Salem’s Lot by Stephen King - Book Review

This quiet and peaceful country town is about to witness the birth of a terrifying evil, one that might consume it entirely. Jerusalem’s Lot, known as Salem’s Lot by the locals, is a town Ben Mears remembers only too well.

It’s where the old Marsden House still sits, the place that fuels his nightmares. But returning to write a book in his old hometown, Ben discovers that things have changed. And not for the better. 

A stranger, Kurt Barlow, has purchased the old house, his intentions as mysterious as his identity. Strange events coincide with Barlow’s arrival, the death toll climbing with each fresh victim. But they don’t stay dead for long. 

As vampires begin to take over the town, the population is slowly gripped within the clutches of pure evil. With the help of a local priest, a teacher and the beautiful Susan Norton, Ben is about to face his childhood nightmares head on in a terrifying struggle against an adversary who’s evil knows no bounds.    

Salem’s Lot was the first ever book I read by Stephen King and I remember the day I first picked it up. It began a life-long obsession with the writings of a single writer, his style hooking me from the fist page.

I read this book in a single sitting, on a coach trip between cities. The story was told so well that for the most part, I don’t remember the bus ride at all, instead remembering the intensity of slowly creeping through the rooms of the old Marsden House as Hubie’s rotting corpse waited for me. 

The plot is believable enough for it to actually happen, the characters one’s which you begin to feel for as soon as you meet them. This book, although terrifyingly enjoyable, is one I found to be a remarkable discovery which will stay with you long after you read the final page.