audiobooks

A cast of diverse characters plus a potential Armageddon. Sound like The Stand?

Get set to be disappointed. Dreamcatcher follows suit with today's popular adventure story formula: Flawed but brave hero(ine/s) up against evil must overcome physical and mental pain in order to save the entire human race. And maybe eat some bacon on the way.

What I want in a book is a new idea, or flawless execution of a timeless idea. This book provides neither. Average suspense, average surprise, average conflict. And I feel that King tries to manipulate empathy from his readers by giving the protagonists mental and physical ailments.

There is a wonderful layering of "bad guys," each with their own malevolent agenda. It is impossible to rank one over the rest, for each villan ranges in motivation, insanity, depth, and intensity. The bad part is that the "good guys" are hard to rank too, so it reads somewhat impassively.

But, I have been a die-hard Stephen King fan for 15 years, and I relate to his writing style and voice as if he were an erratic but well-meaning pen pal. Pick it up for some cheap thrills--it is a quick read, and there are a half-dozen glorious little images and asides.

Mr. King's "Dreamcatcher" starts off in dank, dark bar in New England whare Beaver is going throu a mid-life crisis. He goes on hunting trip with his buds Peat, Henry, and car acident vitim (art imitating life for mr. King) Jonesy. They find a man with an alien inside of him. (or s*** weasel as they are called in the book) Before long (achully is it preety long this book drags on like you would not believe) they are in a stuggle to save the planent from aliens that occupy one's body. This plot has never been used before has it? Don't get me wrong King is a great writer. His use of lanuge is only thing that made me continue to read this book. His charecters are very well-drawn aswell. You really get inside thier lives. There is some mysisism in here dealing with a down syndrome kid "seeing the line" and being able to see things others can't. His powers rub off on his friends. Peat has a great sense of direction, Henry can really real with his phsco patants. This book drags on and cantains alot of things and we don't need. What's up with the Rolling Stones song bit. The thing I really did not like about this peice of literature was that it skiped around. It was hard to follow. Not one of King's best. I have no desire to see the movie.

I am a BIG SK fan, I've been reading his books since high-school and I have really praised him when they were great (The Stand, IT) and I've really panned him when they were downright dumb and ununderstandable ( The Tommyknockers). Lately I have had my doubts about my good friend but this book does bring him back to the King of old, and that makes me very happy. The characters are great, the story is fun and exciting and as always with SK the monsters are of the alien AND human kind. I didn't give it 5 stars basically because I know he has done better than this, but this is a good start to going back to vintage King.