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Review of “Jerusalem’s Lot”
This is a very Mythos-ish story. New England. Aspects of the Mythos. Inherited mansion. And a lot more that will be revealed later. (No spoilers in my reviews)
This short story is a prelude to the novel ‘Salem’s Lot, that he published back in 1975. ‘Salem’s Lot is not in the Mythos (I don’t think, maybe there’s a random mention here or there, but I don’t recall). This short story was written first in college, but not published until post-novel. There’s another short story set here as well.
Anyways, the various elements are here in full scope. This is a story that doesn’t really get outside of the basic concepts of the Mythos story much. So the only interesting things are in King’s style. But this is early King. So it’s a fun diversion, but this isn;t Gaiman or Newman or Zelazny. Three stars.
Also, there is an obvious question to ask of King’s works due to this story. It’s also a question we asked of RE Howard’s Conan and such. Here is is:
Take Conan. His time is set in the past on Earth. And there are nations and people that exist during the era of Conan or Kull. Some of those are mentioned by Lovecraft himself as the history of the world in his own Mythos stories. As are Clark Ashton’s Smith’s stuff, and vice versa. So you have, in the mythos, a connect with the world of Conan and the world of Mythos. Therefore, loosely, every Conan story is in the Mythos (certainly those originally written by Howard can be saidof)
Remember the whole point is that everyone is sharing everything
So now here’s the thing. Jerusalem;s Lot is in this story, ‘Salem;s Lot, and other stories. It’s mentioned in other King works and is a part of his fictional Maine area. It’s his Miskatonic River and University and his Arkham, Massachusetts. So if all of those stories take place in the same universe and place as this one, with the various accoutrements of the Mythos and everything, then King’s stuff, in this area at least, certainly could be called loosely Mythos, just like Conan. That’s how it goes.
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