For October, I read one book. It was over 650 pages, so kind of like three regular books.
Usually for October I love to read a few horror, ghost or suspense books. This year I started with Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot.
An author, Ben Mears, returns to his childhood town to work on his next novel. Strange things start happening in the town. Children disappear, people are dying, and bodies go missing. What could be going on in this small Maine town?
Stephen King is a master storyteller and that shines in Salem’s Lot. He really builds the tension and horror. You get an idea of what is going on in the town and hoping characters escape the terror. The characters feel like friends and you want nothing to happen to them. As you read, you are screaming (in your head) to leave town! Get out now! Of course, they don’t listen or it’d be a pretty short book.
As with other Stephen King books, it’s a little long. I feel he could have cut out some sections of the book and still accomplished the same mood and outcome. There were pages of what everyone in Salem’s Lot was eating for dinner. I get what he was doing, but I didn’t need the details of every meal. This is the one pet peeve I have with King. He gets wordy, mostly things that don’t necessarily add to the story.
I am curious about the TV adaptations that were made. I will probably see if I can find them streaming somewhere. I love to watch the adaptations to see what choices the producers, directors, and actors make.
Overall, I gave Salem’s Lot four (4) stars. The story is good, but long. It is slow-moving, but some sections seem to drag on. Slow-moving isn’t bad. It helps to build the atmosphere. There are a few parts, like the dinner section, that just drag.
