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A review by ojtheviking
The Dead Zone by Stephen King
3.75
I'd say this is one of those books that disprove the notion that Stephen King is solely a horror writer. The story is suspenseful at times, yes, and it features some elements that are out of the ordinary. But I wouldn't label this as flat-out horror. And I mean that in a good way. One could even say that King took the concept of a political thriller and put his own spin on it. (And had I started to read this somewhere between 2016 and 2020, the political aspect of this story would feel alarmingly current) But to be frank, even that label alone doesn't quite cover it all, as there are many other elements in the mix as well.
This is a slow-burn story, but it never gets boring. Plenty of room is made for character building, and unlike some of King's other novels, there's not really a plethora of characters that he jumps back and forth between this time, which gives us the opportunity to get even more acquainted with the handful of main characters we are introduced to in this story. And as this story takes place over several years - decades, even - we're basically experiencing the majority of the protagonist's lifetime.
Another thing I really enjoyed, was that as the main plot slowly progressed, there is a "B" story involving a mystery that the protagonist is asked to help solve, thus a mini crime story is told along the way. It's not just something he crammed in there for padding, though; there are numerous situations along the way that establish how powerful the ability that the protagonist has acquired is, and not only does he gain more and more credibility in the eyes of the characters around him that way, but also in the eyes of us, the readers, and the suspense is all the more noticeable because of it, as we're approaching the climax.
Stephen King has a remarkable ability to make it seem like he's on occasion playing with the very structure of storytelling. Not just across genres, but also across styles. Most of this book is fairly straightforward written like a narration, but then there are moments when he makes a shift to the epistolary form, telling parts of the story through personal letters, news articles, and other documents. But it's a trick (for lack of a better word) that works, as these moments add an extra layer of realism to it.
All in all, a very pleasant read, through and through.
This is a slow-burn story, but it never gets boring. Plenty of room is made for character building, and unlike some of King's other novels, there's not really a plethora of characters that he jumps back and forth between this time, which gives us the opportunity to get even more acquainted with the handful of main characters we are introduced to in this story. And as this story takes place over several years - decades, even - we're basically experiencing the majority of the protagonist's lifetime.
Another thing I really enjoyed, was that as the main plot slowly progressed, there is a "B" story involving a mystery that the protagonist is asked to help solve, thus a mini crime story is told along the way. It's not just something he crammed in there for padding, though; there are numerous situations along the way that establish how powerful the ability that the protagonist has acquired is, and not only does he gain more and more credibility in the eyes of the characters around him that way, but also in the eyes of us, the readers, and the suspense is all the more noticeable because of it, as we're approaching the climax.
Stephen King has a remarkable ability to make it seem like he's on occasion playing with the very structure of storytelling. Not just across genres, but also across styles. Most of this book is fairly straightforward written like a narration, but then there are moments when he makes a shift to the epistolary form, telling parts of the story through personal letters, news articles, and other documents. But it's a trick (for lack of a better word) that works, as these moments add an extra layer of realism to it.
All in all, a very pleasant read, through and through.