'Salem's Lot Review

I read somewhere (probably in one of Stephen King's introductions, though it might have been an interview) that, after the success of Carrie, Mr. King brought two ideas to his editor - or his agent, the memory is fuzzy for sure - for his next novel.  Whomever it was said they preferred the vampire idea, but without enthusiasm.  They were worried that King would be labeled a 'genre' writer and limit himself in future works.  Fortunately, King took that risk, and wrote a pretty awesome book about vampires invading a small town in Maine...

To call 'Salem's Lot a vampire novel is severely limiting, however, as it is more about small towns and how they work - the dark secrets they keep and pass on.  To accomplish this, King greatly expands upon not only the number of characters, but how deeply he looks into their lives.  Primarily focused on Ben Mears, King delves into all sorts of major and minor characters and what makes them tick.  He creates this small town's character by looking at the histories of various residents.  Whether it is the child-beating young mother in a trailer park or the rich town selectman involved in shady real estate dealings, King doesn't just pull back the veneer, he rips it off and envelopes the reader in the thoughts and emotions of any resident he focuses on.

The result is a portrait of a a town in shambles, perfect for the dark invasion that occurs when Barlow and Straker come to town.

And we have to discuss Barlow.  While I have far too many King books to read to say he is King's greatest villain, he is damn near the top.  For a character that doesn't appear until the latter half of the book, he still radiates menace once he does arrive.  His chilling intellect and patience is unnerving, made all the more formidable by his strength.  Straker pales in comparison, though he does an adequate job as the 'front' man for the business venture that sets up the introduction of the two into the town.

King does a fantastic job on the 'good' side of the equation:  Ben Mears, Matt Burke, Susan Norton, and Mark Petrie are all rich characters with a great blend of heroism and fallibility.  While Father Callahan and Jimmy Cody get less attention to detail than the others, they are still well-written.  And Callahan gets much improved-upon in the Dark Tower books (where he also makes an appearance).

It is slightly disappointing that King fridges Susan Norton, and I feel like he glosses over Mark's grief in the immediate aftermath of what happens to his parents, but these are minor quibbles in a stellar book.  I could easily see this placing near the top of my favorite Stephen King books, which isn't bad for a sophomore novel.  Not bad at all.

Stats:

Pages:  427

Movie?:  2 made-for-TV movies, one in 1979, and the other in 2004.  The '79 version managed 3 Emmy nominations and the '04 version got 1.

Dark Tower?:  Father Callahan plays a rather important part in Wolves of the Calla and Song of Susannah.

Child Deaths?:  Many.  One is sacrificed at the start to allow Barlow into town, and many others are turned into vampires throughout.

Penis Talk?:  Jimmy Cody talks about having an erection while being bitten.

Grade:  A

Carrie Review

(This is for the book, not the movie!)

So, the book that started it all.  One might be tempted to overstate the importance of Carrie as Stephen King's first published book, especially as it was a best seller once it hit paperback.

One of the biggest surprises for me when I first read this novel (re-read for the Great Stephen King Experiment) was how short it was.  One of King's greatest strengths as a writer is how well he conveys imagery and burrows into his characters, but in this early work you don't see much of either.  You get a good feel for Carrie White and Sue Snell, with a bit of work thrown in on Tommy Ross and Billy Nolan, but most characters only get a cursory bit of insight.  Part of this stems from the decision to weave into the story 'excerpts' from fictional works about what is referred to as Prom Night in the novel, a decision that helps the reader see reactions to the event, but which also serves to distance them from fully immersing themselves into the story.

The story does move along quite briskly, with no lags despite the excerpts.  From the start, it slowly crescendos up into the pivotal moment at the spring dance, where it then manages to soar higher as Carrie enacts her revenge not only against her classmates, but also against the town of Chamberlain itself.  King conveys Carrie's rage nicely, and the various 'transcripts' taken from various townspeople capture the confusion and terror quite well.

My only critique, aside from rather thin sketches of the majority of the characters, is the lack of a truly strong villain.  Carrie herself is a tragic figure, so she hardly counts.  King makes you feel as if some sort of showdown will occur between Carrie and Chris Hargensen, but Billy Nolan gets more attention once the actual plan is in motion.  Margaret White also appears to be the villain, but she is mostly sidelined until her confrontation with Carrie after the dance.  Despite that confrontation being especially chilling, Margaret never feels like a true threat, even if she does strike what ends up being a mortal blow on Carrie.

Still, the novel is quite good, and a fine start for what turned out to be quite the career for King.

Stats
Pages:  199
Movie?:  2 of them - one in 1976 and another in 2013, plus a terrible sequel and a made-for-TV version.  Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie received Academy Award nominations for the 1976 version.
Dark Tower?:  No references that I can remember.
Child Deaths?:  The various teens at the dance, possibly some younger ones during Carrie's destruction of the town.
Penis Talk?:  Vague references from Sue Snell and Chris Hargensen from when they slept with their boyfriends, and Margaret White refers to her late husband's as The Devil's Serpent (unironically)
Grade:  B+

The Great Stephen King Experiment

So, I have a plan to read all the Stephen King books in order of publication.  As of this posting, I have read 33 of the 63 that have been published (although number 64 comes out on the 3rd of November, so it will be added to the pile).  As someone slightly familiar with Stephen King at this point, I am going to read the book, right a review, and keep track of a few things (for amusement's sake).

Number of Pages:  This is rather self-explanatory, and if I decide to add up the total number of pages read, at least I have a record.
Is There a Movie?:  Also self-explanatory.
Is it Part of the Dark Tower Mythos?:  I love the Dark Tower books and King has woven together quite a universe throughout his many works connecting them all together, so whenever references pop up, I will take note.
Do Any Children Die?:  Stephen King has no problem killing children, so this will also be tracked
Is There Penis Talk?:  Stephen King also talks about penis frequently.  This is obviously a 'for funsies' category
Grade:  Because why not?

I consider myself a fast reader, but there will obviously be some time between posts for these, as I do need to actually read the books.  Hopefully the delays will be short though.

2015 Movie List

The Movies:
Always Watching: A Marble Hornets Story

Ant-Man

Area 51

Attack on Titan (Part 1)

Avengers: Age of Ultron

Aziz Ansari: Live at Madison Square Garden

Backcountry

Chappie

Cinderella

Cooties

Dude Bro Party Massacre III

The Final Girls

The Good Dinosaur

The Hateful Eight

Inside Out

It Follows

John Mulaney: The Comeback Kid

Jurassic World

Krampus

The Last Five Years

Maggie

Mr. Holmes

Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension

Pitch Perfect 2

The Revenant

San Andreas
Spy

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Stung

Tremors 5: Bloodlines

Top 5 Movies:

The Final Girls

Inside Out (winner)

Krampus

The Last Five Years

Spy

Best Actress:

Malin Akerman, The Final Girls

Taissa Farmiga, The Final Girls (winner)

Anna Kendrick, The Last Five Years

Melissa McCarthy, Spy

Amy Poehler, Inside Out

Best Actor:
Jeremy Jordan, The Last Five Years

Ian McKellan, Mr. Holmes (winner)

Alec Owen, Dude Bro Party Massacre III

Paul Rudd, Ant-Man

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Maggie

Best Supporting Actress:
Cate Blanchett, Cinderella

Rose Byrne, Spy (winner)

Toni Collette, Krampus

Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight

Phyllis Smith, Inside Out

Best Supporting Actor:
Adam DeVine, Pitch Perfect 2

Walton Goggins, The Hateful Eight

Tom Hardy, The Revenant (winner)

Adam Scott, Krampus

Jason Statham, Spy

Gleewind: Pilot

So, Glee is ending its run after 6 seasons (2 of those abbreviated).  I, at one time, loved this series unashamedly, but somewhere along the way (specifically midway through the 3rd season) I started to hate the show.  Reading that it was ending made me revisit the pilot to see if the show always had problems, and no:  this show was so very promising at the start.  And I think I am going to marathon it on Netflix (powering through that exceptionally rough patch in season 3) to kind of honor the series for what it was and what it did.

So, the pilot episode:  As far as these things go, it is one hell of a start to the series.  Great character intros all around, excellent song choices, and the show really managed to grasp that outsider feel so many feel in high school.

The Main Players:
Will Schuester:  For the first part of the series, it really felt like this was going to be Will's story.  You lose it a bit later on in the series, but he really was a good teacher at the start of it all.  The episode focuses on his desire restart the Glee club that he was once the star of, and you really feel his passion for it.  Matthew Morrison wasn't always given the best material, but this groundwork that the character was built on is solid, and it is somewhat a shame that he wasn't able to pick up an Emmy for at least this first season's work.

Faves of the Year: 5-1

My favorites of the year, the top 5 (see my selections for Best Actress, Actor, Supporting Actress, and Supporting Actor at the Movie List page)

I should also note that this list is subject to change once I see the slew of movies waiting on deck (Birdman, The Grand Budapest Hotel, etc.)  So enjoy the time capsule that will most likely change throughout the year.

5)  Captain America:  The Winter Soldier

4)  Godzilla

3)  Nightcrawler

2)  Blue Ruin

1)  The Babadook

Faves of the Year: 10-6

My favorite movies from 2014, from number 10 through number 6.

10)  Under the Skin

9)  X-Men:  Days of Future Past

8)  The Lego Movie

7)  The Rover

6)  Selma