The Dead Zone by Stephen King
1979 / 515 pgs Science Fiction Thriller

When I started this book, I thought it was going to go in a different direction. I did not research the book, figuring with ESP and The Dead Zone, it would be a horror novel. The assumption was a significant error
on my behalf. Additionally, it took a different turn than I was expecting. At the beginning of the book Johnny Smith takes his girl on a date to the fair. They are heading out at the close of the fair when a Wheel of Fortune game is closing and hoping to get a few last bucks; the hosts ask them to take a chance. While playing, Sarah notices Johnny has an odd look when the wheel goes around and
lands on his bet. She starts to get sick, and Johnny takes her back to her place. Then, catching a cab home, he is in an auto accident and put into a coma for the next four ½ years. This is the first sixty pages of the book. 

           I honestly thought that the next chapter would be Johnny waking up and rediscovering everything that he missed for many pages. Including Sarah getting married and having a kid. Using his ESP powers to take out the husband and get Sarah back, which fails in the end horribly. Wrong! The next fifty-five pages
are what is going on around him and how it impacts his parents and Sarah. His mom is a bible-thumping evangelical that will do and believe anything that will bring her son out of his coma. In these pages, we are introduced to the two main baddies that will further develop the plot.

            Page 115, Johnny awakens and then joins the world as he and they discover his power of
clairvoyant visions. Johnny, when he touches someone or something, sometimes has visions of what is about to happen. For him, it is a curse, as naturally, people either think of him as a snake-oil salesman or a gift from God that can answer the mysteries from their lives.  Many thinks of him as a freak and do
not want him to touch them as they do not want him to see anything about him. For many visions, there are many things he cannot see, he says those are in The Dead Zone.

           
Eventually, the plot builds as Johnnys asked to help a serial killer case. Then a vision after touching a politician that shows they become President of the United States will cause the U.S. to go into a Nuclear War. The philosophical, moral question asked, if you could go back to 1932 Germany, would you kill
Hitler? From here, the plot twists start, and one can only hope that Johnny makes the right decision for himself and the fate of millions. 

            The Dead Zone does not grip you like It. It has an easy pace that makes it a challenge to figure what is happening, and then page 458 makes the reader think….no way. From here, you must finish it because you cannot believe that King would do this to Johnny. It is the classic build-up that leaves you in suspense until the climactic moment. 

      Would I recommend The Dead Zone? It’s not on my OH YEAH list like The Shining or It. It is a steady read, not horrible or boring. It is not horrific like The Eyes of the Dragon.   I would say sure. However, it is not on my King recommendation list.  

Enjoy a good cup of coffee and a good book!

Lopaka