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‘Salem’s Lot feels like the first true Stephen King novel. He’d published Carrie before it. And he’d written books like Rage, The Long Walk, and many short stories before that. But Lot feels like King fully coming into his style. This reread of the book I felt an overwhelming sense of warmth underneath the dread. Uncle Steve’s silver lining is present here under all the dread.
Every major King-ism is present. And often for the first time. The main character is an author, the book takes place in a small Maine town, there are dangerous bullies that need dealing with, gossiping neighbors, a small group of children/friends are confronted by evil, etc. Salem’s Lot makes an excellent companion read with his 1986 novel It. The ladder novel even features a callback (He thrusts his fists against the posts and still insists he sees the ghosts.).
‘Salem’s Lot is, as King puts it, “One of the good ones.” And it stands as one of my favorites. Now, if I have any criticism for this book, it’s that Ben Mears is one of King’s worst author characters. And when I see complaints about this novel it’s related to their romance. Personally, I think it works out because every character not Ben or Susan is some of the most interesting King has ever created. With Father Callahan being one of the top five most tragic King characters.
Ben almost needs to fade out of the limelight to allow the rest of the cast of characters to shine. Jimmy, Mark, Matt, Sheriff Parkins, the town itself, and even Straker are three dimensional characters. Complete with unfolding stories for each of them and a variety of conclusions to their story. Our main character acts as a lens for the reading audience. And, in some ways, it’s good that he doesn’t get in the way.
One thing people don’t talk enough about is the apocalyptic nature of Salem’s Lot. In the introduction for the illustrated edition King speaks on his relationship with Dracula. How, though he loves the novel, he felt that Dracula never stood a chance against Van Helsing. What would happen if Dracula instead arrived in a small unprepared modern New England town and not Victorian London?
Our characters at the end are willing to use a wildfire to cleanse evil. But there is an elephant in the room. The pair have been gone for a long time. Do these vampires get smarter? Have they spread beyond the Lot? These questions go unanswered. The implications are dark yet hopeful.