Classic Stephen King Horror: Salem's Lot Book Review

Here is my first review in my series reading classic Stephen King horror novels! I hope you enjoy.
Thriller Recommendations Part 1:
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Classic Stephen King Horror: Salem's Lot Book Review

[@megawolfgang3007]

Readers today have a disadvantage. They basically know what it is about before they read it. I was lucky enough to read Salem's lot when it first came out in 1975. i was nearly a third way through the book before what is really going on slaps you in the face. In fact I read it a second time because i was annoyed with myself for I felt I must have missed something. I hadn't. It was just the way he wrote the story. The reader feels like he or she is a resident of Salem's Lot. By the time you realize what is really going on. You have the sinking feeling it's to late to do much about it.

[@RivetingReads]

That sounds like such a great reading experience!

[@higurashianduminekoconnect1702]

@@RivetingReads out of most of the Stephen King's novels I really didn't care for Doctor sleep or Salem's Lot

[@higurashianduminekoconnect1702]

@@RivetingReads my reason for it is I found them Salem's Lot to be kind of all over the place trying to be too many things at once so the pot is right there's a vampire in a house that's haunted it feeds off the negative energy at the haunted house Philip already trying to be a ghost story and a vampire novel that just was too much I like to me it kind of felt like one of those cheesy 80s movie where you get all the different Dracula and all the popular movie Monsters into one movie enjoy most of Stephen King's work I didn't really feel like this really connected with me

[@higurashianduminekoconnect1702]

@@RivetingReads ultimately it's just a book if a controversial stuff in the book isn't okay then people need to stop watching or even reading The Color Purple because there's a certain thing that happens

[@higurashianduminekoconnect1702]

@@RivetingReads I suggest reading it it's actually good

[@justchill135]

Thanks for the tip about writing down character names for Stephen King novels. I was beginning to wonder if it was just me that couldn't think of all these characters at once.

[@RivetingReads]

It isn’t just you!! He always has so many characters

[@readbybeth9300]

I love this! I’m super excited for the series, this is such a cool idea! Glad you enjoyed! Salems lot is the only king book to spook me so far!

[@RivetingReads]

Thanks so much! Yes it was definitely spooky.

[@micahallen2735]

I went into the book fortunately knowing nothing haha. I kind of liked the slow parts of the book because it added context to what I was reading. I really loved when he would flip perspectives between chapters and different characters. I was left frustrated when Susan turned into a vampire and really felt for Ben 😂. While I was reading I hoped they would some how bring her and most of the crew back but I knew Stephen king doesn’t write like that. 😂

[@StaticBlaster]

"he breathed in great white snuffles of air" < - that really conveys a lot of emotion that Ben was experiencing. It's really sad but at the same time excellent writing.

[@avalonjustin]

Christine is a great book, highly recommended!

[@user-wb8eh6lf5n]

If you liked it, there is a short story, that is kind of a sequel called One For The Road.

[@renelopez7325]

I just finished this book last night and I was thinking the same thing about the character list! But by the time I realized it, I felt it was too late to go back and build one lol

[@RivetingReads]

Yes omg so many characters!

[@sarahsshelves]

I’m planning on reading all of Stephen King’s books in publication order but so far I’ve only read Carrie.....Salem’s Lot is up next but I’ve been pushing it off because I wasn’t sure if I would like it or not. But this has definitely pushed me to pick it up sooner rather than later!

[@RivetingReads]

That sounds like an awesome way to read them!! I’m so glad this drew you more to the book :)

[@michaelortiz9359]

I’m doing the same thing I finished Salem’s lot and jus started the Shinning

[@dongray9852]

Still one of the absolute best-ever novels about small town American life. I grew up in that town, mine was in western Pennsylvania.

[@sandypatou932]

Just finished reading it and to be honest I was hugely disappointed. The book is weird as it’s long but is different to any other long book I’ve read previously. So it’s slow and nothing happened until about page 200, but the worst part is the book is over (in terms of the main characters) by page 500 then there’s another 200 pages of new characters and post story stuff which is boring!!!!!. Another disappointment is it’s actually not scary which is surprising as the tv mini series is super scary. 6/10 for me.

[@Booksinthedark]

Yeah King can write very controversial stuff but sometimes the whole point is to set a specific tone. It is a great read. Some things were....disturbing to say the least but I don’t think anyone has regretted reading it. Salem’s Lot is my overall favorite book😍 The small town vibes are everything and I tend to really enjoy vampire stories🤣 I haven’t watched Castle Rock. Is it adaptations?

[@RivetingReads]

Yeah I’ve never heard anyone regret reading it either! Castle Rock combines a bunch of different elements of his books into a season. There are two seasons so far and the second was by far my favorite of the two!

[@azm0n475]

Omg you thought it was slow too? Yeah! It didn’t get interesting until part 2!

[@RivetingReads]

I agree!

[@Cold_Zero_The_Wise]

It didn't get interesting till the grave yard funeral scene.

[@adrianburchell1467]

One of my favourite Stephen King and vampire books. there have been a couple tv series made on this, the first 1979 mini-series is the better one and there is a forthcoming film that Stephen King rates highly, no set release date yet

[@AngelGail8]

About to start this book aged 50. My parents actually allowed me to watch the movie when I was about 9. Omg! It traumatised me and my sister. Still haven't watched it since, so.....really looking forward to getting scared again.

[@RivetingReads]

I hope you enjoy it!

[@Alex-zm1qv]

Hey 👋🏻 I’m a new subscriber 😄. This was a great review btw, I have Salem’s lot on my tbr

[@RivetingReads]

Thank you! I hope you love it!

[@MIMNED]

The best horror book I've ever read and, surely, the vampire novel that more than any other can compete with Stoker's "Dracula", in my opinion surpassing it. I highly recommend this masterpiece to all fans of the genre. The plot of "Salem's Lot" is extraordinarily intelligent, all-encompassing and engaging, loaded with a modern gothic atmosphere that captures the reader from the first to the last page. I've read it in four editions and I must say that I prefer the complete ones published years ago, rather than the more recent ones which I consider too reduced, at least here in Italy.

[@ravenmike8]

If you actually paid attention you would know it wasn’t a vampire that took the boys. It was Straker.

[@JamesSedgwick-jp6hh]

Yes. Straker took Ralphie and sacrificed him to the dark lord. I believe this was a ceremony to assist Barlow's entry into 'Salem's Lot. Barlow's first victim was Danny

[@robertgallagher5285]

The best Stephen King books Salems Lot (best scene Marjorie Glick rising in the morgue) Geralds Game Pet Semetary The best Thriller books The Postman Always Rings Twice The Big Sleep Ellroys first forget the name

[@aintplayinAround]

Just finished and this book is so creepy. I’m excited to watch the movies. (Which I bet aren’t that good) this review was pretty spot on.

[@RivetingReads]

Thanks for watching! I'm glad you enjoyed the book.

[@chaynebutler9572]

The two-part miniseries, from 1979, with David Soul and James Mason, was terrifying. They DID deviate from the book in a few different ways, especially in their depiction of the vampire, Barlow; but it was still a really frightening watch. The later version, with Rob Lowe and Rutger Hauer could have been done better.

[@outpost31737]

@@chaynebutler9572 Richard Kobritz stated that they simply had to change Barlow and turn him in to a revolting creature of the night because Frank Langella was doing the rounds as Dracula so they felt it just wouldn't work. Reggie Nalder absolutely nailed the part although he made some disparaging remarks about Hooper.

[@chaynebutler9572]

@@outpost31737 It was still a good watch. From what I understand, their take on Barlow was inspired by Max Schreck's character, Count Orlock, in the German expressionist-horror, "Nosferatu," which emphasized upon the vampire as a devouring pestilence in that his face was like a nightmarish, anthropomorphic rat - which was also why his incisors were elongated instead of his canines, to reflect the rodent-incisors of a rat. Altogether, even for its deviation from the novel: the 1979 "'Salem's Lot" was effective and so scary that it gave me nightmares, as a kid - especially the scene with little Ralphie Glick floating up to the window to visit and feed upon his brother, Danny, and then when their mother rose from the gurney in the mortuary!

[@chaynebutler9572]

The homage to "Nosferatu" also fit in with King's vision, actually: in the book, he treated Vampirism as a spreading plague that slowly claimed the township as everyone afflicted went after their friends, family, and neighbors to spread the pestilence. The new version has William Sadler as Barlow - 'like the guy, but I don't think he really has the right "look." I would have gone for Bill Nighy, because of those eerie eyes; then again, Bill Nighy is also 72 years old, so . . .

[@Liberalistic69]

Hi, nice review 😊 I'd love your thoughts on James Herbert's haunted 👻

[@breannagarcia68]

Absolutely love IT

[@RivetingReads]

I can’t wait to read it!

[@cwdkidman2266]

I read this over fall break my freshman year in college in 1975 and it scared me to death. Vampires always did until I grew up but this was the first vampire story to say that without faith a cross is just a couple of sticks. Fuck me!! And heart attacks from faces of vampires floating in windows? No way no how no sir no ma'am. After that, horror didn't scare me but became a comforting escape from the real horror of the real world. I found that writers who scared me were, first and foremost, William Faulkner, and his mind boggling tales of Mississippi's nooks and crannies of darkness, and Faulkner's Jewish comedian stepchild Joseph Heller, and Heller's masterpiece of WW2 insanely comic horror and his Good As Gold, as well as his touchingly innocent memoir of Brooklyn life and his own experience as a bombardier in Italy. Interestingly, Catch-22's Yossarian and Absolam, Absolam!'s Thomas Sutpen can stand proudly beside Jay Gatsby and Huckleberry Finn to form the four corners of American literary greatness and the four essential American characters. Add the Velvet Underground's Lou Reed, Roxy Music's Bryan Ferry and Hollywood director Howard Hawks and you've got America.

[@LeeRoss-bw3yd]

What about his werewolf books

[@decimustv4257]

Controversial is good. If a book only stays within the readers comfort zone, then it's not as good in my opinion. I like being shocked and thrilled.

[@33cltn]

I read IT as my first king book and it was glorious, the ending was fine but part of that ending that we all know really ruined my view of the characters. Still a recommendation

[@RivetingReads]

I’m reading it this summer and looking forward to it!

[@babyboy1971]

@@RivetingReads did you review it?

[@outpost31737]

The book is phenomenal. All credit to Tobe Hooper it's not easy adapting King's work to the big screen but Hooper's full length mini series is first class.

[@salemslotandmore8278]

I put together an Outline for a 10 Episode Limited Series for Salem's Lot (about 225 pages). I'll send it over and if interested give it a look. Thank You for the Video, it is GREAT 😀

[@Jamiehouston87]

Super

[@danwilliams1920]

Pro tip: The Shining is his most overrated novel (it's not like the movie), and The Tommyknockers is his most underrated (King's own opinion be damned).

[@ryanguzek361]

Books are crazy

[@madeline9668]

Unfortunately I didn't like it that much. Maybe my expectations were a bit high since I am a horror movies fan. And yes, it has a lot of characters, I made notes on them in my phone 😂 Also, I don't know why I found it a bit hard to read, sometimes I was reading some paragraphs mechanically only to get over it. And I didn't connect with anyone in the book. Maybe a little with Mark.

[@RivetingReads]

I totally understand that!

[@AlanDuncan1888]

Nice review, although I've never heard anyone say "super" so many times! Is that an American thing?

[@kimt3864]

@Alan Duncan- Rude. Rude comment to leave on her video.

[@AlanDuncan1888]

@@kimt3864 What's rude about it? I was giving my opinion, and even said "nice review". If you're one of those people who are offended by the slightest criticism, that's on you.

[@bradleymcdonald6273]

My least favourite book of his I've read so far (haven't read many 😂)

[@RivetingReads]

Oh no sorry to hear that!

[@bradleymcdonald6273]

@@RivetingReads don't worry, it's now my second least favourite... The talisman I stopped reading at 350 pages 😂 I might return to it some point after digging into the DT

[@bradleymcdonald6273]

@@RivetingReads 11/22/63 was PERFECT, insomnia was different but i really enjoyed it! And that dungeon/lair under the tree scene - I could smell it and feel the filth of that place 😂 I'm currently reading The Stand (149 pages in - it's already got me hooked - so many different character plots) this will be a favourite for sure

[@RivetingReads]

@@bradleymcdonald6273 that’s great! I’m reading IT right now but I’ve put it down for a little while since I have some many projects on working on for my channel right now. Hopefully I can finish it soon though.

[@missmichelleluv]

What the heck is controversial about it!?

[@uglystrawberry]

women over sexualize themselves - king sees it.

[@JensHove]

"It" has controversial "stuff" in it?? Who gives a f... 👎

[@GG-yo9yh]

I finished this video.. and if you consider this book long. Lol you should pack it in. This is an extremely short novel. Lol maybe reading isn't your thing.

[@kimt3864]

@Grant Glackin- This is an extremely rude comment to leave on her video. I don't appreciate it. It's an extremely rude thing to say to any reader. Very gatekeeping to tell people that "they're not a reader" if they don't read this or that or like this or that type of book, or read this way or that way. If you watched her video and you didn't have anything nice to say, why say anything at all? If you don't like her content then GTFO her channel.