Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Dead Zone by Stephen King

12 reviews

joshkiba13's review against another edition

emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

James Franco did great with the audiobook, though I had to accelerate his slow reading to 1.30 speed. Really interesting premise, and I really enjoyed the 3rd person omniscient view where we got to jump from character to character, sometimes even within a scene. And I liked that some of the scenes involved bystanders watching Johnny, the main character. I've noticed that King often goes for a slow, slow burn, and this book was no exception. That said I remained interested all along and cared about the characters. The only part that bothered me was

Johnny's vision of the rapist while in the act of abusing a child. Far too graphic for me

.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Medical trauma, and Rape

Moderate: Gore, Suicide, and Pedophilia

Minor: Death of parent

jenniferbbookdragon's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Reading this 45 years after publication,  I can say it made my heart pound. Stephen King somehow managed to anticipate our political future,  and create a compelling story of the nightmare of knowing too much. His hero is cursed with an ability to read people and their pasts and futures. Others don't believe him, and he is driven to act.
I appreciated the complexity of John and the important people in his life. King takes the reader in quickly and doesn't let go. I read this in 2 days because I couldn't put it down. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Death, Grief, Medical content, Sexual assault, and Violence

Moderate: Alcohol, Cursing, Car accident, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Gun violence, Murder, and Terminal illness

an early scene establishing the villian involves the killing of a dog

itsbahb's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Rape, and Sexual violence

Minor: Animal death and Death of parent

seeker42's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Murder, Violence, Death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Medical trauma, Child abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Suicide, Rape, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Chronic illness, Sexual content, Medical content, Car accident, and Blood

Minor: Self harm, Alcohol, Cancer, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Cursing

thenageler's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Suicide

Moderate: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Murder, Animal cruelty, Chronic illness, Rape, Cursing, Animal death, Medical content, Gun violence, Infidelity, Child death, Car accident, Sexual violence, and Death of parent

rosereadsalot's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Alcohol, Chronic illness, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Violence, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Animal cruelty, Blood, Cancer, Car accident, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Medical trauma, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Stalking, and Animal death

travisppe's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Classic King romp

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Death, Medical trauma, Car accident, Child abuse, Death of parent, Dementia, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Murder, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Terminal illness, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Grief, Gun violence, Chronic illness, Confinement, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Suicide, Medical content, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Violence, War, and Blood

Minor: Ableism, Cancer, Drug use, Cursing, and Alcohol

flamesocks's review

dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Racism, Racial slurs, Blood, Car accident, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, and Suicide

kell_xavi's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

4.0

Stephen King writes a story of belief and desperation, class, politics, and disability. I liked Johnny Smith, and I liked King’s elaboration on how fear can manifest in religious obsession, in trust of the strangest authority when the working class is neglected and unheard for too long. I liked the setting in the 1970’s and quiet northeastern states, both far away places to me, made familiar by these pages. The first third is often slow, creaking along and introducing a number of scattered points that disappear and come back later (I forgot who kicked the dog, what happened to the waitress, what state we were in, a few times—made more difficult by the audiobook, where I couldn’t flip back easily). But once Sarah visits and then Johnny gets a call from Castle Rock, the story has more life. 

Johnny goes from a smart, likeable small town teacher to a haunted, sick man in the ten years this story covers; King articulates the internal pain and shame of his disability, coupled with the curiosity and hope and anger of those who encounter it, very well. I was on his side the whole way through, because he remains intelligent, considerate, the whole way through, even as he loses his ability to be part of the same reality as those around him. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident and Terminal illness

Moderate: Ableism, Child death, Medical trauma, Murder, Rape, Violence, and Suicide

Minor: Miscarriage, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, War, and Misogyny

agent_of_chaos's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, and Suicide

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Police brutality, and Rape