Status
Available
Call number
Publication
Scribner
Pages
620
Description
Four men who reunite every year during hunting season in the woods of Maine, encounter a disoriented, incoherent stranger who drags the men into a terrifying struggle with a creature from another world, and their only chance for survival lies in their shared past.
Description
What might be done to human beings by the "Other"--whether the "Other" be vampires, demons or creatures from outer space--is always in competition for absolute horror with what we do to ourselves. Stephen King has, in his time, played with both sources of the nightmarish and in Dreamcatcher, the first complete novel since his near-fatal accident, he gives us both.
Four childhood friends, united by secrets, are caught in the quarantine zone when something crashes into the remote forests of Maine; and the question becomes who will avoid being eaten alive by alien fungi, torn from the inside by alien ferrets, possessed by alien minds or menaced by a psychotic military commander to whom ruthlessness has become a macho ego trip?
The Earth is in peril as well, needless to say, but most of our attention is taken up with a few men caught on the edge, and where the most important thing in the world turns out to be the fact that four small boys saved a fifth from a beating.
This has the hall-marks of a good King novel--memorable catchphrases whose meaning we only gradually learn and a sense of how it feels to be human.
Four childhood friends, united by secrets, are caught in the quarantine zone when something crashes into the remote forests of Maine; and the question becomes who will avoid being eaten alive by alien fungi, torn from the inside by alien ferrets, possessed by alien minds or menaced by a psychotic military commander to whom ruthlessness has become a macho ego trip?
The Earth is in peril as well, needless to say, but most of our attention is taken up with a few men caught on the edge, and where the most important thing in the world turns out to be the fact that four small boys saved a fifth from a beating.
This has the hall-marks of a good King novel--memorable catchphrases whose meaning we only gradually learn and a sense of how it feels to be human.
Collection
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2001
Physical description
620 p.; 9.5 inches
ISBN
0743211383 / 9780743211383
Similar in this library
Media reviews
Der Fluss der Zeit geht durch diese Bücher, und man spürt, wie seine Strömung die einzelnen Identitäten auflösen muss. Der Roman ist mit dem Waterman-Patronen-Füller geschrieben, schon dadurch hat er eine starke Beziehung zum Flüssigen - "das hat mich der Sprache so nahe gebracht, wie ich es
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seit Jahren nicht mehr war. Eines Nachts, während eines Stromausfalls, habe ich sogar bei Kerzenlicht geschrieben." King leiht allen andern seine Stimme, so radikal, dass er als Autor fast verschwindet, wie Joyce und Proust, Céline und Faulkner. Bei keinem anderen modernen Autor hat man so intensiv das Gefühl, dass Amerika ein Land der Transzendenz ist: Wir sind die andern, die andern sind wir. Das ganze Land spricht in diesem Buch, ein unaufhörlicher, überpersönlicher "stream of consciousness". Wir sind "an eine Stromleitung angeschlossen, die statt Elektrizität Stimmen führt." Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member JeffV
The story in Dreamcatcher isn't bad, but even King's normally compelling characterizations could make me care about the mostly Maine rednecks featured in this alien invasion story. Part of the reason is I don't really ever want to mind-meld with a retarded person, and this was a common theme of the
The "sh*t weasels" as the were called were born in an tradition dating back to Alien, but the "pregnancy" was a litany of fart jokes. It was crude, and wholly uninteresting, at least to adult readers. Often I find something to like about a Stephen King book, but this time, there is very little to recommend.
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story. Another annoyance was the nature of the invading aliens -- basically spores that could take control of victims or impregnate them with something resembling a worm/weasel hybrid. No scientists were involved, but the military was. The "sh*t weasels" as the were called were born in an tradition dating back to Alien, but the "pregnancy" was a litany of fart jokes. It was crude, and wholly uninteresting, at least to adult readers. Often I find something to like about a Stephen King book, but this time, there is very little to recommend.
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LibraryThing member cbilbo
This was just creepy. I read it when the book came out years ago. I had dreams for a few days of a fungus growing on my body.
With the typical King plots, you have the story based in Maine. This book takes place when childhood friends meet up for a hunting trip and things just go wrong!
The town is
It's not scary, just weird. Great King novel.
With the typical King plots, you have the story based in Maine. This book takes place when childhood friends meet up for a hunting trip and things just go wrong!
The town is
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affected, everyone is in on lock down. You have military sweep in trying to control the situation. It's not scary, just weird. Great King novel.
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LibraryThing member ursula
Ugh. King at his worst.
LibraryThing member Lukerik
This is a novel about invasion: invasion of the environment, invasion of the body and invasion of the mind. The rhetoric doesn't stop there. Here's a beauty from page 570:
"The night roars with music and laughter and loud voices; the air is big with the smell of grilled hotdogs, chocolate, roasted
The occasional passage of fine writing is not enough to save what is a failed novel. Baggy and boring with uninteresting characters. 50% of it is deus ex machina. It did keep me occupied on the train but by the end I was begging it to be over.
"The night roars with music and laughter and loud voices; the air is big with the smell of grilled hotdogs, chocolate, roasted
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peanuts; the sky blooms with coloured fire. Binding it all together, identifying it, signing it like summer's own autograph, is an ampliphied rock-and-roll song from the speakers that have been set up in Strawford Park"The occasional passage of fine writing is not enough to save what is a failed novel. Baggy and boring with uninteresting characters. 50% of it is deus ex machina. It did keep me occupied on the train but by the end I was begging it to be over.
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LibraryThing member silversurfer
Would have rated this 4 Stars, but as usual, King Pontificates so much...This is needlessly too long.
LibraryThing member Carol420
The woods, with Beaver and Company inside, are quarantined --- but not quite tightly enough. There is one hope, however. Some 30 years previously, four boys befriended and helped Duddits, a young man with Down's Syndrome who, it seems, helped them even more. And he, along with them, is now the only
Is this Stephen King's best book? No. Top 10? Yes. Top 5? Maybe. I might have to get back to you on that. But forget about its ranking; it'll keep you up, oh yes, it'll keep you up for a whole passel of nights and it'll make you sweat and laugh and stare at the guy with the vacant look in his eye who just sat down next to you on the bus. It'll also restore your faith in Stephen King, if you lost it to begin with. And it will definitely keep you out of the woods.
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hope that the world has. There is one problem, though. Actually, there are two problems. One is The Alien. The other is Kurtz. And they both pose a terrible danger to Duddits and his friends --- not to mention the rest of the world.Is this Stephen King's best book? No. Top 10? Yes. Top 5? Maybe. I might have to get back to you on that. But forget about its ranking; it'll keep you up, oh yes, it'll keep you up for a whole passel of nights and it'll make you sweat and laugh and stare at the guy with the vacant look in his eye who just sat down next to you on the bus. It'll also restore your faith in Stephen King, if you lost it to begin with. And it will definitely keep you out of the woods.
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LibraryThing member oldstick
Just for once I left it for a month before writing a review and found to my surprise I had forgotten what it was about. This is most unusual for a Stephen King book but the reviews below reminded me. I liked the author's note better than the book although I remember enjoying it while I was reading
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it. Show Less
LibraryThing member littlebookworm
Thinking of some of the absolutely amazing books Stephen King has penned, I can't understand where this one came from. It's not even close to his best. I'm a fan of his, but I was disappointed by Dreamcatcher.
LibraryThing member srboone
Third of the Derry trilogy. I liked the grim nastiness of it all, but the resolution was disappointing. Not bad when looked at at King's recuperation effort (I like the name Caner, though. I wish he'd kept it.)
LibraryThing member kd9
Some people think this is one of Stephen King's worst books. I liked it a lot better than Misery or Dolores Claibourne, but I can also understand why people don't like it. The book is full of anger and pain. It was written just after King's terrible traffic accident and he lets the pain of his
But even given the depressing nature of most of the book (and the endless scatological references), this is still vintage King. The plot moves along. There are several fascinating, though not endearing, characters, and the writing is crisp and understandable. In the end, though, given a choice I would choice a dozen other King books before I read this one again.
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rehabilitation pour out in this book by having one of the protagonists suffer the same broken hip he did.But even given the depressing nature of most of the book (and the endless scatological references), this is still vintage King. The plot moves along. There are several fascinating, though not endearing, characters, and the writing is crisp and understandable. In the end, though, given a choice I would choice a dozen other King books before I read this one again.
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LibraryThing member Blazingice0608
First book King wrote after being hit by a car, he wrote it while recovering actually, and you can really see his determination and physical pain when reading this book. He didnt lose his touch either, this is a long book packed with as a total package, it has tons of characters with their own
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storylines that brilliantly come together, a multilayered, complex story with a dose of humour to go with it. What brings it down for me is that the characters werent up to par, not as much depth a King usually offers. Had he of fleshed them out with his usual depth, we would have another 1000+ page magnum opus along with It, Stand, and Dark Tower, this one being about an alien invasion. Aside from the somewhat flat, but not really terrible characters either, this is a pretty close to perfect King novel up there with his best. The characters just brought it down a lot for me as his characters make his stories for me, so it was a bit of a shame, but nonetheless it kept me going at a fast pace with non stop interest and lots of twists and turns for almost 900 pages, so that says something. Definitly pick the one up if you like King novels. Show Less
LibraryThing member santhony
This book contains some of the most horrifying and spine chilling writing I've ever read. However, as is often the case with Stephen King, he doesn't know when to stop. He skirts right up to the edge of the absurd and then he just busts right through the barrier and continues into the territory of
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the ridiculous. It's a shame. Show Less
LibraryThing member DF1A_ChristieR
Great book about four men who find people in the woods who seem to have been lost for a couple of days. One pair of men find and man and the other pair found a woman. Both man and woman seem to have a very serious case of the gas. Only when things start to get out of hand do the men know there is
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something not right here. Read the book to find out what happens to the men and the strangers. Show Less
LibraryThing member mazda502001
I have always been a huge fan of Stephen King's from the very beginning but this book just couldn't hold it together for me. I got about halfway through and, although I tried, I just found it very wanting. It hit the wall!
Back Cover Blurb:
In Derry, Maine, four young boys once stood together and did
A quarter of a century later, the boys are men who have gone their separate ways. Though they still get together once a year, to go hunting in the north woods of Maine. But this time is different. This time a man comes stumbling into their camp, lost, disoriented and muttering about lights in the sky.
Before long, these old friends will be plunged into the most remarkable events of their lives as they struggle with a terrible creature from another world. Their only chance of survival is locked in their shared past - and in the Dreamcatcher.
Back Cover Blurb:
In Derry, Maine, four young boys once stood together and did
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a brave thing. Something that changed them in ways they hardly understand.A quarter of a century later, the boys are men who have gone their separate ways. Though they still get together once a year, to go hunting in the north woods of Maine. But this time is different. This time a man comes stumbling into their camp, lost, disoriented and muttering about lights in the sky.
Before long, these old friends will be plunged into the most remarkable events of their lives as they struggle with a terrible creature from another world. Their only chance of survival is locked in their shared past - and in the Dreamcatcher.
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LibraryThing member sturlington
King wrote this long novel while recuperating from the pedestrian-car accident that nearly killed him and, unfortunately, it does show. The story of an alien fungus invading our minds is not as well plotted and suspenseful as most of King’s books, nor is it as fun. But all of us fans are grateful
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that the master of the modern horror novel is still churning out entertaining reads, even if they are not up to the standards of his earlier works. Show Less
LibraryThing member SonicQuack
There's a good chance that readers finally catching up with this large tome have already seen the film adaptation and so to summarize their relationship - very different indeed. The first page of Dreamcatcher concerns aliens, little grey ones, Area 51, etc. so there's no big reveal there (or is
Where King occasionally stumbles in his finale, Dreamcatcher has it right with a final fifth that is a Koontz book all in its own (the chase, always the chase) and it's bitter-sweet, pulling on heartstrings momentarily before punching you in the face. Written and executed by a true talent this is one not to be missed.
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there?). King's epic novel is as more concerned with people than action, with relationships than little grey men and it never misses its mark. Not once. The tale is packed with energy and emotion, with a 'Stand By Me' feel, injected with the horror of King at his mightiest. King develops realistic and likeable characters as well as entertaining villains, playing them out with both humour and malevolence.Where King occasionally stumbles in his finale, Dreamcatcher has it right with a final fifth that is a Koontz book all in its own (the chase, always the chase) and it's bitter-sweet, pulling on heartstrings momentarily before punching you in the face. Written and executed by a true talent this is one not to be missed.
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LibraryThing member lovelyliquid
Great read, The only issue I had was that the details for the creatures was too vague to gain a mental image. Otherwise this book was one I couldn't put down! If you are a vivid reader that visualizes everything you read I believe you will find this better to read than to watch the movie..
LibraryThing member babyfacetiger
too many different themes which didn't come together in a cohesive manner.
LibraryThing member beth1980
A brilliant book from one of my favourite authors, the gray men or Mr Gray and his evil sidekicks, the sh*t weasels! King wrote this just after suffering his terrible accident and his pain comes through the characters of Jonesy and Henry. Highly recommended!
LibraryThing member andyray
We're not going to forget this one soon! Nor the little retarded boy who is the center of the human dreamcatcher, and who gives his gifts to his friends. The movie put what SK painted in wisps of smoke into reality, but I'm not sure that was doing anyone a service. I like wisps of smoke that float
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randomly and can be construed as anything my mind dreams up. Show Less
LibraryThing member barpurple
Compeling and creepy. Classic King.
LibraryThing member alam.n
When I first read this book I loved it: a tale of friendship, loss & the supernatural. I enjoy the author's humour and Beaver-isms stayed with me for a while. As with most Stephen King books, Dreamcatcher is long and the ending could have arrived sooner: the conversation after the climax was
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unnecessary. Show Less
LibraryThing member karalawyer
I remembered fondly many of his other works.
As I had not read King in years, I gave this one a go.
I liked everything leading up to the alien shtick then just lost that lovin' feeling.
I kept trying to push through it but never got more than halfway before I donated it to Goodwill
As I had not read King in years, I gave this one a go.
I liked everything leading up to the alien shtick then just lost that lovin' feeling.
I kept trying to push through it but never got more than halfway before I donated it to Goodwill
LibraryThing member Bookmarque
I think of any King book I’ve read (the ones that I’ve finished) this took me the longest to get through. I think it’s because I didn’t really love the characters as much as he did. Usually, when he tells a story in which the past figures largely, he tells the entire story of the past and
A lot of this book is similar to previous books.
The dialogue between Mr. Gray and Jonesy is great.
It did make me laugh in a few places.
This book was also more brutal than some of the others. He has no problem killing off characters but in this one the methods and motives seemed more heartless. Kind of reminded me of The Dark Half in that way. Any hint of going easy on people was gone.
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then brings us to the present to deal with things. Not this time. He mentions the past a lot but never fully explains things. It’s those explanations that usually make me care about his characters. A lot of this book is similar to previous books.
The dialogue between Mr. Gray and Jonesy is great.
It did make me laugh in a few places.
This book was also more brutal than some of the others. He has no problem killing off characters but in this one the methods and motives seemed more heartless. Kind of reminded me of The Dark Half in that way. Any hint of going easy on people was gone.
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LibraryThing member nnylrac
The book is by far better than the movie. But I guess this isn't surprising with a Stephen King book.
Call number
FIC G Kin