All the Campbell information is now in the Longbottom paper. Yay! This weekend I’m off to Minneapolis, so I’m not sure how much I’ll get done while I’m up there. I’m game to work on paper a bit, but if not, it’ll wait.
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Book group the second is this coming Monday, June 9th. I’d like to say that I’d be live blogging with Stephen King on hand, but I didn’t get around to asking him if he was up for it. 🙂 However, as usual, before I get the group’s opinions posted, I’m going to mention a few things about The Dead Zone.
I’ve read two of King’s other books: The Stand, which sort of stalled at the ending for me, and It which I really dug until we hit the gratuitous kid sex that really came from no where. I am pleased to report that The Dead Zone delivers what the other two books didn’t.
The Dead Zone is more about human relationships than anything else, with a liberal sprinkling of psychic phenomena thrown in. John Smith’s ability to see the future and the fall out in his life because of it is rendered convincingly and realistically. Smith as a central character is likable, an intellectual every man. I like him especially because he is a teacher. Perhaps the scariest part of the book is King’s concentration on hospitals and Smith’s recovery from a coma, more effective because this could be a real nightmare, not something that is conjured from the fantastic.
The book works well on the human level of relationships, not just focusing on Smith’s changes, but also Smith’s father and the woman he left behind before the accident. The supernatural edge keeps the reader captivated as well. Add King’s brutal Stillson to the mix, and you see the potential for a future America run by a mad man, which has surprising relevance in today’s political climate. Even though the book takes place in the 70s, the issues of political policy and responsibility speak well to this generation.
I’ve heard others say it might be King’s best book. Maybe not, but it’s worth a look. There’s something in it that speaks to others–it has inspired a movie and a television series. King is no literary genius in this one, but a simple story that focuses on human beings in the midst of so much change is worth your time and effort.
