Rating: 
Summary: Too much time squandered for a marginal return
Review: In DREAMCATCHER, creepy-book writer Stephen King returns to that reliably scary theme of the 20th (and apparently 21st) century, the Invasion of the Space Aliens.Beaver, Pete, Jonesy and Henry are middle-aged pals who've been chums since growing up in Derry, Maine. While out in the woods on one of their annual hunting trips, they become enmeshed in a military operation, commanded by a psycho named Kurtz, to cordon off the site of a flying saucer crash and annihilate every living thing - human, animal or alien - in the quarantine zone. As the plot evolves, another character, Duddits, moves to center stage. Duddits is a middle-aged man whom our four heroes had befriended during their common adolescence after rescuing him from a gang of bullies. Besides being afflicted with Down's Syndrome, Duddits is a remarkable telepath. My principal grumble with this book is that I expended too much time and attention on its 616 hard-backed pages for the degree of satisfaction I got for the effort. Roughly one-third of the book involves a vehicle pursuit - bad guys chase good guys chasing a good/bad guy - along the New England interstates. King uses this as an occasion for character and plot development. I just got fidgety. And while the author took the opportunity to demonstrate political correctness by making a mentally handicapped individual a hero, I never really warmed to the Duddits character. Also, since telepathy is at the core of the storyline, much of the "action" takes place in the players' minds, and I too often found it inadequately connected to the rest of the yarn. The author does manage to create some chilling situations, e.g. the fate of the hapless McCarthy, the lost hunter who stumbles into our heroes' hunting cabin. In the true King tradition, his brand of horror is sometimes understated. I like that. "Inside his lower intestine, in that rich dump of discarded food and worn-out dead cells, something for the first time opened its black eyes." Oh-oh, it doesn't sound like something Maalox will fix. Die-hard King fans will perhaps rate this book much higher than I have. The fact remains, however, that I got to the point of wanting to finish DREAMCATCHER not because I anticipated a great ending, but because I just wanted to move on to the next tome on my shelf.
Rating: 
Summary: Dreamcatcher
Review: King's two primary strengths, those things that he does better than anyone, are showcased in this novel. His characterizations are exquisite. As usual, he bombards the reader with the characters when first introduced, staturating the pages with the flavor of the character while leaving plenty to plumb later as the story develops. In addition, King's voice rings through as clear as ever, like an old friend. I hated for the book to end because I wanted that voice to continue telling me about Duddits and the rest. Unfortunately, King's biggest weakness, in my opinion, is also a big part of this novel, namely his inability to bring his opus to a satisfactory conclusion. Of course, his endings never live up to the promise of the rest of the work but all in all, that's okay. Us King fans are used to it and the novel's charms make up for in spades.
Rating: 
Summary: Stephen King terrorizes Derry again!
Review: Stephen King visits more misery upon Derry, Maine, in his first full-length novel since Bag of Bones. Twenty-five years ago, four friends (Beaver, Henry, Pete and Jonesy) showed an uncanny heroism that made them a fifth friend for life in Duddits. He's a special boy who, unlike them, can't quite leave childhood behind. When the four men gather for their annual hunting trip in the Maine woods, a paralyzing blizzard descends and brings with it a menace never before seen on earth. A disoriented stranger stumbles upon their cabin, bearing a disturbing rash on his face and wild tales of lights in the sky. But before they can challenge this unknown evil, they must first escape the Army detail that has been sent to try to contain it, and then bring Duddits back into their circle. In a thrilling race against the storm and a ruthless alien force, all five of the friends must bond together once again to save Maine, and ultimately the world, from a final, unspeakable horror. The key lies somewhere in their shared pasts-and in the dreamcatcher. Dreamcatcher is a full-bodied story that will captivate fans and mesmerize anyone so far unfamiliar with the depth of Stephen King's dark imagination. King reminds us that we forge bonds in our friendships that go far beyond what we see, hear and feel. He asserts that we connect with each other in unimaginable ways that can't be easily explained; yet we secretly crave and might someday need those connections. Reminiscent of The Stand in its depth and scope, Dreamcatcher snares the reader and satisfies both the need and the craving-you'll find yourself inextricably bonded with the people and events to the very last word of this exciting book.
Rating:
Summary: A little disappointing
Review: While I may not be the biggest Stephan King fan there is, I'm certainly in the top half. I've read most all of his books and seen many of his films. I'd anticipated owning (and reading) DreamCatcher for some time but hadn't gotten around to buying it. Finally, in view of a lengthy trip in the Far East, I purchased the book for reading while on the plane. The novel starts off in typical King fashion with introductions to the primary players; Pete, Jonesy, Henry and Beaver. However, the initial sections seem a little diffuse and hard to follow. After the first few chapters; however, the pace picks up -- thankfully. Much of the book seems to reflect themes of other books or films - notably 'Tommyknockers', 'Alien', and 'It'. Most interesting of all the characters is Kurtz who is introduced later in the story and is a study of a deadly psychopath. All in all, the book is not bad (after all, it's a Stephan King work, right?), but it's not as good as I had expected. If you're a seasoned King reader, buy it because the author always has interesting twists to write about and will eventually submerge you in the tale. However, if this is to be your first encounter with SK, then try one of his better works first (I'd recommend either 'The Stand' or 'It'). It will keep from turning you off to an excellent writer and storyteller. ** recommended with reservations **
Rating:
Summary: Good Book
Review: Dreamcatcher is an engrossing book with excellent characters that you actually care about. It is extremely hard to put this thing down once you have started it; I read it in four nights. However, Dreamcatcher lacks something: originality. There is nothing in here that we haven't seen or read before, and the whole book is a whole bunch of ides and scenarios taken from other stories and welded together to form this. What sets Dreamcatcher apart from standard campy Sc-Fi is King's amazing ability to tell the same story better than anyone else. So, if you are interested in a good, hard to put down book, you should pick this up without hesitation. However, don't buy this looking for new ideas that will blow your mind.
Rating:
Summary: I got lost inside this book. (In a good way)
Review: King is back. The critics be damned, this is some good writing.
Tommyknockers bored me, but this piece of work kept me going
for hours. Lots of allusions to his near death experience, and
if you really want the scoop on that, pick up On Writing, his
non fiction memoir.
Rating:
Summary: King Still Has It!
Review: Despite some of the negative reviews that I've read about this book, I decided to read it anyway. Stephen King books are always adventurous and thrilling, and I didn't want to miss out on this one. It hit the bullseye, and allowed me to breath a sigh of relief...King still knows how to write one heck of a book! This lenghty novel (879 pages) was a rollar coaster ride of ups and downs, thrills and spills (on the gory side), and emotions of "the 3rd kind" mixed all together. The base of this story is 4 childhood friends who are on their annual hunting trip, when an unusual stranger stumbles into camp. The strange man has far fetched explanations and gives off a horrible stench. Soon after, the 4 friends are each thrown into a whirlwind of events that leaves each one of them feeling isolated and scared. The worst fears from outer space have come true, and the whole world's safety could depend on these 4 somewhat unstable people. A brave deed from the past may be the only chance of survival. If I could give it 4 1/2 stars, I would. The only reason that I didn't give it a full 5 stars was that it could have been shortened just a bit. Forget all the talk about "too much gore". It's practically needed to get the full effect! Go out and read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Ihs ot at reat...
Review: As Duddits might say, "It's not that great". Good enough story, but after the big blow-up at Hole in the Wall, the book seems to get tortuously confused around who is in whose head and who is communicating with who vs. reminiscing about the past. The interplay beetween Henry and Owen was interesting and fortunately kept the back part of the book under control.
Rating: 
Summary: More like a nightmare
Review: In my opinion, horror works best when it takes ordinary people, in ordinary situations, and introduces unexplainable events. It dosen't work when the unexplainable is just too laughable...or in this case nauseating, to get frightened about. I have read nearly all of King's works, and lately he seems to be severely running out of ideas, thus the need to reintroduce some of his old ones (i.e. the aliens in the Tommyknockers who affected people by having them lose their teeth). The book started out just fine by introducing us to the four characters who came together on a fateful day that they saved another student from harm. But just as quickly, the aliens arrive and our characters start to die! King then introduces new, much less interesting characters, and the book begins to spiral down into a kind of psychological morass of who's really in who's head.........BORING! All of King's bad habits are here, the impossably flawed main character who sits helplessly doing nothing for most of the book, the long charactor digressions, mostly while in the middle of conversations, many of which go on for pages, the childlike fascination with bodily functions. I remember reading where King once said that if he couldn't horrify his readers, then he'd go for the gross-out. Well I didn't lose any sleep reading this mush, but it did leave me feeling sick when I finished....and that's not a good thing.
Rating:
Summary: The Master
Review: There have been countless reviews on this man, and most recently on whether or not he'd ever produce anything quality after his near-fatal accident. Quite frankly, I'm tired of hearing it. He's an artist...an amazing one. This book was as thrilling and captivating as any of his previous works. He hasn't lost a thing; rather, his newly-gained appreciation for life has opened him up to us even more. Bravo, Mr. King. Keep the stories coming, and this loyal fan will keep reading them.
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