Paperback, 450 pages
English language
Published 1981 by New English Library.
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]: stephenking.com/library/novel/_salem_s_lot.html
Also contained in:
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]: stephenking.com/library/novel/_salem_s_lot.html
Also contained in:
This book was a bit of a punishment to get through. I just really hate Stephen King's writing and not gonna try another book. I have liked some film adaptations and was hoping for easy reading from his works but they drag, they aren't scary, they do not age well. I shouldn't expect much but every women is intellectually dumb and every man is emotional dumb and they are all so two dimensional.
2.5 stars. I liked the main characters, especially Mark and Ben, but it was rather relentlessly depressing in multiple ways. The main story is one bad thing after another, but the side characters beating eachother and hitting their babies, horrible pervy men and rape scenes... All that felt very unnecessary and without nuance. I recently read The Outsider, in which arguably the victims are worse off - but the overall story is more optimistic and I enjoyed it a lot more. I guess that's the difference between a second book and a 58th book!
"Salem's Lot" on Stephen Kingi ilmumise järjekorras teine raamat, ilmunud peale "Carrie"-d. Mul on küll värske trükk, algselt ilmus raamat aastal 1975. Pealkiri on ühe väljamõeldud väikelinna rahvasuine nimi koos omamoodi legendiga. Nimelt olla kunagi aastasadu kandis elanud sealkandis seakasvataja Charles Belknap Tanner, kelle ühe sea nimi oli Jerusalem. Ühel päeval pani põssa Tanneri juurest plehku ning loom metsistus vabas looduses ära. Peale seda hoiatas Tanner ikka kohalikku noorust, et "Keep 'ee out o' Jerusalem's wood lot," ehk siis midagi stiilis "Hoidke Jerusalema metsavaldustest eemal". Jerusalem's Lot ajapikku saigi siis linna nimeks, lühendatuna 'Salem's Lot.
Nagu Kingi puhul ikka, siis on raamatus mitu hoovust. Üks on see, millisena kõik seda raamatu teavad - vampiirid. Jah, tõepoolest on siin juttu sellest, kuidas üks väike asula vaikselt ühest nurgast hakkab ussitama, st vampiiritama, ning mis saab edasi. See osa raamatust on mu hinnangul tavaline - jah, hästi kirjutatud, põnev ja žanritruu õudukas. …
"Salem's Lot" on Stephen Kingi ilmumise järjekorras teine raamat, ilmunud peale "Carrie"-d. Mul on küll värske trükk, algselt ilmus raamat aastal 1975. Pealkiri on ühe väljamõeldud väikelinna rahvasuine nimi koos omamoodi legendiga. Nimelt olla kunagi aastasadu kandis elanud sealkandis seakasvataja Charles Belknap Tanner, kelle ühe sea nimi oli Jerusalem. Ühel päeval pani põssa Tanneri juurest plehku ning loom metsistus vabas looduses ära. Peale seda hoiatas Tanner ikka kohalikku noorust, et "Keep 'ee out o' Jerusalem's wood lot," ehk siis midagi stiilis "Hoidke Jerusalema metsavaldustest eemal". Jerusalem's Lot ajapikku saigi siis linna nimeks, lühendatuna 'Salem's Lot.
Nagu Kingi puhul ikka, siis on raamatus mitu hoovust. Üks on see, millisena kõik seda raamatu teavad - vampiirid. Jah, tõepoolest on siin juttu sellest, kuidas üks väike asula vaikselt ühest nurgast hakkab ussitama, st vampiiritama, ning mis saab edasi. See osa raamatust on mu hinnangul tavaline - jah, hästi kirjutatud, põnev ja žanritruu õudukas. Aga ei ole siin otseselt mingit kiiksu, on lihtsalt lugu. Märksa huvitavam voolus on väikelinna elu ja kuhtumine, tegelikult ongi siin juttu teemadel, mis kõiki suurlinnastuvaid riike ja kohti puudutavad.
Kui ma korraks juba "Carriet" mainisin, siis "'Salem's Lot" on hoopis teisest puust. Kuigi "Carrie" on debüütromaani kohta väga kobe, siis saan täiesti aru ta kritiseerijatest. "'Salem's Lot" on aga märksa mahukam ja sügavam, siin pole tingimata suuri üllatusi, küll on aga tõesti mõnusalt kirjutatud. King oskab seda kolka-värki väga hästi üles joonistada, lust lugeda. Lisaks on vahepeal mitmed pikad peatükid, kust ta lihtsalt räägib keskkonnast, elust-olust. Ning see on pagana poeetiline, üks stiilinäide ka lk 200 pealt:
"It stays on through October and, in rare years, on into November. Day after day the skies are a clear, hard blue, and the clouds that float across them, always west to east, are calm white ships with gray keels. The wind begins to blow by the day, and it is never still. It hurries you along as you walk the roads, crunching the leaves that have fallen in mad and variegated drifts. The wind makes you ache in some place that is deeper than your bones. It may be that it touches something old in the human soul, a chord of race memory that says Migrate or die-migrate or die. Even in your house, behind square walls, the wind beats against the wood and the glass and sends its fleshless pucker against the eaves and sooner or later you have to put down what you were doing and go out and see. And you can stand on your stoop or in your dooryard at midafternoon and watch the cloud shadows rush across Griffen’s pasture and up Schoolyard Hill, light and dark, light and dark, like the shutters of the gods being opened and closed. You can see the goldenrod, that most tenacious and pernicious and beauteous of all New England flora, bowing away from the wind like agreat and silent congregation. And if there are no cars or planes, and if noone’s Uncle John is out in the wood lot west of town banging away at aquail or pheasant; if the only sound is the slow beat of your own heart, you can hear another sound, and that is the sound of life winding down to its cyclic close, waiting for the first winter snow to perform last rites."
Kokkuvõttes selline hea, normaalne raamat. Ega ma nüüd polegi kindel, kas seda üle loeks - samas kuna mahtu siin ikka jagus, siis tegelikult võiks millalgi üle lugeda küll just saamaks aru, kuidas külaelu täpsemalt toimus. Sest mingil hetkel, kuna tegelasi ikka jagus, siis kippus algusepoole minema segaseks, et kes on nüüd mis ja kus. Nauditav ja mõnus lugemine, sama hästi oleks võinud ka neli punkti panna, aga olin pigem kriitilisem.
This was my first Stephen King book and I think I expected more. It was OK!
3.5 stars really.
A lot more odd than I thought it would be - the bit at the end was a little random. The beginning is a bit pedestrian, almost awkward compared to more recent books I've read. Then some parts seemed rushed and predictable. In general the pacing was off for me, plot didn't follow very well: some characters seem treated differently to others without it being made clear why. It may be that phenomenon where it's harder to appreciate an influential work if you experienced the derivations first. It may be some of it flew over my head.
I found this more accessible than the only other Stephen King I've read (The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger) which I suspect wouldn't be surprising to others. Went a bit in the deep end there, I think.
I'm not feeling compelled to rush into more of Stephen King for a while …
3.5 stars really.
A lot more odd than I thought it would be - the bit at the end was a little random. The beginning is a bit pedestrian, almost awkward compared to more recent books I've read. Then some parts seemed rushed and predictable. In general the pacing was off for me, plot didn't follow very well: some characters seem treated differently to others without it being made clear why. It may be that phenomenon where it's harder to appreciate an influential work if you experienced the derivations first. It may be some of it flew over my head.
I found this more accessible than the only other Stephen King I've read (The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger) which I suspect wouldn't be surprising to others. Went a bit in the deep end there, I think.
I'm not feeling compelled to rush into more of Stephen King for a while so perhaps I liked this less than it seems. Perhaps I just don't get him.
Really enjoyed the way that the inevitable gloom set in together with the symbolism of the house looming over the town and serving as a focal point to the plot.
'Salem's Lot was good, but a bit slower pace than the other King books that I've read.
Near pitch-perfect vampire novel.
Du Stephen King classique, lu quand j'étais adolescent.
When I read [b:Dracula|17245|Dracula|Bram Stoker|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1347251549s/17245.jpg|3165724] a couple weeks ago, I said that it was one of the books that any vampire fan simply had to read. Salem's Lot is another (but you probably need to read Dracula first to get a full appreciation).
Of all the "modern" vampire fiction I've read and seen, Salem's Lot is by far the closest to Stoker's interpretation, but you'll have to actually read the book to figure out what I mean.
This book is descriptive, evocative, and VIVID! When you read a scene, you can smell what the characters smell. When you read a dialog, you can hear each character's unique voice in your head, as though those characters are standing right next to you. And when you read about characters in danger, you can FEEL the terror coursing through their veins!
While not quite as scary as [b:It|18342|It|Stephen King|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1309376909s/18342.jpg|150259], the scare factor is …
When I read [b:Dracula|17245|Dracula|Bram Stoker|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1347251549s/17245.jpg|3165724] a couple weeks ago, I said that it was one of the books that any vampire fan simply had to read. Salem's Lot is another (but you probably need to read Dracula first to get a full appreciation).
Of all the "modern" vampire fiction I've read and seen, Salem's Lot is by far the closest to Stoker's interpretation, but you'll have to actually read the book to figure out what I mean.
This book is descriptive, evocative, and VIVID! When you read a scene, you can smell what the characters smell. When you read a dialog, you can hear each character's unique voice in your head, as though those characters are standing right next to you. And when you read about characters in danger, you can FEEL the terror coursing through their veins!
While not quite as scary as [b:It|18342|It|Stephen King|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1309376909s/18342.jpg|150259], the scare factor is right up there, and it's definitely worth a read if you want the hairs on the back of your neck to stand up a bit. It wasn't quite "couldn't-put-it-down" for me, though - in fact, sometimes I HAD to put it down because I had had enough tension for one sitting. But whenever I picked it back up again, I had no trouble getting sucked back in, right back where I left off!
Just reread this. Still excellent, still scary. In fact, much scarier than I remember it being... I've been having bad dreams lately. There is something about vampires that is intrinsically terrifying.
I like vampires which don't sparkle.
