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The Travelling Vampire Show & The Stake: Two thrilling vampire horror novels
If vampires stalked the earth...Delve into the terrifying world of Richard Laymon, in two classic horror novels from the master of the macabre. Perfect for fans of Stephen King and Dean Koontz.The Travelling Vampire Show (Winner of the 2000 Bram Stoker Award for Best Horror Novel)The Travelling Vampire Grandville holds few excitements for teenagers Dwight, Rusty and Slim ... until The Travelling Vampire Show comes to town. They might be too young to get in but what's to stop them going to Janks Field and watching the crew set up for the show? Maybe they will catch a glimpse of Valeria, 'the only known vampire in captivity'. No harm can come of that, right?The Stake : In an abandoned hotel in a Californian ghost town, horror writer Larry Dunbar and his friends make a chilling discovery. By chance they stumble on a coffin hidden under the stairs. Within lies the corpse of a naked female - with a stake through its heart. Was she the innocent victim of a gruesome murder? Or was she a vampire? There's only one way for Larry to solve the mystery - he must pull out the stake...What readers are saying about Richard Laymon 'Just when you think that you have the storyline figured out, it twists and hurtles into a surprise ending '' Expertly written , great dialogue , keeps you engrossed to the end '' Richard Laymon is the king of horror '
- GenresHorror
728 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 10, 2012
14 people are currently reading
81 people want to read
About the author
Richard Laymon
216 books2,274 followersRichard Laymon was born in Chicago and grew up in California. He earned a BA in English Literature from Willamette University, Oregon and an MA from Loyola University, Los Angeles. He worked as a schoolteacher, a librarian, and a report writer for a law firm, and was the author of more than thirty acclaimed novels.
He also published more than sixty short stories in magazines such as Ellery Queen, Alfred Hitchcock, and Cavalier, and in anthologies including Modern Masters of Horror.
He died from a massive heart attack on February 14, 2001 (Valentine's Day).
Also published under the name Richard Kelly
He also published more than sixty short stories in magazines such as Ellery Queen, Alfred Hitchcock, and Cavalier, and in anthologies including Modern Masters of Horror.
He died from a massive heart attack on February 14, 2001 (Valentine's Day).
Also published under the name Richard Kelly
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 10, 2023
I dont really know where to begin with this review! I finished it quite a while ago, I just didnt have 5 to get around to it.
My version had two in one, The Travelling Vampire first and then The Stake.
All the way through I was overly aware and quite amazed by just how much this author could make almost every sentence and the most mundane details sexual. I found it very annoying. I couldnt figure out if it was serious or not as it was that over the top it became a joke.
I basically read a coming of age vampire sex book where every page was an orgy that would lead up to a full blown explosive orgy!
And boy did it lead to such a thing! Honestly, I just don't even know what to say on the actual storyline!!
I did keep reading because I was interested to see just how things would go, wether it was a constant build up and at last minute the author would pull out or if he really would pull it all together and make it worth while...
Im glad I did because he certainly gave a great ending!
Its worth a read, more so to be amazed by the horny obsessed plot and just the crazyness of it all! Iv never read anything like it before that's for sure. I think for that reason it deserves a good rating.
4*
The Stake
I was interested to see if the sex crazed writing was the favoured style of this author or if it was just his choice for effect in The Travelling Vampire! The Stake had many of its horny filled moments again but nowhere near as bad as in TTV!
Again this read was enjoyable, a little crazy, but it kept me reading.
I think I will try to make time to read another Laymon at some point. Maybe I'll find one that's not based around vampires to see if his writing style is any different. If they end up similar with every sentence sexually charged I don't think I'll bother with another and just tip it off as Laymon been a raunchy sod of an author instead! 😂
My version had two in one, The Travelling Vampire first and then The Stake.
All the way through I was overly aware and quite amazed by just how much this author could make almost every sentence and the most mundane details sexual. I found it very annoying. I couldnt figure out if it was serious or not as it was that over the top it became a joke.
I basically read a coming of age vampire sex book where every page was an orgy that would lead up to a full blown explosive orgy!
And boy did it lead to such a thing! Honestly, I just don't even know what to say on the actual storyline!!
I did keep reading because I was interested to see just how things would go, wether it was a constant build up and at last minute the author would pull out or if he really would pull it all together and make it worth while...
Im glad I did because he certainly gave a great ending!
Its worth a read, more so to be amazed by the horny obsessed plot and just the crazyness of it all! Iv never read anything like it before that's for sure. I think for that reason it deserves a good rating.
4*
The Stake
I was interested to see if the sex crazed writing was the favoured style of this author or if it was just his choice for effect in The Travelling Vampire! The Stake had many of its horny filled moments again but nowhere near as bad as in TTV!
Again this read was enjoyable, a little crazy, but it kept me reading.
I think I will try to make time to read another Laymon at some point. Maybe I'll find one that's not based around vampires to see if his writing style is any different. If they end up similar with every sentence sexually charged I don't think I'll bother with another and just tip it off as Laymon been a raunchy sod of an author instead! 😂
September 22, 2025
I’ve finished The Traveling Vampire Show. I’ll read The Stake another time.
Unexpectedly told through the eyes of teenagers with an actual horror payoff at the end. I was afraid it might have been a psych-out like BITE was. Not a fan of Laymon’s continuous female characters having been abused trope, it reminds me of Stephen King’s ick themes. But I will say the horror elements and build up are good. Can’t say I’m sad about Bitsy and Rusty tbh. Also glad that Dwight was always respectful of Slim and of Lee, despite his teenage boy thoughts. Laymon gets points for that.
Unexpectedly told through the eyes of teenagers with an actual horror payoff at the end. I was afraid it might have been a psych-out like BITE was. Not a fan of Laymon’s continuous female characters having been abused trope, it reminds me of Stephen King’s ick themes. But I will say the horror elements and build up are good. Can’t say I’m sad about Bitsy and Rusty tbh. Also glad that Dwight was always respectful of Slim and of Lee, despite his teenage boy thoughts. Laymon gets points for that.
August 10, 2019
Overall I’m a bit disappointed in this story being honest.
Lots of it I really enjoyed, the way it felt like a coming of age story was really good, but then soooo much of it was just unbelievable.
16 & 17 year olds making jokes that you’d hear from 11 & 12 year olds. Not to mention the weird relationships.
They were almost like very, very young teens just getting together, but were suddenly very comfortable walking around naked?
Plus some of the over sexualisation just would not happen at all.
Oh wait, my sister in law is being butchered, but her breasts look good, I’m getting a hard on a feel guilty??
Really???
Surely even the horniest man wouldn’t think that in a crazy time of crisis.
Plus the “battle” at the end was completely unrealistic, I couldn’t even see a magical Disney epic being so far fetched.
So yeah, coming of age story, good.
Horror and “sexual” I guess? Not very.
Lots of it I really enjoyed, the way it felt like a coming of age story was really good, but then soooo much of it was just unbelievable.
16 & 17 year olds making jokes that you’d hear from 11 & 12 year olds. Not to mention the weird relationships.
They were almost like very, very young teens just getting together, but were suddenly very comfortable walking around naked?
Plus some of the over sexualisation just would not happen at all.
Oh wait, my sister in law is being butchered, but her breasts look good, I’m getting a hard on a feel guilty??
Really???
Surely even the horniest man wouldn’t think that in a crazy time of crisis.
Plus the “battle” at the end was completely unrealistic, I couldn’t even see a magical Disney epic being so far fetched.
So yeah, coming of age story, good.
Horror and “sexual” I guess? Not very.
December 16, 2018
Great read. Once again Laymon didn't disappoint me.
February 8, 2019
One of the coolest reads, I have had the pleasure of reading in a long time. If you like Darren Shan and want something more grown up this is the book for you.
July 2, 2014
A slow start, but a worthwhile read.
May 19, 2020
Different
If you like vampires you will like these books very different from your usual vampire books but really enjoyable I couldn't put them down .
If you like vampires you will like these books very different from your usual vampire books but really enjoyable I couldn't put them down .
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews