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The Salem Branch (Dark Shadows: The Salem Branch #1)
by
Lara Parker
In Dark Shadows: The Salem Branch Barnabas Collins, the vampire hero of the series, has recently become a human again through the efforts of his devoted descendent Dr. Julia Hoffman and is living in current day Collinsport, Maine trying to adjust to normal life. Although engaged to marry Dr. Hoffman, he falls in love with a mysterious woman named Antoinette who has bought
...more
Paperback, 288 pages
Published
July 11th 2006
by Tor Books
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The Salem Branch is the second novel in Lara Parker’s Dark Shadows series and is a direct sequel to her 1998 novel Angelique’s Descent and takes places roughly six months after the former ended. The re-construction of the old house which had previously burned down and the land sold to Antoinette Harpignies, who bears more than a resemblance to Angelique, is nearly completed.
Barnabus is both shocked and amazed at the accuracy of the reconstruction of the old house and become suspicious of Antoine...more
Barnabus is both shocked and amazed at the accuracy of the reconstruction of the old house and become suspicious of Antoine...more
There are parts of this book that I really enjoyed like the flashback to the 1692 Salem Witch Trials and the way Parker worked in the show's mythology and backstory with a historical event. And there are parts I didn't care for like Barnabas's repulsion at finally becoming human and his repulsion to Julia Hoffman who was his dear friend in the original series. Also, whether or not Antoinette or Jackie were reincarnations of Angelique is never resolved. The reader is left to decide for themselves...more
Lara Parker will always be Angelique, and what a talented, broadly ranged actress she is. She's also an exquisite writer too, and to counter the other reviews of this book as being "purple prose" or "romancey writing," hopefully I can refer you to the great gothic literature of the 19th century, which was written in the exact same style. Her writing style flows beautifully, a pastiche of the gothic, but the plot is sorely lacking in here. What I adored was revisiting characters I loved from the...more
I am a bit disapointed with that book, the first book was so good and this one was just meh. It wasn't a bad book, but compared to the first one, it was disapointing.
The story was really confusing with all the new characters and you don't really know who they are until the end. The side story is very weird too, in the first book you know who Angelique is and what she did, so you just read her childhood and you found out why she did all those things. In this one, you don't know who is Miranda so...more
The story was really confusing with all the new characters and you don't really know who they are until the end. The side story is very weird too, in the first book you know who Angelique is and what she did, so you just read her childhood and you found out why she did all those things. In this one, you don't know who is Miranda so...more
I started this around Halloween because I wanted a Halloween story to read, but not one that too gory or scary. I knew Dark Shadows would deliver. I had hoped not to find the mopey, emo vampire that's all the rage. Sadly, Barnabas was in this book. I started reading this, not realizing it was the second of her books. Main problems: No Angelique. Barnabas can't decide what he wants to be. Quentin is not necessary to the story so why is he here (and I thought we solved the werewolf deal in the ser...more
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This book was written by Lara Parker, who played Angelique in the original Dark Shadows soap opera. She went to school and got an MFA, which surprised me. Before I found that out, I suspected it was ghostwritten (hehe), and that the publisher only used her name to sell more books. I didn't expect a lot (after all, even written by Lara Parker, this is really fan fiction), but I found it entertaining. It was fun to revisit the characters I love so much in a new story (also how I felt about 2012's...more
Actress-cum-novelist Lara Parker's second DARK SHADOWS novel, THE SALEM BRANCH (Tor, 2006), is the follow-up to her successful debut, ANGELIQUE'S DESCENT, released by HarperCollins in 1998.
I will concede that I had heard little positive about THE SALEM BRANCH before I sat down to read it. Many readers complained of its exceedingly hot violet prose, and the fact that the author displayed little understanding of the characters from the show — which was probably the most remarkable (and quite surpr...more
I will concede that I had heard little positive about THE SALEM BRANCH before I sat down to read it. Many readers complained of its exceedingly hot violet prose, and the fact that the author displayed little understanding of the characters from the show — which was probably the most remarkable (and quite surpr...more
I don't care for Parker's writing style. The tortured phrases and constant overdone descriptions kept tempting me to skim to the next part of the book where something actually happened. And the characterization doesn't always fit the show, which wasn't that big a deal to me but may annoy some fans.
Mostly I just didn't care for the story. A woman who looks exactly like Angelique buys the Old House, but she lives in the woods with a bunch of hippies. Barnabas is having second thoughts about his cu...more
Mostly I just didn't care for the story. A woman who looks exactly like Angelique buys the Old House, but she lives in the woods with a bunch of hippies. Barnabas is having second thoughts about his cu...more
Interesting tale. I really enjoyed the story and the storytelling but still had a few problems with it.
I enjoyed the present/past storylines, especially the descriptions of life back in old Salem. But, I found the later part of the story a bit tedious. First, denouncement by the judges in the old Salem part felt like it went on and on and on. Then in the present time of Collinsport, I was getting a little tired of reading about the hippies. And finally, though well written, I felt as if the Barn...more
I enjoyed the present/past storylines, especially the descriptions of life back in old Salem. But, I found the later part of the story a bit tedious. First, denouncement by the judges in the old Salem part felt like it went on and on and on. Then in the present time of Collinsport, I was getting a little tired of reading about the hippies. And finally, though well written, I felt as if the Barn...more
Ms. Parker has really grown as an author; thought it was a better story, and much more imaginative in where it took the characters from DS. Can't wait to see her next one in October!
It was great reading about these characters again, but I find that Lara Parker's writing is a bit too "romance-y" for my taste. Not dark enough for Dark Shadows.
Not as good as the first book but still a good read. I think I loved Angeliques decent so much that this one didnt have a shot at comparing.
I didn't enjoy this as much as the first by Parker, not sure I'd recommend it. Maybe one for fans of the show?
Thought the ending didn't really make sense between Julia/Barnabus and Miranda/Barnabus and Antoinette/Barnabus. The author tried to simplify everything too much at the end where they were complicated relationships throughout the book. Did enjoy the story line though! Was a huge fan of the Dark Shadows original series 60's & 70's. Even enjoyed the movie with Johnnie Depp-brought back lots of fun memories of that time period!
I think I have finished with vampires now although I enjoyed the historical parts about Salem itself and the witch hunt
I love all things Dark Shadows (the TV Show).
pretty good, characters are just like the TV series
Loved this TV show as a kid. Parker's earlier books were better than this one. Here, the characters were well-developed, but the storyline didn't flow well.
It was OK
I do love Dark Shadows and it is worth reading. I enjoyed the story.
I do love Dark Shadows and it is worth reading. I enjoyed the story.
This book was a nice try, but Parker just can't pull it off without Angelique.
I thought the ending was interesting.
read 02.22.07
May 18, 2013
Adele
marked it as to-read
May 15, 2013
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| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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| I read The Salem Branch | 1 | 11 | Feb 03, 2009 07:42am |
LARA PARKER played the role of Angelique on Dark Shadows. She grew up in Memphis Tennessee, attended Vassar College, majored in Drama at the University of Iowa, and received her MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University at Los Angeles. She lives in Topanga Canyon, California.
More about Lara Parker...
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