The Dead Zone (1979)

Young professor gets into a car crash while driving back from a date and wakes up from a long coma with the ability to see things in the future. Uses his abilities to try and prevent various and sundry events. Knows that an evil man is growing in power and needs to be stopped.

Meanwhile, an evil man steadily grows in power, unaware he is being watched.

The final showdown between the two.

Stephen King's usual side excursions:

Hunting down the mystery rapist/murderer who has mommy issues

Ramifications of not getting a lightning rod placed on a barn where the senior prom is being held.

Reuniting with a lost love

That's all I remember from this book. I plan to re-read it again soon. ( )

I loved this story. The lead is wonderful. The storyline is great. The Dead Zone is so bittersweet and so wonderful, definitely one of my favorites by SK. ( )

I don't remember a lot about this one, beyond the fact that I definitely read it as a teenager. ( )

Wow. I was't sure I wanted to read the book. I'm a fan of the TV show and I knew the book would be different - also, I haven't read a Stephen King book since Carrie, when I decided that he wasn't a writer I enjoyed. Several people have suggested I try some of his non horror work. Since I started watching the show Haven and realized that it was also work of his I became more open to the idea.

The book is very different from the TV show, although I can see the seeds of the show scattered hither and yon about the pages. The book and TV show are only related, and different things happen for the most part.

This book was well written, and the ending was satisfying in a sad way, but a way that left me feeling like the story was complete. The characters are well thought out, and their thought processes are believeable. The descriptions of New England are also right on the money of what I remember from when I lived there.

I would recommend this book to adult readers.

( )

2019: I haven’t reread this novel in many years..... so many years, I’ve no real recollection of when the last time was. But I’ve reread it at least once, I’m sure. (I’m gonna guess that it was sometime in 1996, as I’d read a huge amount that year, having been quite pregnant up until the beginning of August, and in bad health and practically bedridden at the time).
This novel stood the test of time, easily. I had waited long enough to reread it so that echoes of the last reading were not showing up in my memory (what I have of one, anyway), while doing so. I love that.
The storyline kept me just as spellbound as the other times reading this novel, and I fell just in love with the characters (except Stillson, that rat bastard) as last time as well. The bitter sweet ending still made me tear up.

The only thing I *didn’t* like about this novel is the choice of Scribner/Simon and Schuester Audio to use James Franco as the narrator. I just didn’t care for his narrating style, and I thought he had a lot to learn from other, more used and well rounded narrators that are out there today. I’m also wondering if the choice to use this second rate actor was in order to get people to purchase the audiobook when this novel has been published for 30 years give or take, and when these people in charge of this kind of thing knew that lesser known narrators wouldn’t have sold as many copies of the audiobook. Which is a shame, really..... someone else could have done a MUCH better job at this novel.
While Franco isn’t my favorite actor at all, this isn’t apropos so I’ll just stick to his narrating style. It was a little too quiet at times, a little too calm and gentle when a little more energy could have been helpful, and at other times Franco seemed to just be reading out loud to his junior English classroom/teacher, and barely inflecting his voice so that perhaps he wouldn’t be called on again to read aloud, any time soon...? And he seemed bored as well, during these recitations.
Franco’s East coast accents were decent, I guess, though a little effected. They worked just barely enough, for most of them, to keep the characters apart... just barely.
It’s too bad this actor was used, as I, for one, won’t be purchasing the audiobook until another narrator is used.

Meanwhile, I enjoyed this novel, and was able (for large parts of the time) to ignore my irritation at Franco’s shortcomings in order to enjoy this novel as much as I could. If you like James Franco, then by all means, knock yourself out with it.
I’m also not discussing the massive, striking similarities of this novel’s Stillson character and a certain bloated, Cheeto-like orangeness in the Oval Office, as it’s been discussed throughout this website, and in other book reviews all over the web - probably ad nauseam.
Many, many people on gr believe that politics don’t belong here, and they are wrong. So wrong.... as politics effect every aspect of life, including art, literature, and crafts. They can continue to turn a blind eye to this, snug in their privileged bubble of comfort, while others are directly effected every single day. I will not. If you don’t like this very rare speaking out, then by all means, remove yourself from my friend’s list here, or wherever. I won’t mind.

This novel received 4.5 stars from me before, and this rating stands today. It’s recommended to all.
And don’t @me if you disagree with my criticism of the current “president”, or his administration, because you won’t change my mind. I’m old, I’m very liberal, and I want you to GET OFF MY LAWN. Thank you. ( )