Dreamcatcher

Rating:
Summary: Good, but not his best
Review: The depth of the characters in this book are extrordinary, yet it doesn't take you on the ride that Mr. King's previous books have taken me on. A truely original adaptation of a classic tale man has waited long to discover. That alone makes it worth reading.

Rating:
Summary: A Story Teller at His Best
Review: I am an unabashed fan of Mr. King's novels and I look forward to each release. In Dreamcatcher, like all his stories, he hooks the reader in the first 100 words and never lets go. I had fun reading this book and I think that's the point. Get the book, go to the beach and have fun.

Rating:
Summary: Sick, dull, and insulting
Review: Talk about a waste of paper! Shoot, I've read books that left me wanting my money back, but this one left me wishing thay used the paper and ink to print coloring books!

Set in the wood, a bunch of guys who once saved a handicapped person from eating a turd are menaced by aliens. Some fungus grows, and a evil/crazy army general runs around playing Rolling Stones tunes, and by the end you no longer care what the point was.

I've seen the quality of Kings books as a downward slide after Salems' Lot, so guess this is sort of the literary version of "Freddy Got Fingered" In other words, it's so bad, sovile, and so poorly written that people are going to line up to throw more money into King's pockets.

Rating:
Summary: What has happened to Stephen King?
Review: Has Stephen King lost his touch? This is a terrifying space-age novel written by Stephen King. I'm a big fan of King and this is the first of his works that I have read that have disappointed me. The first couple hundred pages are very tough to read. After that, the story starts the suspenfullness that you would expect from a Stephen King novel. After about I was halfway through the book I was starting to lose my intrest in it. The story seemed to be rushed out and King did not let the characters develope. The whole novel was a great story but his thoughts seemed to be mixed up in a way that I don't expect them to be by King. I really enjoyed reading Tommyknockers and some of his earlier works. If you plan on reading a Stephen King novel for the first time I would recommend you try some of his earlier works.

Rating:
Summary: Five Stars- A Fabulous Book
Review: For the two days in took me to read this book, Stephen King's amazing tale, and intricate characters, invaded my consciousness. I couldn't put this book down, and when I did the novel invaded my unconsciousness as well. The book is fabulously written, right down to the littlest details. This book will sweep you away into a current world of terror and to a past world of love, friendship, and a happier existence for the characters. If anything, this book will give you a laugh or two, and a literative view of the mind. Enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: Not his best, not his worst
Review: I'm glad to have "Dreamcatcher" on my bookshelf. If for no other reason than because I was almost sure, two years ago, that there wouldn't ever be such a thing as a new Stephen King novel. I remember seeing Stephen King and his wife Tabitha interviewed on tv the fall after his near-fatal accident, and his spirits were so low, it really didn't look like he would ever be writing again. The gloomy feel of that interview, coupled with the Bartelby-"I prefer not to" theme running through the end of "Bag of Bones" made me worry that that might be his last full length novel.

Which made me sad, because I've been one of King's Constant Readers since my twelfth birthday, when I finished "Pet Sematary". I've been with him through the good years and the bad. The occasional rambling blahs and the cherished moments of pure transcendent bliss, like at the end of "Low Men in Yellow Coats" from "Heart in Atlantis," where I simultaneously cried my eyes out and felt a surging thankfulness for being alive and being in the world, and having that book in my hands at that moment. A perfect moment.

For that moment, and many moments like it over the years, I consider Stephen King a good friend. I didn't like the idea of not hearing the voice of my friend ever again.

Especially when his last book, the collection "Hearts in Atlantis," contained some of the best writing he'd ever done. It left me starving for more great Stephen King. Any Stephen King, really.

So I'm extremely happy to still be hearing his voice, to be reading his words. It makes the world a better place to be in.

But I'll have to say that "Dreamcatcher" isn't nearly as good as the brilliant "Hearts in Atlantis." It's not bad--I'd rank it somewhere around the middle of his works. In my opinion, it's much better than "Insomnia" and most of the post-"It" pre-"Green Mile" stuff. There are some great characters here, some moving moments, and some places where I really felt a bit of that old familiar surge of wonder.

However, at 700+ pages, "Dreamcatcher" is much longer than it needs to be, and it's bogged down with some clunky sub-plots and some routine-ish characters. I will say, though, that despite its excess length, there is some enjoyable momentum as the story reaches its climax.

There are some great flashes of light here, as well. Enough to catch you off guard, and make you glad you came out to play. But they're just not sustained enough or consistent enough to engage you the way that King's best books do--"Hearts in Atlantis," "It," "The Shining," and "The Stand," to name a few.

Rating:
Summary: dreamcatcher
Review: IT WAS SAID IF YOU LIKE BAG OF BONES YOU WOULD LOVE DREAMCATCHER. WELL, I DO NOT AGREE. I READ BAG OF BONES IN A MATTER OF DAYS, IT HAS BEEN A MONTH AND I STILL CANNOT GET INTO DREAMCATCHER. IT IS VERY SLOW AND DOES NOT SEEM TO PICK UP ANYWHERE. NOT AMONG THE BEST KING BOOKS I HAVE READ.

Rating:
Summary: Awful
Review: This book is little more than glorified toilet paper.

Go buy some Charmin . . . it's softer, the words on the package are more interesting, and it won't burn your a** when you realize you've wasted your money.

I'm serious. This book is about aliens that live in your ... and look like red gold, legless weasles. Laugh, it's ok! ... I did! This story has to be a joke. If it is, Mr. King, I salute you for your humor.

If you seriously thought this was a powerful work of literature or even a slightly entertaining read, you're a butt weasle.

Rating:
Summary: A welcome return to the horrors of old
Review: How many novels has Stephen King written by now? Twenty-five? Thirty? I lost count around the time he published DESPERATION and THE REGULATORS at the same time, but let's face it, it's a lot. After such a long time, it is only natural that an author's output might begin to feel a tad familiar to the reader. The stories may change, but the style is the same. And when the stories themselves start to feel similar, it is usually a sign that the author should consider retirement.

But what a relief it is to find that King has not lost his edge. DREAMCATCHER may be somewhat recycled in theme and tone from his earlier works, but King has not lost the knack to tell a good story. And after his less terrifying publications BAG OF BONES, THE GIRL WHO LOVED TOM GORDON, and HEARTS IN ATLANTIS, it is comforting to discover that King has also not lost the knack to pen a truly gruesome scene, and go for full-bore horror.

DREAMCATCHER follows a group of four childhood friends, Henry, Jonesy, Beav, and Pete, now adults enjoying their yearly hunting trip in Maine. In the past, they shared an unusual bond with a severely mentally challenged boy, whose friendship continues to affect their lives in unusual ways. When the men discover a lost hunter apparently suffering from a gastro-intestinal affliction, they are thrust into a plot involving government conspiracies, telepathy, and little gray men, all of which may be linked to their childhood experiences.

There is a large feeling of déjà vu in the proceedings, as King creates a story that would seem to be very much at home as an episode of television's X-FILES, or as a sequel to his previous alien saga, THE TOMMYKNOCKERS. But simply because a story lacks a certain originality does not ruin the fun to be had in the telling. King once again proves his innate ability to manufacture believable characters coping with incredible situations. His opening chapter, presenting the reader with one past event in each of the four men's lives, ranks among the best of King's writings, succinctly and deftly capturing the disparate natures of the four individuals. King's evocations of childhood (always a staple of his novels) are, as usual, stirring and well-drawn, and King does a fine job at weaving the past with the present, using the innocent boyhood events of the past as a counter-point to the far more gruesome happenings of the present. And as King slowly but surely reveals the curious bond the boys share, the actions of the present take on added significance.

King's major failing in DREAMCATCHER is his choice of villain. The tyrannical military freak Kurtz is far too one-dimensional, a gung-ho G.I. Joe with very little background. When you compare him to the well-rounded antagonists of ROSE MADDER and SALEM'S LOT, Kurtz's superficiality is quite distressing. King fares far better with Mr. Gray, an entity who takes up residence within the mind of Jonesy. Mr. Gray, a presence with no personality besides that which it takes from Jonesy, enters into an intriguing battle of wits, as Gray tries to implement his plan, and Jonesy erects a warehouse within his mind to shield himself from Gray's invasion. King's presentation of the warring factions within one mind is almost as absorbing as the similar synthesis of two personalities within one body found in Clive Barker's EVERVILLE.

As well, King makes a long-overdue comeback to the orchestrated gore of his earlier novels. His last few stories, while never less than entertaining, have given his fondness for horror a backseat to more 'mature' stories. King is a fine writer, but he works best when he goes back to his roots. DREAMCATCHER is not a classic; it has too many unexplained ambiguities and coincidences to establish it as such. But it is a fast-paced entertainment as only King can provide. Some may wish to discuss the deeper implications of his stories, but not I, not now. King has created another terrific nail-biter, and that's enough for me.

POSTSCRIPT: In his afterward, King explains how he originally intended to title the book CANCER, but was convinced to change it. Having read the novel, I must respectfully disagree with his choice. CANCER is a far more foreboding and emotionally charged title, and creates an immediate apprehension in the reader that the title DREAMCATCHER is simply unable to match.

Rating:
Summary: Not His Best
Review: Like many others I am a big fan of Stephen King. Most of his books are terrific but "Dreamcatcher" joins his other two bombs, "The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon" and "The Talisman". The first part of the book is well written but it later deteriorates into gibberish. I had a hard time telling who was in who's mind or who was doing what to which when. As someone once said "In every fat book there's a thin book trying to get out". King claims to have written this whole book with a fountain pen. I hope he has gotten over his writer's cramp by now so he can start on a better book up to his usual higher standard. Think thin (or is it "Thinner".