The Stake Hardcover – January 1, 1991

As a veteran Richard Laymon fan, I say with confidence that his novels are hit or miss. The Stake is, like Bite and The Traveling Vampire Show, a non-traditional vampire story that focuses on people's reactions to the idea of vampires instead of the vampire. Laymon explored this theme to great success in the former novels with his use of dark humor; however, the author's unconventional style of mixing comedy with horror is lacking in The Stake, which is written as more of a "traditional" horror tale.Horror writer Larry Dunbar, his wife, and their married friends Pete and Barbara visit a ghost town where they discover the mummified body of a female with a stake through her heart beneath the stairs in an abandoned hotel. Pete convinces Larry to write a non-fiction book about vampires, and unbeknownst to their wives, the two conspire to sneak back into town, steal the coffin, hide the body in Larry's attic, and stage a PR stunt to film the removal of the stake. Larry identifies the body as the former `68 Spirit Queen at his daughter's high school by her class ring. Meanwhile, Larry's teenage daughter Lane's growing attraction to her English teacher Hal Kramer results in disaster when the man turns out to be a serial rapist. The story interweaves Larry's and Lane's stories which intersect in the final chapters for a surprisingly tame (if somewhat unbelievable) ending that lacks usual overload of gratuitous gore.Laymon has developed a pattern for creating seemingly intelligent, well-adjusted characters who make unbelievably stupid decisions for plot continuity, and The Stake is no exception. If readers can swallow the idea that Larry--an intelligent, successful author with a wife and child--allows his friend Pete to pressure him into stealing a corpse and sneaking it into his attic for the purpose of researching his book--then they probably won't mind his obsessive attention to Pete's wife Barbara or his lustful fantasies about Bonnie--the corpse (based on her high school photo, not her mummified remains--although the latter is not outside realm of possibility for Laymon novels). Fans of Laymon will not be surprised by the Larry's voyeuristic descriptions of the women, a prevalent trait of male characters within the author's novels, but often, Larry's lustful thoughts occur in the midst of life-threatening or suspenseful moments, which strain the suspension of disbelief.Despite these flaws, The Stake is well-written with engaging dialogue, and if readers can overlook the unlikely choices of its characters, the story rolls along as a quick pace. Throw in the token "wild man of Borneo-style" character in the form of Uriah--the vampire-hunting madman--and you've got a decent story. Readers new to the author who like vampire tales may want to start with one of his slam-dunk hits like The Traveling Vampire Show.

This is a true treat for Laymon fans! Larry, Jean, Pete and Barbara are four friends who go exploring through a ghost town only to literally fall upon a mummified corpse with a stake through her heart. Pete and (reluctantly) Larry cook up a money-making scheme: author Larry will write about their adventure with the corpse and finish off the story with a ceremonial de-staking. The question floating in the background throughout the novel is will this gal sit up once she's no longer staked?I love how Laymon builds in real-life terror from human monsters in his tales. In this one, Larry becomes so obsessed with the corpse that he not only starts dreaming about her, he totally overlooks some very serious things going on with his wife and daughter. Teen daughter, Lane, finds herself fighting something far worse than a potential vampire. THE STAKE is quite a unique vampire tale. It's fun, it's suspenseful, it shows the true monsters for what they really are. This is a great book for any horror, vampire, or suspense fan. Try it, you won't regret it!

This is definitely one of the best books I've read in a long time, i'm not to familier with this author but I'll definitely be reading more of his books. I would find it'difficult to put into a short review how good this book is , i can only urge you to believe the reviews and buy this book.

Classic Richard Laymon novel. Not to give away any spoilers, but the anticipation leading up to whether or not the main characters in this novel were going to pull the stake out of this decrepid corpse in the loft of Larry Dunbar's garage is enough to keep the reader turning the pages to the bitter end! Filled with the all the situations that can only happen in a Richard Laymon novel you'll enjoy this from beginning to end especially if your a fan. If this is your first Laymon book, gauranteed you'll be out scouting for anything else from this talented writer who unfortunately was taken from us way too soon. His books are harder and harder to track down these days so if your lucky enough to come across this one sit back and enjoy it and don't be so critical. After all it's Richard Laymon.....

God, I loved every page of this book. This was my first Laymon book. Which has with out a doubt spoiled me and left me wanting more.

I've read many of Dick Laymon's novels. He is very hit or miss with me, but the ones that I've liked, I have LOVED...and The Stake is probably my favorite of the bunch. His later vampire novel, Bite, is a close second. There is a review out there somewhere saying Bite is somewhat of a sequel to The Stake. That is a falsehood...totally unrelated stories. I'd recommend both, however.

Whenever I start reading a Richard Laymon book, I always seem to do so with an instinctive smile on my face, knowing that I am in for a treat. Here again is proof why he is the master, and never manages to disappoint this reader. Classic Laymon - The Stake is an awesome take on the vampire genre and is most definitely another winner.

Tripped upon his books years ago and fell in love with them. I have to say he is the best Author comparable with Bentley Little, Stephen King, and Clive Barker. I am in the process of trying to read all his books, so sad to know though that he has passed on and his talent went with him. None of his books disappoints me. This one was another great one too!

I chose this author on recommendation from my husband, I chose the title because vampire and horror stories are right up my street.The beginning was ok , there was a bit of a vampire theme going on, if a bit confusing. Then the story took a completely different turn...It wasn't exactly a vampire horror story but it was a good read. There was a plot twist near the end that didn't transpire into a great bit of reading, it was totally off topic and I felt it didn't fit in with The main plot. The ending was utterly abysmal, like the writer decided he was late for dinner so just scribbled some old guff better suited to a twilight movie. Would I read this again? Noooo! Would I read another Laymon title? I want to, but if it's as tripey as this i won't be best pleased.

I bought this after enjoying previous Richard Laymon books and unfortunately it didn't quite live up to expectations. The book is creakingly dated and is a mishmash of plots and subplots running alongside each other but not entirely related, only to be hastily and clumsily drawn together in the closing pages of the book as if the author suddenly realised he had to somehow relate the pages of waffle that proceeded into the 'climax' of the book. The actual vampire plot takes something of a backseat, the only appearance of said vampire taking place towards the end and left me wondering if the synopsis was just a little bit misleading. Also, I'm no prude, but the constant references to sex, breasts and the sexual undertones in the book get quite tiring and I couldn't help feeling I was reading the feverishly scribbled fantasies of a frustrated teenager. For instance the main character seems to spend a lot of time lusting over his friend's wife and what she is (or isn't) wearing gets described in lurid detail, but none of these references seem to serve any purpose or are designed to create any tension between characters. They are there only it seems for the sake of it. I thought perhaps it was leading towards an affair between characters, but nope, he just likes talking about boobs. The sexual assault subplot gives a book a bit of an unpleasant twist and isn't very well dealt with, the victim suffering a pretty horrific ordeal and then apparently getting over it quite quickly. To be clear, I love trashy horror, but this is poorly written and a jumble of ideas which aren't satisfactorily played out. I very rarely give up on books out of principal but I'd lost interest in this early on and it was hard work to finish it.

I loved this, have read it several times in paperback and have purchased again for my Kindle. A fairly modern vampire tale (as in, not ancient lore), a story of obsession but also amusing in places. Brilliant read!

Great story

What a load of idiots in this story. Good read but I found it funny instead of scary