'Salem's Lot by Stephen King

Author Ben Mears returns to ‘Salem's Lot to write a book about a house that has haunted him since childhood only to find his isolated hometown infested with vampires. While the vampires claim more victims, Mears convinces a small group of believers to combat the undead.
([source][1])

[1]: https://stephenking.com/library/novel/_salem_s_lot.html

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Also contained in:

- [Night Shift / Carrie / 'Salem's Lot / Shining](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL19558521W/Night_Shift_Carrie_'Salem's_Lot_Shining)
- ['Salem's Lot: Illustrated Edition](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL19859438W)
- [Works (Danse Macabre / Salem's Lot / Shining)](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL24233994W)

While this is obviously an earlier work, it's just a darn good little vampire story, as well as a not-subtle commentary on the evil that can lay at the base of small town communities.

Du Stephen King classique, lu quand j'étais adolescent.

Good story with fascinating characters.

It seems every Stephen King novel suffers a bit from a strange obsession with genitals and what's happening to them. I enjoyed this book, but did not enjoy reading about Ben's testicles and Ruthie's breasts.

This is Stephen King at his best, but it's still Stephen King and it has everything you expect from him.

That means it's entirely too long and poorly paced. The prose and dialogue aren't that great, either. There are way too many characters. There are sections told from the point of view of 20-something different characters and it's hard to keep track of who's who. And it would also be more powerful if we just saw things from the perspective of a few people.

But it also has some good mystery (or it would if the book wasn't famous) and some frightening scenes. King does a great job of building suspense and making the antagonists truly scary, especially Barlow. In the end, Barlow was a bit too easy to overpower, but Bram Stoker had the same problem with Dracula.

Overall, a good scary story that makes for a great Halloween read.