Salem's Lot - Discussion & Spoilers!

well 1stly i know this is an old thread, so my reason of posting in it is really simple. i have the (1999) paperback version of it from "Signet" & it says it's 630 pages. yet the paperback that is i believe the 1st printing with the black cover is 427 pages!

my question is why in the hell is the (1999) version longer? i don't think he did any revision to it back than? or did he?


same thing, goes with "The Shining" i have a paperback book that's longer than my hardback copy of it. & my 1st edition paperback edition as well.

This is was the first SK book that hooked me; it was also the third of his books that I ever read and the one that got me hooked for life lol

this actually wasn't the 1st one i ever read of his. i think it may have been 'The Gunslinger" that was the 1st book i ever read of his was. cause at the age i read it at my brother & my mom weren't to happy i wanted to read any "SK" & were pretty damn


cautious & waaaay over-protective for some reason? i never did understand it to be honest, nor do i still understand it. but my mom was like that with other authors as

well like "John Saul' when "The Second Child" came out in (1990) well it was a year or two after that i read it. i had to pester my mom to read that one. i dunno why i had to i've read that one many times since & there wasn't anything in it that a kid couldn't read ya know? anyways, back on topic


it wasn't until high school that i read this, i think i may have said this somewhere else here? reason being actually was cause of one reason. the book is slooooow at 1st

& i just couldn't get into it. & didn't have the patience to stay with it. so i've lost count how many times i tried reading it & just couldn't finish the damn thing. that's why it took me until i was high school i had to force myself to be patient. & i've read it a couple times since.

though i haven't read it in years. if memory serves me right, it ends on a cliff-hanger! at least it sure as hell felt like one. at least to me. so i'm thrilled that we got somewhat of an ending on what happend next with the "DT" series. & all that.

IMO, Salem's Lot is one of the best books of the 2nd half of the 20th century.

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Originally Posted by Roland of Gilead 33

well 1stly i know this is an old thread, so my reason of posting in it is really simple. i have the (1999) paperback version of it from "Signet" & it says it's 630 pages. yet the paperback that is i believe the 1st printing with the black cover is 427 pages!

my question is why in the hell is the (1999) version longer? i don't think he did any revision to it back than? or did he?


same thing, goes with "The Shining" i have a paperback book that's longer than my hardback copy of it. & my 1st edition paperback edition as well.

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Fonts can be at least partially to blame, but that still seems like a lot of discrepancy. IDK. Could it be an abridged version or something you didn't spot the first time around?

Awesome book! Just got done with it a couple weeks ago and would love to discuss it if other posters are up for it.

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Originally Posted by The Road Virus

Awesome book! Just got done with it a couple weeks ago and would love to discuss it if other posters are up for it.

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While it has been a little while since my last re-read, it is one of my "King" favorites. Fire away!!!! Love the part where Callahan is broken!!! Chilling scene, especially for a book. That's the one where the book went into the "Freezer" for a coupla days for me!!! LOL

Yeah that was definitely a chilling scene. I liked the whole development of Callahan and it made me want to read DT 5-7 again just so I could do it with more respect for him. I thought where he went in-depth about the Father's drinking you could just sense how true the talk of it was, King knew what he was talking about and did so with brutal honesty in other words.

I'd say it is currently my 2nd favorite King novel.

It's a shame they could never translate the out n out terror and creepiness of the book to film. I've read "Dracula" by Bram Stoker and it was a scary book, but to me Salem's Lot was on a "whole 'nother level"!!!

I have not seen the movie and/or tv version of the Lot. Nor have I read any other vampire/dracula fiction besides this one (though I intend to read the original). Salem's Lot was definitely well composed and a page turner as well IMO. Do you think/know that King knew the Father would make another appearence in his work(s) and that is why the way he left his story the way he did or it was just a coincidence that worked out well?

Salems lot is in my top 5 of kings books, when he gets it right with the whole 'group of people' he books are unputtable down? (if that is a phrase) I loved the slowness of this book, as it slowly all came together without ever losing my interest.

In fact, if i could find any of my books i would go for a re-read

What happened to your books? And I believe you just coined a phrase :D

Yeah I agree with you about bringing it together in a very clean and complete way (much like The Stand)

I am still mid move, so half are in storage, the other half I have friends tending them. (hope I can get them all back is the main thing)

I actually read this book last year and feel a bit on the outside when saying that I wasn't scared while reading it! I mean, I liked the story well enough, but it did not by any means make my top.
I actually thought Duma Key was spookier, strangely enough.

duma key was really creepy.
the little girls.

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Originally Posted by Fabled

I actually read this book last year and feel a bit on the outside when saying that I wasn't scared while reading it! I mean, I liked the story well enough, but it did not by any means make my top.
I actually thought Duma Key was spookier, strangely enough.

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I guess if you are from the younger generation, the Callahan scene may not have been as profound and I understand that. It kinda underscores why some folks can't forget the original "Halloween". Just different generations and values. Not saying one is better than the other, just different with time.

"Halloween" scared the living "shit" outta me and my wife when it was first released. Now my kids view it as campy. Times change, sometimes for the better and sometimes things are lost forever. Fact of life I suppose.

:ghost_002:

I remember when we didn't even have ghosts. No one had died yet. We had to put sheets over our heads to scare one another...of course scissors had not been invented so we couldn't cut eye holes in the sheets.
That's where the "woooOOO" sound started. The dude playing the ghost could't see well and would trip over things and cry out "woooOOO, shit." We had to censor the last word...of course.

The skeletons were just us skinny poor guys who lived out in the country.

And the showing of ankles was considered scandelous? :lol1:

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Originally Posted by Fabled

I actually read this book last year and feel a bit on the outside when saying that I wasn't scared while reading it! I mean, I liked the story well enough, but it did not by any means make my top.
I actually thought Duma Key was spookier, strangely enough.

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I agree. 'Salem's Lot doesn't hold up to modern times.

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Originally Posted by Randall Flagg

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Originally Posted by Fabled

I actually read this book last year and feel a bit on the outside when saying that I wasn't scared while reading it! I mean, I liked the story well enough, but it did not by any means make my top.
I actually thought Duma Key was spookier, strangely enough.

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I agree. 'Salem's Lot doesn't hold up to modern times.

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Really?? I just finished a re-read recently and I still enjoyed it immensely though, the culture at the time is dated compared to today, obviously but, the underlying theme's are timeless, IMHO

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Originally Posted by Merlin1958

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Originally Posted by Randall Flagg

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Originally Posted by Fabled

I actually read this book last year and feel a bit on the outside when saying that I wasn't scared while reading it! I mean, I liked the story well enough, but it did not by any means make my top.
I actually thought Duma Key was spookier, strangely enough.

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I agree. 'Salem's Lot doesn't hold up to modern times.

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Really?? I just finished a re-read recently and I still enjoyed it immensely though, the culture at the time is dated compared to today, obviously but, the underlying theme's are timeless, IMHO

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Outside of the culteral gap, which is mostly electronic anyway, I think the story holds up very well. The foundation of the story rests upon the residents of Jerusalem's Lot and the atmosphere that surrounds the town. It is the insular nature of The Lot and the foibles of its people that makes the story so effective and those elements are timeless.

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Originally Posted by Ben Mears

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Originally Posted by Merlin1958

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Originally Posted by Randall Flagg

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Originally Posted by Fabled

I actually read this book last year and feel a bit on the outside when saying that I wasn't scared while reading it! I mean, I liked the story well enough, but it did not by any means make my top.
I actually thought Duma Key was spookier, strangely enough.

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I agree. 'Salem's Lot doesn't hold up to modern times.

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Really?? I just finished a re-read recently and I still enjoyed it immensely though, the culture at the time is dated compared to today, obviously but, the underlying theme's are timeless, IMHO

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Outside of the culteral gap, which is mostly electronic anyway, I think the story holds up very well. The foundation of the story rests upon the residents of Jerusalem's Lot and the atmosphere that surrounds the town. It is the insular nature of The Lot and the foibles of its people that makes the story so effective and those elements are timeless.

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Well put Mr. Mears. Better job than I did!!! I love the elemental "Good vs Evil" dichotomy!!

Road Virus: You really should read Dracula. It would greatly enhance your appreciation for 'Salem's Lot. At least it did for me.

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Originally Posted by BROWNINGS CHILDE

Road Virus: You really should read Dracula. It would greatly enhance your appreciation for 'Salem's Lot. At least it did for me.

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I would have to second that suggestion!!!! Great read!!!

There are so many parrallels between the two, characters and scenes in The Lot that pay homage to the original.