Salem’s Lot

Ben Mears has returned to Jerusalem’s Lot, hoping that living in an old mansion, long the subject of town lore, will help him cast out his own devils and provide inspiration for his new book.

But when two young boys venture into the woods and only one comes out alive, Mears begins to realize that there may be something sinister at work and that his hometown is under siege by forces of darkness far beyond his control.

~ Synopsis from Amazon

My Review

I picked this book to read over Halloween, and it was the perfect book to set the mood. This was one of Stephen King’s earliest books (to be precise, his second novel) from the time when he did classic horror.

Reading this book reminded me of all those good times when I devoured his books late at night as a teen and scare myself silly. It also reminded me of my all-time favorite vampire novel Dracula, in the way it’s an homage to Dracula, staying true to the original vampire lore. No romantic sparkling vampires (as in Stephanie Meyer’s books) or vampires fighting for equal rights (Charlaine Harris’ books), the vampires in the town of Salem’s Lot are truly chilling and scary.

But what else I like about the book is that horror is not just restricted to vampires. King portrays the citizens of Salem’s Lot as equally capable of horrific acts – take, for instance, a woman punching her ten-month-old baby in the face because he was crying.

In a way, King seems to imply that evil already existed in the town and that by turning away from God, they deserved the end they meet.

I am not sure if that is correct, though, because many of the victims are innocent children, but maybe he means that a few people’s bad deeds can affect an entire community?

So yes, the people in the town aren’t the most likable (although there are some exceptions), and the town itself seems creepy with the requisite creepy Marsten House situated on top of a hill and which is the home of the vampire.

I mentioned in my teaser that King really knows how to set a scene, and the entire book is a shining example of good scene-setting, proper build-up of mystery, suspense, horror, and overall excellent writing.

If there’s one thing I have an issue with is the rather clichéd story progression where seemingly intelligent people do some rather dumb things solely to propel the story forward. I don’t want to say anything more as I don’t want this review to get spoiler-y, but you know what I mean, it’s like watching those B-grade horror movies, and telling the heroine, come on, don’t be dumb, turn back, join your friends. Of course, the dumb heroine actually goes to fight the baddies on her own and meets a bad end; this book has those kinds of clichés.

Despite the clichés, though, I loved the book, and it has got me going on a horror/mystery/supernatural kick, and I”ll probably be reading more in that genre soon. Do you have any recommendations for me?