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!