About this title: An ordinary man--Johnny Smith--wakes from a coma to discover that his mind has changed in an extraordinary fashion. He has the gift of prescience and must decide to what lengths he will go, based on his knowledge of the future, to protect humanity. Many regard this novel as King's best.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Viking Books
Date Published: 1979
ISBN-13:9780670260775ISBN:0670260770
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 448 p. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Viking Books
Date Published: 1979
ISBN-13:9780670260775ISBN:0670260770
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 448 p. read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Signet Book
Date Published: 1980
ISBN-13:9780451119612ISBN:0451119614
Description: Fair. No dust jacket as issued. Signed by previous owner. Nice soft cover, lightly read, shelf wear to cover, light creases on spine, light slant to book, light aging, stk #2350s6. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Viking Books
Date Published: 1979
ISBN-13:9780670260775ISBN:0670260770
Description: Good. No dust jacket. Nice hard cover, lightly read, light shelf wear to cover, stk #1117n9. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 448 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
Description: Good. 0451126661 100% guaranteed. Good shape overall with a tight spine. creased spine, creased cover, bent corners on cover, clean pages, yellowing pages, and normal shelf wear. We work hard to make you happy. read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Signet, New York
Date Published: 1980
ISBN-13:9780451093387ISBN:0451093380
Description: Fair. 401 pp. spine creasing, some tape wrapped from back to front covers across spine. edge wear; First Signet Printing; John Smith awakens from an interminable coma with an accursed power-the power to see the future and the terrible fate awaiting mankind in...the dead zone. read more
"I must say out of all of King's Books I have read; this one started out slow, and didn't have a good ending. There were parts in the book where I wanted to just find King, and punch him in the face, and other parts where I thought were very well written. By the time I finished the book I I wanted to punch him in the face again. Overall, it makes for a good read though. For some reason it kept me interested enough to read the whole thing. However, I would not go out, and buy this book like I did. I would just go out to your local library if you want to read this one, to get it."
"Not my favorite Stephen King book. It wasn't bad, but just not good.
I think that part of it is that I just didn't care for Johnny, the main character. Usually I really fall for Stephen King's characters and am totally sold. Not this time. I don't know why, but he just seemed really distant.
I have to say, though, that the book was thought provoking. In the start of the book, Johnny has an accident and goes into a coma. When he wakes up he can tell people's future and past by touching them. He is then faced with the question: If you can see the future and it's bad, should you do whatever you can to change it? Even if it means risking your life?
I think that is an interesting thing to think about, and him struggling though this moral issue is what saved the book for me.
I think when he was younger, Stephen King's issues with religion were a little over-the-top. A lot of his earlier books have people in them that "get into religion" and are just total nut jobs. That happens in this book too with Johnny's mom. I always wish that he'd provide a foil character... someone who didn't take religion to the extreme, but instead lead normal, balanced lives. I guess that's not as good of a story though, huh?
Anyway, 3 stars for this one. Don't make this your first Stephen King book, but if you are a fan, I'd recommend reading it- if for no other reason but to see how this book ties to his other books. Part of it takes place in Castle Rock, after all! :)"
"I have noted in several other reviews how much I admire Stephen's King's imagination and writing style. As much as I enjoyed The Shining, I found The Dead Zone a welcome change from the evil spooks in the former. Instead of ghosts, The Dead Zone focuses on clairvoyance and all the possibilities of that mixed blessing in someone who never asked for it. And, of course, King is a master at creating vivid and interesting characters. Hero Johnny Smith suffers a head injury in an auto accident that puts him in a coma for five years. When he awakens, he has the unenviable gift of being able to touch someone and envision secrets of his/her past, present or future. This can result in happy outcomes, as in the instance when he touches his nurse, has a psychic vision of the fire raging in her house at that moment, and tells her there is still time to save her trapped daughter. Johnny's new talent also helps the local police find a serial killer. When the subplot about a corrupt up-and-coming politican intersects Johnny's ability to see into the future, the story gets really suspenseful and creative. The film version starring Christopher Walken is also very good. Walken, though a little less creepy in this role than he typically is in other films, still plays King's Johnny with just the right balance of sweetness and bewildered desperation in a young man who really just wants his life back."
"I have put this one off for too long, but I finally got around to it. And I loved it. I stand in awe of the way King draws the reader in. Stephen King does what all good writers do and that's care about what is going to happen next. But he goes beyond other writers in just making you want to enjoy the trip and have it never end. That is what makes him the best.
Stephen King is great at manipulating the reader's emotions. He makes you love the characters you are suppose to love and hate the ones you are suppose to hate. John Smith was a great lead character and like all King leads I understand why he does what he does, his reactions to events makes perfect rational sense. He is probably one of the greatest tragic characters King has ever wrote. He has an amazing talent, but you really sympathize with how it is really a curse. Most people think they would want to know the future, but after this book you may rethink that.
The only complaint I have is very minor, I want to say the book lost steam at the end, but that isn't true. In the end the great climax did not seem like such of a much, it is almost too abstract. But I don't regret a moment of this journey. I highly recommend it to everyone. The only reason why it doesn't get five stars is it is written by Stephen King and as good as the book was there are other King books that blow this one out of the water. If it was written by John Q. Public I would have given it five, and while that may be unfair believe me there are more Stephen King books I would give five stars to than any other author."
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