Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

'Salem's Lot by Stephen King

81 reviews

wren_rainbow's review against another edition

4.0

Stephen King  is a wonderful story teller - he can be very drawn out and descriptive which can be annoying for some but it honestly helps the imagery formed in your head. Reading his books is like watching a movie - I can clearly immerse myself in his world (for better or worse). Ben Mears was a bit of a flat character in comparison to the others around him but I can over look that. Looking gears to reading more of Mr. King’s works!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Child death, Rape, and Sexual violence

bittie_bee'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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, and Death

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, and Rape

Minor: Domestic abuse and Homophobia

ebb_and_flow's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

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

celina246's review against another edition

dark tense slow-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? No

4.25

he does small town horror so well. I had to skim/skip some of the extra material after the story ended personally; One For the Road was good but it should have ended there. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Rape

Minor: Bullying

shannonredwine8's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

sheriffrockyraccoon's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

[SPOILERS AHEAD]

While I have seen quite a few Stephen King film adaptations, this is the first time I’ve actually read his work. I was pleasantly surprised- I’ve often heard controversial things about King’s writing but generally enjoyed reading this one.

I was definitely spooked reading Salem’s Lot, there is a lot of suspense and action that I had to keep myself from reading ahead to see what became of it. King’s writing is very atmospheric, I was truly spooked by some of his descriptions! I did find the plot a little touch and go, the ending confused me as it included dates (October 1972-June 1975) but I was not sure what it had to do with the book. This may also just be an ebook error, though. I couldn’t tell.

The end did leave me wanting more, I wanted to know what became of Ben and Mark but I was also satisfied with leaving them determined to end the terror of the Lot. On creativity, I also am always going to be in Shirley Jackson’s corner. Yes, the book openly quotes and references Hill House, but it also felt as if it didn’t offer much more to the discussion and sometimes reduced it to plain text. Essentially, there were times I was a bit annoyed that it felt like a rip-off.

Nonetheless, I still enjoyed it as a fun read! I did not think it necessarily became a hallmark of vampire literature, but it was definitely scary, suspenseful, and really fun at some points. The characters are interesting and lovable, I was rooting for many of them (even the vampire kids against the bus driver!) and generally enjoyed the dialogue.

I would recommend this book to any vampire lover or new horror fan, Stephen King is of course a household name and has created so many iconic characters. It’s also always fun to read a story about evil vampires, as much as I loved Twilight as a kid!

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

ggcd1981's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-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

4.5

‘Salem’s Lot é a visão de Stephen King de vampiros. Jerusalem´s Lot ou ‘Salem’s Lot é uma cidade fictícia do Maine, nos EUA. A história inicia com o escritor de sucesso Ben Mears se mudando temporariamente de volta para uma cidade do seu passado buscando inspiração em particular numa casa antiga de ‘Salem’s Lot, a Marsten House, que foi cenário de um crime e dizem ser assombrada. King no começo da obra apresenta muitos personagens para dar vida a essa cidade, muitos desses personagens não têm influência direta na história principal, mas foi interessante para realmente dar a sensação de uma cidade habitada por pessoas com suas próprias histórias.

Em ‘Salem’s Lot Ben conhece e se envolve com Susan Norton enquanto simultaneamente ocorre uma sorrateira infiltração na cidade por vampiros transformados pelo poderoso e antigo Kurt Barlow. O vampiro utilizou seu escravo humano Richard Straker para agir em ‘Salem’s Lot. Ben e Susan começam a perceber a mudança sinistra na cidade e logo conhecem outros personagens que também desconfiam de algo e tentam lutar contra o que acontece. O livro é mais sombrio do que esperava, apesar de esse não ser o meu primeiro livro de King. Na obra ocorrem alguns cenários fortes e muitas mortes, por exemplo o cenário do abuso e negligência de um bebê por parte dos pais e a morte dos três. Muitos personagens de destaque também faleceram como Susan, o médico Jimmy Cody e Matt Burke, um professor que se tornou amigo de Ben e foi a mente pensante do grupo contra os vampiros. Esses elementos sombrios contribuíram para a minha opinião de que esse foi um dos melhores livros de King que li até o momento. Não sou particularmente fã de genocídio de personagens por autores, mas nessa obra acredito que as várias mortes contribuíram para a narrativa e deixou o clima urgente e sinistro. Um personagem que fez parte do grupo de Ben e não teve um fim claro foi o padre Callahan. Transformado em vampiro ele deixa a cidade em angustia sem direção clara. Será que irei ver esse personagem novamente na Dark Tower Series? O tempo dirá. O ponto mais fraco nessa obra para mim foram o previsível sexismo e misoginia de King. Ele não é terrivelmente sexista e misógino, mas ainda assim esses elementos figuram em suas histórias. Por exemplo quando homens e mulheres foram transformados em vampiros homens que desejavam uma mulher receberam essas mulheres como companheiras. Por acaso essas mulheres transformadas não desejavam elas mesmas outras pessoas diferentes desses homens? Porque essas mulheres transformadas foram o “prêmio” dos homens transformados? Por exemplo quando Susan se tornou vampira ela se juntou ao seu antigo namorado que ainda a queria, mas Susan não tinha mais sentimentos por ele antes da transformação. Sobre essa situação do ex-namorado de Susan ainda ter interesse nela, inicialmente me preocupou pois achei que seria uma storyline de Ben e Susan lutando contra um ex-namorado ciumento, mas felizmente a narrativa não foi nessa direção, apesar de não ter gostado de vampira Susan ter sido um “prêmio” para seu ex, o final da personagem não foi relacionado a ele. A conclusão da obra como um todo foi, na minha opinião, um dos finais fortes de King. Outro personagem que merece ser mencionado foi Mark Petrie, um menino precoce e inteligente ciente do que ocorria em ‘Salem’s Lot que após uma tentativa fracassada junto a Susan (que resultou na captura da mulher) ele se juntou ao grupo de caça vampiros e acabou por ter seus pais assassinados por Barlow. Ben e Mark ao fim deixaram a cidade que havia sido tomada por vampiros após Ben matar Susan e Barlow, esse último em um confronto final. Após um tempo Ben e Mark retornam a ‘Salem’s Lot para terminar o que começaram, matar os vampiros, e começam um incêndio para consumir a cidade enquanto os vampiros dormem.

No geral esse foi um livro de terror forte de King (nem todos livros dele classificados como terror realmente pertencem ao gênero) com clima sombrio numa cidade menor e sensação de urgência e desespero. O autor não pegou leve e eu posso apreciar isso. Com o característico bom desenvolvimento de personagens do autor e um final sólido esse foi um dos melhores que li de King até o presente momento, dou 4.5 estrelas. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment

Moderate: Homophobia, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Car accident, and Alcohol

Minor: Gun violence

Religious Themes

jg93's review against another edition

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Infidelity, and Car accident

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Rape, and Death of parent

Minor: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Sexual content, and Transphobia

_kaylinconn's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

I love Mark Petrie with my whole heart. 

I will say, this has just a touch of sexism lingering in the corners of the book that I did not love

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder

bookish_bry's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad medium-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

4.5

I had a lot of fun with this book. King, as always, is great at making your skin crawl. I think I enjoyed it more since I've read Dracula already. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Blood, and Death of parent

Moderate: Animal death, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Pedophilia, Rape, and Suicidal thoughts