Salem's Lot by Stephen King

 

You can definitely tell this is some of King's earlier work, I would love if he wrote another vampire novel since he's really grown as an author. If you like vampires and books that will give you a spooky vibe, this is a really good one to read, especially around Halloween. I also feel male readers will enjoy this story more since so much of it reads like King writing a fanfiction where he's the protag in a Dracula movie. 

My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars 

Part of a series or Standalone: Standalone

Genre: Gothic Fiction 

Tropes: Children understand more than we think, Vampires, Small Town, Returning home, Its Personal, The Glasses Come off, Taking over the Town, Faith is powerful

Things I liked: I like that you can see the origins of a story like IT starting here, King is definitely experimenting with lots of new things here, which all do very well in the IT novel. He also goes on to write a few other stories where the setting is a small town with a huge ensemble of characters. 

I did like the first half of the book more, the way King writes about small town life, and these people living here were almost poetic. 

Things I disliked: Other than the boy Mark Petrie, none of the characters were very strong. 

I definitely think the book needed to be longer, especially with as many characters as were introduced. we needed more time to miss them when/if something happened to them. 

We didn't get enough time with the vampires! I know almost nothing about their motivations. 

Audiobook or Physical? I listened to the audiobook, which was okay, I might have liked it more if I read the physical copy. The narrators voice kept making me space out, which happens with me sometimes with mostly male narrators. 

If any animals are abused, die, or are killed in this book: There is a dog that is basically sacrificed and skewered through a fence post. 

Extras: Ben's POV for most of it, then we get bits and pieces of almost everyone else in town. If you want more lore for Salem's Lot, there are a few short stories you can read, including "Jerusalem's Lot" and "One for the Road"