The Traveling Vampire Show

By: Richard Laymon

Narrated by: Bob Barnes

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

©2000 Richard Laymon (P)2009 Audio Realms, Inc., all rights reserved. Produced by Audible, Inc. and distributed by Audible, Inc. and Brilliance Audio.

Slow, But Intense

A majority of the story is the wind up to the climax. The story is well done and character development is thorough. Awesome read!

Old school Supernatural Entertainment

Coming of age Teen/ Young Adult Supernatural “ol school” tale of particular tastes from another decade but good entertainment in my opinion. While unlikely in the forefront, the background reminds me of the 70’s, although I would’ve been way younger than the kids in this story.
The entire thing is based on “what you are curious about - shouldn’t always be found out”, but you just can’t help it, and you’re clueless or at least somewhat okay with still wanting to find out, but maybe one you hang out with never uses reasoning or his brain so you’re sort of stuck with it. The main character sure wishes he wouldve decided otherwise, as in, what the heck is going on here!
Lol this story is fun and really just kids who possibly let their imagination run away like a freight train, Its all in good fun in the Main character’s mind , except that he’s a typical young person with hormones and he’s at the age where everything is sexual. He only wants to see The vampire chick who’s barely wearing anything, but unlike his stupid friend he’s willing to not risk it by a certain point in the story. But sometimes choices turn into a fuse lit and there’s no stopping it. Eventually - it will explode. And boy does it.
This is pure cheesy supernatural dark matter at its best, and a bit sick at the end. Laymon is awesome at this. You gotta have an open mind. I love this! It’s my favorite Laymon book- he’s pretty weird. But this is plain and simple - Freaking Fantastic! Hope you like it. Keep an open mind and forgot everything you know about supernatural and current times. This is not that!

Richard Laymon is UNDERRATED

I am a huge fan of Richard Laymon, and was excited to see that Audible has a handful of his books! the traveling vampire show is probably his most popular, and Audible has not disappointed! I just wish they would come out with the Beast house books!

Richard Laymon at his finest.

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The narrator. The narration of this book did not work for me. I realized about 1/2 way into it why. The cadence and voice reminded me of the movie Christmas Story.

What other book might you compare The Traveling Vampire Show to and why?

Hell Hollow by Ronald Kelly.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Absolutely.

Any additional comments?

I had read this novel when it first came out and am happy to say that it is just as good today.

Great Narration

The Traveling Vampire Show
by Richard Laymon - Audiobook Review

Richard Laymon’s “The Traveling Vampire Show” is a captivating journey into the eerie and mysterious world of 1963 rural America. Narrated by Bob Barnes, this audiobook brings to life the suspense and intrigue that Laymon masterfully weaves throughout the story.

The plot centers around three teenagers who are drawn to the enigmatic Traveling Vampire Show, featuring the alluring Valeria. The anticipation and curiosity surrounding the midnight show in the forbidden Janks Field create a palpable tension that keeps listeners on the edge of their seats.

Bob Barnes’ narration is a standout feature of this audiobook. His ability to convey the youthful excitement and underlying dread of the characters adds depth to the listening experience. Barnes’ voice modulation and pacing are well-suited to the story’s shifts between moments of calm and bursts of horror.

Laymon’s writing is vivid and descriptive, painting a picture of the small-town setting and the eerie atmosphere of the vampire show. The characters are well-developed, each with their own quirks and motivations that make them relatable and engaging.

However, the story does have its moments of predictability, and some listeners might find certain plot twists a bit clichéd. I also found the overuse of teenage sexual angst a deterrent from the overall story. Despite this, the overall narrative remains compelling, with enough suspense and horror to satisfy fans of the genre.

In conclusion, “The Traveling Vampire Show” audiobook is a thrilling ride that combines nostalgia, horror, and a touch of coming-of-age drama. Bob Barnes’ narration enhances the experience, making it a must-listen for fans of Richard Laymon and supernatural thrillers.

I hope this review captures the essence of the audiobook for you! If you have any other requests or need further assistance, feel free to let me know.

Not really about Vampires. Great title though.

I am trying to find a way to rate this book with out coming off as a complete prude. For me this was almost a DNF a couple of times due to intense dislike of certain characters. Which itself could be a compliment to the vivid richness of Layton's writing. This is not really a horror novel, it does have some suspense, mildly scary scenes with a few gory descriptions.
It is more, a really seamy coming of age novel about 3 small town teens who develop a fascination and obsession with the Traveling Vampire show and its entourage which includes the mysterious vampire Valeria. The traveling vampire show is a traveling side show that turns out to be a showcase for Valeria in a sort of wrestling cage match forum.
There is Dwight, who is obsessive about sex, his bestie, teen tomboy Slim, AND his pretty sister in law Lee. Dwight spends pretty much every waking moment having sexual thoughts and fantasies about both females. And some of his fantasies are somewhat disturbing and didn't strike me as normal, veering off into strange bondage murder porn. Umm weird.
Even though for the most part Dwight was an ok kid, I never did develop much liking for his character.
There is Slim, who is the best character in the story, an awesome tomboy, pretty, super smart, well read with lots of practical street saavy as well. There are hints that Slim has been abused or molested, but no actual revelation.
Then there is Rusty who is the third member of the trio. I don't think I have every hated anyone who was just a fictional character on a page before, as much as I hated this guy and his gross whiney sister Bitsy.
There are not enough adjective in the dictionary to describe this nasty, lewd, indecent boy. My gut reaction to him was stomach roiling hatred. I hated him so much that a couple of times I actually almost stopped listening to this audiobook.
At the end, ole Rusty got what he deserved. And I could never, ever understand why Dwight or Slim would want to be friends with this crude, rude awful person.
All in all, this coming of age story did evoke strong emotion, just not sure it was the emotion that the theme and plot of the story intended. There was some interesting elements of suspense surrounding the traveling troop, and their possible nefarious actions that were intriging, but the mystery of the story wasn't strong enough for me to be fully captivated.
I did end up listening to the entire audiobook, and the final few minutes were pretty good, and I was happy that the "bad guys" mostly got their just desserts. I am left saying I am not sure if I liked this story or really hated it. I don't know if I can discern the difference. Good writing, strange peculiar story.
Bob Barnes narration was excellent. He brought this story and characters to brilliant colorful life.

If you loved IT, this book is for you.

I love this story, and the characters (outside of Rusty and his obnoxious sister), and the audiobook brings it all to life. The narrator is fantastic, reading with the passion you'd expect to hear from the books own author.

Wonderfully entertaining

This is nothing like the other Laymon books I’ve read. That could be a good thing for some readers who may not be able to stomach some of his “creativity” in his hard core horror. This one however, could be read by so many. It borderlines on a young adult novel just pushing the envelope enough to get an NC-17 rating. I was engrossed the entire time waiting expectantly for chapter after chapter. Great book!

Great coming of age horror

Don't listen to these negative reviews, I've listen to this book twice it's funny, suspenseful, sexual coming of age.Fun listen

Good core story, but very mixed overall

I wish I liked this as much as I'd expected. I like the core story a lot, but there's so much that makes it feel questionable. It mostly revolves around sex - there's a kind of embarrassing amount of this in the story and the characters' thoughts, which gets to feel a bit uncomfortable as it goes on because the main characters are all underage. And even more so, when it drags adult characters into the mix as well. I'm no prude, but this particular setup just felt too exaggerated and uncomfortable.
A shame, since the story is otherwise enjoyable and the narrator is quite good. Very mixed review overall.