Rating: 
Summary: Started out good ended as a bungled mess
Review: This one will get your hopes up at first but leaving you wondering why you even bothered at the end. IT seems like the author got lazy at the end or could not figure out what he wanted to do with it so he just copped out and left a lot of loose threads untied. I have seen some people comparing this to Robert R McCammons Boy's Life. Do be fooled Boy's Life is vastly better. This is not even in the same league.
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Summary: ... Teens and Vampires...Oh My!
Review: Despite being a somewhat cliche' depiction of ... teens, this book has some fun moments. Having the vamps hiding out in a travelling vampire carnival is a fun idea. If you want a breezy, funny, sexy, and sometimes gory read...go for it.
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Summary: Laymon-- In This Case, Lame Man
Review: I am always on the lookout for horror novels, and I was drawn to Laymon by Amazon.com's reader reviews. Having only read "Traveling Vampire," I'm not yet ready to dismiss Laymon...but I'm close. His setup is marvelous: the relationship among Dwight, Slim and Rusty is entertaining and rings true (Stephen King, anyone?). But this book (my next read is "Bite" -- we shall see) is a total cheat. Not only does the constant back and forth of the day become tedious, but there is no payoff. For example: is Valeria really a vampire? lt's suggested that she is not. In that case, are we to assume that a mortal can triumph in all of these battles in the "cage?" There are frequent allusions to what Dwight and Rusty have done "in secret." Nothing is resolved. Bitsy is frighteningly sexual and violent: nothing is resolved (including her disapperance at the end). Stryker and most of his crew are killed (Slim calmly announces that she has slit their throats), yet the entire caravan has exited by the time Dwight and Slim and Lee return to Janks Field. The "ghost" walking the highway is never resolved. And so on and so on. But most of all, the terrifying "Cadillac Twins" are simply killed by Slim. One magnificent moment: the bloated monster that consumes body parts in the back of the hearse. But again, no resolution. Delicious hints about Lee: she is "heavier" than her slim frame would suggest; she seems to embrace her role as the new vampire. Nothing resolved. Laymon's writing is fluid and unobstrusive. In this case, his talent delivers nothing but a frustrating, cheating conclusion.
Rating: 
Summary: A Terrific, Well-Written Yarn by the Late Mr. Laymon
Review: Richard Laymon has written a great story here with echoes of "The Body" (better known as "Stand by Me") and "Something Wicked This Way Comes". Set in 1963, it's about the main characters' (teenage friends Dwight, narrator of the story; Slim, a great female character; and Rusty, a sometimes appealing pain-in-the-rear) plans to attend a live midnight vampire show held outside their small home town of Grandville in Janks' Field, a place where strange and awful things have a way of taking place...
No further plot specifics should be revealed, but there's suspense, horror, sex, and mystery, all masterfully woven by Laymon into a terrific, involving read with a bang-up ending. Laymon's spare, underwritten descriptions and breakneck pace keep you turning pages, wondering what will happen to these people next. The small-town background is well-rendered, the time period accurately presented but never allowed to get in the way of the story, and the characters beautifully drawn and real.
I got through this book's nearly 400 pages in three sessions: afternoon, evening, and morning, and when I finished, I wished I could start all over again--it's really that good. What a shame that Richard Laymon is no longer with us. Try this title, which is one of his last, latest works, and you'll very likely agree.
Rating:
Summary: Traveling Vampire Show - Laymon
Review: One consistently true statement you can make about Laymon's novels is that they're a lot of fun to read. The Traveling Vampire Show is no exception. A coming of age story, Laymon populates "Anywhere USA" with a well-developed cast of characters and throws in a few thrills for good measure. Island still remains my favorite Laymon novel but The Traveling Vampire Show runs a close second.
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Summary: Ugh!
Review: Painful to read. I bought this on the suggestion of other readers here at Amazon. All 1 and 2 star reviewers have hit the nail on the head with their reviews, as far as i'm concerned. I won't rehash any of it, just read theirs. I will not be reading another book by this writer, but hey, now i know.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Story, Bad Ending
Review: Laymon did a great job building up the suspense. I thought the character development was great, Dwight, Rusty and Slim were so well developed that by the end of the book you feel as if you had known them forever. This book will certainly remind you of the awkwardness experienced in your teenage years. The only problem I had with this book was the ending. It wasn't that I didnt agree with the ending it was just that it felt like Laymon just wrote a few pages to wrap up the loose ends as if he wanted the story to end quickly. After the climax it was if the book was already over and the characters just disappeared into short non-personal summaries of what happened in the aftermath. Another small thing that bugged me about the ending, something happens to a particular person at the end who played a crucial role in the story but seemed to just be modified as if the character were not important, it felt like a cop-out but I could be too critical (people who read the book know who I am talking about).
Rating:
Summary: Part Horror, Part Coming of Age
Review: The Traveling Vampire Show was the first book that I've read by Richard Laymon after reading numerous recommendations to read this and any of his works. Once I got into this, I realized I was reading a very special book and that the positive reviews were right. Now, it's not the most frightening book I've ever read and much of the "horror" in the book is actually the fear of the unknown. The final 30 pages probably have more horror in them than the entire book. But the character development is great and by the time the book is ending, you are really drawn into the lives of the three friends who are the focal point of the book. As other reviewers have mentioned, this book does have elements of King's "Stand by Me", McCammon's "Boy's Life", and Bradbury's "Something Wicked This Way Comes". And having enjoyed all of those books, it would stand to reason I would enjoy this book. But, comparisons aside, it's an enjoyable read and it certainly won't be the last Laymon book that I read.
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Summary: Another great
Review: This book isn't for everyone, but if you're a Richard Laymon fan you'll like this one as much as the next. It comes in a close second for me, with Island being my favorite.
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Summary: This is the culmination of Laymon's writing career...
Review: This is Laymon's best novel to date!! He has written a powerful story about three kids who experience a coming of age in Grandville, USA. This is on par with King's "Stand By Me" and McCammon's "Boy's Life" with a supernatural twist. This is a masterpiece and Laymon's shining moment as a writer. It was so good it won the prestigious Bram Stoker Award. It was great to see Laymon get recognized for this beautiful story. It would be even better to see Laymon awarded some type of Lifetime Achievement Award by the Horror Writers Association or International Horror Guild. This man deserves that honor. The story takes place all in one fun-filled summer day. The characters are real, believeable, and put in danger by Laymon (what else?). This is an action-packed novel and is more suspenseful until the last 100 pages or so, when the REAL FUN begins to take place. If you have never read Laymon, this is a great book to start with. It is gory and filled with sex, so BEWARE. The plot is engaging and very well-written, like most of Laymon's work. However, if ou start with this tale by Laymon, you may be let down in the future since this is his best work. He is just a master at what he does (did). 5-Stars!!
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