Dreamcatcher: A Novel

I can't call this book a typical King's book. The book discription can mislid you to think there's a connection to "It" but it doesn't. the book is about dealing with the past and the present. the book is about a trip gone bad when everyting goes wrong. But in my opinion the book is about King's fighting his own demones. Like in every king's book you can find a character who resamble himself ,and here one of the characters had a resent accidant (like King) and by that his diffrent from everyone els on the planet (to know why you have to read the book , I hate spoilers). so if you want to read somthing more then the ordinary King's book. The reason i gave this just 4 star is that i hate aliens.

First I have to admit to not having read a Stephen King book in a long while. It was the promise and eventual failure of the Dark Tower series that burned me out. However my interest was piqued by the professional reviews that proclaimed the old Stehpen King (Pet Semetary, Cujo, The Stand, Misery, etc.) was back. I truly loved reading those horror novels and was looking for more of the same with Dreamcatcher.
The first 200 pages did seem vintage King, however afterwards it became a "B"-grade science fiction movie.
I like King best when he merely touches the boundaries of the true horror central to his work. Revealing bits and pieces over the course of the novel and leaving we the reader to guess as to what is out there in the woods or under the bed. This is what keeps me awake at night in mindnumbing suspense. For me the revelation came much too quickly and therefore the adreline producing suspense was abandoned early on.
Let me know when vintage King is truly back.
Cheers!

Dreamcatcher was another one of the great works of the lengendary horror story writer Steven King. In this book we are introduced to many interesting characters named Pete, Douglas a.k.a "Duddits", Beaver, and Jonesy. Who have been best friends since childhood. These characters also share a special telepathic ability that enables them all to see into the future.

The story begins when two friends decide to take a weekend vacation in the alaksan wilderness and stay in a large wooden cabin. Little did they know this wooden vastness is a quarantined spot for a mysterious disease that has taken a large toll on the population of humans and animals alike. Little do they know, that this disease is caused by mimicking aliens that attempt to take over/destroy earth.

The main character Pete, changes to Duddits(a mentally challenged adult) by the end of the story. Another character is a head strong military Colonel Abraham Curtis that believes anyone and everyone that shows the slightest symtoms of anyone in a 15 mile radius of the quarantined area deserved to be killed and not even considered for treatment for medical professionals. Also, these unfortunate people could make contact with family members even by phone conservations. Instead they were trapped like pigs waiting to be slaughtered.

I would say the theme of the book is to...'keep your friends but your enemies closer'. I would reccommend this book to be read by mature audiences.(12+)And also for people who love exciting,horror novels.

Maybe I've read too many Stephen King novels over the years but the end of this book was just too predictable. I won't spoil it for the rest of you by giving it away but you'll probably figure it out about halfway. That wouldn't have bothered me so much if the narrative in between the beginning in the end had been better. There were some good parts but the book just didn't seem to flow like his other ones. If you've never read Stephen King before (and if not, what planet are you from?) do not start with this one

Stephen King is back and better than ever with Dreamcatcher. Not only does he re-enter the world of horror like only he can do, he's also woven several mysteries into this incredible new novel. And, there's NOTHING like Mr. King's humor - subtle, but always, always there. I shuddered at the description of Jonsey's accident - obviously a throw back to the author's near brush with death, and all the little clues only avid King fans will recongise are strewn through. I can't begin to say how happy I am that he's back!

I've been reading horror/fantasy since i learned how to read, and i recognize the goodness when i see it. Suffice to say today is Monday, i bought the book on saturday and i finished it just in time to get to work this morning. My hours are shot, but god, i'll never think of bowel movements the same way again. Yes its cartoonish at times (Kurtz is a hilariously freaky character), yes some of the characters arent realised as fully as they should have been, but as far as pacing and storytelling goes, this is easily one of King's finest displays of the art. From the point McCarthy steps out of the woods the story is intense and in your face on all its separate fronts and subplots, and it doesnt let up until the climax. Where King has veered between telling too much and telling too little in the past, for Dreamcatcher he's found the balance and the prose never reaches the point of tedium or sloppiness. I havent had this smooth a reading experience in years. Highly recommended for all fans of alien horror and psychological drama, though King's ruthlessness might be tough for some to swallow. He builds sympathetic characters and slaughters them in downright obscene ways within pages. For me however, this is part of what keeps King's horror fiction fresh and surprising. Two thumbs up, way up!

Comparing this book solely with King's own works, I'd say this one rates about a C+. Not even close to the sweeping intensity of his most powerful books like "The Stand" or the heart-wrenching emotionality of "Bag of Bones," "Dreamcatcher" is still a worthy read. While disjointed and unfocused at times, it is still stunningly paced as only King's works can be. Yes, it feels hurried and a bit self-indulgent, but even at his laziest Stephen King's raw talent gives this book enough to sustain it and make it better than 99.99% of what passes for horror or dark fantasy on the literary market.

I've read the majority of Mr. King's books and have always enjoyed his page-turning style even when the story itself did not seem up-to-par. "Dreamcatcher" really kept my interest up for the full length and it is great to see Mr. King still able to write with his famous vigor after the terrible accident. One thing I really liked about "Dreamcatcher" was the ending. I have sometimes felt disappointed with Stephen's endings that often show the evil losing to the story's hero(es), but hinting that the evil has actually survived and moved on. Geez, my tongue itches.

This is, hands down, Stephen King's worst work since "The Dark Half". Formerly a diehard fan, I have now vowed to never again spend my time with a new novel by Stephen King.
Although shorter than some of his most recent work, this book rambles from page one, going on tangents that make no sense and have no apparent destination. The characters are bland, except for Duddits who can be best described as sickly sweet and who utters not one understandable word through the entire book. Every line of his dialouge (Ay ooo-eevviie-ooo ood urn ook) is immediately repeated (so as to be translated) by another character.
The author seems to have gotten bored with his premise two thirds of the way through the book. What starts out as an alien presence overtaking the (questionable) hero's body is suddenly revealed to be some kind of time-warp mind trick which proves the hero to be in control of the alien, rather than vice-versa. And how do the good guys escape and save the world? Not by a clever turn of plot or inguenuity on their (or the author's) part, let me assure you. It seems as if the writer has befuddled himself nearly as much as he bufuddles the readers and the good guys triumph by a conference call of minds and (from what I could tell) imagine the alien to death. All orchastrated by the ever sweet Duddits, (gag) whose dying words are "I ove oo, Eenney" (I love you, Henry.) Perhaps that line would be better untranslated.
I'm sorry Steve. It's been a long and wonderful relationship but you've changed. I have to leave you now, and keep myself company with memories of the good times--those published prior to 1992.

I was drawn inescapably into the tale that King told. The four life-long friends, Beave, Jonesy, Henry and Peter as well as their adopted pal "Duddits". The story is so multi-faceted it was a reader's amusement park.
I was especially impressed by Mr. King's exploration of the mind itself and our own perception of who/what we as beings really are.
The villains, Mr. Gray and Kurtz were particularly odious.
The pacing of the story was high-speed and Stephen masterfully employed his cliff-hanger technique from chapter to chapter building my expectations to a frenzy then always satisfying them.
Anyone who dares dismiss Stephen King's "Dreamcatcher" as mainstream fare has obviously not read it. This is a book that will gain him legions more fans.
(...)

I eagerly anticipated the new King book as I always do when one of his books comes out. Sadly, "Dreamcatcher" was just not up to par. The characters are fairly interesting, but like "Gerald's Game" and "The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon" there just isn't enough to keep the reader interested.
I felt that this book had a lot of potential, but was completely destroyed by rambling writing and tedious attempts to gross the reader out.
There was so much more that he could have explored about aliens, but instead this book reads like a pale imitation of "the regulators".

ultimately the story is about four friends from derry, maine all coping with growing up. there are a host of subplots including alien invasion and the extraordinary bond the four friends have with one down syndrome kid named douglas cavell (I DUDDITS)
the writing i think is top notch and the character development and interplay is excellent. the story is an interesting one. four friends who meet and save douglas cavell, a down sydrome kid, from the humiliation at the hands of a bully. from that moment on life is diferent for the kids. they can "read" each others thoughts. as they get older and life becomes more complicated they all battle their own demons.
then during a weekend trip to their old favorite place "the hole in the wall" intervenes fate via an alien infested older man named mccarthy. the strory from here gets very interesting. i liked it alot but felt that it dragged on a but far and too long in spots. the movie is good and i enjoyed reading the book a second time to see what the movie skipped over. there was a lot of details, as always with movies, that were left out. the comradarie around the friends and the relationships between all the friends and the aliens and our hero were top notch. i felt such a warmth and drawn into the circle with these men. the problem i had with this book is that there was so much going on and so many details and subplots that my mind became tired from reading after a short while. there was so much going on and so many subplots that the main story seemed to drag.

I've read every Stephen King book. No lie, every damn one of them. And if you'd asked me a week ago which one I thought was the worst, I might not have been able to immediately choose; even the really bad ones, like The Tommyknockers and The Dark Half, gave me some amount of pleasure. Now, if you asked me, I'd immediately tell you: Dreamcatcher. It's the worst thing King has ever written.
Some think King's gift is in creating horror: not so. King's real strength has always been in his creation of real, interesting, identifiable characters; it's only through placing such fully-fleshed characters in jeopardy that the horror works. The characters in Dreamcatcher are flimsy sketches at best, carbon copies of other, better King characters at worst. There's the Jokester (who, in one of King's dumbest inspirations ever, is named "The Beaver"), the Alcoholic, the Sucidal Depressive, and the One Who Got Hit By A Car. I never once cared about any of them; I hardly even cared enough to keep track of which one was which. I was rooting for them all to be killed off hundreds of pages before the conclusion of this bloated, tedious book.
There are so many elements of other King novels rehashed in Dreamcatcher, King should sue himself for copyright infringement. You've got the aliens of Tommyknockers, the alcoholism of The Shining, the lone infected man who almost dies before infecting everyone else, straight out of The Stand, the premonitions of The Shining and The Dead Zone, the childhood flashback structure of It, the central evil figure who speaks in flippant colloquialisms, like The Stand to name just one, the out-of-control military man, the struggle against debilitating physical injury, the beatific "special" character, the battle for control of one's mind... King has re-used themes and elements often, but never have they felt so tired and hackneyed as in Dreamcatcher.
The central conceit of the novel, Jonesy's creation of an office space in his mind, in which to hide from the alien presence, is exceedingly stupid and poorly executed. And the dropping of Omens of Great Import or Hints of Past Heroics at regular intervals, purely to give the reader an incentive to keep slogging forward, is insulting. There are so many, spaced so regularly, that they completely fail to work as foreshadowing; they are merely signposts of the withholding of information, an entirely different animal, base and wretched and unworthy of King.
Dreamcatcher proves, above all else, that King desperately needs an editor who's not afraid to use his red pen liberally. King can still write successfully in ultra-long form, as he proved in Insomnia and Wizard & Glass; it's just that he has become so much better as writing short works, like The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, The Green Mile's installments, and the Low Men in Yellow Coats segment of Hearts in Atlantis, that it's a shame he seems to feel compelled to stretch things that would BARELY work at short story length (Desperation, Dreamcatcher, Bag of Bones) to a hyper-extended six, seven, or eight hundred pages.

I snapped Dreamcatcher up the minute it it the shops because i, unlike most other king readers have not lost faith in him due to his lack of literary success recently. So when i saw Dreamcatcher i was ready to be enthralled. The book didn't dissapoint me but neither did it excite me in the ways that many of kings earlier works have done. Although the story is rather cliched in itself the twists that take part within the psychological element of the tale are riveting. Also the clear definition between good and evil is a refreshing change in a literary world where the new gfad seems to be to blend characters into a mix of both bad and good. The real gem of the story though is the depiction of the relationship between the boys and their disabled friend duddits. Although slightly naive when discussing their childhood; the love that the men share in their adulthood is truly heartbreaking to read. I am not being pretentious when i say that the book nearly made me cry in several places. In this story king has tried to recapture the golden youth that he found so well in IT. He has not managed to truly find the same quality that he did with that book partly because he tries to make the childhood seem TOO perfect, it is still a heartwarming try however. The book is a definite read if you are a king fan, however if you are not then i suggest that you begin with a simpler book such as geralds game or misery because the surrealism within this tale, as in the shining can be hard to grasp at times. The book is darker than a lot of kings work, perhapsh due to his accident which is obviously prevelant in the tale, but there are several undertones which break the grimness of the talke and truly do make you want to live your childhood to the fullest, or live it again. The book is a horror story but like it, the horror is only the part of the tale which surrounds the real story, that of a friendship. It is this friendship and the trials that the friends go through which really make the book stand out. I warn you though, if you read this book, proceed to reading IT. You will find that Dreamcather is merely a little brother to the larger work.

This is classic King at his finest- spooky and other-worldly, hearkening back to IT and The Dead Zone, while keeping a level of the new-found spirituality that his more recent works like Insomnia have been full of. King wrote this one in longhand from his hospital bed shortly after being hit by a car, and though his physical ailments may not mar the quality of writing, the mental scars are readily apparent. When we follow a character out into a busy street without looking, we know exactly what is to come, and when we experience the crash, the cracking of bones and the hard pavement not just once but again and again, we get the feeling King isn't looking for sympathy, just drawing on hard-earned experience for that extra level of realism.
The core of this story is an examination of the heart of darkness, the deus ex machina, the dark side inside of us all, disguised as an X-Files episode. But while the sudden appearance of those trusty sci-fi cliches, the big eyed, slender bodied aliens, or as King calls them the "gray boys", may at first be off-putting, one gets the feeling that King is far too good for that sort of thing, and there must be something deeper going on here. Indeed, even if there wasn't, these time-tested archetypes getting a new Stephen King twist might be enough to satisfy some readers. But when the truth is revealed (as Mulder would say) about their true nature in a short but regrettably mundane epilogue, the idea is satisfying, thought provoking, and upsetting all at the same time
Also like classic King, there is a generous dose of good old monster movie gore here- it does not feel gratuitous, per se, but it is certainly graphic. Add in the profanities that flow freely and frequently from the characters' mouths, and this is not a book for kids. King fans will find a lot to like here, but those new to the genre may the complex narrative a bit tiring and may be better off trying one of King's `classic' stories to get their feet wet. Its not always easy to tell what is happening here: what is a dream, and what is a memory, or in fact if those distinctions even matter as we jump from timeline to timeline and plot device to plot device. But that is exactly what the author wants: to explore the way people dream, think and remember, and when the dream is perhaps more real that the reality.

There has been a lot of --- and I don't mean to be disrespectful to anyone here, but I don't know what else to call it --- a lot of blather about how Stephen King, with his last several works of fiction, has been trying to establish himself as a serious novelist, how he has lost his touch, that he should stick to what he knows, etc. I just finished reading the much-anticipated DREAMCATCHER. It should seal the coffin on all the nattering nabobs. It won't. But it should. King sticks to what he knows. He never lost his touch, but if we want to concede the (meaningless) point for argument's sake, he's got it back. And the rub about being a serious novelisthe always has been. DREAMCATCHER merely affirms it.

Let us get one thing out of the box at the get go, here. If you gave your mom THE GIRL WHO LOVED TOM GORDON and she liked it, don't give her DREAMCATCHER just because both books are by Stephen King and both take place in the woods. DREAMCATCHER is going to do for walks in the wood... Read more

Stephen King does it again! Dreamcatcher is now a best selling book and major motion picture. When four lifelong friends leave for their annual hunting trip, they expect the regular weekend at their cabin. But disaster strikes when a lost man shows up asking for help. Not long after, they are caught in the "Dreamcatcher" with old secrets coming back. Then one question remains... will the special retarded boy from their past be able to save the world?

Unlike most other alien science fictions, this novel pictures what could actually happen if this were to actually happen. Take the government for examples, in most science fictions they are acting for the best of the people, which we all know isn't always true; this novel describes how corrupt the government can be and what it may cost the world. Moreover, the aliens in this novel weren't the common green, little dudes with ray guns, they were nothing more than an infection lead by grey beings who could dispose of their body once in order to enter the mind of another being; thus it gives the possibility that perhaps if there is life outside Earth, it doesn't have to be smart, just conquerors who instead of being smart themselves use the weaker species to do all the dirty work. It shows that the smartest way isn't always a full on attack but an unnoticed plague. So if aliens ever do invade us, you can put your money that it'll something similar to what the King writes.

Stephen King has definitely reached the goal for the book; he has succeeded in penetrating the deepest weaknesses and fears of the reader. The books elements greatly aided in accomplishing the purpose; suspense, fright, and death all ended up with the same result, which was the goal of the King. Thus, it made this a great midnight reader for those who enjoy a good spook.

However I must point out the differences between the movie and the book. Hands down, the book is much better; the movie is a simply not descriptive enough. If you dare see the movie and not read the book you will be missing out on more than half of the unseen truth. Unlike the movie, the novel has insights the inner struggles of the mind hostage Jonesy, which is the most frightening struggle in the plot. Moreover the book ties all loose ends, answering all questions you may have by the time you reach the end. In the words of Henry, "We Are a Species Living in the Dream Catcher"

King's new novel 'Dreamcatcher' leaves no doubt that even following his accident, there is plenty of writing left in him! Dreamcatcher is an original work that brings us back to Maine and Derry once again... But this time, for an alien invasion.
The book revolves around 4 friends, linked in many different ways to a mentally handicapped boy who they saved from a group of bullies when they were younger. A bond is formed, changing these 5 friends forever. It is this bond that helps the 5 friends, now grown, in their darkest hour.
This is a very good book! It is a bit long for the material contained within (King definitly could have cut down on the length of some of his chapters), but in all I would have to say it was a good read.

I suggest this book, it is simply another great stories from Stephen King, kind of diferent from his field, but still amazing.
It is the story about a group of childhood friends that have some paranormal powers, and they got in the way of a kind of desease that it is cuase by Aliens. They gather their power to solve the mistery behind this invasion.
In this book you will feel the love that this childhood friend have from each other, specially with Doddit.

While not as well done as some of his shorter works, such as the novella Hearts in Atlantis (from the collection of the same name), the short story The Last Rung on the Ladder (from Night Shift), or as literary as Bag of Bones, Dreamcatcher is at least as good as most of his other books. Using the device of the crash of an alien ship, King sets up a story that is less about aliens than it is about just what it is that makes us human, how thin our veil of "civilization" really is, and whether we ever really know ourselves for what we are. But fear not, Uncle Steve still provides plenty of the kind of seemingly senseless brutality and gore most people read his novels for, and, miracle of miracles, he even managed to work in some comic moments that kept this work from simply being completely over-the-top grotesque. And, if nothing else, considering the cost of hardcovers these days, you're getting a deal just on a straight page count. As the title says, it's no Green mile, but i liked it.

I'm judging this book having read it once, waited a year, and then read it again, and this book did not survive the journey well.
Every plot twist was predicted, every villain was a stereotype, everything, everything in this book could be seen in advance or simply mirrored some other book or story, and served only as a pale imitation of the sources it copied. The only good thing in this book were the aliens. Sorry, better luck next time.

First let me say that I have been an avid reader of Stephen King novels for many years, with classics like Christine and Salems Lot being old friends to be reread ever few years.
I'm afraid the same can't be said about Dreamcatcher. If I was asked to summarise the style of the book, it would have to be as the literary equivilent of a B-grade slasher movie, with bad overacting and plenty of gore to try and keep the readers attention.
Earlier SK books have a depth that totally entraps the reader. The multiple layers and inter-twined stories of Christine, the charactor development within The Dead Zone, even the inner turmoil of Gerald's Game.
Dreamcatcher comes across to me as very shallow. The charactor development is minimal, the story line barely hangs together, and the bulk seems to be made of overly lurid descriptions of what blood and bodies look like. I understand you have a phrase in the USA describing this kind of offering... something about Phoning It In???
I will still buy his next book in the hopes he develops a bit more pride in his work, but this was disappointing.

I am a big Stephen King fan. I love his ability to describe in such detail that you can picture every scene. This book was no different. I appreciate how he weaves his other books and ideas in some books. This one directly mentioned events from IT. He even mentioned Pennywise the clown. It was long and it really didn't add to the plot. I couldn't stop once I started, but I've enjoyed many of his other works much better. While it wasn't my favorite, it wasn't my LEAST favorite. If you are a Stephen King fan, you'll enjoy it.

10 Stars, realistically. In my humble opinion, probably the best book in the whole world, ever. I have it in paperback - which is falling apart from all the re-reads - and now also have it on my Kindle, where I have read it at least another four times. And will no doubt keep on reading it again and again. Don't get me wrong, I do read lots of other stuff as well, from Charles Dickens to Lee Child, there's just something about the characters in Dreamcatcher which have captured my imagination. Not to mention, inspired my own writing. James H Jones www.proof-edgb.com

Dream Catcher is the first of Stephen King's novels that I've read, but I'm resolved to read more after this experience. The book absolutely grips the reader's attention and forces the reader to pay exclusive attention to what is going on. Never boring or excessive, every line is essential to the vivid picture King creates. Being an avid reader, I've read quite a number of books over the years, among many different genres, but never has a book scared me the way this one did. In many different parts of the story, I found my heart racing along with the characters. An excellent piece of work, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone.

Beav, Henry, Pete, and Jonesy, are friends since childhood, linked together by an experience that will haunt them forever.
As adults, the friends get together in the woods of Derry (the setting of IT, and Insomnia) for some time to get away, but their retreat will be spoiled when they come in contact with a strange man...a man NOT of this world.
To battle this extraterestrial being, the men must confront what happened to them in the past, if they are to win the war with the body snatchers.
"Dreamcatcher" is the first full-length novel since Stephen King's near-fatal accident, although being touted as a return to the early works of the "horror" master,it is NOT. The book takes MUCH too long to take off. The first 200 pages of "Dreamcatcher" ramble on, leaving the reader to wonder "what is going on", and while this confusing/surprise tactic may work in some horror novels, it doesn't here...by the time the pieces of the plot fall into place it's too late. Much of the novel dips back and forth between characters, resulting in much confusion of what is going on-flipping back in the book to find out certain things is necessary. And although some of the parts containing the aliens are very interesting, it isn't enough to carry 600 pages.
Die-hard fans of Stephen King might like this, but any fan of horror will be greatly disappointed. Mr. King has been taking chances with the plots of his novels, and I will give him credit for that, but what could have been a great horror novel, is just a mediocre alien thriller.
"Dreamcatcher" is not as bad as some of his novels, but it is NOT nearly as good as his master works, such as "Misery", "Pet Semetary", and my personal favorite "Desperation".
Nick Gonnella

One of the most respected authors in literature today has crafted for us a cunning novel of Nightmares and Psycological terros through a tale of alien invasion.
When Beav, Henry, Pete, and Jonesy, (friends since childhood, linked together in ways they are only beginning to understand) go into the woods on their annual hunting trip, they are unaware that they will soon be fighting for their lives, their minds, and thier planet.
The first quarter of the book reads a little slow, but is needed to set up the strange link the freinds share and to connect us emotionally with the characters. At first galnce i was terrified that Mr. King had "borrowed" the basic plot from the movie "Alien" and had turned it into a book based on earth. However, after reading further the story evolves into a disturbing portrayle of the human psyche and its fight to survive - despite the odds.
Kings use of a constant theme - dreams - helps to easily interconnect the different characters and their experiences, and to help make this one of the most original extraterrestrial stories thet i've come across.
Though not as wonderfull as some of Kings earlier novels (see The Tommyknockers) it was still a pleasure to read... and grip.

It's true. This is not the best of King's work, and shouldn't be read by someone who's never undertaken Stephen King before, but if you're a fan of King, then it's worth the time to read. The flash back scenes are some of my favorite moments in the book, and I liked the characters. I think why a lot people don't really care for this particular book is because there's something in the pace of it that isn't usual for King's works. Which, is a turn off, especially if you're interested in a quick juicy read. What makes this book worth it, is the tone. There's something in the words, descriptions, situations, dialogue that shows a lot about the writer. He's there in the pages, and he's worth it. Anyway, it's a Stephen King book for goodness sakes, how can you go wrong?

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.

Dreamcatcher was a good book but there were a few things i didnt like aboutit.I didnt like how Stephen King sometimes wrote like he was talking to himself.Sometimes i got so mixed up with it especially when he kept switching between past and present and what was happening at the Hole in the Wall and Duddits....Onthe upside it was a good book with lifelike characters and a really scary plot. It was one of Stephen Kings better books.

This is an awesome book! When I first read it, i was a little confused, but when I read it again, it was two times better than it was the first time. Stephen King wrote this book when you was recuperating from a fatal accident. The title of the book was supposed to be called, "Cancer," but his wife said that title could bring bad luck. So, instead, he called it "Dreamcatcher."

When the four friends, Pete, Beaver, Henry, and Jonesy, all go out on their traditional hunting trip in Maine, they run into some trouble. Little did they know, that their shared past would aide them in their advendures.

Like every other reviewer will tell you, Dreamcatcher is reminiscent of many other King novels. I'll offer that it also reminded me a bit of the movie 'BEING JOHN MALCOVICH.'
Yet somehow Dreamcatcher maintains its orginality.
The gross-out factor is used in Dreamcatcher, and I am cool with that as long as I don't have to see it on the big screen! Gross-outs include things like brains being splattered, and creatures growing in and extruding themselves from bowels.
Blood & flatulence: Now thats entertainment.
This book was one big guilty pleasure because I just couldn't put it down. I laughed out loud throughout, and cried a bit at the end.
I wonder where the term "President Okeefenokee" came from if this book was completed 6 months before the 2000 Bush vs. Gore presidential election? Creepy on so many levels.
As a King "Constant Reader" I just might have to say this is my new favorite story.

What are you looking for in a book? Are you looking for a slicer and dicer? Are you looking to be scared out of your wits? Are you looking for suprises around every corner? Well, this isn't exactly that. But if you are looking for a little of all of these, and a save the world story mixed in, then this should be your next book. Stephen King's works always include a battle between Good and Evil, and sacrifices must be made for Good to win. Some of your favorite characters might not make it through the story, but that's how life works. You can't make an omlette without cracking a few eggs.
This book tells the story of how divine providence puts four (or five, depending on how you see it) childhood buddies in the position of having to save the world from an alien disease. Fortunately they are armed with extrasensory perception.
Possibly the most interesting part of the book is King's idea of what our visitors from outer space may actually be. Read the book. It may not be what you are looking for, but you may like what you find.

Okay, I have read almost all of Stephen Kings book and have enjoyed almost all of them. Books that deal with aliens and UFO's are not my favorite books to read. The only way I would read one those books is if Stephen King wrote it. This was a good book, it got me interested and it kept building the suspense so I was eagerly turning the pages to see what would happen next. Not his best book but it should be read nonetheless.

I put off reading this novel for almost a year after I bought it. Shame on me. I was expecting a snoozer a la Bag of Bones. What I got was a book that took me back to the days of It, The Stand, and Needful Things.
Mr. King tells us in the Afterword that he wrote this novel longhand rather than using a word processor. I think it made a difference. His love for the art of writing shows on each page. The rhythm and flow of the words are unforced and natural.
Dreamcatcher is bravura storytelling. I highly recommend this book.

This book had me hanging on each next page, waiting to see what would happen. This is one of those books where you really don't know if good or evil is going to win.
I felt the characters were fun with all their vices and problems.
One of the villians was a cliched evil man from every other cliched evil-man story, but most of the people were interesting, even when limited to a very short part of the story.
The story does jump around a bit, but I never lost track of what was going on (I think that there were times were I was confused, but going straight ahead brought things back together for me.)
The classic good vs. evil, with good as the underdog, has always captured me and this was one of those stories. The good people having only their wits and strong, special bond of friendship to use against the tremendously capable and equipped forces of evil.
While not a deep story, it is a straightforward swashbuckler of sci-fi adventure involving the everyman hero.
Bacon!

As someone who loves Stephen King and reads practically everything he writes I have to tell everyone that this ISN'T his best work but then I haven't read anything that would rank as his best for years. So I have to say that this book is exceptional and even with it's rather large size is well worth the ride. If the first few chapters don't thrill you keep reading it DOES get better. Can't wait for his next book....

Stephen King visits more misery upon Derry, Maine, in his first full-length novel since Bag of Bones.
Twenty-five years ago, four friends (Beaver, Henry, Pete and Jonesy) showed an uncanny heroism that made them a fifth friend for life in Duddits. He's a special boy who, unlike them, can't quite leave childhood behind.
When the four men gather for their annual hunting trip in the Maine woods, a paralyzing blizzard descends and brings with it a menace never before seen on earth. A disoriented stranger stumbles upon their cabin, bearing a disturbing rash on his face and wild tales of lights in the sky. But before they can challenge this unknown evil, they must first escape the Army detail that has been sent to try to contain it, and then bring Duddits back into their circle.
In a thrilling race against the storm and a ruthless alien force, all five of the friends must bond together once again to save Maine, and ultimately the world, from a final, unspeakable horror. The key lies somewhere in their shared pasts-and in the dreamcatcher.
Dreamcatcher is a full-bodied story that will captivate fans and mesmerize anyone so far unfamiliar with the depth of Stephen King's dark imagination. King reminds us that we forge bonds in our friendships that go far beyond what we see, hear and feel. He asserts that we connect with each other in unimaginable ways that can't be easily explained; yet we secretly crave and might someday need those connections. Reminiscent of The Stand in its depth and scope, Dreamcatcher snares the reader and satisfies both the need and the craving-you'll find yourself inextricably bonded with the people and events to the very last word of this exciting book.

As a fan of Stephen King for over 20 years, I bought this bookwith high expectations but have been heartily disappointed by it. Across between "The Tommyknockers" and "Invasion of theBodysnatchers," "Dreamcatcher" chronicles the tiredworld of ET's attempting to take over the world. Two-dimensionalcharacters do not help the story. I knew and cared about every singlecharacter in "The Stand" but I kept getting the relativelyfew characters in "Dreamcatcher" mixed up. Stephen King'sfascination with secret government operations is also gettingold.
This book reads like a first draft and lacks the carefulcharacterizations and brilliant plots of books like "TheTalisman," "The Shining", and so many of King's earlyworks. I do not recommend this book.

I wish the man would just tell the damn story. I couldn't wait to get my hands on this book--bought it the first day it was available, made no week-end plans, announced that carry-out food only would be served for the following days while I plunged into the pleasure of a Stephen King. About halfway through the book I gave up--a major yawn and somewhat irritating to try to read. I imagine Hell to be a road trip with this book being on the tape deck.

This is the first novel by Stephen King I have read and it was really great to read. I dealt with aliens, which I am assuming is a bit different from most of the author's previous novels. But the plot and subplots were really indepth and fascinating. Although with 600 pages I did find some dull spots(why I gave 4 stars), mainly the chase part, I got a little bored during then. Overall, a really fun book to read.

Dream Catcher starts out in the classic King style, exploring characters in the way his fans have come to love. Their lives intertwine, flashbacks give us insight into their pasts together, intersperced with the creepy beginnings of an alien invasion. The classic King style of good vs evil, the one character who leads the way, comes through here. Unfortunately, there was no explanation of the aliens, something I've come to depend on in his books (opening the door, as he's put it before), as is usual in the better King novels. This plot line just didn't blend in with the rest of the story.
The last part of the book, unfortunately, starts to fall apart. I started skimming some of the scenes as i lost interest in the rambling action. The end of the book makes almost no sense, very disappointing to a loyal King fan. I'll always read his new books, and after the last three duds, was really looking forward to this new effort. I was disappointed in the ending chapters, but still recommend reading.

King shows us once again that horror is not necesarily something lurking out there stalking us. Real horror comes from our own minds and hearts. Although the novel contains UFOs and aliens, the most creepy things are among the characters way long before any unusual event ever happened.
Four kids grown up to adulthood, true friendship catalyzed by a fifth retarded kid; a hunting gathering at the woods; munching parasites; lights in the sky; all this mixes to come up with a page-turner book.

If you read this book and dislike it in any way then I have to wonder if you are in fact human in the first place. I will admit I was a little concerned about the greater meaning of the book in the beginning, but as I began to delve deeper into the book I was painted a crystal clear picture of what the Dreamcatcher ultimately represents. I have read several Stephen King books and I like so many other fans have discovered that he can often times get off on tangents that can create a lull in the plot. However, this book starts out relatively slow and then takes off with supersonic speed and never slows down, no lulls whatsoever. I was actually kind of disappointed that the book had to end. What is the true meaning of this book? The answer to that question is obviously very subjective and I assume that would be just how Stephen King would like it to be. The question this book raises is this: Are we really in control of our lives, or are we controlled by a greater power? Who knows, we may never know, but I will say this, if you take the time to sit down and look at the things that have happened to you throughout your lifetime, whether good or bad, you will see that ironically most of these happenings have had a positive impact on your life. Buy it or borrow it from a friend, I guarantee you will not be disappointed.

I love stephen king. i have always tended to become very involved in his stories, i.e. stay up until the wee hours of the morning just to finish one more page........ anyway, for a while there i was starting to notice a big change in his writing, the way he depicted his characters, etc. i was disappointed to say the least because that was what drew me to his books. But i have found with dreamcatcher, the same old king i used to know. Dreamcatcher reminded me a lot of IT. I enjoyed it and I am glad i bought it. I may even listen to it again, all 20 cd's.

I had a free weekend coming up and decided to pop for the hard cover price of Stephen Kings latest effort, Dreamcatcher. My advice to hardecore SK fans is to save your money and wait for the paperback.
Plotline is such. We have childhood friends on a hunting trip who have a certain bond(remember IT)from their childhood experiences and space aliens who take over bodies (remember The Tommyknockers) with the storyline moving back and forth from the friends' childhod to the present and the so called threat to the world from the aliens.
This book, unlike most of SK's previous efforts was not scary and even a bit tedious in places making it hard for me to keep my concentration much less interest.
If you like to read about alien controlled bodies with a bad case of flatulence and something growing inside (Remember Aliens 1,2,&3), then this book is for you.
This book feels like an effort to fullfill a contract requirement. It is a mismash of two of SK's previous efforts i.e. IT and The Tommyknockers, which I enjoyed and the "Alien" movies with Sigourney Weaver

With 292 customer reviews already listed for this book- I thought- should I bother? But I really have to put in my two cents. I began to like Stephen King again with Hearts in Atlantis and The Green Mile. Gone was the Gore of Cujo and The Tommyknockers. And along comes Dreamcatchers. The gore is back. But somehow after a reprieve from King's more graphic novels, this one works. It's truly gross (yet, thank goodness, humorous). I found myself making weird grunting and groaning sounds on the couch next to my spouse as we read at night- truly overwhelmed with the slimy, bloody, gruesome details King offers. Ya just gotta wonder how someone's mind can make up stuff like this...Stephen may be normal in some respects but when it comes to his imagination, well...something's just plain nuts about someone who can envision this! Anyway, it's a great summer horror book. Lots of action and great character development. Just don't read it at night unless you're a really sound sleeper. And warn anyone around you that you may subject them to sudden outbursts of loud yelps of disbelief and nausea. Have fun and stay out of the woods!

Dreamcatcher is an engrossing book with excellent characters that you actually care about. It is extremely hard to put this thing down once you have started it; I read it in four nights. However, Dreamcatcher lacks something: originality. There is nothing in here that we haven't seen or read before, and the whole book is a whole bunch of ides and scenarios taken from other stories and welded together to form this. What sets Dreamcatcher apart from standard campy Sc-Fi is King's amazing ability to tell the same story better than anyone else. So, if you are interested in a good, hard to put down book, you should pick this up without hesitation. However, don't buy this looking for new ideas that will blow your mind.

King's two primary strengths, those things that he does better than anyone, are showcased in this novel.
His characterizations are exquisite. As usual, he bombards the reader with the characters when first introduced, staturating the pages with the flavor of the character while leaving plenty to plumb later as the story develops.
In addition, King's voice rings through as clear as ever, like an old friend. I hated for the book to end because I wanted that voice to continue telling me about Duddits and the rest.
Unfortunately, King's biggest weakness, in my opinion, is also a big part of this novel, namely his inability to bring his opus to a satisfactory conclusion. Of course, his endings never live up to the promise of the rest of the work but all in all, that's okay. Us King fans are used to it and the novel's charms make up for in spades.

For months before the release of Dreamcatcher I was crazy with anticipation, certain that Dreamcatcher was a sequel to IT (based on the promotional material, can you blame me?) I was upset when my hopes were dashed (for a while I even tried to convince myself that MAYBE Dreamcatcher was taking place in a parallel world, in which Jonesy is Big Bill's twinner...) Needless to say, this didn't work for long, and I eventually had to come to terms with reality: Dreamcatcher is not very good. What amazed me was that the prologue contains some of King's best writing (I can only assume that the prologue and the rest of the novel were written at separate times). My advice to you is this: read the prologue while enjoying a coffee at your nearest bookseller / cafe. Purchase something else, such as Hearts in Atlantis (which is, in my opinion, one of King's best!)

For the two days in took me to read this book, Stephen King's amazing tale, and intricate characters, invaded my consciousness. I couldn't put this book down, and when I did the novel invaded my unconsciousness as well. The book is fabulously written, right down to the littlest details. This book will sweep you away into a current world of terror and to a past world of love, friendship, and a happier existence for the characters. If anything, this book will give you a laugh or two, and a literative view of the mind. Enjoy!

I am a definite die-hard King fan, and I was extremely excited when I received a new book from him through the mail (it's awesome being a member of his book club). I guess it is just because I have so much trust in him that I thoroughly enjoyed this one...I was amazed when I read all the negative reviews. How could anyone not care for the characters??? King is a master of character development--that has always been his strength. His magic is still there, and better than ever. I love how he focuses our attention, hopes, and dreams on those characters who are not always mainstream popular. Also,many disparaging remarks have been made about "Insomnia"--I truly loved that book, i am continually amazed at the ideas he comes up with, and hope that he writes many many more books such as these. But I must say....the Dark Tower Series RULES!

This is one of the best books I have read in a long time. This is my first Stephen King book and I was very impressed (after watching the movie The Stand, you would get worried to). I bought it over Spring Break and read it in less then 3 weeks, and that says a lot because I am an incredibly slow reader. Now, to the story. It starts out with about 30 pages of exposition, getting you to know and like the characters in the story--Pete, Henry, Beaver and Jonesy, all of which haver quite a few problems. The four of them get together every year to go hunting at Beaver's cabin. But then one day Jonesy gets hit by a car. Despite this, they go to the cabin anyways, just the four of them. Henry and Pete go to get food, and Jonesy and Beaver stay at the cabin. Due to his leg, Jonesy stays in a loft in a tree. He thinks he see's a dear and nearly shoots it when he realizes it is a person, then the story explodes. This is a must read that I recommend to anybody.

I have never considered myself a Stephen King fan. Always thinking his writing had been degrading itself into antiquated and cliche stories. You read one King novel, you read them all. Well, after picking up Dreamcatcher the other day I have seen the error of my ways. It's the first book in nearly a year that's grabbed me and made me read it's pages. This is by far the most absorbing book I've read in a long while. Don't listen to the reviews you see in magazines like Entertainment Weekly. This book is incredible. Even if your only a psuedo King fan, this book will not let you stop reading it. Hit the "Buy Now" Button right after you read this.....you won't regret it!

If you are a die hard fan of King's work, then this book will be familiar and well trodden ground with plenty of humour and well paced, well plotted action.
If not, you might find this a bit of an anodine hit. Many of the themes and ideas are old ones resprayed as new. Missing teeth smack of The Tommyknockers, and the "Big childhood secret revisited in later life" is hardly a diversion for him. Kurtz may be a name that King admits his military pantomime villain borrowed from Apocalypse Now, but that doesn't change the fact that it is a silly, infantile choice.
Having said all that, it's still light years better than most sci-fi horror you'll pick up in the bargain bin of your local bookstore. It's certainly very funny (I laughed out loud at least three times) and the end is fast, violent and philosophical.
It's not in the same league as The Shining, Firestarter and some of his other seminal stuff, but then they were a pretty high bar to have to clear every time.
Maybe he's getting old, and losing it.
I sincerely hope not.

Henry, Pete, Jonesy and Beaver are regular teenage kids. That is untill they meet Duddits. Duddits is mentally retarted but has a special gift that these boys after spending much time with him will inheret. The gift is called "Seeing the Line." It will unite and change these boys throughout their lives.
It all starts when a popular football player is trying to make
Duddits eat poop. It is his crying that brings them to him. The crying drives them crazy. They stand up to the football player and his 2 cronies. Beaver sings a song to Duddits that calms him down.Aliens attack the earth and the Jefferson Tract(Jonesy, Pete, Henry and Beaver's hunting place). Find out what happens next by reading
this horrific science fiction book.
When I read this book it was almost impossible to put down. I read this book day and night. Stephen King is a truly amazing author and I would reccomend this book to anyone who like sci-fi, horror, or just likes good books. This book is in my opion one of Stephen King's finest. Creating a very nice connection with the characters. A must read!

Mr. King obviously has a little anger to work out. In the first three chapters of the book, three of the four main characters are in major car acccidents, depressed, suicidal and just plain angry. While most people pay for therapy, Mr. King has obviously discovered a way to foment his anger about the universe and car accidents by writing about his own personal experiences, thinly veiled by the fiction the publisher prints.
But the real problem with the book is not the story, the unfairness of the universe or aliens bopping into Maine. The problem of the book is simply that it is an ugly book. Characters in the book display no beauty, speak in an unending stream of four letter words and provide laughs through sophomoric stunts of farting and belching.
I truly thought "The Sixth Mile" was one of the most uplifting pieces I have read. But obviously, "Dreamcatcher has not caught the dreams of beauty and truth.

I have read every book SK has ever written, and I must say, I was very disappointed in this book. The first few chapters, I thought, OK here we go...but about 1/3 of the way through the book, I became disenchanted. This book reminded me of the Tommyknockers, the one book of his that I was not to thrilled with either...I was very interested in the characters at first, but suddenly they are all mostly dead...this book flip flopped back and forth with little explanation. Unlike IT, which also flip flopped back and forth, but that was very easy to read. I felt this novel was NOT easy to read, and found myself skimming over too much, just because I did not care...which is very unlike me when I read a SK novel. Hopefully, the next one will be better !!

I've read nearly every King book written, and when I read this one, it was as if he cut and pasted old books together to build this story. There's aliens, like Tommyknockers; there's childhood friends who reunite as adults, like IT, et al; there's a child with disabilities who has an extraordinary mind, like Desperation; even the ending is eerily reminiscent of the ending to Needful Things. The list just goes on and on. If you like Stephen King and you don't mind that the utter lack of originality, go for it. But be warned: I bought it in hardcover and was left unsatisfied. If you need a King "fix," I recommend one of his books from the 1970s - Firestarter, The Shining, Christine... they were original, interesting and eerie stories.

First of all, most of the reviews containing 3 stars are by ... who have read Mr. King's newer material but have never bothered to pick up some of his older stuff. For those of us who have been following SK since way back, Dreamcatcher just reinforces our belief that he is the King. Tommyknockers anyone? That book terrified the hell out of me in my teens, as did many others, and Dreamcatcher has somehow magically transported me back in time to when literature made me nervous and had me making sure the door was locked. Maybe it's because I'm interested in the supernatural and maybe it's because I'm an open-minded person. Whatever the reason, I'm enjoying this book thoroughly and feel like I owe Stephen King a personal thanks for keeping me interested, and fullfilling my desire for more great literature. Stephen King, Edgar Allen Poe, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, Clive Barker, Robert R. McCammon, Tolkien... thank you all!

Stephen King just messed up here--the book does have good points (the mental battle between Jonesy and Mr. Gray is probably one of the better bits he's ever done, adn why it got 2.5 stars) but on the whole, the books is flatter than a can of soda that's been open for a month.
Normall, his characters seem to be derived from stock characters but then fleshed out and made better, more real--here they're not. Kurtz is just a one dimensional killer. He's easily forgotten,and really almost comid and for a writer who makes his villians (and over all character writing) his strength, that's fatal. With the exeption of Jonesy, the four hunting buddies never really get to grow on you , and neither does Duddits. With the main characters in a thousand page book that takes a screwup of magnificint proportion.The subplot involving Duddits (semi-retarded, and a sufferer of Downs) just feels....well, too sugary to me. I liked The Stand, and IT, and the Dark Tower series...so length isn't a problem for me, when the books is well written. But, here, the length is. There is some decent writing, but on the whole, it's a cut or two down from his normal prose, several more from his normal character and plot development, and the effect is just terrible.
The only King book that's worse is Eye of The Dragon. Go read something else, and skip this one.

Anyone you talk to will tell you that I am probably the biggest Stephen King fan they know; I love his writings!! HOWEVER, I was greatly disappointed in Dreamcatcher. I found it to be very dark and downright WEIRD (not to mention that the language was atrocious even for Stephen King!) much more reminiscent of Richard Bachman than the Stephen King we've come to know and love of recent years. It's my humble opinion that this book was SK's way of lashing out at all the pain he's suffered both mentally and physically since his accident. Want a good King novel??? Pass on Dreamcatcher and pick up THE TALISMAN --
now THAT'S a story!!

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 wouldn't say I've been dissapointed in King's post-Insomnia work, I've loved just about everything I've read from him (Which is about 75% of his works), Although I have noticed that he has toned down much of the twisted murderous gore of his previous novels and added alot more heart in his recent novels (Bag of Bones, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, The Green Mile, Hearts In Atlantis...) I think Dreamcatcher is one of his best! Definitely the best of the post-Insomnia novels. His character development is in top-notch form! Duddits is a trip! Gotta love The Beav! Dreamcatcher is hands down the goriest king novel I've read!

This book took me three days to read. I watched the sun come up because i simply couldn't put it down. This book is a really good read. he character development is incredible and it is easy to become lost in the pages cheering. Some sections had me laughing out loud. I don't want to give away any of the book, but from a person who has read many if not all of Stephen King's works, I rate it with Bag of Bones, and the Stand.

King's diabolically imaginative writing is in full swing as usual. A melange of ideas threaded into an up-all-night novel. The story includes U.F.O.s, aliens, telepathy, and a very unusual bond between four friends and a gifted "boy." The way in which he weaves the plot together is 100% King.
Unfortunately, this is not one of his best works. This is due to the shoddy way in which he portrays a military operation and the hardware involved. Technically speaking, the descriptions of the helicopters (inside and out) and the way in which the crews interract was far from the mark. Due to the fact that I am a military helicopter pilot, this aspect was downright frustrating and annoying in some cases! He would have done better to suspend reality rather than to tear it to shreads. Although he is in desperate need of a technical advisor on this one, highly recommended for fans or otherwise.

Being a very loyal Stephen King reader, as I started reading the book, I was very astonished that King published this book (you have the freedom to write, but this doesn't mean that you should publish it, right?) The story starts well, you think something good will come out of it, but even after a hundred pages -a lot of things happen but- nothing happens actually. After around 250 pages I could not go on reading any more, I pushed myself several times to move on, but it simply did not work at all, and then I realized that I actually don't care what is going to happen next, or what is going to happen in the end, and I don't care if they all die or survive, because I didn't have any feelings towards any one of the characters.
Stephen King is the king of making people believe the unbelievable. But in this work he fails in putting `unbelievable' things together to make a good story out of it.

Too bad it's over 600. This book becomes the most monotonous of Stephen King's career. I have read all of his novels, and this is one of his worst. The only thing that saves it from being THEE worst (that honor still belongs to the overrated Christine) is the first 200 pages, which are gory, over-the-top fun. The rest of the book comes off as both trite and pretentious, at the same time. The characters are developed fairly well in the first 200 pages, and then go no where. The character of Kurtz is the ultimate cliche, and having him sucking up a large part of the last 200 pages was a BIG mistake. The extended chase at the end is tedious, not at all frightening, and turns a novel that started out excellent into an absolute disaster.

I love Stephen King. I have read most of his work and I was really looking forward to adding this one to the list. Sadly this book is probably one of the worst ones ive read. I have actually been a fan of King's newer novels, but this is the first one were I am able to see the deterioration of his work. There was not a single point in this novel that I cared about any character. The plot not only has huge wholes but delivers a surprise ending that not only makes no real sense, but is contradicted many times in the novel itself. Dont waste your money on this book in hardcover. If you must read it wait for it to come out in paper back.

Although not my favorite King book it is still of course a great read. You can understand what these guys are feeling as they deal with the unknown, just a little too gross for me, I like Stephen's darker horror better.

There is some great characterization here--"Duddits" is excellent, and his mom even better. But, I'm not so sure I need repeated, detailed descriptions of how these "byrus" inplants effect victim's gastrointestinal tracts. I mean, come on--we get it!
The plot moves like a snowcat in a snowstorm, with equally unsure footing. I'm accustomed to humoring the author, but I think my patience was tested a little.
I want to be scared--not totally grossed out!

I would like to start off saying to those who have read other works of King, that besides IT and The Stand, these are the most colorful, animated characters yet described in any of his novels. Why people are contradicting it's uniqueness is quite obvious. Readers do not want something as far fetched as this book is...but is far fetched bad? It's a book! Read, and don't believe! enjoy! It is not only the story and character's in this novel that amaze me, but that Stephen King wrote this book longhand. By pen! six-hundred pages writing manually! Awesome. So besides the excellent storyline, the scary setting (Derry, Maine of course) and beautifal characters, there are many other reasons to read this book, relate, and enjoy it. I'll take my leave. I shan't tell you any of the goings-on in this magnificent book, that would ruin it for you!

Not a real King kind of reader, but the story was well written. Duh...it's Stephen King! The butt weasels were kind of gross.
Dream Weaver (Dream Weaver Novels) (Volume 1)

I SELDOM READ REVIEWS OF MR. KINGS BOOKS.I JUST BUY THEM AND READ THEM.WHY DID I READ THE REVIEWS THIS TIME, THE COMPUTER AGE.I WAS LOOKING FOR SOMETHING ELSE TO READ AFTER DREAMCATCHER,AND JUST HAPPEN TO READ A REVIEW SOMEONE DID OF DREAMCATCHER. THEOSE OF YOU THAT CALLED THIS BOOK BORING, AND YOU SAID YOU HAVE READ ALL OF S.K. BOOKS, THEN YOU MUST HAVE FORGOTTEN "THE TOMYKNOCKERS". IT IS TIED WITH "THE DEAD ZONE" AS THE WORST S.K. BOOKS OF ALL. TRUE READERS OF S.K. CAN SEE THAT HE HAS DIFFERNT STYLES OF TELLING A STORY. YOU CAN NOT ALWAYS COMPEAR HIS BOOKS TO EACH OTHER. YOU CAN NOT COMPEAR "THE GREEN MILE" TO "DREAMCATCHER". "THE GREEN MILE" TO "ROSE MADDER" MAYBE. "DREAMCATCHER" TO "IT" YES. "IT" IS MUCH BUTTER BY FAR. I THINK S.K.'S "DREAMCATCHER" IS BACK TO HIS HARD CORE HORROR THAT MOST OF US FELL IN LOVE WITH. THE BOOK IS GOOD AND I HOPE HE KEEPS ON THIS TRACK.

Dreamcatcher is a book that has finally arrived. Like a breath held too long released in a long awaited exhale. The subject that was eye candy was the exploration of telepathy. Stephen King brushed telepathy in "Hearts in Atlantis"; really nicked it in "The Green Mile"; and took telepathy out and played with it in "Insomnia". Now, telepathy's potential was examined in this captivating tale that makes you feel that you are everywhere in the story at once. The overuse of the F-key was somewhat distracting but I did find it interesting, the use of writing tenses, past and present. The main story was written in past tense while the back story, in the beginning, was written in present tense which really set it apart. Way to go Stephen.

I found that this book to be much like other books written by King, and it even mirrors King's apperance in the 80's film "Creepshow", in the segment where King himself plays a character who is reduced to the "Hemingway solution" when a certain green growth overtakes his person and house like kudzu after a meteor falls. (Sound familiar?) Certain elements from "Stand By Me" (the four childhood pals), "The Stand" (telepathy and the end-game plot) and of course, "TommyKnockers" (aliens who make your teeth fall out) are also re-hashed in this novel. I feel that Robert McCammon's "Stinger" is a better novel depicting human-to-alien transformations.

The more time that passes since reading this book, the more disappointed I am. Although a fast and compelling read, I can't shake the feeling that all I've done is read the outline of a much better book.
Readers will naturally draw comparisons to "IT" because of the life long friendship, anchored by a life changing experience in adolescence, of the four main characters. But what King did with such skill and beauty in "IT", drawing us into the make up of the individuals as well as the group dynamic, he merely pays lip service to in "Dreamcatcher". King sets us up with the key elements, but fails to deliver. We get only one course of the meal King has taught us to expect.
This book made me want to re-read "IT", which I am currently doing with great pleasure.

I've only read two other Stephen King books, and this is my least favorite. I felt like King needed to make his book way too long, so he added needless characters, a confusing plot, and mainly, it's just tough to keep interested in the book for 900 pages.
It does have some great numbers of suspense (usually when Mr. Gray was at the scene, like in the hospital), but other parts (mainly the military parts), were very boring. He uses some military phrases, and he's trying to impress us with his "vast knowledge" of ideas. If you're just looking for a quick read that you can understand easily, this is not it. You have to think about it (I still don't fully understand it). Also, it seemed like he wanted to tie up everything up in a neat little package by having the survivors talk about it. It didn't make me understand it much more.

Having waited quite awhile since King's last release, I was elated when Dreamcatcher hit the bookstores. I read numerous reviews that praise it as a "masterpiece" and "a gripping title." However compelling, the reviewers neglected to mention the vulgarity, bathroom humor, and cliched subplots that pepper the book's contents. Not only is the dialog extremely redundant, but the books references to the past experiences of the main characters are limited to a few short anecdotes which seem to be repeated every other page. Even the main plot of the book is relatively obscure, and throughout most of the book there is no sense of urgency that King is apparently trying to express. After reading this six hundred page book, I realize it could have been written with a third of those pages. When you do put this exciting thriller down, I hope it's in the trash.

Stephen King's still putting out some of the best horror novels decades later...
Not my favorite King tale by any means, but definitely a worthy read... King's telling of the classic "alien invasion" story is very "X-File"-esque. Not to mention filled with his usual gore.
And any Simon and Garfunkel fan can't ignore the allusions.

When I read Dreamcatcher, I was so excited to find that it was more in his old style, a style that made me begin reading his books so many years ago. It seemed that in a few previous books, King seemed to be losing what had always made his stories so enjoyable. I read this book as quickly as I did The Stand and It and will continue waiting patiently for more.

I really enjoyed this alien invasion story. King weaves together many themes that he's previously used throughout his career, which can lead to some of the book feeling like a rehash of his earlier work, but I thought it works out overall. There are several tie-ins to his other books, especially IT. I'm thankful that I've recently read his earlier book so that it was fresh in my mind while reading this one.

First, I must admit that I am a Stephen King fanatic, I have purchased (to the detriment of my checking account) and read every one of his books. The vast majority have provided me with hours of entertainment and sheer pleasure, with a few notable exceptions, ie; Tom Gordon, Gerald's Game. Unfortunately I have now added 'Dreamcatcher' to the DUD list. I thoroughly enjoyed the first half of the book but became bored and then completely confused. Will someone please explain the ending to me? One minute Mr. Gray is controlling Jonsey's body and the next we are being told that he never existed? That it had something to do with Jonsey's accident and comatose state while in the hospital?? TOTALLY CONFUSED!
I will continue to eagerly await any new novel by Stephen King and I will forever be a huge fan but I can't, in good conscience, recommend Dreamcatcher.
I yearn for more books like 'The Talisman' which is and always has been my favourite.

Finally finished that is. I struggled with this one, and King is one of my favorites. I gave it a three because parts of the book were interesting. This book could have been written in about 300 pages rather than the close to 1000. I just had to finish, but it was a struggle. I do not feel the need to write a review of the book since there are so many and from people that can write much better than me. This is one that you may want to skip.

This is great space alien invasion book. There is alittle bit of a war story thrown in. And ESP as well. It really blends all these things together in a very interesting story. I thought the characters were great, especially Mr. Gray the alien. The book is scary, and keeps you guessing all along. I heard this is being made into a movie, and I will be there on opening day.

King's writing gives the reader all the necessary sense to make them believe they are there, within the setting of the pages. The reader experiences the happiness, the grief, and the horror that the characters feel. King is a literary mastermind, and never fails to keep his audience guessing. Dreamcatcher will take your breath away with its tales of youthful compassion and harrowing scenarios of horrific splendor. Dreamcatcher is a must read for any King fan.

All of Mr. King's work's are good; some are better than others. DREAMCATCHER, unfortunately, goes in the "others" category. The story is complex, the references to earlier works (IT, TOMMYKNOCKERS) are plentiful to the point that a casual reader will think he's missed something. Still I enjoyed it (as I enjoy them all), but I would not recommend this as a place to start if you're not already a diehard King fan.

The Dreamcatcher started out great! The pace was good, the content exciting and building and then BANG! Everything stopped dead and this book got boring, boring, boring. Plus, it made me feel bad. Usually King's books either excite, scare, or make you want to duck under the covers. This book just felt bad.
The pace picked up some further on, but it really never got it's rhythm back. I usually can't put a Stephen King book down, this one took me a couple of weeks to finish. What a disappointment. Stephen....what were you thinking? It does have a certain feeling of the book "IT", a little Langoliers and a few other of his books. I felt like I was reading Stephen King's version of the movie "Aliens". I bought it because I buy all his books for my library. But, it wasn't one of his best.

I loved this book.If I had to choose between the book and the movie I would choose the book.It's so much more detailed and there are things that are not in the movie.Its a great read that will keep you on the edge of your seat

I have no problem with lengthy and intense narrative or rather good narrative but this book just drones on and on and on - and it isn't the reader - Jeffrey DeMunn does a wonderful job - it is a shame that the material is so poor. I hope that Mr. King has now worked through his demons and that his next book will have a plot. Not up to his usual standards - dull, long and ultimately pointless.

I enjoyed this book enough to be satisfied. But there were little things that keep it from a five-star review. First, while this is a plot to remember, in the middle of the book, it all gets confusing when King describes Jonesy's mind games with Mr. Gray. I had to at least read Chapter 11 and 12 three or four times to know what the heck was going on! The story starts off great, then it tumbles, and gets a push at the end when everything explains itself(especially with Duddits's ability). The ending of the main story is overall good, but the epilogue is one of the worst writing I've seen from King.Overall this is not King's best, although being King, that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Whenever I read a Stephen King novel it is like going back and seeing an old friend. No matter how long you are seperated you always just pick up from where you left off. I wouldn't recomend that you pick up this book unless you have nothing else to do for the next couple of days, it is a page turner in the SK style. REQUIRED reading for SK fans.

I could not take this book after 100 pages, this is not Stephen King as I know him. This may be his Worst Book every written, The language was really going over the edge, Not even Clancy went this far. If you want to read real Stephen King read Bag Of Bones & Hearts In Atlantis, They may not be Horror but they're good books and they're better than this stink bomb. Grade: D-

I'm a huge Stephen King fan, and despite absolutely loathing the movie, I decided to check this book out, and I was not disappointed. It's suspenseful and eerie and a good read. Funny thing is - I decided to try the movie again after finishing the book and I hated it even more. Bad movie, great book.

To say it in the beginning: I just LOVE books with lots of pages. Over 1000 is my Eldorado. Stephen King did write a very good story but the pace is veeery slow. I had to press myself on and, I have to admit, if the book wasn't from King I wouldn't have finished it. I presume Stephen King has grown too big in the market that anyone still has the courage to tell him to take some really boring parts out. The story is King-like. Interesting, bloody, a bit vulgar at times and surely another body-snatcher-approach as usual. I like the story very much but as I said, it could be compressed in half the size and twice the thrill.

What I liked most about this suspense thriller was the plot line and how the story unfolds as Stephen King dramatizes the twists of the movie. I love the character duddits in the book with his unknown backround that all makes sence at the end of the book. I would definitly recommend this book to anyone who loves outerworld happenings. The way the plot unfolds with the group of characters going out on a camping trip and suddenly the forest lifes starts trailing away from something that takes over thier friends body. Throughout the book Stephen King keeps with his writing style of present day to what happened to get to this point of the book. Its a great read, but very very long. The book does have elevated diction so I would challenge many to read it. Again great book.

Although Dreamcatcher's antigonist was alien, personified as "mr.gray", i didn't see this as a sci-fi novel. What made Dreamcatcher such a good read was the development of the characters. The background and flashbacks kept me interested. I was also impressed with the way King explaned the human mind and the concept of memory. I usually stay away from science fiction, and I only read this because it was Stephen King, but I was pleasantly suprised. Anyone thinking of passing this one up should reconsider.

Like a previous reviewer, I nipped and nibbled at this book with only marginal enthusiasm that slowly diminished as I neared the end. The characters were more interesting as they each recalled their childhoods than they were as adults, meaning that the plot in the book's present time was not that exciting. Poor character developement for the antagonists is partially to blame, but I also feel the story could have been told in a series of at least three books that may have fleshed out several of the characters along with the overall story. Try reading some of King's older works instead.

There was a lot of talk after King's much publicized accident, that he wouldn't write again - that he was suffering from writer's block. While I reserve 5 stars for THE STAND and THE EYES OF THE DRAGON, this book comes pretty close. The author's genius still lies in his ability to bring characters to life within just a few sentences, making even the most minor of characters someone interesting.

I have to say that when we got the advance copy of Dreamcatcher in the bookstore where I work, I could hardly wait to read it. I was truly excited that King was finally returning to his roots and his fans with supernatural horror, always his strong point. The size of the book didn't daunt me--I thought it would be 700 pages of greatness! Color me WRONG. I tried to like the book. I kept reading long after I lost interest and emotional involvement. But in the end, I had to quit 200 pages short of the end. I don't know how this book ends, so I can't ruin it for you. But I have to warn you--I don't CARE how this book ends. If you're a die-hard King fan, wait till it comes out in paperback, then it might be worth your money. But for now, just wait. And don't get too excited over it.

This book is one of the finest pieces of lit that has come out in years. It is the story of what it is like to be in pain, to live with pain and to create a story with pain. I admire Stephen for still going on with his work while in recovery from his nearly being run over by a van. Every single page I absorbed, having heard his voice on tape. I am in constant pain and I take meds, as did Stephen, Im sure. To have and live with a "med-head" is so wild sometimes. And this very unusual form of reality comes out perfectly in this book. Excellent work Mr. King. I am 51 and he is THE writer of my generation.

Stephen King is back. DREAMCATCHER is at once mesmerizing and terrifying, gentle and genuinely human. A novel that falls someplace between "The Tommyknockers" and "It"; "Predator" crossed with "The Deer Hunter", but wholly King at his chilling and storytelling best. Riveting. Oh boy, is he back... Gary S. Potter Author/Poet.

Being a big fan of Stephen King, and having read nearly everything he's ever published, I picked up Dreamcatcher on the day it hit the bookstores. At almost 600 pages it looked to be good value for my money, but I'm warning every King fan who's contemplating buying this book: it's the worst one he's ever written. Take a heavy dose of Tommyknockers, add in a little It mixed with second-rate science fiction (that's trying to be a mix between Alien and Close Encounters of the Third Kind but fails miserably) and you have a very tired-feeling Stephen King novel. If you've read any of the above-mentioned books (or seen any of the films), don't buy this book. And if you haven't, don't do it anyway. Read The girl who loved Tom Gordon or Pet Sematary instead.

a friend of mine bought this book for me as a present. it was a little lengthy and the premise was a bit cliché (I won't spoil it) but it was worth a read, I guess. it's not particularly scary. my real rating is a three but I'm giving it five stars because of the idiot who gave it two stars because he didn't get his book on time. the reviews are supposed to be of the item and not the store.com.

Having been an on and off Stephen King fan for many years, I picked this book up pretty quick. I had heard both good and bad comments about this one, so I wasn't sure what I was in for. I was so amazed by the first hundred pages. The way in which we are introduced to our main characters is brilliant. The flashbacks to childhood days in Derry are well timed and never grow repetitive.
What will stick with my are the suttle and not so suttle references to Conrad's Heart of Darkness, as well as Apocalypse Now. Imagine Conrad's amazement at the story of the Congo River becoming Vietnam, and now the Maine wilderness.
If you haven't read this yet, as Duddits would say, "got some work to do now."

I have been reading Stephen King books since discovering "The Stand" at the age of 14. (over 20 years now) But this is the first one that I would even consider returning. I kept thinking that it would get better and it never did. While there were some good parts, there were certainly not enough. I just hope that this was a result of too much time since the last book and the ol' writing skills were a little rusty. I look forwarded to the next one. Everyone deserves a second chance.

Yes. You've been here before.
Read the Tommyknockers? If so, you've pretty much read Dreamcatcher. The story is essentially the same--aliens come and inhabit the bodies of humans, and find the humans tougher than they thought. In the end the aliens lose--but at just the last minute--the last second.
The best part of this book is the characters' development and clarity. The plot is overused, and the suspense doesn't build to a sufficient crescendo. The characters, however, are deep and clear and true.
Far from his best work, this book is also far from King's worst. If you're a sci-fi buff or a King enthusiast, give this book a try.

I have read some of the novels of Stephen King, such as the Island of Treasure and so on. however, to my discontent, I am oblivious to the culture the author lived and created and enjoyed, partly because that I lived in a sociaty whose culture is totally different from his.
But that only increase my curosity to it, so I choose to learn its language. at that time I thought that there would be nothing in my way once I could listen to them, read them, talk with them. the fact is that I could not understand them by now, partly because that I could not think the way as they do.
and also, the distance between the two countris lengthens my access to my dream. I am that dreamcatcher on the way to my dream!

I agree that this is not one of SK's best books, but it is still good. I was absolutely engaged to the story right up until the jump to Kurtz, at that point, I would say the story stalled out. I thought the flashbacks to childhood were great and I hoped for more of them. The *%#% weasels could only come from SK's imagination!

This book caught my attention the first 300 or so pages and then I was totally lost. What in the world! King was all over the place and there were so many characters that I couldnt keep up with them all! I am not real big on alien books but I thought that I could at least deal with it some but this was so stupid that I just quit reading it. I just wasted my reading time on this book. Would not recommend this book unless you have alot of patience and dont mind being confused the whole time. Very bad book King.

I am normally an avid Stephen King fan. I was terribly disappointed in this book. I had a hard time following the frequent jumps from point of view to point of view. Plus, I am not that big of a fan of the alien\government conspiracy storyline. In my opinion, this was more cynical and more bitter than King's other works. He has written much better.

Exceptional audio reading by Jeffrey DeMunn! I wish I knew his e-mail address , or he had a web site, so I could express my compliments. Mr. DeMunn's reading makes my commuting a great pleasure.

I'm listening to it over and over again. The narration is exceptional. The voice is extraordinarily pleasant and clear, and every character has a very distinguishable voice. This Audio CD could be used by ESL programs; just listen to it over and over again and your English will surely improve.

The writing of Dreamcatcher is very good also, otherwise I wouldn't be able to listen to it over and over and over..

I am only 1/4 done with this book right now and enjoying the ride. HOWEVER, I am getting tired of the same old plot tricks. How many times do we have to be relied upon to drop back and forth from childhood to adulthood, Mr. King? And also, Mr. King, you are getting sloppy with your story telling. One single point of contention: how can a bathroom door which two grown men "rushed forward together...,almost four hundred pounds behind two dropped shoulders. It gave way with absurd ease..." How can such a ruined door then be used to keep an enemy within? A man can hold a such a door shut by clutching the doorknob tightly? C'mon. Be real. Or be unreal. Just be constant.

Like many other people who have written their reviews, I too am a huge Stephen King fan. I have read 95% of his books (including the first 6 installments of the Plant - which is excellent) - and therefore I have a lot of experience to draw on to say that this book is truly a disappointment.
The premise of this book was exciting...four childhood friends gathering together in a hunting lodge to bond and remember their childhood days and the mysterious connection that they had with "Duddits"- a child hood friend with down syndrome. However, when your started throwing in "sh*t weasels", aliens, bacon, fungus, and a random car accident, and most random of all a Russian woman attempting to contaminate the water of an entire town...it becomes tiresome. Because I had just read "It" (again) right before this I was truly expecting something of that caliber, but I was disappointed.
What has always made Stephen King an excellent novelist was not only his ability to tell a riveting, story...but was his ability to mix the horrors of fiction with the wit of everyday life. Moreover, the skill with which he develops charcters and makes them three dimentional has always been the hallmark of his writing...yet he fails miserably here. With the concentration on the action of the army, and the aliens, King neglects to develop his characters as he usually does. We receive such token character development of Jonesy and Henry that I am shocked and disappointed to realize that they are the main characters 200 pages into the book. They seem very empty and token.
Moreover, with all the flashbacks, all the pieces do not fit together. Its as if he had many different ideas swirling around, but they didn't connect into one all emcompassing story. King was treading on the surface of several stories, but not delving into the depths to tie them all together. The best way to describe it, is that it is a superficial read.
Finally, King's conclusion does not follow with his other works. Instead of ending that lays all the characters to rest, this story just kind of got tired, gave up, and died.
I will end this review saying that I am still a huge Stephen King fan, and despite some of his more recent disappointments (Dreamcatcher, Bag of Bones, and Hearts of Atlantis)...I will continue to purchase the next book that comes out, with the hope that the well has not run dry...yet.

Stephen King has done exactly what I wanted him to do . . . tell me a story. The subject matter was complex and done with a deft hand and the Down's syndrome was handled with courage and integrity. Not one false pull for a tear, but truth as seen through those who lived the experience. I can't help but think if I were to wander through any of the locations he has written about, I would run into his "characters" in flesh and blood. Thank you for writing, Mr. King.

I am an avid Stephan King fan and have read almost everything written by him and I thought this book was horrible. The initial story About the five friends is interesting but the description of the aliens being born out of people's butts is disgusting. I was so grossed out by the persistant description of flatulence accompanying the births too. This was also the most profane of his books with the F word on at least every page and the S word almost as much. It has too many unnecessary characters that are described in detail and then killed off 5 pages later. It was gory, gross, laden with profanity and mental plot lines that didn't make sense. Of course I did finish it being such a fan of his but I would not recommend anybody to waste their time reading this 600+ page book.

I was reccomended by a friend to read "Dreamcatcher". I had always known about Stephen King but never read one of his books. I can gladly say I was not disappointed. I can say I loved, I can say I liked it, then why do I give it four stars? It is confusing and childish at the times when the men were boys. Otherwise it was a beautifully crafted book filled with heart and horror. An interesting technique in this book is that it is written in third person but switches points of view from section to section, giving scenes depth that is not found in other books. I liked it but i would not reccomend it for a first time King reader. Try "The Shining", it is King at his finest with classic horror and genuine spookiness.

I'm sorry that this book wasn't up to some of the earlier long novels like "The Stand" or "It". The old formula ,of a group of kids bonding together, as a strong front against evil has worked before.....but not this time. Maybe they're just not that likeable ,so we don't really care what happens to them. I was encouraged ,at one point in the book, when the action returns to good old DERRY ,and a sign is found ,stating "Pennywise Lives" and I hoped ,that one of King's finest villians ,would be resurected, but no way! Maybe we'll see him in another tale but I found this one weak !

This review I am writing because I liked the book and well it was very suspensefull. In Dreamcatcher the reader encounters many conflicts along the way. One of my favorite conflicts is the Man vs. Time conflict. The man vs. Time conflict exists everywhere in this novel especially at the end where Jonsey has to beat Mr. Gray or else the dog would have been able to fit into the pipe. Now what would have happened if Jonsey had not got the best of Mr.Gray in the End that is suspense my friends not Horor or Mystery or Romance (Thank God for if it was I would never be able to raed again). If you have rated this book a 5 star book and would like to read other suspense/sci-fi novels by Stephen King try Tommyknockers, The Dark Half, and Bag of Bones all by Stephen King.

Once again Mr. King has seemed to brave new ground in the Dream Catcher. Unlike his previous works that seemed to come out of one place, Dream Catcher seems to be several short story's, novel upstarts, and in general, a woven together tale. At least that's impression I got. Also, I got the feeling that he might have return to work to soon after his accident, because the tragedy seemed to color the work in some places.Dream Catcher is not a bad book, it's worth a read, but I don't think it's a great book, like The Stand, The black Tower series or Desperation and the alike. What it also is not like is Gerald's Game or Insomnia, two of which I wish he had never written.
That's a Backwater man's opinion anyway, in the backwater, and you know how we can be.

First, I'm a hardcore Stephen King fan. The man is a great writer on many levels, especially his hurmor and sense of irony. But, this one doesn't make it. I think King is trying too hard to work through his emotions since he was hit by a van, and I understand that. However, in so doing he's created a story that is so jumbled it's hard to follow. And what's worse, it's hard to care about any of the characters. The story is all over the place, and one of the characters even has a near fatal run-in with a car. Plus, the four main characters, men who were friends since childhood, are too much like the kids in "Stand By Me." I hope Mr. King can come to grips with his ordeal, and I wish him well.

Jonesy, Beaver, Henry, and Pete are four young friends who save a boy named Duddits,who had a syndrome. They helped Duddits from other boys in another words they were his protectors. From that day they found a special bond between them who immunes them with each other.Every year they go up to Maine for their annual hunting trip.While they were their they saw strange things happening, and witness, for the first time, creatures beyond their imagination. Soon they found out that they are taking part in alien invasion. Two friend died during the book Pete and Beaver. The other two friends Jonesy and Henry save the Earth from contaminated water supply with a disease called Byrus. In ending they found out that they saved the world by aliens from their friend "DreamCatcher," Duddits.

My cat, buttercup is an orange tabby cat, and she's very cute. She's very cuddly, and she's very friendly. If you like cute, cuddly friendly things, then this is not a book or you. Stephen King returns full force in this, his first full length novel after Brian White nearly killed him in 1999. I thouht this was a very good book that kept me interested till the end, though , of course, to be fair, all Stephen King does that. This one though, especially did. In the beginning, he leaves you wondering, what IS SSDD? What hapened with Josie Rinkenhauser? What did they save Duddits from? Then, after those initial mysteries are resolved, new ones come up. Where is Mr Gray (unfortunately not Bob Gray AKA Pennywise the Dancing Clown (like I hoped he would be (Though if you liked IT, this is a book for you (There was a reference to Penywise that blew my mind)))) going after the Standpipe? What happened with the Russian Lady? Who did the boys kill? All these mysteries are woven throughout this book in true Stephen King style, and they are all relevant to the tale. The ending was great, without a hint of Deus Ex Machina (in true SK style) and all of his trademark humor is there. To sum up the story, Four guys go hunting, and get attacked by aliens from outer space; but that's like saying IT is about a killer clown. There's so much more there, that you can look past the absurdly simple premise. This is a great book that I recommend to everyone.

As the mother of a child with Down syndrome, I was at first concerned about how King would portray "Duddits", but found I didn't have to worry. Even tho his terminology is not "politically correct", he is anything but derogatory about the condition and his character.
Overall I found this book a good read. Typical King all the way. A little wordy at times, and definitely gross in parts, but any true King fan knows to expect that!

Reading Stephen KING novels is a tremendous pleasure every time, don't misunderstand me, but the stories motos are now becoming very much the same : a group of kids not willing to grow up, friendship and nostalgy, and a darker and DARKER mood, heroes are now getting older, often injuried if not killed and the stories are showing how King getting older himself is surrounded by negative feeling about aging and death.
The Dreamcatcher also miss somewhat of the creative and fantasy that would make his first novels so exclusive...
however let's wait for the 15 th of september and the new novel written together with Peter Straub who is a real fantasy writer. MIGHT BE WORTH A FIVE STARS !...

I say the preview for the movie last month and had to read the book. What a dissapointment. I was hoping for a good sci-fi book that at least explained something about the aliens in the book. King tunes out in the worst way in trying to explain where these creatures come from and why they come to earth. There are logical flaws so huge that really take away from the otherwise fine writing. You are left with an empty feeling at the end. Those who want to read the book for King's writing, go ahead, but those who like sci-fi, avoid like the plague.

This is one of his better books. It's not that scary, but has great action. It takes place in the common setting of his book, Maine.The psychological aspect of this book is great. This book also hints at parts of older books, such as "It." This book is twice as good as the movie. I'd recommend this book for any Stephen King fan.

Like many others I am a big fan of Stephen King. Most of his books are terrific but "Dreamcatcher" joins his other two bombs, "The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon" and "The Talisman". The first part of the book is well written but it later deteriorates into gibberish. I had a hard time telling who was in who's mind or who was doing what to which when. As someone once said "In every fat book there's a thin book trying to get out". King claims to have written this whole book with a fountain pen. I hope he has gotten over his writer's cramp by now so he can start on a better book up to his usual higher standard. Think thin (or is it "Thinner".

This book really stunk. It almost seems like he forgot to send the manuscript to the editor. Surely the editor wouldn't have let him ramble on and on about snow, and trees, and oh-my-god the smell and sound of the bodily functions of these "people". I vowed that I would never again rush to the store to buy one of his books because they have been so diappointing, but I did this time because it was tauted as "a return to horror". I now once again vow to NEVER rush out to buy his books. The used bookstore will have plenty of his stinkers for 50 cents in the future.

I was very disappointed in the latest novel from MR. King. I found it way to long and convoluted. I wonder if he is being paid by the word. I also have this same problem with Tom Clancy's more recent works. In Mr. Kings case his best works were his earlier creations. The dreamcatcher for me was just a bad dream.

I loved the excellent plot, with an aura of mystery beyond what King usually shows. The dialogue was crisp and it still managed to be interesting during all 200 pages of Hummers driving through the snow, I liked how it got down into what friendship actually is. Highlt Reccomended

This is not the best King book I've ever read, but its a good read that holds your attention, with good charcter development. The end of the book is a little goofy. The best thing about the book was all the refrences to other King books such as "It" and the Gunslinger series.

These are very good characters in this story. They are very well developed. There is plenty of interesting stories of their past to tie them together, as a great little band of players. The reason I gave this story only 4 stars is that the story line is only moderately interesting.

My only hope is that Steven King occasionally reads some of these reviews because if he did, he would notice a growing number of us who have become increasingly unhapphy with his work.
My theory is that the author has an adversion to any form of editing. The result a 350 page novel that is bloated to almost 900 pages. Fortunately for the author, there are still a large number of die-hard fans who will always buy and praise anything he writes. I'm convinced that Steve King could publish the white pages of a large city phone book and not only his loyal fans buy it, they would also give it their customary 5 star rating.

Mr. King has done it again. The Dreamcatcher is a spellbinding book. While I would agree that this book is not his BEST book ever (It, The Stand, and the Gunslinger Series are), it is till a solid piece of work. King has a real knack for creating characters for which the reader really cares. Read it, you will not be sorry. I genuinely enjoyed reading this book. My only regret is that I finished the book way too fast (5 days), and now have to wait till September 15, 2001 till his other book, The Black House comes out. Get The Dreamcatcher and you will not be sorry.

Dreamcatcher is the best King in years! Here he takes us on a wild ride thru the New England woods during hunting season. Having read all of his published works, some of which were less than great, this book makes up for all of those. Kings ability to create characters and flesh them out, so that you can SEE them and KNOW them is unbelievable. Devoted King readers will see some familiar places and names and new King readers will be introduced to things that they will never forget. This book hooked me by about page 8. I plowed through it in 3 days and couldn't put it down. I highly recommend this one, dear readers, Stephen King is back!

This was a fun book. I will never look at Bacon the same way again. I listened to it on Audio, and toward the end I would drive my car around the block a few extra times just to hear some more of it. It really is a comfortable book, and unlike some of King's stuff, it has a triumphant ending. Jason F. Smith

Finally....I found time to sit down and submerge myself in one of Stephen King's works and was immediately swept away. The way he shows the action and envelopes you in the story is what makes him one of the great all-time authors of today. Dreamcatcher is a great read that keeps you riveted to your seat, turning those pages to chase the characters as they fight for their lives and for humanity. You won't be disappointed. ...

Unlike other fans I really liked Bag of Bones and Heart of Atlantis. King found a new way to tell his stories, a more personal and authentic way - and the language really worked like a fine clockwork from Switzerland. "Dreamcatcher" is a step back. In many respects it is an old fashioned book, with characters (like Kurtz) who would fit into a 70s film about civil war in Latin America but are not convincing in the year 2001 and reusing ideas he employed before. The people lose their teeth and are able to read others' minds as in "Tommyknockers". Again we have a gang of children fighting against the bad boys who are still friends in middle age as in "IT". But in the earlier books it worked; it was full of life, gripping and full of inspiration. Now I had the feeling that King had to finish a book without having any new ideas. I can't understand that people say he is back on his best form in this particular novel. The horror in the book doesn't work either; just some images of splattering bodies without the atmosphere which is so distinctive in his earlier work. In "Pet Semetary, for example, one had the feeling how it must be if a loved one is stolen by a terrifying power. The same strong atmosphere is likewise present in the first chapter of "IT" and in the gruesome Marden House of "Salems Lot". To sum up, the loss of amtmosphere, combined with the sometimes rather cheap characters and the lack of new ideas made it impossible for me to finish the book. I'm not an old fan, I'm a new one (and still I am), but I do think King should continue the path he chose in his most recent books and should not try to rewrite the old stories.

Dreamcatcher was my first Stephen King novel. It was reccomended to me by a friend and I was very pleased with it. Why did I give it 4/5? It is confusing, childish at times, annoying, slow, and not very scary. Other than that it was a supremely satisfying book. An interesting par of the bok is that it is written in 3rd peron but changes the person to follow, so you can get many different points of view from a single scene. I liked it, but if you have never read a Stephen King book, try "The Shining". It is classic King and genuinely scary.

...and then it, well... it just ends. Hmph.
I give this book 4 stars, because it is--simply--a good read. However, it really fizzes out in the end.
The style is brilliant, back and forth; just when you get into a particular event, and can't wait to turn the page, it ends, and a new event unfolds. Each chapter consistantly refer's to prior, current, and future happenings. This really shows his talent, and keeps the pages turning. Somehow he seems to lose this in the end, leading to a less than hoped for ending.
A must read for all die-hard King fans, and a pretty good read for everyone else.

Classic Stephen King at work here. Incredibly detailed characters that spring to life from the page as though they're just as eager to see what happens in the story as you'll be. Do yourself a favor though, after reading the book don't even bother with the movie....it's horrible. Completely different story altogether. Back to the book though...read it. You'll spend about 3-4 days with this one, maybe less. Don't be intimidated by the size -- it goes (as we say in Maine) wicked fast. You'll pick it up and start reading and before you even know it, you'll be 50 pages in.
Great story.

I am a very big fan of Stephen king's novels and can honestly say that this book just isn't hapenning. The book starts very interesting but as you keep reading it gets more and more boring. If you are thinking of buying this book, you will be better off buying one of his other novels.

I never thought I would say this, but this makes 'The Tommyknockers' look like a really excellent book... this is not up to par with King's recent offerings such as 'Bag of Bones' and 'Hearts in Atlantis.' King goes for the the gross-out in this book, and leaves the reader cringing with graphic images of various bodily functions. I am a big King fan, but I cannot in good conscience reccommend this book.

I've been reading S.K. since 1980: I'm pretty well acquainted with his writing. Sooo. . .
This book is really, really bad. The story is SO absurd (WHERE the creatures came from had to be the lowest and most perverse idea S.K. had ever had); I hated every character (wanted them ALL to die after the first few chapters)and the story itself was plodding (it took the characters about a thousand pages to travel from Point A to Point B).
This was a book written just to get something new on the shelves.
I was very disappointed. I can see the book on my shelf with the bookmark about fifty pages from the end; can't bring myself to finish it.
I'm warning everyone away from this one.

I am a King fan and have read most of his books. I really enjoyed this book, especially the history these men had growing up and as others have written Duddits. My only complaint with this story was that it could have been told equally as well minus all the profanity!!

In the past I was not a fan of Mr. King but in the past year that has began to change. If you have felt this way about him you might try revisiting him in this novel,you will be pleasently surprised. I liked this novel as it had good pace and was very readable (not as in some of his past works that were, to put it kindly, a little wordy.) Still sticking to the tried and true formula of good versus evil has served the author in good stead. I doubt that he would like the compliment but I think that Mr King is maturring nicely and becoming a really good author. Great book outstanding reading!

"Dreamcatcher" sees King at his writing best, in spite of the pain he must've been in during the creation of this novel. Another excellent character-driven thriller with enough gore and spookiness to make it classic King! As far as I'm concerned, King is King.

I am a Stephen King-a-holic. I buy everything as soon as it comes out... Even though there are few characters, I had trouble keeping up with them. Duddits speech patterns were annoying because I could never figure them out unless King translated. This is the only King book that I skipped over boring parts and had trouble reading to the end. I usually finish a good King book in a day or two but this took me a week because it wasn't good. I miss vintage King (The Stand, Salems Lot) those were good books. This one unfortunately, is not.

I've read many of the other reviews and to sum it up: Mr. King, please stop writing about aliens. I've read all his books and most of his published short stories. There is no better author than Stephen King as far as I'm concerned. I'm a true fan. But there have only been two books of his I did not care for and it was this one and the dreadful TOMMYKNOCKERS. His characters are always so rich in background but DREAMCATCHER had me confused and bored. All I can say is that I am waiting impatiently for the follow-up to THE TALISMAN.

I wasn't particularly impressed with this novel. I reeked to much like some of his earlier works combined together. It just lacked some of his originality. One of the things I love about Stephen King is his character development. I didn't feel he pulled it off in this novel. I also thought it was pretty gross. Why did there have to be parasitic alien creatures which caused massive burping and farting? Definitely not my cup of tea....

King is back. The critics be damned, this is some good writing.
Tommyknockers bored me, but this piece of work kept me going
for hours. Lots of allusions to his near death experience, and
if you really want the scoop on that, pick up On Writing, his
non fiction memoir.

After some disappointments (to me) by King, he's given us a book worth reading and talking about. Great read with plausible concept. Reminds me of Mr. King's earlier books. I understand it's going to be a movie, and hopefully will be just as good as the book.

This book is great. It caches your atention from the very begining. The language is amazing. I have read many Stephen King book(I am a huge fan) and I think this is one of the best. It is a lot like The Tommynockers but I liked that book so I dont care.

I have to say, King's epilogue was pretty cheesy (sorry, am I a fan though). To learn that "Mr. Gray" wasn't really "Mr. Gray" after 600 pages (I'm referring to the hardcover - I'm sure in paperback it's close to 1,000 pages); that it was simply Jonesy reacting with Duddits' Dreamcatcher abilities...I don't know - it seemed like a quick way to end things. The meat of the book though; the individual scenes of Kurtz or Jonesy w/ then "Mr. Gray", Duddits, Henry, etc. were very well put together.

I guess I'll be the first to pan this monstrosity. The first two hundred pages weren't bad, not scary, not thrilling, but not good either. Then the book started to fall apart for me and continued to bore me until, for the first time ever reading a Stephen King novel (and I have read them all and loved most) - I STOPPED reading and gave up. I didn't care about the characters (a very poor imitation of "The Loser's Club"), I didn't care where the story was going - where did it go anyway? Big disappointment for me as I am a big fan of King's. Not since INSOMNIA have I hated one of his books so much. I found it boring, wandering, illogical, and very UN-scary. The theme has all been done and been done better. King was way off this time. Maybe that Waterman pen he used sprang a leak.

I've read a lot of Stephen King books from the Dark Tower series to Hearts in Atlantis and this newest work is one of his best. King's mastery of description and imagery make the 620 pages go by with ease. Personally, I didn't think King would wander into the realm of alien abductions and whatnot, but he does a better job than anyone else. I found myself looking over my shoulder more than once while reading this book. However, don't take my word for it...read it and experience it for yourself.

Sometimes it happens even to the #1 fan...
It looks like king was trying to write a long episode of x files.
And not quite comprehansive one.
The story lose momentum as you past the first 60 pages. Even the attempt to tie the character with the dream catcher faild.
Is this the same author of the stand and IT ?
Does King become soft after the near death experience he had (i hope not)

I bought this book almost a year ago and after getting a hundred or so pages into it, I just couldn't read it anymore, I thought it was pretty boring. Then a couple of months ago I decided to pick it back up. I started from the beginning and got way more out of it the second time, then I couldn't put it down. I have no idea how I thought it was boring. The story was always interesting. This book made me pay a little more attention while deer hunting. If you want a good, but long, read then pick up Dreamcatcher.

I absolutley adore Stephen King, but can't read ALL of his work for fear of the ensuing nightmares! I found this novel to be a home-run... not so overwhelming that I couldn't sleep at night, but definitely kept me interested--despite the fact that I usually HATE the subject matter.

As a constant reader of Mr.King,I was at first dissappointed at the news and rumors when the book first came out that he repeated himself.As a result, before reading Dreamcatcher,I read his a couple of previous novels and plus From a Buick 8.When I got The Dreamcatcher I was already more than 2 years late to read it.What a shame as a constant reader!The Dreamcatcer is one of his best work along with the It,The Shining and The Stand.It will suprise you at many ways and times thruought the book.His description of snowy and cold weather is perfect too.You will love it.I hope and pray he never quits to write.

Steven King's latest offering is, well... lacking. The story line is inventive, the characters are expertly drawn, and the story has a real sense of urgency. Having said that, it seems that a considerable part of the story dragged on mercilessly. A good try for an author's second novel, but a far cry from such classics as misery or carrie.

Dreamcatcher is a story of five men who have grown up together, pete, henrey, beav, jonsey and duddits. The four (besides duddits) have gone on a yearly hunting trip to main for the past 25 years. However this year a stranger comes into camp. Along with him comes military quarrantine, ANG, and undescribable forces inside their heads. These forces allow telepathy and other powers. Will the three remining men be able to stop the infection of the northeasts main water source? Read this book and find out for yourself and then tell your friends.

This is an overall good book. Typical Stephen King. Although the plot is a little on the weak side, King's writing and storytelling is at it's best. There were almost 900 pages and there were very few places that dragged. Pretty impressive. Overall, in the better half of King books.

Loved it. Got a Lil bored with krunz character, or whatever his name was. But other than that I lived the story. Especially the relationship with the friends growing up. That part reminded me of IT. Speaking of lived the penny wise and losers club reference. Really I dunno wat ppl didn't like about this. ... It's creepy, at times funny and highly entertaining. I loved the parts of Jonsey arguing with the alien lol. Anyways this ones great for any acid reader of SK as well as a new comer. Defiantly one of my faves next to the shinning . You'll love this book

I have read every Stephen King book ever written and I couldn't wait to get my hands on this one. Well, what a let down this was. Dreamcatcher was not a good book in my opinion. The start was great but after a while you get the feeling the author was just making it drag out to get the 600 words. This story could have been done in 300 words, it would have been better. All up I was seriously disappointed. The story line was totally unbelievable and way too far fetched. I didn't like it and would not recommend this book. It wasn't in the slightest bit scary. Disappointing!!

The depth of the characters in this book are extrordinary, yet it doesn't take you on the ride that Mr. King's previous books have taken me on. A truely original adaptation of a classic tale man has waited long to discover. That alone makes it worth reading.

I was surprised to see all the negative reviews for this book. Although it started out slow, after the first hundred pages I could not put this book down. It's hard to believe that all 617 pages take place over the course of 36 hours. This is a great book and I reccommend anyone to pick it up and give it a chance. You will not be dissapointed. If not for the slow start, I would have given this book 5 stars

Stephen King's new novel is amazing. if you haven't read it, you should. This novel is going back almost to the way that his older novels were written. This novel is less of an emotion games novel as his other recent novels have been (although they were good, this true horror format is better). This novel has places where you will be frightened out of your mind, and parts where you will not be able to control your laughter, even some of the both occur at once. I guarrentee any true Stephen King fan will enjoy this novel.

King's deftly defined characters stick out most of all in this alien epidemic. Being one of my favorite of King's novels--this is a top-notch suspense ride to the very end.
Loved it!

Joseph McGee, author of In the Wake of the Night and Phil's Place

I much anticipated this book but am disappointed. I hope that Stephen King hasn't lost his touch! I am a fan of his work and must say that "Dreamcatcher" is my least favorite. The story line had potential but it felt rushed and didn't concentrate on the entertaining aspect of this work. I found myself rushing through this book to go onto the next.

Stephen King has done it again. He has crafted a tale of suspense, mystery, and intrigue that is so lifelike yet out of this world, that it is breathtaking. No one tells a good round the campfire ghost story like King. His book is reviting! As a fellow author, all I can say is "Congratulations Stephen!" You triumph again.

I'm a huge Stephen King fan, so I always read his works expecting something great about him.
And the begining of this novel certainly proved to be amusing and entertaining, but it all drifts after chapter 1, ending in an odd mix of characters and non-sense arguments.
Very weak and dissapointing.

This was the first book by Stephen King I have ever read. Infact it was the first book over 300 pages that made me want to continue reading still. This book managed to keep my attention glued from page 1 and what a joy it is to read this book. I looved reading this book, and if you don't know which book to buy this is a good choice!

I enjoyed the parts of the book about the four friends and their strange powers, but once Kurtz and his crew came on board, it got hard to follow. It took a long time for the storylines to mesh. The dialogue is Big Steve at his best, but I think the Duddits stuff was a little overdone.

Stephen King's latest work is a tale of redemption that starts out with real promise and originality. The ending is what killed this story for me, and seems to reinforce a pattern over the author's last few novels. Not his best work.

I say the preview for the movie last month and had to read the book. What a dissapointment. I was hoping for a good sci-fi book that at least explained something about the aliens in the book. King tunes out in the worst way in trying to explain where these creatures come from and why they come to earth. There are logical flaws so huge that really take away from the otherwise fine writing. You are left with an empty feeling at the end. Those who want to read the book for King's writing, go ahead, but those who like sci-fi, avoid like the plague.

It's regrettable the prissy conventionality of aging provincial college grad's cloak their animus at the indifference their met with in the arts as a book review. The more cosmopolitan readers of Mr. King may be excused a certain malice at seeing such preening intellectualism isolated and effectless.

I loved what King did with the 4 boys' character study & duddits. It was great how he tied their life stories together through childhood and adulthood. You need to read this or you will be missing a treat.

I love King books. I do. I was even given the complete uncut version of The Stand as a Valentines Day gift. But this book was (and there's no nice way to say this) utter crap. It didn't even seem like a King book. Maybe some parts did but the writing style was very odd. I do NOT recommend it, not even for die-hard King fans like myself.

I read, TommyKnockers, Thinner, Talisman (my favorite), and others by Stephen King I dont remember right now. I was expecting alot from this book. This book was nothing compared to his previous work I read. I found it boring, and confusing, some parts were not detailed enough, and why did he have to go describe exactly what EVERYBODY is thinking? Some of the characters were typical,and predictable. Most of all, I hate books that seem like they could become cheesy "made for tv" movies.

I enjoyed this book, maybe not his best, but good nontheless. I find a lot of his books are hard to get into, but after a while you find yourself into the story and enjoying every minute. He seems to take a while "preparing" the story. As far as this book goes, by the end I was rooting for the good guys and running from the bad guys and at the end I was tired like I was actually there!

The new Stephen King novel has not only the horror, suspence and overall nailbiting one would expect from a typical King book, in addition to the above it also has humour. More than once at the beginning of this book I found myself chuckling out loud. As is King's style however, my chuckles turned to horror as the true nature of the humouress 'moments' were exposed.King captures us up into his 'Dreamcatcher' and leaves us with more than one sleepless night. A must read book. One that King fans surely should not miss!

I think this is a classic horror and science fiction novel. Very intense, scary and thought provoking. The characters were very likable or hatable as good villains should be. This book ranks right up there with other King classics such as "The Stand".

I'll keep this short, no need for a plot summary, just knowthat this book is not worth your time! Luckily, I checked Dreamcatcherout from the library, so I didn't get taken .... I plodded along for300 pages before realizing I was wasting my time and giving up. I haveread every Stephen King book published, and this is his worstever. The writing style is crude and bitter, he must have been on alot of painkillers when he wrote this one. I'll never give up onStephen King, but do yourself a favor and skip Dreamcatcher! END

I was so looking forward to this book because everyone blurp I'd read had me thinking that the characters in this book were the same as the heroes in "It". Beware! They are not!! As much as I love Stephen King, this book is tedious, long, and rambling. I think I'll go re-read "The Stand"...

after recent books mainly dealing with themes such as the human spirit and overcoming traumas from the past, king has returned to his horror roots with Dreamcatcher. king skillfully spins the tale of four childhood friends who are on their yearly hunting trip in a remote section of maine. an alien craft has crashed in the area bringing with it a deadly virus that the U.S. military frantically tries to destroy. trapped in the forest the four friends are subject to dangers that the aliens as well as the military pose. at times gruesome, funny, touching, and intelligent, Dreamcatcher is vintage king.

Although, "Dreamcatcher," wasn't what I would normally expect from Stephen King, I certainly enjoyed it. I loved all of the twists and turns that he provides for his readers, and I especially liked the ending. It was unexpected, yet it all made perfect sense. I would encourage readers to read this book. It has a little something for everyone, you could say. It was most defiantly an interesting find. In short, I loved the book and would read it again.

I am an avid King fan. I am sorry to say that after Carrie, Night Shift, The Stand, and seven others of his first releases I have been very disappointed. I have stuck with him because I think he tries to reach to new heights and I respect that in an author. Dreamcatcher finally goes back to the ease of writing that he once had. You get an in depth experience of what he went through after his accident. He also does not copy any storyline currently on the market. A book you will be fully immersed it.

Hearing about the book Dreamcatcher from my friends, I assumed it was a great read and I look forward to reading it before ever opening it. After the first six chapters, the book was really boring me. If it weren't for the fact I had to write a book report on Dreamcatcher for my class, I would have quit reading it right away. A couple of parts were interesting, but the alien conflict was little to none. I guess you could say Stephen King caught the wrong dream to write about this time.

Dreamcatcher is the return debut one of horrors most thrilling authors. Stephen King returns as his alter personality Richard Bachman, and unleases a deadly plague on New England in true Bachman style. When it comes to the fate of the world King has one hell of an imagination. Somewhere between aliens, crazed military personnel, and an extraterrestrial fungus, a group of four childhood friends must Stand against the odds. I admit Dreamcatcher is far cry from the Dark Tower Series or the Stand, but I could not put this book down.

When the four guys come up and find the older kids abusing douglas it sounds like a subtil reference to the Dark Tower/Rose.
Douglas is in a vacant lot and the description of this lot sounds so much like the vacant lot in NYC where Jake finds the rose. In both books the good guys want to protect the object in question. The Rose calms Jakes duality and allows him to regain sanity. Douglas has a similiar effect and serves the purpose of maintaning order in the Dreamcatcher world not unlike the rose and dark tower.
Opinions?

While I may be a teenager, I have read a great many books in my life so far, but this book ranks best. It is wonderfully put together and combines suspense, terror, melancholy, humor, and so so much more into it. It made me cry, laugh enormously, shiver, and think. I love this man's writing and this great book. I would recommend it to ANYONE if they didn't mind listening to a few swears.

I listened the CD version of this book. There are 20 CDs read by DeMunn! This is the longest story I've ever heard. I went through most of them on the road between Kansas City and St Louis. Though the reader may have to go back and forth in time with the development of the story, it's still manageble and will feel relaxed if heard from DeMunn, one of King's best storytelling, 'an actor of great skill and subtlety who knows that less is more especially when it comes to this book's ample blood, horror and ferocious little aliens'.

After Hearts in Atlantis and The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, I was a little reluctant to plunk down another 28 bucks for a King book. I was pleasantly suprised by this book though. It was like the old Stephen King that I know and love! This book is a good one! Interesting, good story line, just enough thrills and gore to keep you reading and scarey enough to keep you from hanging your feet over the edge of the bed.
I was afraid that he had lost his "umph" after the last 2 fiascos but take heart King fans! He's baaaaack!!!

I thought this was one of his more Lovecraftian books. I don't want to give anything away so I'll leave it at that. Let me say, though, that his ending is a little more satisfying than most of Lovecraft's.

I have read all of Stephen King's books, both fiction and non-fiction, and was very disappointed with "Dreamcatcher". I think the story was more of a psychosomatic vomiting relating to King's recent accident and sounded rather morphine tainted. It was like a fruit salad (parts and pieces) of his other stories and lacked it's ability to stand on it's own. Sometimes less is better, and even though I love a long read, "Dreamcatcher" needed to be downsized and rehabed into something a little clearer and crisper.
Why have all of Stephen's books gotten progressively more infected with profanity? I'm not a prude, but knowing a million ways to rhyme the f-word and other crude language really doesn't captivate me. Like the "Byrus", this ran amuck.

I was a die-hard SK fan until about 4 books ago. He's lost his touch. I so wanted to like this book, but it's bad, really bad. Incomprehensible and all over the place, and much, much too long. Sorry, Mr. King.

Once again in Dreamcatcher King has delivered the literary equivalent of 5 pounds of horse manure in a ten pound bag. I used to love reading King but his last 5 books have proven to be a great disappointment. He ought to give some of his royalties from this book to the Estate of Richard Laymon from whom he "borrowed" the evil aliens from. Does King even have an editor thsese days? Belive it or not King we aren't all interested in evry thought that pops into your head. [...].I give this book the big "Thumbs Down"

All of King's books have found a home in my personal library, but "Dreamcatcher" has been collecting dust. Has taken months to force myself through 354 pages. Every time I open the book it's as though I'm overcome by a case of attention-deficit-disorder. However, having read a few glowing reviews offered in this venue, I will continue the read, searching for a bit of the magic that has made Mr. King a master storyteller.