Unbiased Reviews by Real People
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Unbiased Reviews by Real People
Stephen King... the Master of all Horror.Sep 6, 2001 Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line The bottom line is that if you enjoy vampire stories, not only is "'Salem's Lot" the best, but of all the horror written, King is your man!
Okay, we all love a good vampire story. I usually don't read anything outside of Stephen King. Call me prejudice, I just don't think other authors can compare to this mans insight. He can take a piece of fiction and make it seem so real that your hair will turn white over night. I did, however, happen to read Anne Rice's "Interview With The Vampire", and saw the movie. I have to say that I preferred the movie. The book actually bored me enough to put it down even before I finished chapters. She's probably a wonderful person, but her writing is a little different than that of the Master. Different enough to make it seem almost wrong. Having read Stephen King's "'Salem's Lot" about 7 times now, I must say that it gets better with each read. Granted, the first time that I read it I was too scared to get off my bed and the following times, I was able to use the rest room as needed, but the story seems to change. Almost as if I missed a part the last time. King combines the myths of vampirism with the truths of human emotion. He shows us a small town, (almost always in Maine for King, this story is no different) and makes it into the scene for the most sought after horror created. The fact that King is not afraid to use children in his literature adds to the realism. In this case, he takes a battered 10 month old baby and allows this child to become one of the "undead". Most authors steer clear of this. I think however that, though the part is small, it is significant to the story. Why should adults be the only victims in a story? That's not the way it happens in life. 10 month old babies, unfortunate as it is, are abused every day... but we don't want to think about it. It scares us. King uses this fact and thrives on it. He also uses a child as one of the heros in the story. This is also an every day occurance. We may not hear of it, but no one is surprised when they DO hear that a 10 year old pulled a balloon out of his blue-faced sisters' throat. We smile and say, "what a wonderful child, it's amazing how intuitive kids are." The reality hits home from the very beginning in this story. We can relate to at least one of King's characters from the very beginning. Be it the children that we used to be, the girl longing for the love of an honest man, or even the Vampires themselves. Everyone runs from something, King makes us run from things we never thought existed. While we still know, or think we do anyway, that vampires are a piece of fiction, doesn't this story make you wonder in the other direction? Don't you think for an instant that anything is possible? It's an uncanny display of thought, but we all do it at one point or another. A lot of women read romance novels. Isn't that because some part of them longs to be the heroine? I think it is. Just as I think that we read horror because some part of us wants to think that these horrible things might exist. For much the same reason as I get on a roller coaster even though I am afraid of heights, I always buy Stephen King's books because I am afraid of the unknown.  |
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