'Salem's Lot by Stephen King

Horror has always been one of the great storytelling tools for examining the woes of society. Like ancient Greek tragedy, we see the protagonist's faults, their shortcomings, and we know they will be punished for their misdeeds and we shall be cleansed. Tragedy makes you weep at the universal human condition. Horror makes you laugh at the absurdity of it.

The small town secrets and family dysfunction rampant in the small Maine town of Jerusalem's Lot are painted in fine detail (like a kitschy Thomas Kincaid-on-crack painting) by Stephen King. There are town drunks, wife abusers, absentee parents, schoolyard bullies, drunken priests, philandering wives, emotionally frozen widows, and more. And you know they'll all be dead or turned into vampires before it's all said and done. The town has a fairly quiet history, but holds its share of skeletons in the closet, as any good small town will. Jerusalem's Lot has the secret of the Marsten house, the site of a grisly crime that has left a legend whispered by schoolchildren and town gossips. When the author Ben Mears comes to town to work on a book dealing with his brief encounter with the Marsten house, all Hell quite literally begins to break loose. The town gains two new residents, quiet shut-ins who take up residence at the Marsten house, something nobody has done since the murders...

When it's revealed that the two newcomers are eternal movers and shakers of the blood-drinking sort, the story becomes a breakneck "who's-gonna get-it-next?" tale of vengeance and redemption. Nobody in town is innocent, and King leaves the story with enough open ends and unfinished thoughts to lift it above pulp horror schlock. It's hard to bring anything fresh to the lore of Vampires, but King's worthy effort rises above the pack.

The Godfather by Mario Puzo

Ahh, family. I love stories that examine families, their inner dynamics, their quests for individuality and togetherness... and when you throw in bloody mob wars, backstabbing, sex, and murder, well, so much the better.

The story traces the rise and fall and second rise and fall of Don Vito Corleone, a man who refused to play by society's rules. A poor Sicilian who rose from less than nothing to the ultimate power. His crime family is legendary, and the entire city of New York knows he is not a man to be trifled with. The Don has worked his entire life to establish a peace among the families so that they may run their businesses with minimal interference. The Don, a "legitimate businessman" with an olive oil company, has his hand in any number of gambling rings, drinking, and racketeering to name a few of his auxiliary businesses. But, post WWII, a new financial avenue is being paved across America: drugs. The Don, an old-fashioned sort, wants nothing to do with this plague, but the wheels of time stop for no one. The other families make a decision: Don Corleone must follow or get out of the way. When he refuses, all hell breaks loose.

A gang war leaves his family decimated, struggling to stay alive and not be swallowed by the larger family trusts in NYC. The Don's sons fight to save the family business, some reluctantly, others with too much bravado. Corleone's sons Michael and Sonny soon become the front runners to take over the family, but the road to the top won't bean easy one. And once the issue of leadership is settled, there's always the question of revenge...

The Godfather is a true classic. Pulpy without being too blunt, literate without being flowery. Puzo creates a world that is irresistibly intriguing, one with a myriad of issues floating on the surface that belie the true depths of the story.