The Traveling Vampire Show

Rating:
Summary: Legend Becomes Unbelievable
Review: Are vampires real? Are female vampires as tasty as they look? Is this flyer circulating for 'The Travelling Vampire Show' just another money-making scam?
Three teens are about to discover that legend can be plausible; entertainment can be deadly; and reality can be grotesque as they attend a show which delivers much more than it promises.

Rating:
Summary: I want my [money] back...
Review: I had looked forward to reading this book, given all the reviews that I read, and the awards, etc. Why it won the Bram Stoker award... I will never know. "The Traveling Vampire Show" is not a horror book... not until it gets to the last 80 pages. The other 310 pages is a "coming-of-age" story. I have my own opinion of all "coming-of-age" stories: I despise them. It is overused and quite frankly, I find them boring. I have no interest in them unless they are masked in another, larger story

There is a lot of overt sexuality in the book, that many people seemed to call, "honest". I call it "unnecessary". One of the reasons I read Horror and Science Fiction is to get away from "Sex as a Story Element". If I want to read about sex and sexuality, there are plenty of books and materials that give it center stage. The only exception is when the sex has a direct impact on the story. The sex depicted in this book had absolutely no bearing on the plot that I could see. There were times that I felt the author was simply playing out his own fantasies on paper. I felt it was useless and it dragged out the story.

There was some good buildup within the structure of the story, but when it came to any kind of a payoff, it fell flat.

There are a number of points that the story deviates from the events of that one day of the story, to have a flashback, and reveal some obvious exposition. Again, these are points that have nothing to do with the plot, and only serve to slow down the story. There is some set-up, but the later payoffs fall flat.

I think that many instances of the book are simply "cop-outs". For instance, there is a repeated appearance of dogs throughout, and the only resolution given is, "Bad day for dealing with dogs... what a coincidence." Repeating an image so often, and saying it's merely a coincidence, and not tying it into the plot at all, is nothing more than a "cop-out". Why was it in the book? Dismissing the first 300 pages of the book as unrelated to the "Vampire Show"... a cop-out. Why did I have to read it? Why can't it be tied in? Any of the "surprises" in the plot did not have enough clues planted beforehand that would give me as the reader a sense of satisfaction.

I really didn't enjoy this book. It had unsatisfactory resolutions, unnecessary sexuality, character development with no purpose, and potential that was never utilized. I want my [money] back.

Rating:
Summary: Laymon's sexually explicit tone is ever present!
Review: Laymon loves to delve into sexual escapes and why not? He writes with a natural flair. The vampire theme is used as ghost story allegory that exists to scare a trio of local kids who have been friends for years. One kid is a nerd with [indecent] tendencies, another kid is afraid to express his feelings to the girl next door he loves/lusts, and the hot girl-woman they hang out with. Laymon does a good job in presenting the various characters and there is a "Stand By Me" feel to this story. It's another book in the same tradition of small town American horror stories, but few are written this well. For most of the book you will get teased (and it's a big book for a horror novel) and wonder what is going on, but you won't get bored. This book won the Bram Stoker award for good reason, it's good and a fast read and you can't compliment a book much more than that. I found myself thinking what a cool idea it would be to take... this on the road, but I imagine it might sound better on paper than in real life. Not to digress. What Laymon captures with this effort is the innocence of youth combined with a lot hormones and sexual tension that is quite explicit and yet kind of realistic. Most writers hesitate to write about what most us grew up thinking and doing and during the teen years, sex is what most kids think about. Laymon does a great job keeping the reader off-balance though and the combination of seriousness, issues that come up, the mystery surrounding the Travelling Vampire Show, and the overactive imaginations of the kids makes for a fun read if you're at the beach, sitting at home during a rainstorm, or just find yourself with time to kill.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Character Development...
Review: This book isn't as much a horror book as it is a story of a teenager growing up and having to deal with many different issues. What I like about this book is that Laymon found a way to keep the book scary but also leave room for character development. I read a lot of the reviews of this book and completely disagree with anyone who says there was too much character development. In my case I really got to know the characters of the book. By the end I felt like I could relate to them. Laymon does an excellent job and by far this is the best book I have ever read.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent, full of twists and turns
Review: Richard Laymons, "The Traveling Vampire Show" was a great read for me. It starts of slow, than rapidly picks up, and you don't want to put it down. The plot of this book is about 3 16 year old teenagers who would do anything to get into the "Traveling Vampire Show" that is advertised all over town. What happens is unexpected by them and the reader. It takes you for a wild ride that you can't get off of because you won't want to stop. You meet many people each uniuqe. The book though, contains extreme language, and a few sexual situations. If you don't mind those things I would definitly recomend "The Traveling Vampire Show"

Rating:
Summary: Stephen King lite
Review: Good potential gone bad. The premise is intriguing. A travelling carnival arrives in small town America circa 1963 with an eerie hook: the promise of a voluptuous female vampire. This nod to Bradbury's seminal "Something Wicked This Way Comes, however, lacks bite. The first two thirds of the book tries too hard to capture the nostalgic coming of age of King's protagonists in "The Body." What made that book, as well as most of King's library, stand out from the pack was the richness of character. In Laymon's hands the teens who are supposed to be 16 sound much more like 13-14 year olds, and they lack the depth to make them truly memorable characters. The story takes place over a 24 hour period, but feels drawn out. Laymon's red herring setups feel contrived and repetitive -- characters stop to change clothing nearly every 5 pages it seems. And while the ending, the show itself, is visceral and thrilling in spots, it feels rushed. Suddenly it's over and you don't have time to catch your breath. It begs for a more satisfying epilogue. A good editor would have whacked one hundred pages from the middle and polished the denouement.

Rating:
Summary: So good I read it on my Honeymoon!*
Review: ...

This is when I think Laymon is at his best. Chucking aside the gore and graphic has become his trademark, Laymon instead concentrates on building characterisation, plot and suspense, the whole novel leading up to a devastating (but thrilling)climax.

I was hooked from the very beginning. The novel - as stated in another review - is more about coming-of-age - learning responsibilities and learning from your own mistakes, sometimes at the expense of others (I felt like a teenager again!) - than pure out-and-out horror. And I believe that this is why some Laymon fans were disappointed with this novel. I, however, believe this to be one of his greatest pieces of work. There is a heavy feeling of oppression and doom hanging over the tale, even from the very start, and there is no sign of predictability. Think you know how it's gonna end? Think again!

It's at the end of the book, literally in the last thirty pages or so, where the gore-hounds will have their fun. The ending is a little far-fetched maybe, but I think it worked in the whole scheme of things. The loose ends and unexplained events - for, as in life, things do not always wrap up nicely into a neat little package - left my imagination running for days on end, and sometimes...

...My only regret is that the novel ended - for I really did not want it to.

Rating:
Summary: Subtle Horror/Suspense
Review: While I wouldn't necessarily categorize it as a Horror Novel, The Travelling Vampire Show is an excellent character novel with some genuinely eerie moments. The eerie moments are few and far between, and most is left up to your imagination, but the characters are so well written that I was never bored.

The only drawback is the ending. It seemed over-the-top and comic-bookish. It's almost as if the author just wanted to get the book done to meet a deadline. I read the novel straight through in one sitting. Very good summer read.

Rating:
Summary: What A Show!
Review: This is the first book I have ever read by Laymon, but, it will definitly not be the last! I am a long time horror fan, and Have never even heard of Laymon before. I just happened to stumble across this book and decided to give it a try. I am VERY glad that I did. You have everything in this book from love to pure evil. If you are wanting a coming of age horror book, jammed packed with action, love, fear, hate, lust, sex, blood, gore, AND Vampires, then you have picked up the right book. I could not put it down once I started it, and I am looking forward to not being able to put the next one down also. Reserve a seat at the Traveling Vampire Show, if you dare!

Rating:
Summary: One of Laymon's Best
Review: When you start reading this book, you're not going to be able to put it down and when you're done you're going to want to read it again. The Traveling Vampire Show is not a vampire story. It's a story about Dwight and his two best friends Rusty and Slim and what happens to them as they try to see a one-night adults-only show featuring the gorgeous Valeria, the only known vampire in captivity. A vampire or something does make an appearance in this story, but if I told you about it, I'd be giving the story away. A great read...don't miss it!