Rating: 
Summary: Not King's Best, but B+
Review: I'll not resummarize a much-summarized plot, but move straight to my opinion.The character development is quite good, with flawed heroes and understandable villains. King has used possession several times in books, as in Desperation, Cujo, and here, but he finds variations. I see similarities between this possession-by-aliens story and the old science-fiction film "5 Million Years to Earth" where a long-dead but not completely-dead spaceship has weird and dangerous effects. Still, King brings the story alive in a new version, and generates lots of tension and creepiness. It also seems that King likes dogs; both here and in The Stand, the faithful dog plays a role. Anyway, I ramble, but I liked The Tommyknockers and, while it's not up there with The Stand or The Green Mile, it's still a good read.
Rating: 
Summary: Alians in the back yard
Review: This is certainly one effective 'just say no' ad; if you do drugs, you'll end up publishing trash like this. This has to be the hardest Stephen King book I have ever tried to read (maybe "Misery" ranks up here too). In "Tommyknockers", Reberta 'Bobbie' Anderson finds a UFO in her back yard, and begins digging it up as it changes her (or she starts 'becoming'). Her friend, Jim Gardner, returns drunk, and tries to dry out, but can't because of the UFO activity. However Gard is immune to 'becoming' because of a metal plate in his head. And then it goes into how it effects the rest of the town (Haven, Maine). Everyone in town start making weird gadets while losing control of their bodies. Anyway, I thought the whole book was overblown, way too wordy; I think it would have been a better short story. The only character I could relate to was the drunk Gardner; and what a role model that is, right. Anyway, I also thought the end was a real let down (I won't give it away for those who may want to read it). Stephen King was high and drunk all the time while this book was being written, and the haphazard and meandering plot was sort of tell-tell sign he was in trouble. I am glad he got his act together for "The Dark Half".
Rating: 
Summary: just poorly developed..... majorly disappointing
Review: ok, first off I will begin by saying that i could not manage to force myself to finish this book, as i did for The Stand and The Shining. So if by chance the story took a magical upturn in style, coehisiveness, plot developing that actually makes sense, and even better use of language then I give the benefit of a doubt that it deserves 1 1/2 star, so that is why i give it 2 stars in my review. Basically if you have never read ANY of this book i would say it should be placed in the 0 - 1 catagory, the 1 being that King actually did try to write a story.
I confess that i have an inner hatred for horror fiction that spawns from the depths of my soul, so it is very hard for me to open my mind to anything that trys to be 'scary' of 'freaky'. infact only H.P. Lovecraft can be credited as an actual author in my opinion when it comes to these types of books, where as i think that stephen king still needs to practice his writting in order to win an young authors award of some sort, a 6th grader could write better and i had the same vocabulary presented in this book at the latest of 5th grade.
let's see... this book is comprised of chopped up sentences, a great deal of them being fragments, alot of swear words are used and i find that most of them are not even neccessary for any character development of thought (swearing is not the only way to make a book 'darker' god damnit!), one of the only times real avid descriptions are used is during the randomly placed cut scene where a guy shoots his dad because of really detailed disturbing memories of incest (king has to have at least one rape, fornication, or incest action in his stories...)
i dont only condemn the book because of that for we all know that editors can not be perfrect, nor can authors. but what king could of done to actually of made a good story was to try and tie everything together better, for example what does a talking picture of jesus and a man shooting his dad for incest memories have to do with a spaceship being dug up by a mind controlled woman in a forest? and with the parts he does describe such as the dogs actions and developments, he cuts to a scene of a poet reading a half assed poem (does king not like poetry?) and when we go back to the scene with the dog we find that its been dead for quite sometime and no real further details are made to any explenations onto why the author felt he had to rush the time for these scenes. he definently could of taken his time because the book was heading nowhere. but then again maybe with an extra 400 pages or so there would still be alot of unanswered questions to ask yourself, like "why did i waste my money on this book?". i bought this at a retail shop, another reason why not to look for good literature in 2nd hand stores
Rating: 
Summary: Vintage King- classic
Review: Of this, SK said: "This book was not so much written as gutted out."
Odd, considering it's one of his best. Unlike many of King's long books, he didn't tend to prattle just a tad with some characters who are not intrinsically interesting- here, every character pulled his or her weight, courtesy of the alien presence and its effects on all people in the story. The warping of people's minds- ostensibly an improvement to their intelligence- was intriguing, especially the inventions and epiphanies the changes brought about in people. It's actually genuine sci fi- he's not just trying to sneak under the sci fi radar by technicality like some others who foray into the genre. The changes also made the unfortunates physically deteriorate, become mentally linked and eventually plain ol' die.
Good stuff, one of my favourites from Mr. King, produced in the era where I think all his best work comes from. (Although he's been in a purple patch since the late 90s.)
Rating:
Summary: King's WORST (and I love King)
Review: In the small town of Haven, Maine, Roberta "Bobbi" Anderson unwittingly awakens a buried spacecraft. She and others in the town start to slowly undergo a transformation into alien lifeforms. As she loses her humanity, the world at large starts to notice that all is not right in Haven, but once the alarm is raised, there is serious question as to whether the alien threat can be contained.
To me, this is the worst Stephen King book in the world. I've read pretty much everything he's published, and no other book turned me off like this one. I read it as a teenager, and I had just discovered how magical King's books could be. I was struggling to find something to bridge the gap between young adult books and grownup books, and King was pretty much the only author that I was excited about at that stage in my life. So imagine the bitter disappointment I felt when Tommyknockers went from bad to worse.
The writing is no different from most of King's work from the same period, but the story itself was just so monumentally depressing that it brings no joy into the reader's lives. It just kind of sucks the life out of you while you read, by giving you more and more to be disappointed in.
Imagine a book in which you are presented with ten or so characters with whom you can feel some amount of emotional attachment. And then imagine every single one of those characters slowly succumbing to some horrible medical condition, like cancer, and then dying. This book was kind of like that, except it has none of the literary aspirations or sweetness that might make such a slog worthwhile.
Or consider the case of "Monster Dugan," an enormously strong and able law enforcer who rides to the rescue towards the latter part of the book. After pages of buildup in which his strength and determination are put on display, he just kind of fizzles out, succumbing to the aliens and conditions in much the same way as everyone else.
King has identified "Dreamcatchers" as a somewhat depressing book written during a difficult period of his life. I can't help but see some connections between that book and this one, and both end up with the same type of unavoidable, predictable conclusion.
In short, I would only recommend this book to a die-hard King fan. At 747 pages, it's not going to endear itself to the casual reader.
Rating:
Summary: A terrifying ride through a small town's personal hell!
Review: Bobbi Anderson stumbles across something in the woods behind her house one day: a piece of metal sticking up out of the ground. Slowly, obsession sets in, as she finds herself digging and digging to discover what is underneath the earth...never noticing the effects the object has on her until it's too late.
The object is a spaceship. And it is gaining control of the town of Haven, Maine, turning once-ordinary people into scheming inventors, curious psycopaths...and worse. Only Bobbi's friend, Jim Gardner--who has a few demons of his own to face--can stand up to the ordeal...if he has the courage, that is. And if it isn't already too late.
"The Tommyknockers" is a book about the discovery of an alien ship. At its best, though, it is a character study of a small town; the village of Haven is represented much as the town of Castle Rock in a few of King's other novels. Haven itself is a central character, as realistic as any of its inhabitants.
But don't let that fool you--this is still a great horror novel by one of the genre's masters. Stephen King never fails to prove his literary merits; "The Tommyknockers" is a prime example of his powers to give you nightmares.
Rating:
Summary: The Ending Was So Drrraaaaggggeeeddd Out
Review: A great book, interesting (desipite the plot holes); But I'll echo what the fellow said about King's endings needing work. My biggest complaint is that it should have been about 50 to 100 pages shorter at the end. Every thought and nuance of movement was described in the climatic scene. Let it end already!
Rating:
Summary: Ugh
Review: Having reread this book as I have nothing to do but lay sick in bed I thought I'd expose some thoughts.
This is an interesting book with a cool concept that fails in its execution. King has some problems with endings, lately all the King books I have read start flat out great and end terribly bad. It also has some plot holes the size of its shiny flying saucer. As in: If metal protected you from the whatever influence of the ship, why no one thought of using a helmet? I mean, the people trying to enter the town, and the same tommyknockers that were so interested in the excavation but that couldn't stand working on it for two days in a row. They bothered burying Anne's car, instead of simply sending it to Altair-4. Also, the dolls that spoke to Ruth were AGAINST the ship (they wanted to send a signal to the other towns) so that didn't make sense at all. The story about the reporters was completely unnecessary (in fact the second time I read that book I just skipped it). They never quite explain why they were using Peter and the rest of the guys in the shed. Human batteries? Why didn't they use the rest of the guys they killed like that too? And why was Bobbi put in the shed, in one of the shower cubicles, after she was shot? In short, too many questions unanswered or making no sense at all. A good ending and a good editing could have saved this book.
Rating:
Summary: I would never chuck this treasure to the trash heap!
Review: How anyone can call this garbage is beyond me. King has succeeded in blowing me away again.
With such believable characters (Bobby Anderson and Jim Gardner, aka 'Gard'), and with scenery set up in such a lively fashion, it is beyond me how a King fan could not enjoy this book.
Granted things appear to build a bit slowly, but that just keeps you hooked untl the last page!
Overall an amazing book that I think any King fan would absolutely adore.
Rating:
Summary: Dissapointing King, not up to usual standard
Review: I am a big King fan, and have read many of his books. They are usually great but this is poor. Bobby Anderson, a quiet women living on a farm in the peaceful town of Haven, stumbles over an object in the woods. Curious, she begins to dig it up, and it begins to change a town of good-natured people into slave-like zombies. Stupidly overlong and sleep-inducingly dull at points, this ridiculous tale about (among other things) aliens, flying tractors, guns that warp people to other planets and battery powered water heaters is daft as hell. King normally gets around this problem by developing great characters, but the book skitters between them far too much to allow you to start caring about them. There are some compelling points (such as the first stages of the chaos that erupts in the town, and Gards first look at the inside of the shed) but they are quickly forgotten thanks to a silly, over-the-top sci-fi sequence or a dull sub-plot. Kings attempt at doing a dated 60's B-movie has not worked, and the result is a tedious read that pushes you through the pages more often than it sucks you in.
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