Even thought this was Stephen King’s 2nd book, it is and always will be his best to me. I’d say it’s one of the best books ever written. His flair for words and his dark, haunting imagery make this one of the scariest books I’ve ever read even though very little of the violence is described in graphic detail. In the end, it is not really a story about vampires; it is a story about a small town and its people. In the end the reader realizes that there was evil in ‘Salem’s lot before the vampire ever got there. It just took the arrival of the vampire to finish it off and one good man and little boy to fight to keep it alive. Their tactics may not seem heroic but they are far, far braver than the average person’s. Perhaps that is what this country needs to keep it from dying out - a few brave, good people willing to swallow their fears and fight.

A thrill ride of a book...... The second half, anyway. In typical king style, the first half of the book, is a slow burn, where the real life horror of small town life is put in front of you in all it's awful glory. From shady real estate agents, to teenage abusive mothers. By the time the word vampire is used, you're really not sure they're that bad(they're worse). Forget the Count, with this one. These Vampires are a particularly vicious, and evil sort. Satanic if I must use a word. The heroes have their hands full, and not all the good guys make it. By the end, you want to start the ride over again, and unlike every other book I've read, I did.

I really enjoyed this book so much!!!!

A gripping sense of atmosphere, characters that felt alarmingly real, and a spooky story that escalates slowly to a chaotic climax all made this an enjoyable read. There were some stylistic things about King's prose (or perhaps just the audio narration) that threw me off a tiny bit, but overall, I really liked SALEM'S LOT and am glad to have finally read something by this famous author. CHARACTERS One aspect of King's writing that I did not expect to live up to the hype was how he handles his characters. I have heard time and time again how real his characters feel, almost to a point where I've wanted to roll my eyes. So, imagine my surprise at how King makes creating authentic-feeling characters in a short amount of time look so effortless. I don't know if all of King's stories feature large casts, but this one definitely did, so I was especially blown away that even the most insignificant of side characters felt so life-like. It was interesting that even some of the main characters like Ben, Mark, Jimmy, and Father Callahan were so deeply flawed in many ways. For some reason though, I will say that I didn't feel especially attached to anyone regardless of whether their role was big or small. They all interested me, but they didn't necessarily make me feel anything and I think that made some of the more dramatic deaths and/or perilous situations feel a little flat for me. Again, I can't really pinpoint what it was, maybe I just prefer characters that are larger than life than those that are especially life-like. SETTING/WORLD Another thing I hear repeatedly is how iconic some of the settings are in King's books. Again, I must agree, that the fictional town of Jerusalem's Lot (referred to as Salem's Lot), Maine, is a fully realized and deeply memorable place. Partly because of all the townspeople we get to meet, but also because of the strategically minimal descriptions of the town itself, there is is a living and breathing feeling to this town. The spooky atmosphere and distinctly New England vibe were two things I really connected with and this really did seem like the type of place that an ancient vampire might pick to settle down in. Due to the era in which the story is set, I felt like this had a distinctly old-timey feel to it. I could never quite figure out if I liked or disliked this aspect of the book, but I don't think a story like this would have worked in the age of cell phones and social media, so I think it was a fitting choice overall. There are definitely a couple choice words used that some might not appreciate, but I felt like they were accurately employed for this decade. PLOT/TONE For some reason, I went in thinking that things would get weird and gruesome a lot faster than they did. Even though I'd never read King before, I'd somehow come to associate him with faster-paced and more gruesome fiction. While there are definitely some pretty gnarly moments in SALEM'S LOT, I found this to be much more of a suspenseful story that slowly builds up over time. I didn't feel fear in the same way that I might in a scary movie or game, it was more about an ever-present sense of dread and a tension over the unknown. That said, some of the vampiric elements to the story were a lot more typical and predictable than I thought they were going to be. While King is very open about how heavily he was inspired by Bram Stoker's Dracula as well as some other vampire stories, I'd expected him to do a little more to distinguish his vampire from those that came before. That's not to say that King's vampire is entirely unoriginal or anything, I was just expecting to be more surprised than I was. THE AUDIOBOOK Reading this on Audiobook was a pretty good experience. The narrator was good and provided some nice dramatization for the different characters, but I felt like he also may have been part of the reason that I felt like the book was a little bit on the slower side. Had I read this physically or on eBook, I do wonder if I would have felt a greater sense of urgency and intensity, but reading it on audio did allow me to squeeze this into my current reading plans when I might not have had time for it otherwise. I thought King reading out the Forward himself was also a nice touch. CONCLUSION If you are like me and enjoy a good, spooky vampire story, then I think SALEM'S LOT will satisfy that, especially as a fall read. While there's nothing crazy here in terms of evolving vampire lore, I feel like King saw something that wasn't broken and decided he didn't need to fix it, so I respect that. This book isn't among my all time favorites and it didn't do anything to make we want to rip through King's entire catalog, but I did have a really good time with it and will likely give something else by him a try at some point in the future. (+) Amazing setting and atmosphere (+) Life-like characters (+) Vampire elements were well done (+) More suspenseful than horrifying/grotesque (-) I didn't feel as invested in the characters as I wanted to for some reason (-) Some of the twists and turns related to the vampires were somewhat expected

I couldn't put it down, it captivated me from the first chapter. The characters have so much detail and although it can be overwhelming it all serves its purpose to push the story along.

This book is a MUST READ for any fan of the supernatural genre of literature, particularly for those who enjoy stories about vampires. Stephen King wrote this incredible tale of terror at the age of 24--the very beginning of his career. Even more astonishing is that it has been over 48 years since this novel was first introduced to the American public. Stephen King has produced nearly a hundred worldwide bestsellers since this novels publication—yet I believe ‘Salem’s Lot is his Magnum Opus because of its originality, character development, inventiveness, and progressive sense of dread. Many of King’s subsequent works possess these qualities, but this novel has them all in abundance. One of my favorite aspects of ‘Salem’s Lot is the deepening sense of menace and foreboding in the story progression. This is a tale of how an entity of evil manages to infiltrate, engulf, and rapidly consume a fictional hamlet in New England named Jerusalems Lot. As with many of King’s stories, this one is in his home state of Maine. Prior to the publication of this work in 1975, vampires in books and movies were most always depicted in remote, Eastern European settings—Dracula in England being the notable exception. Part of the genius of this novel is that King decided to transport the seed of vampirism across the Atlantic Ocean to small town America, where it germinated in the fertile soil of Jerusalem’s Lot, Maine. Stephen King created an entire community of believable people in the beginning of his story, which made the subsequent plot twists and turns all the more compelling and engrossing for the reader. Many of his characters were endearing, a few were loathsome, and some were inconsequential- yet I found all of them added texture to his story. My favorite individuals are those who were frightening in the extreme: Mr Barlow(of course) and his human familiar Mr. Straker. With respect to heroism, the adolescent boy Mark Petrie deserves a gold medal for his extraordinary courage and stoicism throughout the novel. The character development throughout this novel was excellent and gave me a sense of familiarity with fictional people and places I've seldom encountered in other novels. Needless to say, this has been a hallmark of many of Mr. King’s subsequent works. One trend I have noticed in King's horror stories throughout the years is the theme of small New England communities populated by detached, xenophobic townspeople. When King finally sets pen to paper, these isolated hamlets have time and again provided fertile soil for the seeds of mayhem, discord, and evil to germinate in. In my opinion, Kings true brand of genius rests not so much in the details of the story he relates to us as in the details of the story readers are left to infer. King’s writing encourages readers to use their own imaginations to fill in missing gaps in the tapestry of the story he weaves for us . This involves the reader more intimately in the story and increases the potency of his story telling. The more active your imagination, the more this book will entertain and scare you in my opinion. Luckily for me, I have a very active imagination. In these times of digital information overload it is easy to forget how much this particular work of Kings influenced subsequent books and movies. I first read Salem's Lot in 1978 and am happy to report that I return to it often in October for a scary seasonal read. Salem's Lot continues to inspire, entertain, and frighten me even now. I thoroughly enjoyed the two additional stories included in this updated edition of Salems Lot and think they add much to the vampire lore Stephen King has created. The section of deleted scenes from his original manuscripts makes for very compelling reading. In a way, I am glad that King removed many of those deleted scenes even though all of them were brilliantly written. It is fascinating to contemplate how they may have affected the storyline had King chose to include them. In my humble opinion, the original manuscript published by Doubleday in 1975 was absolutely perfect the way it was. Stephen King has since written and published more works than I could probably read in my lifetime. Salem's Lot will remain my favorite book because I believe it represents his greatest accomplishment. I cannot recommend this book highly enough and wish Stephen King would write several more novels about vampires. If anyone can save the world from the absurdity of sparkling vampires, it would be Stephen King. 5 Stars!