A review by asourceoffiction
The Dead Zone by Stephen King

dark emotional tense slow-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

3.5

As is pretty standard for King, this delves deep into the human side of the horror with incredible levels of detail that would be mundane if handled by anyone else. In fact, it almost does in this case. Then, for about the last third of the book I couldn't put it down and was completely swept up in the story.

Johnny's journey is pretty heartbreaking, and there's a sense of inevitability to it all that only worsens as the book goes on. His moral burden and the way he's treated by those around him are enough to leave him no real choice in his actions, and there's such a sadness in it. He's one of King's inherently good characters, an easy man to get behind. But as usual that makes the emotion hit so much harder.

I love how this ties into the real political situation in the US in the '70s, although I suspect a lot of the nuance and relevance has been lost over time. More thriller than horror, I'm not sure it'll stick with me the way a lot of King's other books have done. But for me, Stephen King on a bad day is still a pretty darn good read.
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