'Salem's Lot by Stephen King / 4 stars

[Meli]

I love Stephen King and I love vampires, so ‘Salem’s Lot should’ve been a match made in heaven, and I suppose it was to a degree since I rated it 4 stars. But I was left a little underwhelmed since I have been binging on vampire tales, adaptations, and reimaginings for so long that King’s modernized classic didn’t offer anything new or groundbreaking. I don’t think it was King’s intent to reinvent the vampire mythos or subgenre, rather the purpose was to see what would happen if Dracula reappeared in the 20th century; “if he were to show up in a sleepy little country town, what then?” In that sense, he was successful. And he was also successful in being King in all the ways I love King; bringing a small town and its inhabitants to life, tapping into the human experience for a multitude of characters varied in their demographics, and featuring an eager hero somewhat flawed and relatable.

It was a little slow in the beginning while King established the town and its characters, of which there are many (maybe too many), but once the action starts it is batshit crazy until the closing pages.

I’m glad I finally got this classic King off my tbr and it was a fun, entertaining read, but not my favorite vampire story or King book. I’ve seen this book listed as “scariest book I ever read,” but I assume that is linked to some sort of nostalgia for many readers because while there were some creepy parts it wasn’t really scary by any stretch.

Despite what may seem like a lot of shit-talking about one of King’s most revered classics, I would still say it is a must read for vampire and King fans alike.

[Book Concierge]

Back in the '70s I was reading this book alone in my 3rd-floor apartment on a weekend night. Right at the scene where the little boy hears a knock on his window, someone knocked on my window!

I screamed bloody murder before realizing it was someone at my door ...

It was my neighbor asking if I wanted to go out for a drink. He could see that my lights were on and noticed me moving about. (He lived on the same floor ... we were on opposite legs of an U-shaped building.) He was obviously concerned about my scream. I explained about the scary book I was reading and asked why he hadn't phoned first. He had called me but we discovered that my phone was not working.

[Meli]

Book Concierge wrote: "Back in the '70s I was reading this book alone in my 3rd-floor apartment on a weekend night. Right at the scene where the little boy hears a knock on his window, someone knocked on my window!

I s..."

That's so crazy because my mother-in-law also read this when it first came out and was alone house-sitting and at the moment she was reading the part where there are scrapes at the window tree branches began to scrape the window! She had to call her dad to come stay with her she was so scared!