Salem's Lot

Book Description

A STEPHEN KING CLASSIC FINALLY AVAILABLE AS AN AUDIOBOOK

Stephen King's second novel, Salem's Lot, is the story of a mundane town under siege from the forces of darkness. Considered one of the most terrifying vampire novels ever written, it cunningly probes the shadows of the human heart -- and the insular evils of small-town America.

Customer Reviews:

Unfailingly brilliant........2007-04-26

This review is for the Audio book of Salem's Lot. Read by Ron McLarty. Although I own this book, I also have the Audio Book because the story is so deliciously horrifying and brilliant that I want to hear the words aloud. To me its like listening to a favorite CD over and over again, I love to surround myself with the visuals that Stephen King so eloquently penned into this book. At 17.33 hours, it's a long orgasmic poetic nightmare that you never want to wake up from. Ron McLarty does an excellent job, seeing as this book is written from so many points of view, female included. Listening to someone read a favorite book is comforting, and I also have found that I see things differently, hear things I haven't heard before, the story is more alive in some way through audio. If you love the book, get this, if you have never read the book, get this. When you are through share it with a friend, they will thank you.

Reddragon.......2007-03-30

The product came quickly. It was exactly as advetised and met expectations. Thank You. I hated the story very boring. Shipping and product was in good condition.

An Addicting Read.......2007-01-30

I first read Salem's Lot in college; I had been on the lookout for a new author and finally had ascented to my Dad's suggestion to give King a try. Salem's Lot was not the first King book I picked up, that would be It, but it soon became one of my favorites; the rare book which could not only scare me but also make me think!
Flash forward about a year or so; I was just completing my student teaching and was living at home. Wandering through the library looking for a good Audiobook to keep me company in the car, I stumble upon this edition of "Salem's Lot". With a small grin, I grab it and am soon popping it into my car; sure enough, listening to the book has the same effect on me that reading it did, I get out of my car and am half expecting to see some monster waiting for me at my house.
If this version of the book had only done that alone it would have deserved 4 stars but, oh no, this audiobook also managed to convert an avowed hater of horror into a devoted Stephen King fan. I was driving in the car with my Mother one day when I popped the first disk in without telling her the name of the book. By the end of the first chapter she was hooked, and there was a look of horror and suprise on her face when I finally revealed the name of the book and the author. Over the next two weeks she spent every moment in the car listening to this book and has now become a very big Stephen King fan.
So, there you go, a story so good that people who HATE horror will love it!

An excellent scary story told by an excellent narrator........2005-10-18

I listen to a lot of audio books in the car and this is most definitely one of the best of the lot. Ron McLarty is an excellent narrator, with a great feel for the northeastern tone and language. He doesn't make the mistake a lot of narrators do which is over exaggerate the characters in order to differentiate them (such as giving high squeaky voices to girls and other distracting artifice.) Personally, I had no trouble whatsoever following who was speaking, and that can be tricky with a book that's as dialog heavy as King's can be.

But mostly he knows how to really instill the creep factor that a horror book requires; some of my nighttime drives were good scary fun!

As for the book itself, it's a great story, well crafted characters, a great homage to all classic vampire stories and some really interesting commentaries of the secrets of the lives of a town that have nothing to do with vampires. It's wonderful to see a writer actually build the characters build slowly, unfolding more and more bits as it progresses. I recommend both the book and the narrator.

'Salem's Lot.......2005-10-02

I was and still in heaven. Campbell Scott's narration is perfect but he was perfect when read the book "8.5".

Average customer rating:

Books
Fantastic Novel!
King's Best
Not Free SF Reader
Loved it

'Salem's Lot, Illustrated Edition
Stephen King
Manufacturer: Doubleday
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

ASIN: 0385516487
Release Date: 2005-11-01

Amazon.com

Stephen King's second book, 'Salem's Lot (1975)--about the slow takeover of an insular hamlet called Jerusalem's Lot by a vampire patterned after Bram Stoker's Dracula--has two elements that he also uses to good effect in later novels: a small American town, usually in Maine, where people are disconnected from each other, quietly nursing their potential for evil; and a mixed bag of rational, goodhearted people, including a writer, who band together to fight that evil.

Simply taken as a contemporary vampire novel, 'Salem's Lot is great fun to read, and has been very influential in the horror genre. But it's also a sly piece of social commentary. As King said in 1983, "In 'Salem's Lot, the thing that really scared me was not vampires, but the town in the daytime, the town that was empty, knowing that there were things in closets, that there were people tucked under beds, under the concrete pilings of all those trailers. And all the time I was writing that, the Watergate hearings were pouring out of the TV.... Howard Baker kept asking, 'What I want to know is, what did you know and when did you know it?' That line haunts me, it stays in my mind.... During that time I was thinking about secrets, things that have been hidden and were being dragged out into the light." Sounds quite a bit like the idea behind his 1998 novel of a Maine hamlet haunted by unsightly secrets, Bag of Bones. --Fiona Webster

Book Description

Upon its initial publication in 1975, Salem’s Lot was recognized as a landmark work. The novel has sold millions of copies in various editions, but it wasn’t until Centipede Press published a special limited edition in 2004 that King’s masterpiece was brought to brilliant and eerie life. With the addition of fifty pages of material deleted from the 1975 manuscript as well as material that has since been modified by King, an introduction by him, and two short stories related to the events of the novel, this edition represents the text as the author envisioned it. Centipede’s deluxe edition, of which only 900 copies were printed, features lavishly creepy photographs by acclaimed photographer Jerry Uelsmann, printed interior endpapers, and a stunning page design.

Doubleday is proud to make this volume, printed from the original design of the Centipede Press edition, available to the general reader. No King aficionado’s library will be complete without owning this definitive illustrated edition of the great Salem’s Lot.

Customer Reviews:

Books.......2007-10-10

"Salem's Lot" is still Kings best novel. Amazon gets an A+ for prompt shipping.

Fantastic Novel!.......2007-09-22

Im a huge Stephen King fan. I'm reading all his books, and so far this is my favorite. It takes place in the town of Jerusalem's Lot, know as 'Salem's Lot, and the Lot by the people who live there. Ben Mears is an author who lived in the town for four years as a child, and moved out because of the fire that burned down half of the lot. He still considers it his home when he comes back in his 20s/30s. Mears wants to rent out the haunted house where a man killed himself, but it has recently been bought by a man named Straker, and his friend Barlow. Soon people start getting lost, or taken. The main suspects are Mears and Straker, because they are the new people in town. Barlow is supposedly on a business trip in New York. We soon find out that Barlow is a vampire, and is turning the whole town. Mears and his friends start to hunt the vampires, and are trying to kill Barlow. WIll they succeed? Find out yourself. Buy the book. I strongly recommend it.

This is a great book. It's scary, but not wake up in the middle of the night scary, or even can't get to sleep scary. You just might want to have a little light, vampires seem to hate light. for a while I was thinking about buying a cross, and Im jewish! anyway, the novel has many twists, and just when you think you know how it's going to end, King gives you something you didn't know.

Buy this book, and if you see a vampire... dont look it in the eyes.

King's Best.......2007-09-06

I'm old, I remember when Stephen King was scary and Woody Allen was funny. This is the best book King wrote and that's saying something. The thing that stayed with me is the strength of the boy in the book. This type of character, a boy you could count on and you just knew was going to grow into a terrific man, appears in several King books. All the characters are so well drawn and compelling you just want the book to go on forever. Even now I can pick it up and start reading it again for the umpteenth time and be completely drawn in and captivated. Oh yes and don't forget it will scare the heck out of you about 30 times. Don't miss this book, don't think it's old and out of date. You won't be sorry (except when you hear something rustle against your window some dark night).

Not Free SF Reader.......2007-09-03

A particularly creepy vampire tale. My favorite King by far, I think. The protagonist goes back to a crappy small yank town that he came from, and it pretty much all goes downhill from there. He is not the only other arrival. The problem is that the other one is not alive. The scene at the window is particularly memorable, especially for kids.

Loved it.......2007-07-25

Nothing like it's painstaking mini-series adaptation, the book is a favorite of Stephen King's novels. Well-paced, well told, I was unable to put it down even though I was scared to death.

If you like stories involving vampires, this is a must read and a good read penned by the master of horror fiction.

Stephen King: Three Complete Novels: Carrie, 'Salems' Lot & The Shining

Average customer rating:

Beautiful volume.
sweet deal
Three for One
The Early Years of the Once and Future King...
king rocks

Stephen King: Three Complete Novels: Carrie, 'Salems' Lot & The Shining
Stephen King
Manufacturer: Wings
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0517219026
Release Date: 2002-07-02

Book Description

Stephen King is a unique and powerful writer without equal for millions of horror fans. His incredible narrative drive ensnares the reader in a web of everyday surroundings, believable situations and recognizable characters that are eventually caught up in a terrifying noose of monumental evil. Three of King's earlier classics are here together in one volume, complete and unabridged and chilling: the explosive adolescent powers of Carried; the slow, insidious corruption of a small American town by a terrorizing vampire; and the malicious machinations of the Overlook Hotel and the gift of the "shine."

Customer Reviews:

Beautiful volume. .......2007-01-22

Three of King's best in a convinent attractive package. Editorial errors mentioned in a previous review are not applicable in the copy I just recieved from Amazon. The publisher must have made the corrections in later editions. So don't let that deter you. The novels sell for up to 3 times as much individually, so you can't beat the deal or the fun this one book offers. Have at it.

sweet deal.......2007-01-10

I bought this as a Christmas gift for my mom. She almost had his complete works except for these three! It was a perfect gift! It would also be a great way to introduce a reader with these three classics!

Three for One.......2006-08-11

With the exception of maybe Misery and all but the last 10 minutes of It, these are the three books by King that developed into the best film / TV projects. Salem's Lot (the Tobe Hooper / David Soul version) was an excellent TV movie. The Shining is a Kubrick / Nicholson classic and Carrie is a good De Palma / Spacek vehicle. Therefore it makes sense to entice film fans in by sticking all three of the novels together in one book. What's even better about it, is the fact that no matter how good those films are, these written versions are superior. Highly recommended.

The Early Years of the Once and Future King..........2006-03-23

The three best horror novels from Stephen King's early career are finally available in one complete volume, and I for one am estatic. King is still the greatest author who ever lived, and these stand as some of the scariest books ever written. Salems' Lot is the best vampire novel of all time, and King's excellent sense of pacing works well with the genre. Carrie is beautifullay wicked, and the Shining... well, it's just good.
Hail to the King.

king rocks.......2005-12-19

i would recommend any book my king, but these are 3 of the best that every reader should expereicne

Stephen King: The Shining, Salems Lot, Night Shift, Carrie

Average customer rating:

King's early novels were his best
Simply a great story
a must

Stephen King: The Shining, Salems Lot, Night Shift, Carrie
Stephen King
Manufacturer: Book Sales
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

ASIN: 0905712609

Customer Reviews:

King's early novels were his best.......2000-12-11

I had never read "Salems Lot", nor had I seen the movie. So when I noticed the recent publication in trade paperback I thought I would try it out. It was great. The plot, characters, setting and mood were wonderfully created, and Kings descriptions are magic. It brought me back to the early King works and it seems to me that most of these early books ("Christine", "The Dead Zone", "Different Seasons", "Cujo", "Carrie", "The Firestarter" and "The Stand") were written with better plotting than some of the later stuff. Maybe I'm just showing some disappointment with "Hearts in Adlantis", "Bag of Bones" "Needful things" and "Four Past Midnight" which were not as enthralling. The recent exception is "The Green Mile". Keep writing Mr. King and I'll keep reading.

Simply a great story.......2000-10-16

Ive never been scared by any of King's novels, but have been fasinated by them, unable to put them down in this case. Salems Lot is a story of a town and the people that live in it. Eventually, a vampire comes to town in a manner that is told in an amazing way. It doesn't seem like your typical fantasy/horror story. This seems real!!! Its a great story that proved to me that King is a superb story teller.

a must.......2000-06-17

This book is just great. I have never been one to go for the full vampire thing, but this book really is the best vampire story ever!PERIOD. I have now read it twice. Again King's prose is so lucid, once you get involved, becomes something more than a reading experience. There are at least two scenes in this book that will leave you clutching your chest in dread, a similar sensation to those who have seen the exorcist and clutched thier necks at the neck operation scene. Just read it and you will see what I mean. It also offers itself as an accurate social commentary on modern living, as is the case with many king subplots. Basically its a raw, dark and intense novel in parts. If you like books that get thier teeth in to you, then this is for you.

Average customer rating:

who's the master?
Vampires Sneak into Maine's Quiet Town.
King's Best

Salem's Lot
Stephen King
Manufacturer: Doubleday
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Similar Items:

ASIN: B000BSLXXO

Product Description

Book club edition hardcover with mylar wrapped dustjacket. Tight spine and pages. Slight yellowing. No stamps, tears, or loose pages.

Customer Reviews:

who's the master?.......2007-09-23

For those who have read the dark tower books, here's a question, is the master vampire's lord the crimson king? perhaps.... there is supposed to be a link between this story and the dark tower epic.

Vampires Sneak into Maine's Quiet Town........2006-05-31

"'Salem's Lot" is the second novel written by Stephen King. At that time to write a novel took him around two years. He wasn't as prolific as he now is and his "writing formula" was new to him and to the readers.
I first read this book when it was just edited and enjoyed it a lot. Before reviewing it I carefully reread it and still receive the jolts of King's unique style, even knowing beforehand what was going to happen.

King took vampires myth and situated it not in a far land, not far in the past, but in our time in a little Maine's town.
The author takes his time to depict every character minutely. He draws the general picture of everyday life in a small town. In Spanish we have a saying: "Small town, big inferno" and that's exactly what happens in Salem's Lot.
When the reader is well acquainted with the town's people, horror starts to creep little by little, trapping first one, then other townsfolk, putting the village under siege.
A small heterogeneous group tries to combat evil with all their strength. Will they succeed? Well you must read the book to know it.

If you are a fan on horror novels you will not be disappointed. King IS the best horror storyteller of the present times.
His trade mark is: being one of the "good people" is not enough to keep the character safe, so the reader keeps wondering "who will be next?"
It is great book for lovers of the genre and general public too!

Reviewed by Max Yofre.

King's Best.......2005-12-27

I am "Constant Reader", and have read each of King's hardcover novels as soon as they have become available. Of his long and accomplished list of fantastic works, I rank "Salem's Lot" at the very top.

If you're in the mood for a vampire tale, put away the Anne Rice. Check your courage at the door and come to Jerusalem's Lot for a while.

The metric by which one must measure any good horror story is the degree to which it scared you. Well, let me tell you, "Salem's Lot" scared the ever-loving &#$*@! out of me--AS I read it! It is, to date, the only tale that has ever made me literally jump as a scene takes a sudden and unexpected twist. I literally had the same sensation of someone jumping out of the closet as I read!

In "Salem's Lot" King demonstrates his masterful technique of suspense, jumping from one scene to another at a critical moment. Yet, the flow is easy to follow and the tale is devoid of dry spots. The imagery is superb and the comic relief welcome.

For any reader looking to cuddle up with a good book to scare you awake, King simply can't be beat. Pick up "Cujo", "Desperation", or even "Pet Sematary". But if you want to really push the envelope, and bring that fear home to roost, try "Salem's Lot". See just how far off the cinema adaptations missed the mark for tachycardia.

Average customer rating:

Salems Lot
Stephen King
Manufacturer: Doubleday
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MVQTMU

Average customer rating:

Loved it - true classic vampire book. But...
Revival of the Vampire
Importing Vampires in Maine: A Dreadful Business!
My first Stephen King book - but not the last!
Stephen King's best

Salem's Lot
Stephen King
Manufacturer: Signet
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0451165888

Customer Reviews:

Loved it - true classic vampire book. But..........2007-03-27

Read this for the first time last week - flied through the book wondering what was going to happen. Mr. King [..]into his world from the beginning. Ben and Mark were great characters, as was Straker and Barlow. And that's why I didn't give Salem's Lot 5 stars. I wanted more information on Straker and Barlow, especially Barlow. There were some interesting tidbits of information about him, but just like Mr. King spent a considerable amount of time getting the reader to know the community and its more interesting "townies"...I would have loved a chapter or two on Barlow and Straker. I would have like to have gotten into their heads a bit more. The really interesting thing about this novel is that there is only one vampire involved, and he's not "that" involved in the story. It's everyone else that makes the story engaging. The kid was my favorite character. Great creation.
Overall...highly recommended horror novel - a classic!

Revival of the Vampire.......2006-09-18

Until Stephen King happened along the horror genre had languished, continually put down by a variety of critics in the so-called mainstream. King broke into print with "Carrie," and quickly followed up his initial success with a quasi-gothic story of a modern vampire. King's story brought new life into stories of vampires, firing the memories of those who fondly remembered the TV soap "Dark Shadows."

King sets his story in the small Maine town of Jerusalem's Lot. King starts his story by detailing the recent and not-so-recent past of many of the denizens of Jerusalem's Lot. It also becomes apparent to the reader that the residents of Jerusalem's Lot are so caught up in their own petty problems and evils, including nosing into the lives of others, that they are unable to see the real evil that has come into their midst.

Rising above the concerns of the typical townspeople are Ben Mears, a young author with thus far minor success in the publishing world, Mark Petrie, a boy who would have been remarkable in any setting, Matthew Burke, an aging teacher who wonders whether he has made any real difference in the world, and Father Callahan, a priest who has either lost his faith or is on the very edge of doing so. While the team is small, they are the few who are capable of leading the fight against the vampire who is slowly taking over the town, person by person.

On the other side of the fence are Mr. Barlow and Mr. Straker. We wonder early on whether there really is a Mr. Straker and though we know the story of Salem's Lot well enough to know there is a vampire, we wonder whether we are going to be fooled by some literary slight of hand.

Stephen King's success in this story comes not from the tale of the vampire, but by imbuing Salem's Lot the town with life, which King was able to do well because of his own personal knowledge of small town life in the northeast. The reader must believe in the dozens of mundane individuals that inhabit the town; how absolutely normal it all seems. Yet, there is an undercurrent of foreboding because there were already bad things in this town long before the vampire arrived. King has wrought a novel that is easy to dismiss at the beginning, but is rewarding for those that allow the characters to develop.

I consider this novel one of the best vampire novels ever written, and easily worth five stars.

Importing Vampires in Maine: A Dreadful Business!.......2006-05-18

"Salem's Lot" is the second novel written by Stephen King. At that time to write a novel took him around two years. He wasn't as prolific as he now is and his "writing formula" was new to him and to the readers.
I first read this book when it was just edited and enjoyed it a lot. Before reviewing it I carefully reread it and still receive the jolts of King's unique style, even knowing beforehand what was going to happen.

King took vampires myth and situated it not in a far land, not far in the past, but in our time in a little Maine's town.
The author takes his time to depict every character minutely. He draws the general picture of everyday life in a small town. In Spanish we have a saying: "Small town, big inferno" and that's exactly what happens in Salem's Lot.
When the reader is well acquainted with the town's people, horror starts to creep little by little, trapping first one, then other townsfolk, putting the village under siege.
A small heterogeneous group tries to combat evil with all their strength. Will they succeed? Well you must read the book to know it.

If you are a fan on horror novels you will not be disappointed. King IS the best horror storyteller of the present times.
His trade mark is: being one of the "good people" is not enough to keep the character safe, so the reader keeps wondering "who will be next?"
It is great book for lovers of the genre!

Reviewed by Max Yofre.

My first Stephen King book - but not the last!.......2001-10-31

This paperback was loaned to me many years ago by a co-worker who knew that I love horror novels. This book scared me more than anything I had ever read before, and it raised the bar for all horror novels I would read in the future. I have read every book by Stephen King since then. When people ask me to name my favorite scary novel, I always say Salem's Lot. I can't help but compare all other horror novels to it, and unfortunately most of them pale in comparison.

Stephen King's best.......1999-10-19

This was the second Stephen King novel I ever read, but it has been the one to keep me up the longest. The novel is very engrossing. I was only 13 when I read it the first time, so it was not entirely understood, but enough was understood to make me sleep with a light on. I reread this book every Halloween and it still sends shivers down my spine.

Average customer rating:

Salem's Lot
Stephen King
Manufacturer: New English Library Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0450031063

Average customer rating:

Good and Creepy!

Salem's Lot
Stephen King
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster Audio
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette

General | Books on Cassette | Audiobooks | Formats | Books

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0743536959

Book Description

A STEPHEN KING CLASSIC FINALLY AVAILABLE AS AN AUDIOBOOK

Customer Reviews:

Good and Creepy!.......2005-08-24

Stephen King is one of my favorite authors so I listened to this unabridged audio cassette recording of his book Salem's Lot and I thought this vampire story was very good and had several creepy parts but I enjoyed them and I think that this is definitely one of Stephen King's best stories and I highly recommend it. The audio recording is from Simon & Schuster Audio and is read by Ron McLarty and I think he did a pretty good job and I liked this audiobook so much that I have decided that it's a keeper.

Average customer rating:

Salem's Lot
Stephen King
Manufacturer: Signet
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0451098277

Product Description

First Signet printing August 1976. Authorized reprint of hardcover published by Doubleday and Company.

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books