Reviews

The only King I’d read prior to this was the first Dark Tower novel, which I loved, but it certainly wasn’t horror, and I felt I would get more from the series if I knew his other work better.

I’m doing some work inspired by American folk horror at the moment; particularly about how pervasive, creeping evil which becomes territorial. This novel is that in spades, and I think what’s amazing about it, is how it brazenly slots itself into its genre. Boldly, this is a world in which vampires exist in folklore, in novels and films. There is a level of disbelief when the main characters start to have their hunches, but ultimately they become suggestible to each other - and reach their conclusion about what’s going on blissfully quickly. There are no red herrings or shock twists. It’s just a brilliant telling of the death of a small New England town in which the reader’s intelligence is respected. Great stuff.

sarahdkdc's review against another edition

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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

Coming back to this and giving it 3.5 Stars. While it's a great vampire book, that has certainly inspired the vampire media that has come after it I cannot get over the way Stephen King writes women. I understand that this book came out in 1975, and it depicts a certain point in time, but the disgusting attitude EVERY male character in this book has towards women is egregious. Are there any men in Stephen King's world that don't see a women - or even worse, GIRLS - as sexual objects that exist solely for their gratification? I'm not sure, and I don't really care to find out.

rkragsdale's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

i love mr the king what can I say.

ash2app's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

robert1988uk's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

managicality's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

river69rat's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

My first Stephen King! Absolutely sped through this, writing style is so digestible and I really like the majority of the characters, but also the way King tells the story of the town and the people who live there. It made the creep to the events of the book more disturbing. Saying that... I didn't find this very scary, I perhaps hyped it up as a scary book too much after my mum saying it gave her nightmares, but I just found the vampire thing goofy. I think it's still good horror writing but it did not scare me in the way horror films/games do where I am easily scared, so I am thinking maybe books just don't scare me in the same way.

Oh also, the epilogue after wrapping up the story of the main characters could've stopped there. I got no enjoyment reading about additional characters from past and future.

Anyway, very good, very readable book and I will definitely pick up more Stephen King in the future!

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