Salem's Lot

This sprawling yarn, described by King as "vampires in Our Town," displays the prolific author's typically sharp storytelling and memorable characterizations.
In his 2000 memoir On Writing, Stephen King describes the inspiration for his second novel simply: “vampires in Our Town.” Indeed, until the bloodsucking gets seriously underway, the presence of the carnivorous undead is neither the worst nor the darkest secret in the small Maine town of Jerusalem’s Lot.

A sprawling yarn with dozens of supporting characters, ‘Salem’s Lot focuses primarily on struggling author Ben Mears, who has returned to his hometown in search of inspiration after the failure of his latest novel. Captivated by the whispered legends swirling around an abandoned house that looms ominously over the town, Ben delves into his childhood fears and discovers a long-dormant evil coming back to life.

This early in his career, King’s prose is still a shade ragged. But King’s storytelling skills are sharp enough to create memorable characters in the space of a few paragraphs, so that even when a few hundred pages pass between their introduction and the moment they get it in the neck, their deaths still register as a loss. Despite its length, the book flies by, with reader Ron McLarty balancing Andy Griffith and Bela Lugosi.