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 Posted: Sun Aug 13, 2000 9:04 am Post subject: |
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Hey all! Sorry about my scarcity this week, I've been away at a training seminar for my new job all week. I tried to get caught up a bit in midweek in one of the computer labs, but I didn't get much time. I'm back now though, and hopefully there won't be another week long trip for a while. Anyways, I finished The Dead Zone a week ago, so I thought I'd let everyone know what I thought of that one for coming back.
Once again, I enjoyed this book immensely. Stephen King was at the top of his form (as he almost always was in the early days) with this story of psychic powers received and how they effect the life of an ordinary man. As I believe Fenriz mentioned before, I have always loved these stories of an ordinary person who somehow has or is given an extraordinary power and has to figure out how to use it and deal with its ramifications.
The thing about John Smith is that he IS that ordinary man, he could be any one of us under the right (or wrong, depending on how you look at it) conditions. His life is going along fine, he has almost everything in life he could ask for and then a chance(?) happening takes everything from him, exchanging it four and a half years later for the power to touch people and objects and look into their life, into the future, into all sorts of facts that most could not or would not want to know. And soon he begins to discover that, even though he never wanted this power and would give it up if he only could, this ability comes with some heavy responsibilities and might just have been given to him for a reason. This is of course reflective of Stephen King's belief in some higher power that shapes things in some cases yet allows us to choose the right or wrong path, as appears as a theme in most of his books.
Is this power given for a reason, some kind of responsibility? If so, what could be the cost to an individual and to the world at large for not fulfilling that responsibility? This is a fabulous study of how anyone might come to terms and act when faced with such questions, and how any of us might end up if some day we were thrown headlong into a world that we had only looked at from the slightly skeptical outside before. It really makes one think, especially with the motif of the Wheel of Fortune that runs throughout the book. A direct metaphor for life itself, in that you never know what's going to be thrown at you, or how it will effect future events. And anytime, any of us can land on a "house numbah" where no one wins.
Also worth noting is the fact that this is the first of King's books that the famed town of Castle Rock appears in, where we see the beginnings of the setting for many of his later works, and get the first feel that underlying the whole of Castle Rock there is something sinister and evil, barely kept at bay by some of the good people there.
So in short, if you're a King fan at all, and you haven't read this book yet, pick it up somewhere. You'll definitely be glad you did.
As for my next book, I'm starting on Fear by L. Ron Hubbard, which is starting to look pretty good. Seem to be his only excursion into horror as far as his fiction writing goes (though I might be mistaken), and while I may not buy his religion (or cult, depending on how you look at it), I have to give him credit that Hubbard's already starting to craft a masterful story of true suspense.
the Wolf
Submitted By: the Wolf |
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| Posted: Sun Aug 13, 2000 9:04 am Post subject: |
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Glad to hear that you liked the book Wolf. I've said it before and I'll say it again (right now for instance) but THE DEAD ZONE is my favorite King novel. An absolutely fantastic book.
Wolf,
Please let us know what you think of Hubbard's FEAR. It's been sitting on my shelf for years now but I've never picked it up for an actual reading. King has spoken highly of this book so I'm sure it's worth a read but I need to hear more opinions.
Submitted By: Mr Self Affliction |
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| Posted: Tue Aug 15, 2000 9:05 am Post subject: |
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Oh of course, I'll be turning in my usual review, hopefully it can help you some. So far it's been pretty good at setting mood, but I'll save a full review for when I finish. I saw this one several times myself in the bookstores before getting it.
the Wolf
Submitted By: the Wolf |
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| Posted: Wed Aug 16, 2000 8:38 pm Post subject: |
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Please do, Wolf. That was a most excellent review on The Dead Zone, as on the other books you've reviewed here at CASEY's. Actually I feel the ol' man should start sending you checks 
FEAR...popular title - I've read a book by Ronald Kelly by that title. Sort of like a combinaton of THE TALISMAN and IT if we have to go for the eponymous King comparison. And don't even remind me of the awful motion picture FEAR starring Mark Whalberg and Reese Witherspoon.
Submitted By: Fenriz |
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| Posted: Thu Aug 17, 2000 11:25 pm Post subject: |
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Are you reading the L. Ron Hubbard book? I thought it was pretty interesting and read it a King's suggestion. I've read quite a few books on his recommendation alone.
Submitted By: Layback76 |
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| Posted: Fri Aug 18, 2000 3:08 am Post subject: |
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> Please do, Wolf. That was a most excellent
> review on The Dead Zone, as on the other
> books you've reviewed here at CASEY's.
> Actually I feel the ol' man should start
> sending you checks
Hey, tell him that, I could use the extra money. : )
Seriously though, thanks for the compliment, I appreciate it. I might just start grabbing some of the reviews I've made on this board and expanding on them a bit then see about submitting them to the Cabinet for keeps if that's possible.
I'm still going through the Hubbard book Fear, slowly but surely. Just been slowed up a bit by starting a new job and catching up on my other addiction which is movies. Still as soon as I'm done with it, I'll put up another review before starting whatever I read next. So many books, so little time. : )
the Wolf
Submitted By: the Wolf |
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| Posted: Fri Aug 18, 2000 3:55 pm Post subject: |
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> Are you reading the L. Ron Hubbard book? I
> thought it was pretty interesting and read it
> a King's suggestion. I've read quite a few
> books on his recommendation alone.
No, I've not read Hubbard's FEAR.
Yes, King is widely known for being quite generous in blurbing other up and coming talents.
Often a good comment on a book by a writer I admire is what tips me off to buying it as well.
Submitted By: Fenriz |
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