King, Stephen: Salem's Lot

After graduating from university, I found myself sitting on a bus with a record bag full of computer books. I found myself underwhelmed by excitement and anticipation. I ventured to delve into the world of fiction, stuck a stake in the ground, and chose Stephen King to immerse me into the world of the imagined through his early work - Salem's Lot.

I hadn't read fiction since my primary school years; I was under the impression that fiction was less valuable than fact; I felt I was wasting my time. But as my mind created images of yellowing vampires, Norman Bates-esque houses on hills and undead children floating in their pyjamas, the realisation of the enjoyment that my imagination gave me unfolded and uncrumpled in my mind. I was back on track. I was enjoying fiction again (I had read a lot when I was younger).

The book itself, I found unspectacular. The tension was raised occasionally, but the plot was mediocre and easily anticipated. It is King's second b

Publish Post

ook, and he was very much in his infancy - with respect to major publishing - and it is down to this that I put my lack of enthusiasm. But it painted a picture, the characters were described well, but I couldn't get to grips with them. The environment - the sounds, atmosphere and settings - were all, sadly, cliché. But hey, it may just be that King created this mood. I need comparisons.