Salem’s Lot
By Stephen King
Anchor Books, Paperback, 9780345806796, September 2013, 672pp.
The Short of It:
A true, honest to goodness horror story about a creepy town and its inhabitants.
The Rest of It:
I first read Salem’s Lot in my late-teens, early twenties. At the time, I remember anxiously turning those pages but the details of what happened in the story did not stick.
This past October, a group of bloggers decided to read it together and since I could barely remember reading it at all, I thought it would be a good time to revisit it.
It started off really fun. I was totally into the story and loving it to pieces. I even proclaimed on Twitter that it might just be my favorite King novel ever. And then, the story slowed to a snail’s pace and I hit a rut. Actually, I’m not sure what came first but the final pages, the epilogue, those deleted scenes and the like really did me in.
Basically, for those who do not know, this is a vampire story. I don’t think that’s a secret but I do not mind stories that tip their hat to classics like Dracula, and I did feel that King, in his own way was honoring that classic when he wrote Salem’s Lot. How a small, innocent town can be taken over by such evil, is what makes this book so readable.
My only real complaint is the pacing during the second half. Once the town realizes what is going on, the way they deal with it is dragged out and it became a little dull for me. Could just be me but it felt long and I don’t normally feel that way about King’s books.
I’ve never seen the movie so I can’t compare but even though I felt the book went long, I did enjoy reading it and since I took extra time with it, I do believe the details will stick this time around.
I also read this for the R.I.P challenge which ended 10/31. Have you read it?
Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.
Book Chatter 
I’m glad I jumped on the bandwagon to listen to this one. It’s been decades and I totally forgot what it was about. Glad you also enjoyed this one.
I’m surprised I haven’t seen the movie yet but you know how those King movies go. Not many of them are good.
I did this one on audio too, so it didn’t seem to drag for me. It’s funny tho how our moods or whatever is going on in our lives at the time can impact how we feel about a book, isn’t it?
I know what you mean. I re-read The Stand a few years ago and it was so different from when I read it in my 20s. I almost wish I had not re-read that one. This one I enjoyed much more. I mean, it was like reading it for the first time.
Ti, I know what you mean – that second half just went by way too slow (which is why I sped through it to get to the end). Must admit that I was disappointed with this one. I really enjoyed parts of it, but the length of the novel was just too much with too little action. Definitely not my fave by King.
Plus, there was stuff that happened pretty early on that was a little shocking to me. Which sort of set the tone for the rest of the book. I really liked the first half but yeah, that second half was very slow. But, I still liked it. I like the old school aspect of it.
I really enjoyed this on the second read-through. I read this in my teens as well, but this time I did this one on audio.
It’s probably too scary for me.
I think you’d be okay with this one. It’s not really too graphic. Not like some of his other books.
This is probably the scariest book I ever read… way back in college. That was so long ago, I don’t really even remember what it was about or that the second half dragged, lol!
I couldn’t remember what it was about either. Weird, huh? I didn’t think it was scary though. Maybe because Vamps don’t scare me. LOL.
I think this is my favorite King. It is the only one I have been willing to re-read, so there is that. It does get a little slow, but have you read Dracula? That hits a glacial pace midway through the book, so I guess I expect it from vampire books. BTW, I put up my review today as well.