Mr. Stephen King, this is a masterpiece. Masterfully crafted in both story and character development. You make us love Johnny. We are routing for him all the way to the end. You give us a real person who does not act like a good-guy, or
a bad-guy, or a one-dimensional character; he is real and flawed, and dealing with a bad hand in his life (with a bit of paranormal influence thrown in).
I finished reading The Dead Zone back in December and the book is constantly on my mind. I see reminders of the characters and the events almost daily. Johnny Smith, the good-guy feeling that nothing will change unless he does something drastic, and that drastic thing is the act of evil. Or maybe it’s Greg Stillson, seen by many as “an engaging clown” but by others as an advocate for the people. Or any number of other characters throughout the story.
This is my second reading of The Dead Zone. I read it thirty years ago when I was in high school and remember loving it then. Now this go around it felt like a brand new read. Maybe it was due to the audio version narrated by James Franco (bravo performance by James by the way - standing-O), or could it be the experiences of my own life that influenced my perceptions this read, or maybe it is the current political environment. The reason does not matter. This is a five star book. And now that I’ve finished The Dead Zone, I’m in a ‘book hole’.
Purchase The Dead Zone here.