Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Search - The Dead Zone

The Dead Zone
The Dead Zone
Author: Stephen King
John Smith awakens from an interminable coma with an accursed power-the power to see the future and the terrible fate awaiting mankind in...the dead zone.
ISBN: 7488
Edition: Unabridged
Rating:
  • Currently 3.9/5 Stars.
 4

3.9 stars, based on 4 ratings
Book Type: Paperback
Other Versions: Hardcover, Audio CD
Members Wishing: 0
Reviews: Member | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

reviewed The Dead Zone on + 170 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 8
A man has an accident and goes into a coma. When he wakes up, he finds his latent psychic power to read the future by touch has been amped up to an unbelievable level. This is a pretty good read. It's slow moving in parts, but it's old King and still in his really good years.
kben avatar reviewed The Dead Zone on + 10 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 8
I did run into the same problem I encounter with some of his work. He sets up wonderful concepts and characters in the first third of the novel, they struggle and endure through the second third of the novel, and I spend the final third wondering when the damn thing comes to an end.

Overall, though, The Dead Zone is fun and spooky and weird, which is what I expect when I pick up a King novel.
roarlady avatar reviewed The Dead Zone on + 24 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 5
Not as widely read as some other KING novels, this book will still make you a fan. Concept of novel is as valid today or maybe even more so than when written...chilling
Lenore avatar reviewed The Dead Zone on + 193 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
Much MUCH better than the new TV series....What would you do if you could see the horror of the future...how would you stop it? Definitely worth a read and far better use of your time than watching the USA series.
Spicygirl avatar reviewed The Dead Zone on + 14 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
In my opinion, one of King's best!
Read All 55 Book Reviews of "The Dead Zone"

Please Log in to Rate these Book Reviews

reviewed The Dead Zone on + 612 more book reviews
Johnny, the small boy who skated at reakneck speed into an accident that for one horrifying minute plunged him into...
THE DEAD ZONE

Johnny Smith, the small-town school teacher who spun the wheel of fortune and won a four-and-a-half year trip into...
THE DEAD ZONE

John Smith, who awakened from an interminable coma with an accursed power- the power to see the future and the terrible fate awaiting mankind in...
THE DEAD ZONE
reviewed The Dead Zone on + 2 more book reviews
I enjoyed this book from Stephen King. As usual he seems to be one of the best at getting the reader involved with the characters.
reviewed The Dead Zone on + 3 more book reviews
John Smith awakens from a coma with an accursed power - the power to see the future and the terrible fate awaiting mankind. This is one of my favorite from this author, hope and death go hand in hand in this novel.
reviewed The Dead Zone on + 8 more book reviews
Thrilling. Terrifying. Don't read this before you go to sleep.
reviewed The Dead Zone on + 1568 more book reviews
Johnny, the small boy who skated at breakneck speed into an accident that for one horrifying moment plunged him into THE DEAD ZONE
John Smith, who awakened from an interminable coma with an accursed power--to see the future and the terrible fate awaiting mankind in THE DEAD ZONE.
Stephen King has done it again.
reviewed The Dead Zone on + 33 more book reviews
Amazon.com
In the St. James Guide to Horror, Ghost & Gothic Writers, Gary Westfahl predicts that "King has already earned himself a place in the history of literature.... At the very least, he will enjoy the status of a latter-day Anthony Trollope, an author respected for his popularity and social commentary.... More likely, he will be enshrined as the Charles Dickens of the late 20th century, the writer who perfectly reflected, encapsulated, and expressed the characteristic concerns of his era."
If any of King's novels exemplifies his skill at portraying the concerns of his generation, it's The Dead Zone (1979). Although it contains a horrific subplot about a serial killer, it isn't strictly a horror novel. It's the story of an unassuming high school teacher, an Everyman, who suffers a gap in time--like a Rip Van Winkle who blacks out during the years 1970-75--and thus becomes acutely conscious of the way that American society is rapidly changing. He wakes up as well with a gap in his brain, the "dead zone" of the title. The zone gives him crippling headaches, but also grants him second sight, a talent he doesn't want and is reluctant to use. The crux of the novel concerns whether he will use that talent to alter the course of history.

The Dead Zone is a tight, well-crafted book. When asked in 1983 which of his novels so far was "the best," Stephen King answered, "The one that I think works the best is Dead Zone. It's the one that [has] the most story." --Fiona Webster--This text refers to the Paperback edition.
romeo avatar reviewed The Dead Zone on + 334 more book reviews
Johnny, the small boy who skated at breakneck speed into an accident that for one horrifying moment plunged him into the Dead Zone. Johnny Smith, the small town school teacher who spun the wheel of fortune and won a 4 and1/2 year trip to the Dead Zone. John Smith, who awakened from an interminable coma with an accursed power-the power to see the future and the terrible fate awaiting mankind in the Dead Zone.
reviewed The Dead Zone on + 25 more book reviews
Original movie version, with pictures. One of my collection of Stephen King books. Check out the rest.
reviewed The Dead Zone on + 64 more book reviews
Great book and the photos from the film are a lot of fun.
reviewed The Dead Zone on + 5 more book reviews
I loved this book. It was so much better than the movie or the series. You must read it!
tlmetz avatar reviewed The Dead Zone on + 14 more book reviews
GREAT BOOK!
reviewed The Dead Zone on + 15 more book reviews
I love the TV series dead zone, this was the first Stephen King book I have ever read. I absolutly loved it.
reviewed The Dead Zone on + 26 more book reviews
This one was pretty good, one of King's better works.
gamblerjoyce avatar reviewed The Dead Zone on + 7 more book reviews
ANOTHER GREAT KING BOOK!
barbspaints avatar reviewed The Dead Zone on + 2 more book reviews
I am a Stephen King fan, so all of his books are great to me. I love to wonder what kind of mind this man must have.
reviewed The Dead Zone on + 14 more book reviews
I couldn't put this one down. The ending was really unexpected and left me wanting more but if you're a Stephen King fan then The Dead Zone is a must read.
reviewed The Dead Zone on + 725 more book reviews
John Smith awakens from an interminable coma with an accursed power-the power to see the future and the terrible fate awaiting mankind in...the dead zone.
reviewed The Dead Zone on
great read!
reviewed The Dead Zone on + 29 more book reviews
I'm not a real fan of Stephen King; however, this is one of the few by him that I really enjoyed.
reviewed The Dead Zone on + 11 more book reviews
Great book.
reviewed The Dead Zone on + 22 more book reviews
Really a gripping book. Not a bad television series either! But then Stephen King knows how to weave that magic. This is a very entertaining book. Scary too!!
reviewed The Dead Zone on + 5 more book reviews
Classic Stephen King novel.
reviewed The Dead Zone on + 58 more book reviews
One of Stephen Kings good ones, just loved it


Genres: