'Salem's Lot
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'Salem's Lot
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Narrated by:
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Ron McLarty
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Joe Hill
NOW A NEW FILM STREAMING ON MAX • #1 BESTSELLER • Ben Mears has returned to Jerusalem’s Lot in hopes that exploring the history of the Marsten House, an old mansion long the subject of rumor and speculation, will help him cast out his personal devils and provide inspiration for his new book.
"A master storyteller."—The Los Angeles Times
When two young boys venture into the woods, and only one returns alive, Mears begins to realize that something sinister is at work. In fact, his hometown is under siege from forces of darkness far beyond his imagination. And only he, with a small group of allies, can hope to contain the evil that is growing within the borders of this small New England town.
With this, his second novel, Stephen King established himself as an indisputable master of American horror, able to transform the old conceits of the genre into something fresh and all the more frightening for taking place in a familiar, idyllic locale.
©2012 Stephen King (P)2012 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
Critic reviews
“’Salem’s Lot was—and still is—a hugely impressive novel. . . . It’s the slowest of slow burns, all hints and drip-feed. . . . When the chaos finally unfolds, it’s a real payoff.”—The Guardian (London)
"Spine-tingling fiction at its best."—Grand Rapids Press
"An unabashed chiller."—Austin American Statesman
Featured Article: We All Quote Down Here—50+ of the Best Stephen King Quotes
It is King's versatility, his skills as a writer, and his ability to tap into our fears that makes Uncle Stevie so eminently quotable. Even though King writes mainly terrifying books, his works are also full of wisdom, heart, humor, and compassion. He can be scaring your pants off one minute, and really making you think about humankind the next. Here are the best quotes from the master of the macabre: Stephen King.
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Any additional comments?
Stephen King has written over 150 different stories, but his reported favorite of the bunch is"Salem's Lot" (1975). Salem's Lot (SL) was King's second book following Carrie (1974). In my opinion, King loved SL because it represented a transition between stories about unique individuals to stories about groups of characters interacting in social systems under duress. SL is ultimately about a group of small town folk dealing with a vampire crisis. When reading/listening to SL, true Stephen King fans will feel the rumblings of his more complex future works (IT, The Stand, and The Dome), where large groups of people form alliances to survive a supernatural calamity. With SL, King begins to lay out the formula that he will return to build some of his best novels.Although SL has interesting historical significance for King fans, the book limps along for the first 40% of the story. King seems to struggle setting up the chess board for future play. His introduction of characters are often too long and their individual stories are often irrelevant to the plot. Considering the overall length of the book (it's a long one), it seems to meander pointlessly during several sections.
However, King kicks SL into high gear just before halftime. What follows is an exciting and well designed adventure that should not be missed. SL may be King's scariest book with so many wonderfully chilling scenes that you will certainly not sleep with your bedroom windows open despite the summer heat. I also admired King's complete knowledge of the Bram Stoker's "Dracula" and the vampire genre. King does his homework and does not reinvent vampires to sensationalize his story. There are no Stephanie Myer invented vampires here, King's vampires will eat your babies and poop out their remains.
Overall, I would recommend SL to all readers/listeners who enjoy SK or horror books in general. However, you cannot quit on this book until your more than halfway in. If you're not hooked by the halfway point your probably not going to be hooked at all.
On my book rank order evaluation system, SL ranks 37th of the 66 books I have read/listened to over the last 2 years.
Thank God! Not Twilight
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If you could sum up Salem's Lot in three words, what would they be?
Ultimately, this is a creepy novel that builds tension as a vampire lays his teeth into a small, unsuspecting teen. It starts of slow, but moves as quickly as the vampire infection, and turns into a tense, nail-biting, damn scary thriller. Some aspects of the story don't hold well over time, so certain parts did seem a bit dusty.So...Dusty, Scary, Creepy
Which character – as performed by Ron McLarty and Stephen King – was your favorite?
McLarty performed all the characters pretty evenly.Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
The scene where Danny Glick scratches on Mark Petrie's windows brought back nightmares of the "Salem's Lot" TV miniseries. Also, when Mike Ryerson attacks Matt Burke the teacher and McLarty reads as Ryerson - his voice completely conveys the creepiness and fright of the moment.Any additional comments?
I was a bit concerned when this book first started, is it does start off as a bit of a 70s romance novel more than a vampire novel. But, then I began to realize that was why it was so masterfully written. The story starts off as innocent, with some creepy elements, especially with the ever present Marsten house...and as the vampire's presence becomes known, the story picks up and moves beyond the innocent love story and quickly becomes a tense, scary horror novel.Creepy...but a bit dusty.
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Would you consider the audio edition of Salem's Lot to be better than the print version?
Never read the print.If you’ve listened to books by Stephen King before, how does this one compare?
Not as good as Under the Dome, not nearly as large in scale.Who was the most memorable character of Salem's Lot and why?
Probably Straker. Seems so creepy and the main bad guy is "on screen" so relatively rarely.Any additional comments?
If I have anything bad to say about this book it's that the beginning is a bit long and it's almost like he rushed the middle and the end. It seems like just when the action is getting going the book is finishing up. King tends to write pretty long books so I was a bit surprised to be in the thick of it and notice only about 2 hours left of play time. Others have noted that there are parts of this book that are downright terrifying and I will wholeheartedly agree with them. When Matt is "alone" in his house I almost had to stop listening as I was walking into my dark apartment alone.Solid King story
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Maybe My Favorite Book of All Time
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Going quietly into the dark night to find the sweet.
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