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caitlin1066's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I didn’t really like Misery so I was quite nervous to read another Stephen King book, especially with the amount of pages that Salem’s Lot has. But I actually enjoyed it, the middle part of the book especially. Unfortunately, I do feel as though the end is rather lacklustre and the last 150 pages or so are rather boring, but it was still an enjoyable read with some scary moments in.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Death
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
lydiavsbooks's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
Wew this took me (what felt like) a while. My copy also had Jerusalem's Lot, the short story, in the back, which I didn't actually read. I think I'll appreciate it more if I read it as part of Night Shift.
I enjoyed this overall, it had the spooky small town vibes I was wanting and it was interesting to see King's take on vampires. I surprisingly enjoyed the priest character, and the exploration of faith and the concept of evil. The other characters were fine, although I wish Susan had a little more to her.
The pacing towards the end was a little odd, though admittedly probably partially because I didn't expect the last 150 pages to actually be a short story and deleted scenes. The build up to the 'big thing' at the end felt a little drawn out, with the end its self feeling almost rushed. But considering its length, it rarely if ever felt like a drag.
I enjoyed this overall, it had the spooky small town vibes I was wanting and it was interesting to see King's take on vampires. I surprisingly enjoyed the priest character, and the exploration of faith and the concept of evil. The other characters were fine, although I wish Susan had a little more to her.
The pacing towards the end was a little odd, though admittedly probably partially because I didn't expect the last 150 pages to actually be a short story and deleted scenes. The build up to the 'big thing' at the end felt a little drawn out, with the end its self feeling almost rushed. But considering its length, it rarely if ever felt like a drag.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol
Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, and Blood
anmariefweeks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Rape
kaythebee's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
nicolebond436's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, and Murder
zakcebulski's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I feel that I was always missing out on something regarding Kings work. I have read a handful of his books- the ones described to be "the classics" or highly acclaimed; 11/22/63The Shining, The Stand, IT, Misery, Pet Semetary and I thought some- The Shining, 11/22/63 and Misery were good! But, I did not at all care for The Stand, IT or Pet Semetary.
There is just something about the characters in those books that just makes me not want to continue reading them. I haven't the foggiest as to why. I hear a ton of praise for King's writing of believable dialogue- but, this is usually something that off-puts me from King's work.
But, not Salem's Lot. I absolutely loved this damn book.
Starting off, the plot is so simple- it is a man who returns to a town wherein he once lived, and had a traumatic experience with a house there and comes back to write about it. That is when things start to go bump in the night.
I have to immediately praise King's willpower to have the vampire threat show up in a slow trickle rather than BOOM vampires. Had I not known what the book was about, I would have thought that with the Glick boy's disappearances, that we were dealing with a child killer with Straker (as heinous as that would be!). But, it is the gradual introduction of the vampires that we see the true threat that is looming.
King does an exceptional job of showing the ripple effect that occurs as vampires start spreading and it helps immensely to build the tension in the reader.
I appreciated so much that King took the time to flesh out so many of the characters around town so that when they met their end they were less nameless red shirts.
I also appreciate King's willingness to kill off more or less every damn character he gave a name to. Like, toward the end of the book it is fucking everyone dying like good god, man. Though, I do think that killing characters for the sake of killing them is silly, and I don't like reading a book where there are fake stakes (haha). I think that this book called for the deaths of so many characters so that it was illustrated well how truly fucking dismal the situation had become.
I think that this is where the book truly scared me. I have said many times that I have never been scared by a book in a way that a horror movie scares. I have been grossed out, but that genuine tension I feel is lost when I read books- probably through my fault. But, King nailed it here.
He did this by making truly creepy imagery in regards to the early vampires coming and accosting their prey at windows. There is something in the imagery of an undead teenage tapping on the window with their grotesque nails on the window that truly unnerved me.
The other way which King amazingly crafts terror is by means of shows how out of control the vampire plague is. The rapidity of the deaths of the townspeople is so well done that it is truly scary when we realize that the main group is tasked with combating these insurmountable odds.
Speaking of the main groups- I liked all of the characters quite well. Ben, Jimmy, Susan, Matt, Mark and Father Callahan are all great characters.
I especially liked Mark, Father Callahan and Susan. I appreciated the resourcefulness of Mark, and how he is so knowledgeable at a young age. I loved the complexity of Father Callahan, wherein he is dealing with a doubt of faith and how that aids to lead to his undoing. And, Susan, I thought was a character that could have fallen in to the trap of being a typical poorly written female character- which King is notorious for doing. But, Susan, I thought, added a good amount of complexity with the mid-20s girl who is struggling to find herself with the looming oppressive force of her mother. And, she does! She rises to the occasion which very unfortunately leads to her death.
Susan's death is one that I truly did not see coming. I was anticipating King to have written this where everyone dies but Ben and Susan make it out together. Not only does that not happen, but, Susan is killed off so quickly and out of nowhere, that it truly shocked me.
I like that King wrote all of these characters to be people, and we grew to know them, just as quickly he starts chopping them all down.
I think that the big bad of Kurt Barlowe is a wonderful villain. I like that though he does have the extreme feats of strength at his disposal, he prefers to outwit his enemies by challenging them to fight their inner demons and cause them to doubt themselves.
I loved this book. Did this book turn me in to a Stephen King fan? No, it did not. Did I come out of this book interested in reading more King in the future, or re-reading books I did not like originally, yes, it did.
I thought that this was the perfect book for the Fall weather, a few weeks before Halloween!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Child death, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Car accident, Death of parent, and Murder
mojavetent's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, Car accident, and Alcohol
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
littlemissgemreads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Rape, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism
pescemariana's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Nice book. I love the last chapter. It's kind of a slow burn so the beginning can get pretty boring. I didn't really like the characters, except maybe the priest and the vampire; they are the most interesting ones and they're interaction was pretty cool (maybe the coolest part of the book). It's worth the read. Great story.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and Murder
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Sexism, Suicide, Medical content, and Alcohol
darkpizza's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail