‘Salem’s Lot (Stephen King) Chapters 10-13

This section deals with the collapse of the social structure in this small town.  People are noticing that there are a lot of deaths and disappearances, and they are starting to feel a little nervous about it, but no one wants admit to themselves that something catastrophic is unfolding.  We follow Ben and Susan and Matt as they piece things together and try to convince one another that this is really happening.  They include others in the hunt, and Jimmy is almost killed in the process. 

He does, however, seem convinced after having seen the corpse of Mrs. Glick rise and then take a bite out of him.  In this scene we get a nice theoretical exploration of what would happen if a vampire bites, but gets interrupted in the process.  Jimmy’s ‘eyes rolled madly in their sockets’ and he wants his medical bag.  ‘ “Don’t touch me.  I’m unclean.”  “Jimmy-”  “Give me my bag.  Jesus, Ben, I can feel it in there.  I can feel it working in me.  For Christ’s sake, give me my bag!” ’ He starts with a bottle of disinfectant, followed by a tetanus shot, both administered in a panic.  Well, what would you do?  Then he asks Ben to put the cross on him, the little crucifix that Ben had been wearing.

The county sheriff questions them and doesn’t believe their cover story.  For one thing, he can see how scared they are.  ‘ “You’re lyin’ to me,” McCaslin said patiently. . . You and this writer, both of you.  You look the way some of the guys in Korea looked when they brought’em back from the front lines.” ‘ And looking at Ben, the writer, ‘ “You ought to write books with better sense.  Like the guy who writes those Travis McGee stories.  A man can sink his teeth into one of those.” ’ (Pun probably intended.)  This reference to the outstanding mystery stories of John D. MacDonald pays homage to a writer that strongly influenced most of the storytellers of King’s generation.

The sequence of Mark and Susan approaching, breaking into, and get caught in the Marsten mansion is also riveting, even if Mark’s escape seems a little contrived.  He almost gets caught again while lingering to see if he can get Susan out as well, but just manages to get out of harm’s way himself.  Her visitation at Mark’s window later that night is a chilling reminder that none of the characters are safe from this hideous danger.  ‘ “One of us will get you sooner or later,” she said.  “Let it be me, Mark.  I’m . . . I’m hungry.”  She tried to smile, but it turned into a nightshade grimace that made his bones cold.  He held up his cross and pressed it against the window.  She hissed, as if scalded . . .’

Appearing at the victim’s window in the night, this standard mode of approach by the recently changed vampires is another detail borrowed from Bram Stoker.  Even Dracula had to be asked into the room through the victim’s window, though he could crawl up a wall like a spider and didn’t have to float.  The magical hypnotic charisma of these creatures almost guaranteed admittance anyway, in both stories.  Sookie Stackhouse is immune to this in the TrueBlood books/episodes, which is one of the things that make her so fascinating to the vampire community.  The reader gets the sense that this story is about to suddenly lurch into a whole new gear.  Nothing could signal that better than the fact that the story’s central female character – the love-interest of the story’s central male character – has been irretrievably lost to the villain.  More typically, the heroine survives, or at least stays viable until the last 30 pages or so.  Of course, another clue that there is a major change coming in the plot is the huge block letters saying PART THREE on page 471…



Next Week: Conclusion

 

November’s book of the month; “The Forest of Hands and Teeth,” by Carrie Ryan!

"A bleak but gripping story...Poignant and powerful."- Publishers Weekly:  Starred

"A postapocalyptic romance of the first order, elegantly written from title to last line."-Scott Westerfeld, author of the Uglies series and Leviathan

"Intelligent, dark, and bewitching, The Forest of Hands and Teeth transitions effortlessly between horror and beauty. Mary's world is one that readers will not soon forget."-Cassandra Clare, bestselling author of City of Bones

"Opening The Forest of Hands and Teeth is like cracking Pandora's box: a blur of darkness and a precious bit of hope pour out. This is a beautifully crafted, page-turning, powerful novel. I thoroughly enjoyed it."-Melissa Marr, bestselling author of Wicked Lovely and Ink Exchange

Dark and sexy and scary.”  Justine Larbalestier, author of How to Ditch Your Fairy  

 

 

Week 1:  Chapters 1-8 

(First post, 11-7-14)

Week 2:  Chapters 9-17
Week 3:  Chapters 18-25
Week 4:  Chapters 26-36