam and haphazardly tries to sum it all up in one page. But despite the quick ending, this is certainly a novel for those vampire fanatics seeking something altogether different. This is also a novel for those who -aren't- yet into the idea of vampires or horror, it will help ease you into the genre slowly.
Rating:
Summary: Too many unresolved issues
Review: The three main characters were extremely well developed, perhaps a tad OVER-developed with too many insignificant scenes. Unfortunately, there were several unresolved questions that made me feel cheated at the end. And the explanation that Bitsy "simply disappeared" was a total cop-out. And just how did teenage Slim (a girl) kill all those men with a small knife? It seems she is Wonder Woman's daughter. Beyond that, it seemed the author was simply playing out his sexual fantasies on paper. It bordered on perversion.
Rating: 
Summary: When the weird comes to a small town
Review: Richard Laymon is a master of horror and is comfortable writing in a number of sub-genres. This book involves three young teens in small-town America who come across an ad for the Traveling Vampire Show. Our three protagonists want to go to the show, but due to blood and nudity, the show is for adults only. But that is not enough to stop them, instead, it seems to egg them on. Most of the book takes place during the day leading up to the show. There are also some interesting flashbacks that help flesh out the characters. During the story, the reader is drawn in trying to find out more about the Traveling Vampire Show. Is it a fraud, a real vampire (this is a horror novel after all), or something else all together? Well, as the action and tension heat up, some questions are answered about the vampire, the show and our protagonists. The small-town nature of the story has generated a lot of comparisons to Ray Bradbury and Stephen King but I feel it is not really either. It stands on its own. An absolutely wonderful book that gras hold and drags you right to the final page.
Rating:
Summary: Another in a series of classics by Mr. Laymon
Review: Awesome book, like most of his others. Almost reads like an eposidic drama instead of a straightforward novel - which is a pleasant change of pace. As cliche as this sounds, I literally could not put this book down. Gets my highest recommendation! YOU WANT THIS BOOK!
Rating:
Summary: You won't be sure that it works until the end
Review: The premise of _The Traveling Vampire Show_ is simple-and keep in mind that a simple premise, especially one that is easy to explain in one sentence, is often given as a criterion for good fiction by agents, editors and publishers. Three small-town teenagers, two boys and a girl, on a hot August day in 1963, discover that a for-adults-only "traveling vampire show" is coming to town for a one-night only performance at a strange field in the middle of the woods with an infamous, crime-ridden, supernatural-rumored past, so they devise schemes to see the show, or at least its purportedly beautiful star, Valeria the Vampire. In reading Laymon for the first time, at least, as I am, his style initially seems pleasantly and naturally in the same vein as Stephen King. In a straightforward manner, he lets us enter the everyday thoughts of his protagonist, Dwight, and the thoughts of the other characters as Dwight understands them. This first person window into a small town, teenaged baby boomers' life in the early 60s is convincing and gripping-making this a page-turner. However, there are two things that at least on a first reading seemed like they might have to count as flaws, and which lessen the Stephen King comparison (although not in a bad way, as we'll see later in this review). The first is the aforementioned simplicity of the premise. It takes almost 400 pages to describe events that take less than 24 hours to unfold, and although a lot unfolds, the traveling vampire show itself is constantly dangled in front of us like a carrot that we can never reach. The show remains the goal throughout the book-and that's understandable since the setting is the day of the show, but the show doesn't actually start until page 313, and before it does, our heroes go back and forth about whether they want to see it, or whether it will be possible to see it, at least ten times. From page 130-sometithing to about page 300, I was wondering if the whole thing wasn't going to turn out to be one big tease. The second is that also from about page 130-something until the vampire show, it increasingly seems like the kids are just a bit spastic and that they tend to overreact to mundane occurrences. Most of the sinister events of the present day of the setting turn out to have a humdrum explanation, and the kids were just interpreting things wildly. For awhile, it seems like even the horror aspects of the book might turn out to be one big tease, and that what Laymon really wants to do is just write a coming of age story that roughly parallels his youth. But it's time for the second "however", and this is a huge one. It becomes apparent in retrospect that Laymon really knows what he's doing. Both the logorrheic extension of the narrative and the gross exaggeration of the nature of the world by the kids pay off in spades during the climax. Why? Because it amplifies both the tightness of writing from the vampire show to the end and the breathtakingly brutal way that things turn out. We become so used to the horror not being real that when it turns out to be, it is that much more shocking. And that's why I've mentioned "on a first reading" a couple times. In retrospect, the protracted carrot dangling and the overreactions from the kids work. Even Laymon's coming of age angle works. The problems one might have with these things are due to expectations being thwarted. And on a first reading, that turns out to work in the books' favor as well-thwarting expectations can make a reader uneasy, and that's just what horror fiction should do. You're off balance already, so the climax sends you tumbling down a ravine. Of course, that might not sound so pleasant to some folks, but on the other hand, they're probably not fans of horror fiction.
Rating:
Summary: Teenage horrormones
Review: This was the first of many Laymon books for me. It was a real treat. He lays out a vivid visualization throughout the book (unlike my review). I felt as though I was walking down the street and throught the neighborhood with these wonderful characters. I must say, that I like all of his books that I've read so far, but this one was the best. Island is a very close second. This one reminded of Stand By Me, with a twist. It's a "feel good" horror story. There are wonderful relationships between the three main characters. They are teenagers who are dealing with a boring summer, their feelings and their crushes. They become closer as they deal with their desire to see the Traveling Vampire Show. When they finally get in to see it, their curiosity leads to a great battle between themselves and the Vampire Show's crew and Valeria the vampire. I could hardly wait to see the movie. Well worth the price of admission!
Rating:
Summary: Better go out and get a copy
Review: I loved this book. It very rarely gets this good, no matter what genre one prefers. Don't let the title fool you-it's not really about a traveling vampire show. And yet, it is. Read it and find out for yourself. This is one of the best books I've read all year.
Rating:
Summary: Best book I've read in a while
Review: Richard Laymon continues to impress me every time I read one of his books. Out of the five books that I have read so far by him, this book stands out the most. Characterization is wonderful and his writing style keeps you reading until your eyes hurt. I agree with other reviewers that this combines ideas from "The Body", "Something Wicked This Way Comes" and "Boy's Life". I heartily recommend this book to anyone who loves horror, a good plot and believable characters.
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