Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Salem by Stephen King

40 reviews

alex60517's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexism, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

_marycappiello3's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

liblibby's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

I never want to read Stephen King ever again. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

eldritch_ace's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Animal death, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Grief

Minor: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Rape, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail

introverted_reads's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Gore, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Homophobia, and Sexual violence

Minor: Cancer

risemini's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol

literatureleaf's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Age: 16+

 

Reading time: 7 days

 

Difficulty level: 1.5/5

 

Rating: 3.5/5

 

 

Salem’s Lot by Stephen King follows Ben Mears, a stuck-in-a-rut, struggling author, as he returns to his hometown in hopes of drawing inspiration for his new book from the Marsten House, an abandoned mansion with a dark and bloody history. However, upon arriving, Ben quickly realizes that all is not what it appears to be in the ‘Lot when things begin to go wrong. 

 

As strange disappearances and unexplained happenings start to occur, coinciding with the arrival of two new residents who just don’t quite seem to be who they say they are, Ben teams up with a small group of locals to uncover the secrets of the Lots’ past, and attempt to save both the residents of Salem’s Lot and the town itself from a fate worse than any of them can imagine.

 

In typical King fashion, the vivid, chilling atmosphere is the star of the show. Simultaneously disquieting and beautiful, the feeling of something deeply sinister unfolding just under the nose of our main characters, against the backdrop of a seemingly sleepy New England small town that somehow feels like somewhere you’ve been before, if not in person, then in your dreams, is intensely personal and familiar.

 

King is the master of turning the mundane into the riveting, disgust into empathy, and pain into beauty. With the simple stroke of a pen, the boring, repetitive, and often depressing realities of those who live in small towns are crafted into something that shows how the most carnal, intimate thread of the shared human experience is fear.

 

With so much of the focus placed on the setting and the plot, character depth suffers. For much of the book, the main cast feels forced and shallow. With what feels like little insight into their deeper motivations and feelings, forming empathy and genuine connection with them feels impossible to achieve, even in the face of their struggles.

 

Unfortunately, the impression of underdeveloped characters is compounded by, at times, weak dialogue, and a long winded narrative. So much time is spent on their circumstances and environment that there is little time left to devote to the inner workings of their relationships with the town and with one another, leading to the feeling that something integral is missing.

 

Leaving little to the imagination, Salem’s Lot is a masterwork in utilizing the supernatural as a vehicle to explore the depths of human depravity. Taking the quietly desperate lives of the Lots’ residents, and putting their secrets, heartache, rage, wonder, and love on display in the face of a surreal, non-human malevolence beyond their wildest dreams displays a stark spotlight, not on otherworldly entities, but on the horrors that permeate our towns, our neighborhoods, and even our own backyards.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, and Sexual violence

Minor: Addiction, Bullying, Racial slurs, Sexism, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, and Death of parent

scip's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Vomit

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Cannibalism

r_o_s_e's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Animal death, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Suicide, Medical content, Car accident, and Fire/Fire injury

loz1327's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail