Albert Lin reviews Four Past Midnight-The Library Policeman

The Library Policeman
The story I read was called “The Library Policeman”. The story was about a man who borrowed books from the city’s public library and the woman warned him that if he didn’t get the books back to the library in time, she’s going to send the library policeman to him. The man borrowed the book in order to find interesting quotes and little jokes to put into his speech for the “speech” night at the local pub. The speech was successful; the book helped him a lot. He became very popular and everyone stopped by to congratulate him. Every time someone stops by, they insist to buy him a drink, so eventually he got drunk and had to go home. He had a hangover and didn’t remember anything that happened last night. He woke up and the only thing he remembered is that his speech was a great success and he puked on his doormat. And as the days go on, the books he borrowed from the library’s secret section were due.
The woman called to say that she was disappointed in him and that she expected him to return the books on time. He felt guilty and started to look for the books to return to the library for he had three more days until the woman sends the “library policeman” to his place. He couldn’t find the books. He went to his office and talked to his secretary Naomi. Naomi gave him the name of another librarian that he didn’t recognize. After he went home, he kept on searching for his books. Still, he couldn’t find them, so he decided to call his secretary and ask her to search them for him too. Her mother picked up the phone and he gave her his librarian’s name and got insulted by the old woman for no reason, at least, he had no clue why. He then remembered vaguely that he left the books on the counter and he thought he knocked it down into the box where he kept all the old newspapers.
He started to worry. He went to find the hobo that takes out his papers to the paper factory for recycle every Thursday and he did found the book covers with the library stamp on it on the ground of the paper factory. He was very upset. He tried to ask the garbage man about the librarian but instead, it brings out a terrifying story. The librarian he met was supposed to be a woman from about five decades ago and his garbage man and a relationship with that woman too. David, the garbage man said that fifty years ago, she was a beautiful woman who came to town, and he was a handsome young man that paints for other people. They fell in love, or so he thought, until David found out about her terrifying identity. That she was no normal human, she was a vampire. Not the vampires the stories talk about, but vampires who feed on people’s fear. According to David, she said that she will come back and get him for ratting her out fifty years ago and she is now on the move. David told Sam, the guy who lost the books, that if he wants to comfort the old vampire, his only chance is to fly out of town and buy those books from their bookstore for the local bookstore was way too small to find anything extraordinary. Sam was introduced to a friend of David’s who owns a private plane, so Sam and Naomi flew out of town and got back in time to witness a great storm caused by the arrival of the vampire.
The book went on about how Sam bravely fought the vampire and how Naomi and Sam fell in love again (they have dated each other once before); the plot was extraordinary and very compelling, the storyline revolves around Sam’s first meeting with the librarian, how he made a great speech, the relationship between the vampire and David, how Sam fought the vampire and finally Sam and Naomi.
Overall, the characters in the book are believable because they would stick to their own opinion, especially when that particular someone puts your life in danger. Sam said that the librarian he met was called A.Lortz, the vampire, and he stuck to it. No matter how many times people say the librarian is a man called Mr.Price; “In his mind he heard Naomi say, Tall man? About fifty? ‘No,’ He said. ‘Not Mr.Price. Peckham, either. The other one. Ardelia Lortz.’” (King, pg 443. Another example of how the characters are believable is that they do not procrastinate to do research when something important is occurring. Sam went to the data library to find out about A.Lortz and he stayed in the library for so long that he almost fell asleep despite the fact that he hated libraries. “Twenty minutes later he was downstairs, dressed except for his coat and tie, and drinking coffee in his study. The legal pad was once more in front of him, and on it was ht start of another list.
1. Ardelia Lortz-Who is she? Or who was she?
2. Ardelia Lortz-What did she do?
3. Junction City Public Library-renovated? When? Pictures?” (King, pg 465)
Finally, there is an important reason why the characters in the book are believable. They are believable, because, like living beings, they search for hope in the darkness. A spark of light will bring tons of hope to the characters. “‘I don’ …I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ Sam said slowly, but that voice-faint, mocking, haunting-recurred: Come with me, son…I’m a poleethman. And his mouth was suddenly full of that taste again. The sugar-slimy taste of red licorice. His tasted buds cramped; his stomach rolled. But it was stupid. Really quite stupid. He had never eaten red licorice in his life. He hated it. If you’ve never eaten it, how do you know you hate it? ‘I really don’t get you,’ he said, speaking more strongly. ‘You’re getting something,’ Naomi said. ‘You look like someone just kicked you in the stomach.’” (King pg 469)
I recommend this book to people who like adventure and the terrifying feeling of horror story and the same time. This book combined adventure, horror and romance together. There are a lot of emotions and feelings expressed brilliantly.