Sorry, sorry, sorry.

But I just couldn't get through this story and didn't come to like it.

Should I try again? Nah, there are too many good books waiting for me.

I haven't gone past 40 pages or so.

Maybe when the movie is on TV I'll give it another shot.

It's not that the story is necessarily bad, it just didn't grab my attention right away.

There are so many other books out there that I'm eager to explore.

I don't want to waste my time on something that isn't captivating me.

However, I do know that sometimes a story can seem uninteresting at first but then really draw you in as you get further along.

Maybe that will be the case with this one if I wait until the movie comes out.

The visual aspect of the movie might help me understand the story better and pique my interest.

For now, though, I'm going to move on to other books and see what they have to offer.

Aliens explode … out of our backsides?

Yeah, it's a rather strange and vulgar book. To be honest, it is well-written. The theme of friendship is astonishingly presented here. There are four interesting characters. And the alien invasion story is quite creepy and highly entertaining.

However, it is really vulgar. It's not the best Stephen King book, but it's still fairly good. The author manages to create a vivid and engaging world despite the rather unorthodox and vulgar premise. The characters are well-developed and their relationships add depth to the story. The alien invasion aspect keeps the reader on the edge of their seat with its spooky and thrilling elements.

Overall, while the vulgarity may turn some readers off, those who can look past it will find an enjoyable and engaging read.

A group of friends on their yearly hunting trip find themselves in a most unexpected situation. They stumble upon an alien crash coverup in the Derry woods.

Dreamcatcher had such great potential to be a remarkable work by King. At the time of writing, he was taking painkillers after recovering from a car accident. This perhaps explains why this novel is slightly misguided. In a way, I'm more lenient towards it as it's quite muddled.

Douglas "Duddits" Cavell, a boy with Down syndrome, best exemplifies this. The first half of the novel is truly excellent, with some really good setup. The body horror is outstanding, especially the bathroom scenes which are truly terrifying.

It's by no means a bad novel, but it took me a while to finish this one. It's more of a disappointment that with such a great concept, it ultimately fails to hit the mark.

The first half I found brilliant, then it sagged a bit through the author's mental thought threads, which I somehow couldn't quite follow anymore *laugh* but then in the last third it became very exciting again!

The blurb doesn't really reveal much, so I was very curious about what kind of journey I would go on here. Typical for King, it's off to Maine again, near Derry, a setting that one often finds in his books. There are also several references to the story in "It", as in Derry "children keep disappearing", they drive past Jerusalem's Lot, the setting of the eponymous novel, also known as Salem's Lot - and the Shawshank prison is also mentioned, from the filmed short story Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption. He likes to use such connections and I love it!

The hunting trip of the four men, Beaver, Henry, Pete and Jonesy, who have known each other since childhood, however, increasingly gets out of control when a lost hunter turns up at their place.

Already in the headlines with which the author introduces the book, one can see that we are dealing here with a third kind of encounter. In the lonely forests of Maine, strange lights can be seen in the sky and very soon one begins to feel the devastating changes that this extraterrestrial visit brings with it.

While we accompany the four friends in their horror scenario in the present, there are always short flashbacks to their childhood. An experience with Duddits, a boy with Down Syndrome, changed them back then - he has so to speak "coloured" them with his ability. Because Duddits sees "the line". A kind of guide and mental connection that he can establish with Beaver, Henry, Pete and Jonesy. What exactly lies behind this one only learns bit by bit and although more is gone into towards the end, I couldn't always quite follow King in his thought processes, but that's nothing new for me ^^

The theme of telepathy occurs quite often in King's books and it fascinates me completely. Also here it is a central basic idea, although I couldn't quite see through the connection to the "Dreamcatcher" as a dream catcher as I said.

The memories of back then are sparsely scattered and although one gets a sense of what abilities Duddits has and how they "colour" his four friends, in hindsight I would have liked to know a bit earlier and a bit more about it. However, this didn't occur to me in the first half of the book because the story completely captivated me. What comes to earth here is - of course - no peaceful visit and King has mixed in some gruesome and disgusting details that have made the horror very clear and vivid.

Although it sometimes even had a rather strange and funny aftertaste. Especially Beaver's rough sayings sometimes really made me laugh out loud, which really rarely happens to me :).

The strange phenomena of course bring the military onto the scene, which adds an interesting variant of another kind of horror. There are many rumours about Area 51 and about contacts or landings of unknown flying objects that were covered up by the governments. King takes this up here and gives it another gruesome twist with a somewhat crazy commander. Because he is not to be trifled with and the way in which these events in the forests of Maine are to be covered up from the world's population takes on very nasty proportions...

From the middle onwards, the tension was a bit lost for me in some chapters. Here the author gets a bit lost in daydreaming and drifts off into thoughts that I couldn't quite follow anymore. But for that it builds up again in the last third and a race against time begins.

Of course, the characters are brilliant again. The figures and how they experience the horrors, the author can describe as brilliantly as always and makes the reader feel a great deal of sympathy!

Anyway, I mostly really liked it, even though there were moments that I would rather have skipped.

From the afterword I would like to show you an excerpt, because it's just so cool :D

\\"This book was written with the world's best word processor, a Waterman fountain pen. Writing the first draft of such a long book by hand brought me so close to the language as I hadn't been for years. One night, during a power outage, I even wrote by candlelight. Such an opportunity is not often offered in the 21st century, and one should take advantage of it.\\"

Quote page 766

World Wanderer

I have a deep affection for this book, and the narration by Jeffrey DeMunn was truly outstanding!

The way it began and concluded with stories from the news was highly engaging. It added a sense of realism and relevance to the overall narrative.

The interweaving of the lives of the four friends, both in the present and the past, was executed with great expertise. It created a complex and multi-layered story that kept me hooked from start to finish.

What I particularly loved was the character of Dudditz, a person with Downs Syndrome. He ended up being able to stop the invading virus from outer space. This was a truly unexpected and heartwarming twist.

And of course, the saying "SSDD, Same Sh*t Different Day" really stuck with me. It added a touch of humor and relatability to the story. Overall, this book was a wonderful read, and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for an exciting and thought-provoking story.

3,9/5 - What an amazing story, even more amazing characters and (WARNING!) an amazing ending! In a King book! Seriously now!

This review seems to be highly praising a book by King. The story is described as amazing, which likely means it has a captivating plot that keeps the reader engaged from start to finish. The characters are also lauded as being even more amazing, perhaps indicating that they are well-developed and have unique personalities that draw the reader in.

The mention of a "tolles Ende" or amazing ending is particularly enticing. It makes the reader wonder what kind of twist or resolution awaits them at the conclusion of the story. The exclamation point after "King Buch" emphasizes the excitement and anticipation that the reviewer has for this particular book.

The final sentence, "Morgen Abend wird der Film geguckt

Time has come for me to make a full circle and return to one of my favorite books from a well-known opus and author. It is one of the works that will be rather unpleasant to quantify with a rating due to its originality, the author's boldness to find a firm foothold in the style, as well as due to the personal history that the book and I have (one of the first that was recommended in our, now already legendary and outdated RTS show Stepenište).

Johnny almost killed a man.

Looking through the sights into the shadows of the thicket, it seemed to him that he clearly saw the head of a deer…

King, without the firm hand of an editor, gives a more extensive work with a lot of empty space, but also with the unevenness of the characters, their background stories and motives, somewhat gambling with their fates, often also with the patience of the reader, which nevertheless results in a spectacular story and perhaps the greatest culprit for the external framework of my last novel (the external framework was made more than 13 years ago).

I have read this novel surely about ten times. Its metaphors are the protective sign of King's good works (and he has written a lot of rubbish from one brother to another), and I could list its flaws until tomorrow, but I will stay on pure nostalgia and add that I remember at least four wonderful scenes every time I bring a cigarette to my lips…

I initially had the perception that this book was good.

As I delved deeper into its pages, I found myself increasingly engaged.

The storylines were captivating, and the characters were well-developed.

Each chapter seemed to bring something new and exciting, keeping me on the edge of my seat.

The author's writing style was also quite remarkable.

It was clear, concise, and yet full of vivid descriptions that painted a vivid picture in my mind.

I could easily imagine the settings and the events as if they were happening right in front of me.

Moreover, the book had a certain charm that made it difficult to put down.

Once I started reading, I found myself lost in its world, completely oblivious to the passage of time.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a good read.

It is definitely one that will stay with you long after you have finished turning the last page.

Para empezar, the title was not well translated. It should be "El Atrapasueños", which refers to the tissue in the shape of a spider web. At least for me, "El Cazador de Sueños" gave me the impression of a person or something that entered your dreams when you slept or prevented you from having nightmares, etc. That's why after delving deeply into the story, I realized this.

In general, it is a good story. At the beginning, the protagonists and their connections are presented very well. Once the main plot begins, one realizes that there is a tendency towards science fiction, which, however, I have liked. It is attractive that those themes are touched upon.

I have not given it 5 stars because at times it seemed to me that the story was too long, especially a pursuit that took many more pages than it should have.

This novel is not among the best of Stephen King, but I also don't consider it bad. It is of particular interest to fans of Stephen King (like me) or people with inclinations towards the horror and science fiction genres.

L'acchiappasogni is not just the story of a friendship that has endured for many years. It is also the tale of an alien invasion, a virus (King is always visionary), and telepathic abilities.

It is the second science fiction book about aliens that I have read written by S. King (the first one was The Mist, highly recommended), and every time I notice that the opinions are more negative than otherwise. This always makes me start with some concern, but in reality, I found the book decidedly coherent with King's style and literary output.

And since it is coherent with King's style, yes, I admit that the book could have been a bit shorter, I admit that there are some slower and less engaging points, but I also admit that L'acchiappasogni (the meaning of the title is not immediately clear, but rest assured that everything will become clear before the end) I liked.

I can't help but smile at the explicit and not so explicit references to It (explicit when referring to the events that took place in 1984-'85 in Derry and when one of the protagonists, passing through there, notices the monument that the Losers' Club has dedicated to the children killed, spoiled by a writing that says: PENNYWISE LIVES; not so explicit when the group of protagonists is bound by a friendship since they were children, when the group helped a bullied boy who then entered their own circle, when together - as long as possible - they try to defeat a virus brought by some aliens nicknamed the Grays).

In short, in my opinion, L'acchiappasogni does not fall into the category of S. King's masterpieces, but it has all the right cards to be appreciated.

Lots of gross outs and a narrow escape for human-kind. Another story that I believe could have been improved. It seems that this particular tale didn't quite hit the mark for me.

My wife had a different opinion and liked this book. However, I found myself getting into the "bathroom fiction" (quite literally) and pondering why I was still reading it. Stephen King is undeniably a talented writer, but his willingness to venture into the vulgar doesn't align with my personal taste.

In a sense, it's a pity because the concept underlying this story is very engaging and has the potential to be an excellent novel. But, unfortunately, for me, this one just didn't quite make it.

I'm sorry to those of you who are big fans of King, as I know there are many. And as I mentioned, my wife liked this book. But for me, it simply didn't hold my interest.

See. I tried to tell everyone that bacon saves lives and nobody believed me. Sweet, sweet redemption.

Ummmmm… what can I say about this but woof. This one truly blew my mind, and unfortunately, it was in all the wrong ways. It seems to possess every bloated, meandering, and garrulous quality that one might associate with SK. However, it lacks any of the fantastical, captivating, and life-giving qualities that typically redeem his stories for me.

For a man who is notoriously known for writing without an outline, this drug-induced fever dream of a ludicrous nightmare desperately cried out for some structure and editing. It's not that more drugs were needed. In fact, it definitely didn't require any additional substances. What it truly needed was a more focused and refined approach to bring out the potential that might have been hidden within this convoluted mess.

Perhaps with some careful pruning and a tighter narrative, this could have been a more engaging and enjoyable read. But as it stands, it left me feeling rather disappointed and longing for the kind of magic that SK is capable of creating.