The Dead Zone - Stephen King

In the last few months I've gotten in to Bob Dylan, bought The Pearl by Brian Eno, read my way through the Hitchiker trilogy, not to mention experiencing what us mere mortals call 1984 by George Orwell. In retrospect it was a bad time to come back to The Dead Zone. When I read it two years ago it was thrilling and well crafted, and while it's still a great book, this time it just seemed a bit too Bestsellerish. There's a fantastic storey to be told, but sometimes it seems a bit corny. The dialogue is too often melodramatic, and ends up sounding like something from Sunset Beach. Perhaps what I wanted was the Stephen King ...  Read the complete review

Another superb work of fiction from the pen of Stephen King. I liked his earlier work alot and its good to see that he seems to be making something of a return to form with some of his recent work as well following a pretty poor spell where for me he tried to become too clever. Rose Madder, Deloris Clairborne, Gerald's Game, Needful Things etc. simply did not cut it in my opinion...but this, one of his earlier offerings, certainly does! The Dead Zone was one the first Stephen King novel I read ad I was instantly hooked. It tells the story of Johnny Smith, who after suffering a near fatal accident in a taxi falls into a deep coma which lasts for over four ...  Read the complete review

This was my first introduction to the weird world of Stephen King. It hooked me. The Dead Zone was responsible for a marked decline of interest in anything that wasn't supernatural, thought-provoking and downright bizarre. Based around the life of John Smith, this is a tale about the gift of Pyschometry, a paranormal activity that involves receiving psychic signals from whomever or whatever the person touches. John received a head injury as a child whilst ice-skating, and a further blow to his head during a car accident in later life, leaves him comatose in hospital for 5 years. During this time there are changes in his personal life that he is ...  Read the complete review

The Dead Zone was written by Stephen King more than 20 years ago, and was one of the very first of his many books that I read. Since then I have read it at least 4 or 5 times along with watching the film at least as many times. It will not be loved by those who are addicted to the horror/weird aspects of Stephen King's books. However, it is a masterful psychological 'thriller' in the development of the plot and the main characters, with excellent insights, too, into modern life and some of it's conundrums and misunderstandings. The minor characters, such as the Vietnamese gardener, are also well developed and offer interesting and ...  Read the complete review

This was the first Stephen King book I read, and it lead me to read more. The opener of the book catches you immediately, unlike other books that drone on until something starts happening. The main storyline is about a man called Johnny Smith who is involved in a serious car crash and ends up in a coma for 5 years. When he awakes, he is not only aware of the massive changes especially in politics, but he can also sense the past and future of a person by touching him/her or something belonging to him/her. A part of his brain was damaged by the crash, the part which he calls the Dead Zone. Since the crash, he could not recall place names and destinations. ...  Read the complete review