Okay my last review for the day. I promise. However I can't make the same promise for tomorrow or next week for that matter.
It's hard reading a forty year old novel about vampires in the 21st century. So much has happened to the genre in the past twenty years. It's very easy to think of this book as just "another damn vampire story". Then you look at the date of publication and you're tempted to put it back on the shelf and move on. But wait just a moment. Consider these couple points before you do that and then make your decision.
"Salem's Lot" was one of the first novels to put vampires in "contemporary times". Of course the book is something of a period piece now as well, but you understand. It was groundbreaking in 1976. King not only set the story in the modern era, but the United States as well.Most of the vampire stories up until then took place in Europe and the 19th century.
"Salem's Lot" went away from the idea of vampires being dark, seductive and sexy. In this book they live in the dirt and filth. They're really no better than rats as they scavenge off of the living.There are no cool Euro accents, awesome evening dress and long flowing cloaks. They sure in hell don't glitter in the sunlight. The Vampires are evil and a threat to Humanity......to our Humanity.
In 2015 it's apparent that King's take on the myth never really took hold with the popular imagination. Most people seem to prefer the romantic version. There is the occasional story that goes down this road (i.e. "The Strain"), but for the most part we're stuck with Anne Rice and Stephenie Meyer's imaginings. *sigh*
Well it's still a pretty good little horror novel. In 2015 it's not as disturbing as it might have been in the mid-seventies (I suppose we're too jaded), but it holds your attention and keeps you turning the pages. And really what more can you ask of a horror novel?
I picked up my used and battered copy (the 1976 paperback edition) in the summer of 2010 at the start of a short vacation. It's the perfect motel read at the end of a long day of playing tourist.
It's hard reading a forty year old novel about vampires in the 21st century. So much has happened to the genre in the past twenty years. It's very easy to think of this book as just "another damn vampire story". Then you look at the date of publication and you're tempted to put it back on the shelf and move on. But wait just a moment. Consider these couple points before you do that and then make your decision.
"Salem's Lot" was one of the first novels to put vampires in "contemporary times". Of course the book is something of a period piece now as well, but you understand. It was groundbreaking in 1976. King not only set the story in the modern era, but the United States as well.Most of the vampire stories up until then took place in Europe and the 19th century.
"Salem's Lot" went away from the idea of vampires being dark, seductive and sexy. In this book they live in the dirt and filth. They're really no better than rats as they scavenge off of the living.There are no cool Euro accents, awesome evening dress and long flowing cloaks. They sure in hell don't glitter in the sunlight. The Vampires are evil and a threat to Humanity......to our Humanity.
In 2015 it's apparent that King's take on the myth never really took hold with the popular imagination. Most people seem to prefer the romantic version. There is the occasional story that goes down this road (i.e. "The Strain"), but for the most part we're stuck with Anne Rice and Stephenie Meyer's imaginings. *sigh*
Well it's still a pretty good little horror novel. In 2015 it's not as disturbing as it might have been in the mid-seventies (I suppose we're too jaded), but it holds your attention and keeps you turning the pages. And really what more can you ask of a horror novel?
I picked up my used and battered copy (the 1976 paperback edition) in the summer of 2010 at the start of a short vacation. It's the perfect motel read at the end of a long day of playing tourist.