Now available for the first time in a mass-market premium paperback edition—the #1 New York Times bestseller of a reluctant clairvoyant who must weigh his options when he suddenly sees the terrible future awaiting mankind. When Johnny Smith was six-years-old, head trauma caused by a bad ice-skating accident left him with a nasty bruise on his forehead and, from time to time, those … those hunches…infrequent but accurate snippets of things to come. But it isn’t until Johnny’s a grown man—now having survived a horrifying auto injury that plunged him into a coma lasting four-and-a-half years—that his special abilities really push to the force. Johnny Smith comes back from the void with an extraordinary gift that becomes his life’s curse…presenting visions of what was and what will be for the innocent and guilty alike. But when he encounters a ruthlessly ambitious and amoral man who promises a terrifying fate for all humanity, Johnny must find a way to prevent a harrowing predestination from becoming reality.
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40 years on, still a classic, still capable of tugging at the heart strings, and Stilson-as-Trump makes it current all over again. I loved it.
At its heart, The Dead Zone isn’t a horror novel at all. It’s a love story, a bitter-sweet tale of a love that might have been. Johnny’s relationship with Sarah runs through the middle of the story, the glue that holds Johnny together when everything else seems bleak and hopeless.
I think everybody knows the plot – Johnny wakes from a long coma with the ability to see the future – and what he sees is bleak – unless a single man can be taken out of the equation early. The moral implications, the ‘would you go back and kill Hitler if you could’ argument drives the story along.
Several themes that would recur in later King novels turn up here – the roads not traveled, a good man trying to do the right thing against seemingly impossible odds, and the corruption of the soul that comes with power. But it is Johnny, the broken man, that gets our whole attention. He’s a fully realised individual, one of King’s great strengths, and we feel his pain and confusion, firstly after the accident, and then, with increasing hopelessness and horror as his ‘gift’ demands its price.
I first read this on its initial publication, 40 years ago now, and I wasn’t sure about going back to it. I was worried that my feelings for it might have been colored by repeat viewings of the Cronenberg movie, and also by the somewhat lacklustre TV series from a few years back. I needn’t have worried. As ever, King pulled me in, and I got through it in two sittings with just a coffee break in the middle.
I believe I enjoy it more now than I did then – back in ’79 I was only a lad of 21 and I didn’t really identify with Johnny’s lost years, lost love or fear for the future. An older, more cynical me saw much more of myself in Johnny than I did then, and I do believe it’s risen up the ranks in my list of favorite King novels to somewhere near the top five.
Stilton is a great, slimy, villain in counterpoint to Johnny’s inate goodness, Sarah is as sweet as I remembered her, Johnny’s sacrifices tugged at the heartstrings, and the grace note at the end at the graveside did something it hadn’t managed before – this old cynical fart had a wee tear in his eye as he put the book down.
Five out of five stars, and I definitely won’t wait another 40 years before reading it again.
What would you do to make the world a better place?
That’s the abstract question King asks of his readers from page one right up until the end, when he gives his readers a sense of extra insight in the epistolary inserts from news stories, letters and such.
I love it when King does this with is fictional news stories. He also did it with Carrie and a few other novels, showing the aftermath of a major situation, the apex ending of his novel, to give the reader a sense of realism that bites just a little harder than the rest.
The series of events that Johnny Smith goes through once his power evolves over his life, and life after his coma, is a surreal and truly remarkable journey. I’ve been a longtime critic of King in recent years, but these novels he put out in the ‘70s and ‘80s were top of the line.
Although there aren’t many people that have not read the book (or seen the movie[s]), I still won’t go into much detail so the plot unfolds in a natural and shocking way as it did for me.
Having read this book years ago, I am writing this review as a postmortem, not a new experience.
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’.
One of my first read Stephen King books. Thoroughly enjoyed it. This was back when Stephen King books were so interesting and scary, you could stay up all night trying to finish. Highly recommend this book.
This is part of my Stephen King listening project. I haven’t read this book in a very long time and there were a lot of parts I didn’t remember. It’s a good book, kind of a slow burn. James Franco is the narrator and he does a great job, he really is acting, not just narrating. His slow approach works very well here.
I really built myself up for this book. In King’s memoir On Writing, he mentions The Dead Zone quite a bit. So, between that, and the fact that James Franco is the audible narrator, I really had my head and heart set on this being, like, the best King book of all time. It WAS good, but not THAT good. I’m a bit let down. I probably would have given it a higher rating if I hadn’t built myself up so much. Nonetheless, it is what it is. Next I’ll be watching the movie, so hopefully it’ll be good enough to redeem the story’s standing as a whole.
In The Dead Zone there’s a main character who is pretty much dealt a double edged sword at every turn. His dad is pretty mellow and cool, but his mom is an extreme – overly religious whackjob. Then, the love of his life Sarah, is, well, promising at first but eventually a let down as well. His name is Johnny Smith, and after a horrific car accident is given the gift of psychic abilities. Yet, depending on the eye of the beholder, it isn’t a gift at all so much as a very heavy burden.
The book starts out bouncing from one character’s story to another, as many of King’s stories do. It highlights Sarah’s dating experiences, up until she’s graduated and meets Johnny, a fellow teacher. They hit it off and on their last date – the night of his accident – she sees a strange side of him as he’s gambling. He seems to be able to tell what’s going to happen at the county fair and winds up winning a bunch of money. This indicates inclings into his soon to be massive abilities. That night his cab crashes. He’s in his coma for four years. During this time Sarah moves on, gets married and has a kid. His mom spirals down her religious extremity hill. And, there’s a killer on the loose to which his abilities will soon tie him to.
Once Johnny wakes, he has visions whenever someone or something of significance touches him. He can see the past and future of these people. He winds up having dozens of people try to seek him out for the sake of both criticism and selfish agenda. He saves many many lives along the way. He also carries the weight of his gift with humility and a level headed approach. I didn’t see the end coming at all, and a few of the bad guys along the way are disgusting and intense. I feel like there was just too much… too many things happen. King could have ended it with the second massive event and left a major chunk with a ridiculous political figure out of it completely and the book would have been much better.
This was the first Stephen King’s book I read as a teenager. Recently, I gave it a second read and, have to admit, still captivating.
The Dead Zone by Stephen King is one of my favorites of his. It’s two stories in one, presented clearly and linked by a troubled man who, after an accident, finds he can foresee the futures of anyone he touches. This proves to be a burden he can bear only with great struggle. Then one day he shakes the hand of a lying populist politician – yes, I know – and sees a nuclear holocaust if this man becomes President. What choices and decisions this leads to are agonizing and remarkable, and his actions begs us to wonder what each reader would do. Great book, strongly recommended. / Gene Stewart
I loved this book!
enjoyed
I love this book and it is probably my favorite Stephen King. Great character development, flawless plotting and pacing, and some super-creepy moments. One of the few that I reread periodically.
Loved Stephen King’s earlier books so much more.
I have a love/hate relationship with King’s work, mostly hate, but then this book is always on my top 10 list. It is hands down his best.
This is one of my favorite Stephen King books.
This is one of my favorite Stephen King novels. Really keeps you on the edge of your seat while you read very, very late into the night.
One of my favorite books. I fell in love with Johnny and his tragedy became my tragedy.
More relevant in today’s environment than is comfortable. Terrifying.
Great Stephen King novel, per usual, Although I wish the ending were more satisfying
I think this one of the best King books I’ve read. I found it fascinating!
Not my favourite from King, but still a very interesting story even though it’s way too long for this particular story. Salem’s Lot is longer I think but that book feels right.