Night Show was one of the only Laymon novels I had not read. That is no longer the case. Unfortunately, I'm left with a feeling that I should have ignored this one when I saw it on NetGalley. Alas, I requested a copy for review, and was provided one. So here we go...This book isn't very good. In fact, it's probably down there in the bottom five of Laymon's work. I am and always will be a huge fan of Dick's (may he rest in peace), but like every prolific author in existence, he produced several stinkers in his time. This is no Island, Night in the Lonesome October, In the Dark, or The Traveling Vampire Show. This one is more along the lines of the foolishness that is Darkness, Tell Us and Amara. There's two things going on in this book, and neither one of them is very plausible or interesting. You have Stalker McPanty-Sniffer who is invited in by the woman he is stalking in the attempt to make him go away (this is some of that old bullshit known as forced plot progression, where idiot characters react in idiotic ways for the sake of the storyline, because without them being idiots, the story would simply stall and die), while on the other hand we have a chick seeking revenge for someone making her piss herself. Okay, she got hit by a car too, but she seems far more concerned with the fact that someone made her yellow her panties. This isn't a huge affront, as Laymon does this kinda story often. But at least in his other books you have the nutso sex and violence to distract you.I think what pissed me off the most in this book was the lack of wow or ewww factor. You have all of the Laymon staples here: gratuitously-described sex, batshit crazy baddies, and terrific, realistic dialogue. But we're missing all the over-the-top blood and gore. This book felt nerfed. For those of you who are not familiar with the term "nerfed" here's the definition that came up when I used my incomparable Google prowess:"Nerf is a term that means to be rendered ineffective or less effective by a change in the rules or game system. The term nerf is based on Non-Expanding Recreational Foam, a substance used to make toy weapons. To nerf could be translated as "turn a real weapon into a toy weapon"."Got it? Well, that's what this book felt like - nerfed Laymon. Every time I felt something big coming, some amazing feat of debauchery or gory fuckery, Laymon pulled his punch. Every fucking time. The ending was the biggest culprit. What a fucking let down. Sigh...And finally, Laymon's sex scenes suck, and this one is packed full of them. They're laughable at best. There, I said it. The cat's out of the bag. I bet that bag feels empty now. It felt so full and complete when the cat was there. Whatever will that bag do without that cat inside her...In summation: There are far better Laymon books out there. I listed four of my favorites above, so check those out. For those of you looking for Laymon-Lite, this is the book you should read. Hardcore Laymon fans need not apply. Final Judgment: Like a Michael Bay movie without explosions.

Also published as Amara — An ancient beauty . . . — Amara was once the Princess of Egypt, the beautiful wife of Mentuhotep the First. Now, 4000 years later, she and her coffin are merely prized exhibits of the Charles Ward museum. Her lovely face and strong, young body are no more. If you were to look at her today you would see only a brittle bundle of bones and dried skin. But looks can be very deceiving. . . .A missing mummy . . .Barney, the museum’s night watchman, is the first to make the shocking discovery that the mummy’s coffin has been broken open. He immediately assumes it’s the work of grave-robbers who care nothing about the sanctity of the dead. But Barney doesn’t have a chance to do anything about it. Then two security guards come upon the open coffin and they too believe that the mummy has been stolen. What else could sane men think? By the time they realize the unbelievable truth, it’s far too late for them to do anything . . . ever again.The walking dead!Now Amara is once again freed from the cramped confines of her coffin, free to walk the earth, free to stalk her prey. Free to kill. Nothing can satisfy her deadly bloodlust. And no one can stop her. You cannot kill what is already dead.

Though gloomy with clouds, it is a hot, August morning in the summer of 1963. All over the rural town of Grandville, tacked to power poles and trees, taped to store windows, blowing along the sidewalks, fliers have appeared announcing the mysterious one-night-only performance of The Traveling Vampire Show.The show will feature Valeria, the only known vampire in captivity. According to the fliers, she is a gorgeous, stunning beauty. In the course of the performance, she will stalk volunteers from the audience, sink her teeth into their necks and drink their blood!For three local teenagers who see the fliers, this is a show they don't want to miss. But they may have to.Though they can probably scrape up the price of admission, other obstacles stand in the way. One problem, nobody under 18 years of age is allowed into the show. Dwight, Rusty, and Slim are only 16. Another problem, the show begins at midnight and the three teens always have to be home by then. If that weren't bad enough, the show is to take place at Janks Field -- a desolate patch of ground with a nasty history -- that has been declared off limits by their parentsThe situation appears hopeless.Though Dwight and his friends fear they won't be able to attend the actual performance of the Traveling Vampire Show, they do have the entire day to themselves. Why not hike out to Janks Field and take a look around? With any luck, they might be able to watch the crew make preparations for tonight's performance. If they're really lucky, maybe they'll get a peek at Valeria, the gorgeous vampire.And so the three friends set off on foot for Janks Field...Dwight is a solid, honest kid, long on common sense and loyalty to his friends. He always tries to do what's right.Rusty is a husky guy who relishes trouble.Slim, their long-time pal, is the brains of the outfit, a voracious reader of novels, an aspiring writer, and a girl. Also, she is sometimes too brave for her own good.The Traveling Vampire Show is the tale, told in Dwight's own words, of what happened to him, Rusty and Slim on that hot summer day they hiked to Janks Field. It's the story of their friendship and love, their temptations, their betrayals, and their courage as they went where they shouldn't go, did what they shouldn't do...and ran into big trouble.

When Rupert Conway set out on a cruise with seven other people, he planned to swim a little, get some sun and relax. He certainly didn't plan to get shipwrecked. But after the yacht blew up, that's what happened - he and his shipmates were stranded on a deserted island. Luckily for them, the island has plenty of fresh water and enough food to last until they get rescued. And luckily for Rupert, most of his fellow castaways are attractive women.But that's where his luck ran out - because the castaways aren't alone on the island. In the dense jungle beyond the beach there's a maniac on the loose, a killer with a murderous heart, a clever mind and a a taste for blood. He doesn't like his new neightbors and he plans to slaughter them all...one by one.

I had no idea that 'Friday Night at Beast House' was so short. I powered through it in a very short time. We follow a young boy who manages to secure a date with the girl of his dreams. her one request? That he sneaks into the famous 'Beast House' (a well known tourist attraction) and lets her in when the sun goes down. Apparently she has been trying this trick with many hopeful boys in the past, and none have ever got that far. But things are about to take a sinister and terrifying turn...Laymon has a great feel of old-school horror about him, I found that especially when I read 'Niht in the Lonesome October'. I will be reading more of his work...

For years morbid tourists have flocked to the Beast House, eager to see the infamous site of so many unspeakable atrocities, to hear tales of the beast said to prowl the hallways. They can listen to the audio tour on their headphones as they stroll from room to room, looking at the realistic recreations of the blood-drenched corpses...But the audio tour only gives the sanitized version of the horrors of the Beast House. There are some facts too gruesome for the average thrill seekers. If you want the full story, you have to take the Midnight Tour, a very special event strictly limited to thirteen brave visitors. It begins at the stroke of midnight. You may not live to see it end.

I am a huge Richard Laymon fan. This was one of the few novels he wrote that I hadn't yet read, so I dived in. I thought the story was weak. The author has writing talent and a few plot twists to carry it, but maybe I was expecting too much. This is the same author that has produced several books I could not put down.In any case, this reads sort of like a mystery with a few weird characters and a bit of a plot twist. I felt it lacked the characteristic mood and atmosphere that mark the author's better works. Reading it felt like work sometimes.Not bad, just not really good either.

Mordock's Cave is one of the spectacular wonders of the world, a place where thousands of sightseers every year take an awe-inspiring boat trip on a lake deep beneath the earth's surface to marvel at Nature's handiwork. But the darkness is also the home of things Nature never intended - things violent, bestial, and obscenely evil. When a sudden power failure incapacitates the elevator to the surface, a group of tourists is trapped in the underground depths. Cold and scared, without lights or food, their only hope is to find an escape route through the sealed-off end of the cavern. But their explorations uncover a nest of horrors that has lain hidden for generations, and their idyllic underground journey becomes a nightmare trip through hell, as they find themselves battling for survival against the creatures of the abyss....

It's almost midnight. Cat's on the bed, facedown and naked. She's Sam's former girlfriend, the only woman he's ever loved. Sam's in the closet, with a hammer in one hand and a wooden stake in the other. Together they wait as the clock ticks down because ... the vampire is coming.When Cat first appeared at Sam's door he couldn't believe his eyes. He hadn't seen her intern years, but he'd never forgotten her. Not for a second. But before this night is through, Sam will enter a nightmare of blood and fear that he'll never be able to forget -- no matter how hard he tries.

When Ed receives word from his college girlfriend that she's in love with someone else, Ed's world changes in a second. Heartbroken and half-mad, Ed goes for a nighttime walk, but on this lonesome October night, he is not alone. There are others roaming the streets, waiting to show Ed just how different his world can be. Some are enticing, some disturbing--and some are deadly, in search of prey.

Alice has quite a story to tell you. That's not her real name, of course. she couldn't give her real name, not after all the things she reveals about herself in this book. All of her... adventures. And all that killing. She wouldn't want the police to find her, now would she? — It started out so nice. Alice was house-sitting for her friend, enjoying having the whole place to herself, with the sunken bathtub and big-screen television. But everything went wrong that first night, when she looked out the window and saw a strange man jumping naked into the swimming pool. Alice just knew he would be coming to get her, like all those other men before. But she would never be a victim again. Not after she remembered the old Civil War saber hanging in the living room...

Rick would do anything for his girlfriend, Bert. He'd even spend his vacation in the wilderness with her, hiking the trails around Fern Lake, even though it's the last place on Earth he wants to be. But Rick would follow Bert to hell and back - which is just what he's about to do.Gillian is on vacation too, but her pastimes are decidedly weirder than Rick and Bert's. She likes to break into people's homes and live there while they're away. Too bad for her she picked the home of a serial killer - a particularly nasty one who likes to take his victims out to the wilds of Fern Lake so he can have his fun without being interrupted. Rick and Bert have no idea how wild the wilderness can be. But they're about to find out.

Leigh is young, rebellious and beautiful -- and she yearns for a summer of excitement by the lake. Maybe she'll find it in the arms of the handsome boy who rows her out to the abandoned beach house. Or maybe she'll stumble into a legacy of terror which will shatter her life... — Eighteen years later, Deana has no knowledge of her mother's troubled past and not that much interest. She just wants to make out somewhere cool with her boyfriend -- to let her hair down and live a little. If only living were that simple. But that summer at the lake casts a long shadow. And when the horrors of the past meet the perils of the present, both mother and daughter are plunged into a nightmare of blood and terror from which there is no escape.

I love camping, and have loved it since I was kid. everything about it: walking in nature, splashing in water, setting up camp, the conversations around the fire and the cooking and the early mornings waking up to the music of birds and insects, the nights spent in a tent or under the stars. Richard Laymon loves camping too: he spends nearly the first 200 pages describing a camping trip before bothering to get to the horror. the attack on the campers felt almost like an afterthought. I didn't mind the lazy pacing because it was really pleasant reading about this trip. characterization may not be the author's forte in general, but the characters here felt absolutely real. reading the various perspectives of child, teen, and adult took me right back to various camping trips throughout my life. Laymon gets all of the details right. and there's a genuine generosity of spirit displayed in this novel that makes it feel like something he wrote out of love for camping with a big group rather than just to bring in some money.I was pleased to see Laymon control his sleazier traits. nearly every character is a horny character, but unlike past novels, I didn't get the sense that he was salivating while writing about his characters' sexuality. rape - a Laymon hallmark - unfortunately is present, but he restrains himself there too. although I could have done without it entirely, I did appreciate that he showed an unusual sensitivity this time. and there is a teen romance that is surprisingly tender and charming. Laymon even shows some compassion for the novel's antagonist - an old woman trying to survive in the wilderness despite being saddled with a brutally violent rapist of a son.so overall this was an atypical novel for this author. sweet-tempered in tone, more concerned with the details of a trip than creating a tight and focused narrative. I liked that a lot. it also involved the supernatural, which is unusual for Laymon. the last quarter is definitely gripping. plus it includes zombies, because why not.

The supermarket shouldn't have been shut - it wasn't normal for Else to quit early. But then it wasn't normal for a meat cleaver to fly through the air by itself. Or for the guard dog locked in overnight to end up like hamburger meat. Or for Elsie herself to feature on the butcher's slab, neatly wrapped and jointed...There's weird things happening in the town of Oasis, and Lacey Allen had better... BEWARE!

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