'Salem's Lot
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'Salem's Lot 〰️
Ahh. I had forgotten what a good vampire story is like. Not that I mind the modern-day vampire (which seems to be primarily found in romance, from what I've read), but sometimes it's nice to go back to a time when vampires are bloodsucking monsters that strike real fear instead of making one feel warm and fuzzy.
However, I will say there were too many similar names, for example, Matt, Mike, and Mark. I'd be confused about who was who and who was doing what for a while because I forgot which name belonged to which character. It got a little easier when they all started dying off, but still. I think King could have diversified the names a little more.
Speaking of killing off characters, that's one thing I love about King. He's not afraid to kill off as many people as possible in his stories. Be it characters that only appear for one sentence or characters we come to know and love (or hate, depending on which story of his you're reading). I recently finished a re-read of King's Under the Dome, and (spoiler) like 97% of the characters, side ones and main ones, died in that book. I think like maybe 5 (can't recall exactly) survived in the end, and there were a ton of characters in that book.
I think this 'Salem's Lot is one of King's finest. It's a true monster horror story with great characters and an excellent story. I don't feel it has a happy ending per se, but it's horror, so not all of them have a happily ever after. I think the ending was perfect.
Did this book scare me? Not in the slightest. Maybe if I read it when it first came out (even though I wasn't born at the time of its release), but as a modern horror reader, it wasn't scary. But at least it didn't feel silly, and I immensely enjoyed the read.
If you are looking into getting into King's books, this is definitely one to check out.
