Product Description

When the one-night-only Traveling Vampire Show arrives in town, promising the only living vampire in captivity, beautiful Valeria, three local teenages venture where they do not belong, and discover much more than they bargained for.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #169799 in Books
• Published on: 2001-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 400 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780843948509
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
Like the vampire he celebrates so often (Stake, etc.), this talented writer's career, once dead in the States though not overseas, has risen anew--thanks largely to Cemetery Dance, which has issued his work (Cuts; Come Out Tonight; etc.) even as no mainstream American hardcover publisher would touch it. The author's fall after his successful run in the 1980s was due to several factors, including his writerly predilection toward excess sex and violence. Here, Laymon takes those elements in hand, not so much abjuring them as putting them to artful use as he tells a wickedly involving story of three 16-year-olds and their life-changing encounter with the road show of the title. It's hot August 1963 when narrator Dwight, along with his pals--overweight Rusty and pretty (female) Slim--note flyers for the Traveling Vampire Show, featuring a purported real vampire, Valeria. Intrigued, the trio sneak onto the backwoods site of the show and there tangle with a vicious dog; after the others leave, Slim watches the spooky show troupe spear the mongrel to death. This, plus a long buildup to the show (spinning on whether troupe members are after the teens) forms most of the long narrative. Unusual for Laymon, the emphasis is on atmosphere rather than action, and he sustains a note of anticipatory dread throughout, made particularly resonant through his expert handling of the social, particularly sexual, tensions among the three teens. The novel's climax is the show itself, and here Laymon lets out the stops in typically ferocious fashion. In its understanding of the sufferings and ecstasies of youth, the novel carries some of the wisdom of King's The Body or Robert R. McCammon's Boy's Life, but the book, Laymon's best in years, belongs wholly to this too-neglected author, who with his trademark squeaky-clean yet sensual prose, high narrative drive and pitch-dark sense of humor has crafted a horror tale that's not only emotionally true but also scary and, above all, fun.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
In the latest novel from Laymon (The Midnight Tour), 16-year-old Dwight and his two pals, male Rusty and female Slim, decide to add some excitement to an otherwise boring summer day in 1963 by sneaking into "The Traveling Vampire Show." This adults-only act, featuring "Valeria, the only known vampire in captivity," is visiting their rural town of Grandville for just one night. Dwight narrates the events of that day, all the way through to the terrifying finale. The three friends are for the most part typical teens, but they are tested that day in ways none of them could ever have imagined. Although the protagonists are high school age, this novel is so replete with graphic sexual situations and violence that it would not be suitable for young adult collections. It is, however, a well-written story that will appeal to fans of horror fiction. Recommended for large public libraries.DPatricia Altner, Information Seekers, Bowie, MD
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Wicked Good Fun
Laymon's latest, and possibly final, book was my first Richard Laymon novel. I loved it.

At its core, 'The Traveling Vampire Show' is a coming-of-age novel. It follows three teenagers, protagonist Dwight, abused teenage girl Slim, and the annoying, adolescent Rusty. Dwight, Slim, and Rusty set a goal of seeing the Traveling Vampire Show when it comes to town. Although the entirety of the book takes place over one day, the three teenagers face many adversities that they must overcome. By the end of the novel the protagonist is considerably older, wiser, and much more experienced in life than he was at the beginning.

I was disappointed when I started this book when I realized that it was not going to have a considerable vampire presence. But after I started reading I was drawn into the characters. Laymon's writing fascinated me, so much so that I read 400 pages in one sitting. I could not put the book down. Mesmerizing.

By the time the final climactic scene rolled around, I knew that I had to finish the book, no matter how late it was (1:00 AM). The final scene makes it all worthwhile, wrapping up the entire novel with great closure. Laymon writes an elegant book. His characters learn and grow (something that all too often is lost in modern literature). The characters are very real and lifelike. This was one I was sad to put down.

This isn't a typical horror novel. This is a novel. I was touched by the characters. I was elated by their discoveries and dismayed by heartache. My words can't do justice to this novel. Highly recommended.

Enjoyable
This was the second Laymon novel I have read, and it is certainly much better than Resurrection Dreams. The story takes place in 1963 and involves 3 young friends Dwight, Rusty and Slim(who happens to be a girl) The story is mainly about their quest to go see the Traveling Vampire Show and the series of strange events that lead up to it. Typical Laymon sprinklings of sex are found throughout with the ever horny Dwight lusting after Slim and his sister in law Lee. Having a lusty vampire Valeria doesn't help either. Most of the story is a coming of age tale, with the horror being racheted up in the final 50 pages or so. The story was interesting and kept me wanting to read just one more chapter before going to bed. Based on this book, I will be picking up more Laymon novels.

Author had a few "issues"
First of all, I think Laymon had some talent. He did seem to have good characterizations. I am going to try more Laymon books. Now that I said that, Laymon probably never got any action in his lifetime and had to fantacize repeatedly about the complete absence of bras in his fantasy world. Like other reviews: characters were not 16, more like 12. Ending was a complete cop out. After all of the trauma these characters went through, everything seems to be all peachy keen for them in the end. More realisticly, none of the characters that made it to the end could have ever looked at each other again and they would all be in therapy for the rest of their lives. If Laymon had spent a little more time on the ending and a little less time fantacizing about nude or nearly nude women, this review would have been much higher.