REVIEW: THE DEAD ZONE

Cover design by keenan

(NOTE: The cover I have has white background, not pink, but I couldn't find an image online that was not pink.)

THE DEAD ZONE

BY

STEPHEN KING

ISBN: 978-0-340-95268-9

Pages: 595

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

First published: 30 August 1979

This edition published: 2007

On the cover:

Meet Johnny Smith. A young man whose streak of luck ends dramatically in a major car crash. Followed by blackness. A long, long time in cold limbo.

When he wakes up life has been turned upside down. His fiancée has met someone else. And Johnny is cursed with the power to perceive evil in men's souls. He's had these hunches since he had an ice-skating accident as a child. Now he has an ability to see into the future. An ability which will bring him into a terrifying confrontation with a charismatic, power-hungry and dangerous man . . . 

*THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SOME SPOILERS*

   It's a daring move to start your novel with putting the main character in a coma. And in the case of this novel, it is a warning of what is to come.

   Usually with King's novels, you get really close to the characters, and it is this closeness that sets him apart from other writers of similar fiction. But here I never felt that. Sure, you do learn quite a bit of how Johnny Smith thinks, and functions, but we don't really see him actively taking part in events for most of the novel. This makes it hard to feel a connection to him related to what is actually happening. He is rarely close to events, and is not a proactive character.

    On top of that, I didn't feel like Johnny Smith was someone I'd like to hang out with. He's rather boring, and most of his interactions with others are on a superficial level.

   The novel suffers quite a bit because of its structure. We get to know quite a bit about characters who have no real impact on the story itself, and their place in Johnny's life is often more of a "could have been" than anything else. And it feels like a bit of a waste that so much space is used to get us to know these characters.

   King also introduces a whole serial-killer subplot that doesn't really go anywhere, even though Johnny is the one who solves the crime. We do get to see some scenes from the killers POV, but he is never a part of the book before he's caught. There's no real point/value to this subplot except to show Johnny's abilities, and the reader is already well aware of those. The reactions of the public to Johnny's involvement in solving the crime is not really explored deeply enough that I feel it warrants the inclusion of the subplot.

   Overall the plot feels a bit unstructured, set-ups don't pay off and pay-offs come when they have no previous set-up. It's all a bit too rambling for me.

   Not everything is wrong with this book, there's plenty of scenes that show how good King really is, and the premise is very interesting. The next to last chapter is also very good, and gives the novel an ending that is perhaps better than it deserves.

   This is a novel that is above average for its type, and if it had been written by any other author I would have rated it higher. But this is a Stephen King novel, and as such it falls short of what I have come to expect of him.

   For me this feels more like an experimental novel from King, it is one of his earlier ones, but it is an experiment that doesn't really work as well as it perhaps should. It doesn't really feel like a "proper" King novel should, and it totally lacks any Horror element.

   So far, this is the weakest King novel I have read. But although I have been quite critical of The Dead Zone, that shouldn't dissuade other readers. I have seen several people place it in their "top Stephen King novels of all time". So if you are a King fan who hasn't read it, you should perhaps seek out other opinions on this. Just because it didn't work for me doesn't mean it won't work for you, and I have absolutely no regrets that I read it.

Reviews: Stephen King Review Index

Links: Stephen King  Hodder & Stoughton

  

REVIEW: DESPERATION

DESPERATION

BY

STEPHEN KING

ISBN: 978-1-44470-1783-0

Pages: 706

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

First published: 1 January 1996

This edition published: 12 May 2011

On the cover:

Welcome to Desperation. Once a thriving copper mining town in the middle of the Nevada desert, Desperation is now eerily abandoned. It's the last place that travellers like the Carver family, bound for vacation, and writer Johnny Marinville, astride his Harley, would expect to be stopped and charged. But Desperation still has a local cop - a unique regulator who patrols the wilderness highway. 

The secrets buried in Desperation are as terrifying as the forces summoned to encounter them. A terrifying transformation is taking place and the travellers will soon discover the true meaning of Desperation.

   This novel has a very strong opening. By the end of the first chapter King has already managed to establish a very creepy atmosphere, and managed to get the reader interested in finding out what is really going on. King manages to hold off the answers for quite a long time and when they come they do nothing to mitigate the sense of dread and eeriness that pervade this story.

   Although this story takes place in a limited time frame, and is a long novel, there is little wasted space here. King does take his time coming to the conclusion but with everything that is happening there's no real feeling of there being any padding in this novel. It's hard to see how this could have been any shorter and still be written in the same style.
   On the other hand there was one element of the story that I found totally unnecessary. There's a paranormal explanation to why the main characters came to be in Desperation that I felt was not needed. And what that paranormal element is, and how it is used to explain events in the later part of the story, felt cheap to me. That part of the story would in my opinion have been better left vague, and as it stands just feels like King chose to take the easy way to a resolution.

   I've already mentioned the creepy/slash eerie atmosphere of the novel, and it is in my opinion the best thing about the story. King is in my opinion very good at creating an atmosphere of tension, dread, and eeriness in his novels, and when it comes to that element this is one of his best efforts. Even when this atmosphere is let down by an ending that is a bit easy it doesn't quite let go, and it lingers after the books final page.

   The characters in Desperation are not among the best King have done. Despite the many pages the novel encompasses we don't get very close to most of them. And although the author character here is interesting to get to know, it is easy to get a bit tired of King's use of an author as one of the main characters in his stories.
   That the main character who is closest to the paranormal explanation I have mentioned above comes off as a bit too perfect, or cliched if you want, is also a bit of a letdown.
   Fortunately the novel also shows that King can carry the story without giving us the closeness to the main characters that we have in for instance IT.

   I don't think this will be placed near the top of my favourite King novels ever, for me the paranormal explanation/element that I have already mentioned dragged it down. But it is still a very good story that offers the reader a lot of creepiness and horror.
   If it was written by any other Horror author I would have called it great, but King has simply set the bar for his readers so high that from him this is a bit below what I've come to expect. I would however not in any way discourage people from reading this, and I know there are people who rate it much higher among King's works than I do.

   It's a thrilling high-tension novel, that despite its flaws, is a very good read. Horror fans should absolutely  take the time to read this, and it has a Post-Apocalyptic feel to it that will make it interesting to those that enjoy that SFF subgenre.

NOTE: This is a companion novel to The Regulators, published under the Richard Bachman name. A review of that can be found here.

REVIEWS: The Shining  IT  The Dark Half  Bag of Bones  11.22.63  Four Past Midnight  Just After Sunset

LINKS: Stephen King  Hodder & Stoughton

REVIEW: JUST AFTER SUNSET

Cover photograph: Getty Images

Cover design: Keenan

JUST AFTER SUNSET

BY

STEPHEN KING 

ISBN: 978-0-340-97716-3

Pages: 353

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Published: 12 November 2008

On the cover:

   "Did you maybe leave the oven on? or forget to turn off the gas under your patio barbecue? What about the lock on your back door? Did you remember to give it a twist? Things like that are so easy to forget, and someone could be slipping in right now..."*

   A blind girl visits a dying man and saves his life...with a kiss. A crime writer is faced with a real crime - and has to draw upon his alter-ego for courage. And a young couple seek the bright lights of a nearby town - and end up playing the jukebox for eternity.

   What would you do if your everyday world were turned upside down?

   *From the author's afterword.

   As usual I'll give a short review of each story in this anthology before I conclude with my overall impression.

WILLA

   It's not east to see what this story is really about in the beginning, and when you do realise it doesn't come as a huge surprise considering who the author is. I found it a very thoughtful story about perceptions and expectations, and it is in my opinion a very good story that has some moments of melancholy beauty. It's a great start to the collection that gets you excited to read on.

THE GINGERBREAD GIRL

   This story about a woman who runs away from her husband suddenly takes a sharp turn. What we then get is a tense suspense-filled tale that is full of action. It's the longest story in the collection, but King really draws the reader in and it is a fast read that may have you cringing at times.

HARVEY'S DREAM

   A chilling story about a man telling his wife of a dream he has had during the night. This may not seem like much to base a horror story on, but in this case it is a good basis. King really manages to accomplish much with few words here, proving that he is as much a master of short stories as he is of masonry-sized novels. -And I just loved the ending.

REST STOP

   An author on his way home hears a man beating his girlfriend/wife at an otherwise empty rest stop. This is a pretty conventional story but it has got the Stephen King twist added to it, there's another layer to it that makes it better than it otherwise could have been. A story that shows King can be good without adding any supernatural elements.

STATIONARY BIKE

   A check-up at the doctor leads an artist to take up training, and sends him down a road that may lead to insanity. While I really enjoyed this story, I I felt it was too short, and I would have liked King to have explored it in a longer format. As it stands it is a very good story that leaves you craving for more to be really satisfied.

THE THINGS THEY LEFT BEHIND

   This is a story about memories and what makes you remember. King himself says it is an idea that came to him soon after 9/11. It's a very good story, respectful without being preachy.

GRADUATION AFTERNOON

   The shortest story in this collection is a pretty strange one by King-standards. There's plenty of information given for such a short story, and we actually get a well developed background for the main character. A very good story that proves you can tell a lot with a few words.

N.

   Can you say "Lovecraftian Horror"? King has managed to create a very good modern version of some of H.P. Lovecraft's tales. If you have read Lovecraft you may not find very original, but king does it very well. And this is one story worth getting hold of for everyone who is into Lovecraft.

Note: King mentions inspiration from an earlier writer than Lovecraft in the notes. While that may be correct, I wouldn't hesitate to call this a Lovecraftian-style tale.

THE CAT FROM HELL

   A story about a hit man and a cat. It's a really good story with a slightly creepy ending. One for those who love cats, but also great for those who find cats to be somewhat creepy. Personally I love cats and thoroughly enjoyed this story.

THE NEW YORK TIMES AT SPECIAL BARGAIN RATES

   This story is about a phone call. It's a pretty standard paranormal story but King does it very well. There is also some interesting ideas in it that elevates it above other stories with similar themes. A good quick read.

MUTE

   It isn't often you get a story about a confessional in church that is this interesting. It is not really horror, in fact it is barely thriller, but as most of King's stories it still has that feel to it. I really liked this one, it's an Tales of the Unexpected-type story, and a good one at that.

AYANA

   This is a man's story about miracles. Not really my kind of story, and I didn't really feel it had much to say either. This is the weakest story in the collection. The craftsmanship is as good as the other stories but this was just not my cup of tea.

A VERY TIGHT PLACE

   The last story in this collection is the tale of a neighbour feud taken to the extreme. King is on great form here, and the story turns suitably disgusting. One of the best stories in this collection.

OVERALL IMPRESSION

   This is a great collection of short stories. For me there was only one real miss here, and if you have read a few short story collections and anthologies you'll know that it is rare that the rate of good stories is so high.

   This is of course essential for anyone who likes King. But it is also a good collection for anyone who enjoys short stories and/or horror in general. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone, and I think it is a good tarting point for anyone who has read little or no short stories too.

    I should also add that King gives us notes about each of the stories at the back. I find that interesting to read, and think that would be an extra value to both readers and anyone who writes themselves.

Reviews: The Shining, Bag of Bones, 11.22.63, Four Past Midnight 

Links: Stephen King  Hodder & Stoughton