Rating: 
Summary: Absolutely an enternaing, triumphant novel!
Review: Richard Laymon has long been a horror master. However, with "The Traveling Vampire Show", Laymon shows us that he is, without a doubt, a writer capable of writing outside his genre.Not to say that "Vampire Show" isn't a horror novel; it is, definitely. But, you see, it has so much more in it. Forget the vampires; the vampires don't make the book. If you want something like that, pick up Stephen King's "Salem's Lot." No, this book is for those who want a real, whole, complete novel--a novel of young teenagers discovering love, hate, friendship, loyalty...and, yes, vampires! I guess I should do a brief summary, but it really isn't necessary. Okay, here goes: a "traveling vampire show" is coming to town. Narrator Dwight, his (girl)friend Slim, and best-buddy Rusty all decide that they should go and see this adults-only show. Sneek in at night, watch the performance, and leave. The catch? After scouting the location ahead of time, Slim disappears, and Rusty and Dwight fear the "vampires" have gotten her. But Slim returns, telling a horrible tale of the cruelty of the showmen. Do they still go to the show? Of course! What follows is a tale of friendship, love, loyalty, and courage. Three teenagers all discover who they really are, and what they mean to each other as they face the evils of our world. A "horror-plus" tale for a new generation, "The Traveling Vampire Show" is Laymon at his best. And that, my friends, can not be beaten.
Rating: 
Summary: What happened?
Review: It's almost like the author said to himself "Egads! I'm almost to page 500 I better end this soon!" During the last 50 or so pages of the book the plot changes, the characters change, and we're hastily shown the "This way to the Egress" sign. But then, during the whole book the characters are pulling 180's "I'm so worried about [insert name here], they could be in GRAVE danger!", 2 minutes later, "Let's go to the diner to get lunch!" The main characters act like they're the 16 years old they're written as, right up until it's not convenient for them to be teenagers. This book leads off great but finally dissolves into a confusing mess that left this reader disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: To be sixteen again...
Review: The summer I was sixteen, the Traveling Vampire Show came to town.
From there, Dwight tells us an amazing, frightening, and sometimes touching tale about the night he and his friends went to see the vampire, Valeria. Dwight, Rusty, and Slim (the girl in this tight group of friends) have been friends a long time. Growing up in the small town of Grandville, the three of them have battled the same bullies, walked the same roads, swam in the same lakes, and talked about what they'll do when they get out of that little town. And then one day in August they all find out about the Traveling Vampire Show. Who wouldn't be intrigued by that, especially when there's nothing else happening during those hot, humid days before school starts? The three friends set out to find a way to sneak in to the show (they're underage), and with some help from Dwight's beautiful sister-in-law, Lee, they manage to get tickets.
This is only a small part of the story though. Laymon creates such a beautiful tale of adolescence through Dwight's eyes. All the events leading up to the vampire show are worthy of a novel in and of themselves. This is a sensitive, funny, sad, and chilling tale--it brings back memories of lazy summer days, and it also reminds us that there were so many things that took on great importance and passion when we were kids. Of course, let's not forget the incredibly evil characters and downright terrifying situations that Laymon has a knack for creating. Stryker (don't you love it when authors pay homage to each other?) is wonderful as is Valeria. And I don't think I'll ever get the images of the death-cage match (just read it, and you'll understand) out of my head. I was riveted to this story especially in the last 50 pages or so.
I must say that I loved almost everything about this book. The cover of the paperback is fantastic, the characters are endearing, and the story is unforgettable. I could not put this down until I finished it. Laymon was a master story-teller, and I, for one, am quite grateful that he left us this one before he died. Now, stop reading this review and go get the book. You won't regret it!
Rating:
Summary: The Traveling Vampire Show
Review: One of the best horror novels of all time. This is a pure master at the top of his game.
Rating:
Summary: Incredible! One of Laymon's best!
Review: If anyone could write great horror then it was the late Richard Laymon. It makes me sad to know that I discovered this writer after he had passed away considering just how much I enjoy his books. The Traveling Vampire Show did not disappoint in any way. I will warn a vampire fan that this is not at all typical of the genre. This is a coming of age novel as well as a horror novel and sometimes it focuses more on the character's than horror yet it also steadily builds with a sense of dread as the day wears on and certain events occur. Its a very detailed book and there is some romance between Dwight and Slim that helps the plot. I would say the characters are well developed and they are ones you care about. There are a lot of elements to this book that make it good horror. The stories about Jank's Field, the mysterious ghostly man and the frightening, perverted Cadillac twins add to the book though I would liked to have learned more about the latter but still its a great book and the Vampire Show is quite frightening once it begins. At the end, it becomes a horrific fight to the finish as they do battle with the vampire and its evil minions. There are also campy elements that are hilarious too like the women losing their clothes and fighting in the nude! All in all, a great book that is fun and typical Laymon in that there is laughs, chills and his trademark freakishness that gives it his special touch. Just an all around fantastic read by one of the masters of horror!
Rating:
Summary: not for bloodsuckers
Review: this book was awesome. i'm not a big horror novel fan...so, it was a nice intro to the genre. i can say this book wouldn't appeal to all the vampire people out there. this book is not for people who buy 40 vampire novels a year (problem?). rather than dwelling on fangs and gore this book deals with the fears we hold within and the fears of our youth. this book doesn't follow caped men as they woo stupid big breasted women! it is not a romance about blood equalling passion. this book is so much more. it is completely character driven, and while i usually snore at long discriptive passages (charles dickens, why god, why?) layman's writing style is so inviting. i loved this book. the ending is so bizarre, it threw me...i couldn't stay the 8 seconds, if you know what i mean, but overall this was a must read, page turner.
Rating: 
Summary: A good read.
Review: I really enjoyed this book, and it moved along at a fast pace. There are some bizarre things that happen (i.e. the relationship between Rusty and his sister) that I found quite disturbing. I really like the way that Laymon had all these creepy things going on throughout the book, and in the flashback sequences. Totally kept my attention. I was a little disappointed with the ending. It seemed to be building up to something bigger than what actually happened. Had it not been for the ending I would have given this book 5 stars. All in all though it was a good book, and I would recommend it to anyone who's a fan of horror.
Rating:
Summary: a very good coming of age horror story
Review: I think some people didn't get that this story is supposed to be a fun, coming of age horror novel. Laymon novels are always fun! I enjoyed this one quite a bit. It's too bad he passed away this year. He was a nice man, too. But I've heard there are a few more books he wrote that are tucked away somewhere, and they'll be published someday!
Rating:
Summary: Started Slow...................Ended kinda confusing
Review: Well i liked this book alot. Now i only got this book cuz i wanted to read a vampire story but this book turned out to be more about a relationship(teen) then about a vampire... now i had no problem with this book except...THE ENDING!... i swear it left more questions then ANSWERS!!! Well in closing if you are looking for a VAMPIRE story don't pick this book. But if you are looking for a pretty good read then give it a try :-)
Rating:
Summary: One of the best reads in a long time!
Review: This is one of the best reads in a long time. A great coming-of-age story similar in some ways to other award winners like Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird", Steve Kluger's "Last Days of Summer", and Joe Lansdale's "The Bottoms", but also with a lot of things that make it different. ("The Traveling Vampire Show" won the 2000 Bram Stoker Award.) This was my first book by the late Richard Laymon, but since then I've bought many others. Sadly his books are not as available in the US as they should be, so I ordered a bunch from Amazon UK. (Hint Hint!) This man can write! And I look forward to reading as many of his books as I can get my hands on.
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