Alien invaders and bacon. (Dreamcatcher - Stephen King)

Member Name: Graham1956

Product:	Dreamcatcher - Stephen King
Date:	20/05/01 (129 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Another excellent novel from Stephen King

Disadvantages: I will probably have to wait another year for his next book

Stephen King is one of my favourite authors. I have read every fiction title that he has written and l have never been disappointed. Perhaps my only criticism is that l have difficulty putting his books down and end up loosing sleep until l have finished the current read.

Dreamcatcher is a story about four friends who are now in their mid thirties, but have been friends since they first started school.

As usual with Stephen King (SK), things are not straightforward. When the friends were young they helped save 'Duddits', a downs syndrome sufferer from, bullying bordering on torture by older boys. Duddits has a special psychic gift that his new friends acquire in a mild form through their friendship with him and is perhaps a major reason why they have remained friends despite having gone their separate ways as they grew older. Their friendship is maintained by a yearly reunion in November when they meet up to go off hunting for a week together.

SK in his usual style develops his characters by moving from the present to the past, to reveal events that have been decisive in determining their development into their present day selves.

The present day story concerns the contact between the friends and alien invaders. As usual SK weaves you deeper and deeper into the lives of his characters, so that they become real, three-dimensional people. That less of them survive than usual was perhaps a surprise, l was expecting some twist in the tale, that would lead to their survival.

This is however a nearly 600 page read, that draws you into the story. The more you read the harder it is to stop and put the book down.

Without revealing what happens, the story revolves around friendship, alien invasion and psychic powers. It includes SK's usual insights into facets of human behaviour that help to make the characters human. Including the inhuman Mr Grey, who with a little help develops a taste for bacon, which he l
ater regrets!

I dont intend to reveal any more of the plot. Read it for yourself, you won't be disappointed.

One last point. The cover price of this book in hardback is £17.99. Most of the major book chains are discounting the book by £4.00, but if you have an ASDA supermarket near you, the price is £9.99.

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