Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - 'Salem's Lot

This is an impressive meditation on everyday evil and the plight of small town America (couched in the classic spooky story). The writing is excellent, and I could really feel the characters and setting. It was somewhat creepy, sometimes gross, and very tense. I knocked 1 star because the first 50% of the book is setting and character exposé. I really wanted something to happen, but when it finally moved, it kicked off. Also, there was only 1 main female character, and she almost exclusively talked about men. Most women characters were defined by men / mothering / their sexuality. It's not surprising for the time, but it's still disappointing. I had fun regardless.

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zeldazonks's review against another edition

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dark sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

This is quintessential Stephen King; troubled writer, precocious kid, a few abused/traumatised women, an alcoholic etc. So make of that what you will. I found the start pretty slow going, but once the action kicks in I was gripped. There are aspects of King's writing that I struggle with (jahoobies and liberal use of slurs) but I also love the way he writes. I feel like you really marinate in the mindsets of each of his characters and there are certain passages of prose that blow me away. So I give King a lot of free passes that I probably wouldn't if he wasn't such a staple on the bookshelf of my youth. As far as a Stephen King novel goes, I liked it.

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mxpringle's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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cass_lit's review against another edition

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3.5

I would like to have a talk with Stephen King’s editor, because I have suggestions. Cut the slurs. Cut any sexual comment about an underage girl (and maybe even the ones about adult women — this man called breasts “jahoovies” MULTIPLE TIMES). Cut ~150 pages because this does not need to be as long as it is.

I felt about this the same I do about most Stephen King books. The bones are there and so good; he’s unmatched in his breadth of horror plot lines. But my god is this long book filled with writing that you’d think was intentionally trying to alienate women, queer readers, people of color… basically, Stephen King writes for straight, white, cis men and the rest of us just take what we can get from it. I loved the vampires and the haunted mansion on the hill, just hated all the characters and the way they talked and the way they were talked about.

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