Dreamcatcher

Rating:
Summary: A King book with Everything!
Review: The new Stephen King novel has not only the horror, suspence and overall nailbiting one would expect from a typical King book, in addition to the above it also has humour. More than once at the beginning of this book I found myself chuckling out loud. As is King's style however, my chuckles turned to horror as the true nature of the humouress 'moments' were exposed.King captures us up into his 'Dreamcatcher' and leaves us with more than one sleepless night. A must read book. One that King fans surely should not miss!

Rating:
Summary: Some old King classics revisited¿
Review: It all started as a common reunion of old boyhood friends. Like every hunting season Henry, Pete, Jonesy and 'The Beav' reunite in their camp "Hole in the Wall", located somewhere deep in the dark woods of Maine. But this year is not like any other year. When a guy named McCarthy stumbles into their camp - after almost being shot by Jonsey, because at one point he looked more like a deer than a man - he brings an evil with him that is not from this world. This stranger keeps on mumbling about weird lights in the sky and when it becomes clear that there is more about him than that horrible smell, it is already too late: McCarthy is nothing but a human vessel for what is quickly known as a "sh*t-weasel".

This book can be called for more than one reason: a strange book. First of all it breaks clearly with Stephen King's more recent works and returns to the good old classics like It, The Stand and The Tommyknockers. It is really refreshing to see that King can still compose intriguing and gripping characters and place them in a setting that is utterly estranging. It almost feels like King is revisiting some old pals, maybe having a family visit in good ol' Derry. Second reason is his almost parodical image of the old jack-in-a-box-alien. Now be honest: a "sh*t-weasel" being born out of an extremely flatulent human body is not really your common idea of an evil alien, is it? I guess not. And the final reason: the story itself. For me this is certainly the weakest point of the book. Although at the start it has quite some potential, it bleeds to death after the first half of the book. When the 'final chase' starts, you already know how the ending will turn out (call it the Koontz-feeling...). Don't expect any surprising turn. Just sit, relax and lets go with the flow. Not really what you expect from a 'thriller'. But, of course, most suspense novels don't count 620 pages.

But all put together it is still quite an entertaining novel, although it is unlikely that you will remember the plot half a year after reading it. Unless you go and see the movie, that is. ;-)

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Psychological horror
Review: I loved the excellent plot, with an aura of mystery beyond what King usually shows. The dialogue was crisp and it still managed to be interesting during all 200 pages of Hummers driving through the snow, I liked how it got down into what friendship actually is. Highlt Reccomended

Rating:
Summary: My first King book...
Review: And I have to say I was a little let down. "Dreamcatcher" comes charging out of the gates with a superb set-up, but then starts to drag and it seems King's editor went to sleep on him. In my opinion, this book could have been much better.

The premise is not overly original, but will body-snatching aliens ever really get old? Of course not! Thankfully, King takes a few liberties with the formula, the main one being the mental powers that exist in the four friends via a special fifth. Frankly, I could have done without this aspect of the story, as it leads to some of the slower parts. Another departure from the norm that I did like was the nature of the invading aliens, although he didn't really give us much of a background. I enjoyed the very human struggle one of the alien beings faces, Mr. Gray, who must complete his objective despite the alien planning going all to hell. In Dreamcatcher, King switches the alien's role from butt-kicking, seemingly invincible invaders to one lone underdog clinging to his mission by the skin of teeth, all the while being hunted down by humans.

Where King really hits a grand slam is the character of Mr. Gray, who is an alien presence in the mind of Jonesy, one of the four friends. But while he inhabits the body, the mind of Jonesy is still there, and causes Mr. Gray no end of trouble. The idea of an alien having to fight its own desires to become human is quite interesting, from his craving for bacon to his addiction to his newfound emotions. The interaction between Mr. Gray and Jonesy is the most entertaining stuff in the book, although even that tends to drag towards the end. I also liked Kurtz, the token military man who is just little crazy and causes no end of trouble for both the aliens and the heroes.

While it isn't exactly what I'd call scary, I do recommend this book without much reservation. It doesn't exactly keep you guessing, but the suspense is there, and King shows us the old dog has some new tricks as he throws some nice twists into the old body snatcher formula. My biggest gripe is the length of the book, as it certainly hurts the sense of urgency. But, with the set-up and early chapters being as excellent as they are, you'll be hooked regardless.

Rating:
Summary: Skip the Movie, Read the Book
Review: As a first time Stephen King reader, I bought this book mainly for two reasons: to see if the hype surrounding his books was justified and to finally be someone who could say "the book was better than the movie". I'm happy to say that this huge page-turner achieved both purposes.

King's tale about four childhood friends with an unusual connection is well written, suspenseful and often humorous. The narrative successfully skips between the men's childhood and their untimely fate, while throwing in enough pieces of the puzzle to keep the uncertain reader wanting more. The result is both a terrifying and heartwarming story, completely believable in the town that King has etched out.

Perhaps the only slow parts of the novel, in my opinion, occur when the efforts of the military team used to combat the aliens is described. Amidst the long descriptions, two major characters still manage to shine - sadistic Colonel Kurtz (how's that for literary allusion?) and his once loyal Captain Underhill. Their roles in the novel lead to a climax that will keep you up at night, desperate to finish the book.

Although this was my first Stephen King book, I'm almost certain that it will not be my last if all of his novels are as long, but fast-paced as "Dreamcatcher". Please do yourself a favor: skip the movie and read the book. I had a hard time justifying to friends that the book was so much better in comparison and that the entire ending of the movie was completely fabricated and meaningless. For roughly half the price of the movie ticket, I was more thoroughly entertained reading Stephen King's "Dreamcatcher".

Rating:
Summary: could be stupidest book ever
Review: Predictable, boring, and above all STUPID. I love sci-fi horror even bad sci-fi horror. But let's get real. This is an unconvincing book that is a complete waste of time. The characters are predictable and stupid. After 15 minutes I found myself wanting to put the book down but had to read on (my bad). I found myself wondering who really wrote this? If it was King I was sure he must have alzheimers because he sure forgot how to write. The movie is even worse!

Rating:
Summary: King Is King
Review: "Dreamcatcher" sees King at his writing best, in spite of the pain he must've been in during the creation of this novel. Another excellent character-driven thriller with enough gore and spookiness to make it classic King! As far as I'm concerned, King is King.

Rating:
Summary: He's Back!
Review: ... I think this is just like the 'old' Steven King material from many years ago. I loved it and intentionally read it slowly and put it down many times when I really didn't want to, just to make it last! A great story, and never loses it's momentum.

Rating:
Summary: Lame
Review: The setup is by far the best part of this clumsy tale about friendship and aliens. I don't want to give away the plot, but I was hoping that the four (five) friends would stay together and their relationships would deepen. Instead, the story fragments and turns into a tangle of cliches.

While King's trademark humor and descriptiveness are present (the reason it even gets 2 stars), and some of the characters are developed well (Jonesy, Henry, Duds), the whole thing reads like something you've read before, only flimsier, more rambling, and less compelling this time around.

The Duddits character and the flashback scenes are worth saving. Too bad he couldn't have written a 400 page book and concentrated on that part, and left the little green men out of it.

Rating:
Summary: Long and winding road
Review: I'm a long time King fan. I've read most of his early stuff, but not much in the last few years. When Dreamcatcher was released and made into a movie, I thought I would give it a shot. IMHO, it's not the equal of King's earlier works. When I read a novel, I read for pleasure, so I read every word. At times I found myself scanning paragraphs and occasionally, entire pages, just to get through them. Overall, I enjoyed the story, but I can only recommend this book to hard core King fans.