Product Description

Awake in the dead zone and awake to a nightmare. Recoil in horror as you are touched by a young man cursed with the power to perceive the evil in men’s souls. And whose ability to see into the future forces him into a terrifying confrontation with a charismatic, power-hungry and infinitely dangerous man.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #14883 in Books
• Published on: 2008-01-10
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 608 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
If any of King's novels exemplifies his skill at portraying the concerns of his generation, it's The Dead Zone. Although it contains a horrific subplot about a serial killer, it isn't strictly a horror novel. It's the story of an unassuming high school teacher, an Everyman, who suffers a gap in time--like a Rip Van Winkle who blacks out during the years 1970-75--and thus becomes acutely conscious of the way that American society is rapidly changing. He wakes up as well with a gap in his brain, the "dead zone" of the title. The zone gives him crippling headaches, but also grants him second sight, a talent he doesn't want and is reluctant to use. The crux of the novel concerns whether he will use that talent to alter the course of history.

The Dead Zone is a tight, well-crafted book. When asked in 1983 which of his novels so far was "the best," Stephen King answered, "The one that I think works the best is The Dead Zone. It's the one that [has] the most story." --Fiona Webster

TIME OUT
*'Read this stunning novel and you will feel the hairs on the nape of your neck rise'

Review
'Read this stunning novel and you will feel the hairs on the nape of your neck rise.' (Time Out )

'Ominous and nerve-wracking.' (New York Times )

'The indisputable King of horror.' (Time )

Customer Reviews

The Stephen King book for people who don't like Stephen King
There are always those who do not want to read Stephen King because they simply do not like horror novels. They do not want to read about killer cars or killer clowns, vampires or the walking dead, or any of that fun stuff that many of us absorb like candy on Halloween night. Fortunately, King does right other tales from time to time, which, ironically, tend to get their names changed when they are made into major motion pictures that refrain from prominently mentioning the authors name in their television commercials (which, of course, is how we know when it is a "good" movie of a Stephen King story). Of all those "safe" Stephen King books (relatively speaking), "The Dead Zone" has the virtue of still being fairly representative of King's entire body of work. That is why when people shy away from reading his work, I insist that "The Dead Zone" is the Stephen King book for people who do not want to read Stephen King.

Like King's epic "The Stand," the story of Johnny Smith takes as its genesis the idea of "not the potter, but the potter's clay." Johnny Smith is just a young school teacher out on a date with Sarah Hazlett at the cheap carnival that has come to town. Things are going well for the couple when they stop to play the wheel of fortune and Johnny predicts the number that is going to up next, time and time again. The experience upsets Sarah, but things go from bad to worse: on the way home Johnny's cab is in a horrible accident and he goes into a coma. When he comes out of it five years later he discovers the world has changed: Nixon has resigned, Sarah has married someone else and there are strange new devices called Flair pens. But Johnny has changed too. Now when he touches somebody he can tell them things, such as where they lost their wedding ring, that their kitchen is on fire, that their long lost mother is alive and well. Johnny Smith is an ordinary man with an amazing gift that terrifies not only others but himself. Certainly, this is an engaging premise: if you were a mind reader what would you do?

But what makes this one of King's best novels is that he ups the ante for his reluctant hero. At a chance meeting during the New Hampshire primary Johnny shakes hands with Greg Stillson, a political thug who is running a low brow populist campaign. In that moment Johnny knows, he absolutely KNOWS that Stillson is going to become President of the United States and start a nuclear war. "The Dead Zone" now becomes about the fact that with great power comes great responsibility as Johnny has to convince himself not only that he should act, but that doing so would be any good. The narrative/argumentative structure of this novel is one of King's best as events concerning Johnny's power lead him step by step to his fate. This is a compelling tale, well told (with the exception of an unnecessary mention of "Carrie"), and more than adequate evidence of why King is one of the best selling authors on the planet.

One of King's most unforgettable, well-crafted novels
I've always had sort of weird feelings about The Dead Zone. It is a fantastic novel, yet it has never rated among my personal King favorites. Maybe it's because I envision the story taking place in a cold, harsh world, devoid of color and light. This really isn't a horror novel at all, so there are really no thrills and chills to be found until the few exhilarating moments that make up the climax of this pretty depressing story. The Dead Zone is one of King's most accessible novels, however, and it exemplifies so many of this great author's strengths. First and foremost, the man knows how to tell a story - no one does it better, in my opinion. King's magic gift for characterization is also on display here, as John Smith, a thoroughly "Everyman" protagonist comes across as quite real and exceedingly human; he's a truly ordinary man placed in the most extraordinary of conditions. King truly does the character right in the form of a truly masterful conclusion, as well.

If you could go back in time to 1932 and meet Adolf Hitler, would you kill him? That's the question that ultimately comes to consume Johnny's mind as this story nears its end. Would you sacrifice yourself for the lives of so many other people, virtually all of them strangers?

John Smith is just an ordinary fellow; he's got a job he enjoys, he's fallen in love with a good woman, and he's as happy as he's ever been. Then The Accident happens, and Johnny wakes up to learn that his world will never be the same. He's been in a coma for well over four years, and he faces a painful road to recovery both mentally and physically. His girl has married someone else, his mother has gone off the deep end of religious zeal, he faces painful, scarring surgeries in the brutal months ahead, and he really struggles to find a reason for living in such a harsh new world. He has gained something from the awful experience, however, and it's both a blessing and a curse. At times, he can see the future just by touching a person or an object. It's a frightening power, one that alienates him even further from those around him. When word gets out, he finds himself deluged with pleas for help from people all over the country. All he wants is to live an ordinary life again, but his psychic powers make this impossible. His mother believes God has special plans for Johnny, and in the end he thinks she may be right. He alone, as things turn out, can save his country and maybe the entire world from devastating future destruction wrought by a madman.

Smith is one of King's most sympathetic characters. He's one of us, really, and we suffer along with him as he starts life anew. His physical problems are horrendous, but they pale in comparison to his emotional loss. He's lost his girl, yet he can't even blame her for thinking he would never recover and thus starting her life anew in someone else's arms. He doesn't know what to think or do about this strange power he has developed; it scares people, and it scares him - yet he knows it allows him to do some good things for people. He also knows he can't run away from it. The problem is that no one really believes his predictions until they have proven themselves to be accurate. That is why he has to make the most heroic, most gut-wrenching decision of his life completely on his own.

John Smith is a fabulous character, and The Dead Zone is a truly masterful modern novel. While some of the subtext of the story is rooted in the 1970s, this really is a book for all seasons. It will never make my list of King's top five novels, but it's one of the most compelling stories you'll ever read.

The best
King has never really managed to hit this level since. Definitely his best work (and the first King novel I bought). A brilliant conceived and developed story, bringing the main character firmly into focus. The ending enough to bring a lump to your throat. (Ignore the low budget Dino De Laurentis interpretation, this is the real McCoy.) Check out Firestarter and Christine and possibly IT, then leave it at that.