Salem's Lot

Rating:
Summary: The most unoriginal book I have ever read!
Review: This book is the absolute worst "horror" book to ever be published. My father has gotten into King's books over the last few years so I decided to give him a try. HUGE mistake!
'Salems Lot has a horribly cliched story line, the characters have no depth nor personality, and the ending is utterly lacking any imagination.
I have read many horror books (and movies) having to do with vampires and this was the worst. King took every famous vampire novel and turned them into his own very bland story. If you like vampires without the cliche and with actual depth try Poppy Z. Brite or even Anne Rice, but don't waste or time or your money on 'Samems Lot.

Rating:
Summary: Not terribly scary, with little realism
Review: This book starts out well enough, though the reader must trudge through the obligatory small peaceful town setup. As a writer settles back to his hometown to write a novel, a mysterious antique store opens up with some odd owners. From then on, the vampire situation appears.

A small town infested with the living undead is a great premise, but the story just doesn't live up. Instead of a terrifying takeover and escape story, the book appears almost comical. Basically, in a period of a few days, a few men try to rescue the town, but do a downright miserable job. The ending is very disappointing, the characters are not enduring, the language sentence structure is too terse, it's too many pages, and the plot, to put in the vernacular - just sucks.

This book is more reminiscent to a bad B-movie. It tries to scare, but the only frightening part was that fact that other people find it scary.

Rating:
Summary: Small Town Vampire Tale
Review: In my opinion Salem's Lot definitely is the second best modern vampire story ever told. Richard Matheson's "I Am Legend" is the best.

This is a typical Stephen King book: quiet small town, mysterious stranger arrives and settles in the Marsten House (which has already a history of its own), vampires start to knock on your windows. The story is fast-paced, with well-written characters, and interesting twists and turns that make the hair at the base of your neck stand up.

And even if you have already read it, it's certainley a book you can reread without losing the original thrilling atmosphere you experienced when diving into the story for the first time.

Rating:
Summary: Not great--here's why:
Review: Stephen King is my favorite author and I love so many of his books, but this isn't one of the best ones. I suppose by another author you could say this was a great piece of work, but I think King falls short of his potential here. It's his second novel, and his inexperience shows. It's really quite charming at times, as you see what's to come and what he'll expand on in later works. For example, in the first section, he talks about the different types of evil, and has characters wishing that evil would come from one dark source instead of amongst us all. He says it a little less subtley then he learns later on but it's understood. Then he just drops it and never goes back, dissapointing the deeper thinkers analyizing.
Second of all, he's written several books about a small town being taken over by a dark force, and he's gotten better with experience. Tommyknockers and Needful Things are better in this regard. This is an ok book, but I was hoping for a classic King novel like Firestarter, Cujo, or the Shining. Read some others first.

Rating:
Summary: was one of the scariest book i've read
Review: this is a fanastic vampire story. itisn't like dracula becasuse the fact that salem's lot is a small town in the US. not transylvania. well it about a writer who comes back to his boyhood town, called jerusalem' lot or salem's lot as most of the people call it. he is there to write about the local haunted house. but soon realized that things are going on and he and a few other are the only ones ther is stop this invasion.
great book

Rating:
Summary: A Classic
Review: Writer Ben Mears takes a journey of discovery back to the Maine town of Jerusalem's Lot. As a boy he'd had an otherworldly experience in the old Marsten House and it has haunted him ever since. He hopes by going back to 'Salem's Lot he can exorcise his demons and create another bestselling novel at the same time. But when he returns he finds that the Marsten house has just been purchased by two strange men, one of whom is never seen in the daylight. And then strange, evil things begin to happen. I've just finished reading this novel for the third or fourth time since it was first published in 1975. It is one of my favorite books and one I find that wears well. This was Mr. King's second book and he was just beginning to hit his stride as a writer. His prose is as good as any modern writer, a fact often overlooked because of what he writes. The characterizations ring true as does the dialog. And it is a plain scary classic vampire story. I recommend it highly.

Rating:
Summary: The best King novel
Review: Stephen King's "'Salem's Lot" is defintely his best book. It starts out introducing the two main characters, a writer named Ben and a young boy named Mark, and then introduces the town in which the story takes place, Jerusalem's Lot (also known as 'Salem's Lot). King does a great job at developing the town, its dark past, and its many residents. The trouble starts when two "business partners," R.T. Straker and his partner, Mr. Barlow, move into the infamous Marsten House in 'Salem's Lot. King also creates a chilling story about the Marsten House in this book, and how metioning it still makes the residents uneasy. Eventually there is a disappearance of a little boy, and Ben and a few others suspect that it is not only connected to the Marsten House, but to vampirism as well. "'Salem's Lot" is the best vampire novel I've read, and is very freaky. If you're a King fan who hasn't yet read this, or just want to read something scary, I highly recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: My favorite King story
Review: Jerusalem's Lot is a small New England town that quietly watches as time goes by. Suddenly, an evil haze sweeps over the village and people start dying. This book is a masterfully written tale of a few unlikely heroes trying to save their town from a ruthless villain.

Unlike many of his books, King gets out of the gate quickly with this one and keeps a good pace throughout. The writing is excellent, showing the story evolve from the points of view of several characters. His ability to paint a detailed picture of the dark, gloomy landscape is chilling and classic King. More than any of his other books, 'Salem's Lot got my heart pumping and kept the pages turning. This is his best work in my opinion. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Classic King
Review: An amazing novel from the undeniable king of the modern horror genre (no pun intended), 'Salem's Lot is suspenseful, terrifying, and insightful. King has been known as one of the best social commentators of our society, and what he has to say is not usually pretty. 'Salem's Lot is one of his greatest works and retains its freshness and suspense even after twenty-five years. Anyone who is in the least interested in King, or is just looking for a scare, should read this.

Rating:
Summary: One of my favorite Stephen King books.
Review: At first, Salem's Lot is a little bit slow. For a couple hundred paes, it describes everyones routine and daily life in the small town. However, this is very important for the rest of the book, when the vampires begin to take over the town. This was one of the first Stephen King book I read and it is definatly one of my favorites. This book really kept me on the edge of my seat and I was turning the pages like crazy to see the fate of Jerusalem's Lot. I finished this book in 2-3 days. I enjoyed this book much more than his previous attempt, Carrie. The writing style is smoother and he really found a way to keep me reading. It is also interesting to note that in the bok Night Shift, there is two stories about Jerusalem's Lot. The first one is called "Jerusalem's Lot". It is meant as a prologue to the novel. The epilogue is called "One for the Road" If you want a scary book, read this one. It will keep you up into the early hours of the night with the sheer terror it provokes. I would strongly recommend that you buy this book. It will not let you down.