I had been postponing reading Dreamcatcher for a really long time, actually for years. I kept pushing it aside because I had heard numerous times that it wasn't among Stephen King's better works. But I should have known better.

I aim to write this review without spoilers even though the book has been out for a couple of decades now. This book is especially hard to review without giving away spoilers. I'll mainly focus on my emotional responses to what I read. Let's see how this turns out.

Dreamcatcher begins with a group of four extremely close friends: Jonesy, Pete, Beaver, and Henry. They have been inseparable since childhood. In the opening of the book, the friends are adults and on an annual hunting trip that they've followed since they were kids. The actual story progresses quite slowly at this point as we're learning about the dynamics of their friendship and getting glimpses of the past and how they met a very special person - Duddits.

Just typing the name Duddits makes my heart feel happy. Stephen King manages to capture the pure love and joy of this character perfectly. If you've read The Stand, you'll understand my love for Duddits when I compare his character to Tom Cullen. You just want to hug him and never let go. As kids, the boys do a very brave thing. They're in Derry, Maine (the setting of It), where kids have been strangely disappearing for years. So when they come across a special needs child in need of help, they step up and help!

King is very good at depicting pre-adolescent friendships. It's one of the most appealing aspects of It and The Body. The way the kids interact and banter makes me love the characters. And their pure love and care for Duddits make me love them even more.

There are many flashbacks throughout the book, which don't bother me too much. However, what does pull me out of the story is when I'm really into the storyline of our four main characters and Duddits, we're suddenly torn away from that plot line to a completely different setting with completely different characters, and we're introduced to the cold-hearted Abraham Curtis and the men under his command. This really confuses my brain. I'm finally flowing with the story and the characters, and then wait! Here's a whole new set of characters in a completely different situation to adapt to! Enjoy!

They all come together in the end to try to save the world, of course. But are they all in agreement? Of course not! Are they all truly intent on saving the world? And from what? You'll have to read the book to find out the answers to those questions. I'm not sharing them here! I did get a bit confused about the whole connection with the dreamcatcher itself within the story. Things get a bit hazy regarding what's reality, what's imagined reality, and what's completely imagined. Or is it all imagined? I don't know. I'm still trying to figure it all out. Maybe you'll have better luck!

I will definitely need to watch the movie. It seems to have a middle-of-the-road rating on IMDb. But Timothy Olyphant plays Pete. That's all the reason I need to watch anything. As for the book, I'm giving it 4 out of 5 stars. I enjoyed it quite a lot. It wasn't perfect, but it wasn't anywhere near as bad as I had feared it might be.

Oh, I need to add some trigger warnings! Everyone knows that Stephen King isn't afraid to cause harm to young children and/or animals in his books. There is a scene involving harm to a dog. There is mention of suicidal thoughts. And there is some terrible bullying depicted. But it does take place in Derry - home to some of the worst bullies in the real or imagined world, in my opinion!

It seemed that one of Stephen King's sublime books was coming, but almost, almost. It starts as if it were going to take everything by storm, and there are several parts that are among the best that King is accustomed to delivering to us in its purest form.

However, overall, it doesn't feel excellent. It has tedious moments, prolongs situations without much relevance, and doesn't delve as deeply into others that would have given more play.

It's a bit of a mixed bag. On one hand, there are those great parts that remind us of King's genius. But on the other hand, the flaws prevent it from reaching that truly outstanding level. It's still a good read, but not quite the masterpiece that we might have expected from such a renowned author.

Score: 7/10

I have read this book several times now, and I find that as I grow older, my understanding and appreciation of it deepen. While it's true that King repeats some themes and tropes from his previous works, the relationships and connections depicted here are among the most touching, at least in my view.

King has an amazing ability to evoke powerful emotions in me. There were moments when I had to put the book down because I was crying so hard - and these were often in the most ordinary sections. The introduction of Duddits both pained and restored my faith in humanity. The cruelty in that scene, and the way it was resisted, brought me to tears. In fact, almost every scene involving Duddits made me cry this time around. He is so innocent, and it hurts to see him hurt, even if that hurt is just missing someone.

I think this has a lot to do with the changes in my own life and how I now perceive certain injustices and want to protect against them. I've become a bit of a softie these days.

Anyway, I think my previous review of this book is probably better than this one. I covered a lot of the ground I wanted to discuss there.

However, some things stood out to me this time, such as the concept of rape, what constitutes rape, and especially how men deal with it. It's interesting to see how public opinion on this has changed in recent years. Once, the idea of male rape was unthinkable. Men couldn't be raped, end of story. But here, we have two different men using the term "rape" to describe the violation of their minds, and both times it's brushed aside and the way to deal with it is to ignore it and pretend it didn't happen. Which, of course, is extremely unhealthy and bad advice.

The first time, it's mentioned aloud to another man, who tells him to "let it go" as if such a violation is something not even worth acknowledging, as if the feeling about it is invalid.

The second time, it's the victim himself who internally feels that "there were times when he thought he might be the only man on earth who truly understood what it was to be raped." And that "some things were better forgotten."

This is both understandable and incredibly condescending to me. What he went through was definitely rape, even though there was no sexual aspect. His body and mind were violated in the most intimate and horrific way, and he couldn't stop it. What bothers me is the assumption that he's the only one who understands what it feels like. Because, while I know there were no other cases exactly like his, he was not the only one to have been violated in that way, and he knows he wasn't. He witnessed and was present for all the other cases in the book too. But this assumption that he's the only one diminishes the violation of others.

In a way, all telepathy is a violation, right? It's an invasion of our right to privacy. So technically, everyone whose mind was "read" in this book was violated - raped, if you will. Yet this one character feels like he's the only one.

I can understand, because in the context of this book, he was "special," but he was far from the only one. And I think if he were to see the broader implications of what happened and what could have happened, not just in the life or death sense, he would have a better understanding and more empathy for others, and it might help him deal with it better.

But that's just me and my bleeding heart.

Anyway, that's one small criticism I have of this book. Another is that it does drag a bit in the second half, and the chase goes on a bit too long before the final resolution.

“Prepare to engage enemy... bogey’s airspeed not sufficient for intercept. Suggest we get out and walk.” – Air Force Pilot

Other than that, I think there's a lot to like about this book. But I would suggest having a bit of a strong stomach. It can get a little...icky.

Reading some of the reviews, it seems that the thing people didn't like was that this is an alien invasion book. Ohhhkaaay. I'm not at all sure why that's a problem?

For me, this book was great! King is the absolute best at character stories, and Dreamcatcher completely delivers that. It's chock full of all kinds of terrific characters, both good and bad, as well as just ordinary ones. I love that even a waitress with only a brief appearance still comes across as a fully formed person and not just a scene placeholder. That's what ultimately makes King's stories really come alive.

King wrote this particular book during a time when he was in a lot of physical pain, and that subject is dealt with so well. The emotional aspect of chronic pain, the ongoing feeling that your body is not fully on your side, the tiresomeness of the whole thing all came across acutely and with sharp realism.

There are many little things, small scenes, and wonderfully emotional moments that make up the story, creating such a rich tapestry of friendship. This makes all the truly horrific things that happen to these boys/men in Dreamcatcher much more difficult to bear. The detailed characterizations and the exploration of the emotional toll of pain add depth and authenticity to the narrative, making it a truly engaging and memorable read.

Unfortunately, the first book that I couldn't finish in my life was by my favorite author, Mr. King. (

The translation was horribly, disgraceful!!!

It's really a pity that such a great work by a renowned author was presented in such a poor translation. I had high expectations for this book, but the translation completely ruined the reading experience.

I hope that in the future, more attention will be paid to the quality of translations to ensure that readers can fully appreciate the original charm of the works.

Maybe I will give this book another try in the original language to see if I can have a different experience.)

This book, which was written while the author was recovering from being hit by a van, delves deeply into the theme of pain. It offers a profound exploration of the physical and emotional turmoil that comes with such an experience.

However, it also contains references to "shit weasels," which may seem out of place or perhaps add an element of the unexpected. It's as if the author, in the midst of dealing with pain, also felt the need to introduce this rather strange and perhaps somewhat humorous or satirical concept.

For those interested in delving further into the details and insights of this book, as well as my overall Great Stephen King Reread, you can click on the link provided: Read more over at my Great Stephen King Reread. There, you'll find a more comprehensive analysis and discussion of this and other works by the renowned author.

This was the second Stephen King book I ever read.

Well, I read Salem's Lot and Pet Sematary back in High School, but that doesn't really count. What I mean to say is that after Stephen King's arguable magnum opus (in my opinion, It) pretty much changed my life and got me serious about reading and writing, I then moved on to Dreamcatcher... (the only other King novel that happened to be sitting on my family's overwrought bookshelf).

Back then, I guess I didn't really know what to make of this. I had already seen the film a few times. I remember that quite well; it was not a very good one, and if it weren't for a few cool moments - such as when Morgan Freeman and his men blow up the alien ship; and the part when the boys find Josie Rinkenhauer in the sewage pipe - I would say that it was totally forgettable.

Without a doubt, the film does not do the book much justice. Because contrary to what most people would have you believe - (those on Goodreads included) - Dreamcatcher is galaxies away from being a poor effort. While it certainly doesn't come close to his great books - (It, Pet Sematary, Doctor Sleep), etc) - I would never say that it falls as low as what I feel personally were his worst books - (not bad, but average stuff, like Thinner, The Dark Half, and Four Past Midnight).

Stephen King has dealt with the topic of UFO's only occasionally... and never to great result. One must surely notice the fact that his three major alien novels (The Tommyknockers, Under The Dome, and this) have all been received with average-to-negative reviews by most of his critics and readers. I'm not quite sure why this is, because even though I didn't like Under The Dome (which admittedly doesn't have aliens in it until the end; and boy, does he fuck them up), I actually really enjoyed The Tommyknockers.

Similar to that, the aliens in Dreamcatcher are far from your cliched concept of them. That's one of the things that I really loved about this book - (especially on re-reading it these last two weeks). The alien element to this story is pretty damned original. They crash by accident in the snowy woods of northern Maine, and are pretty much refugees, which the American military does not respond to kindly. Except they're not your typical, silver-bodied X-Files archetypes, but a single-minded non-physical entity, which only takes a physical form in a human's mind, based on their own subconscious perception of what an alien should look like. In reality, their only physical trace is the hideous byrum fungus that they have taken onto Earth with them, and which starts to spread and infect the unfortunate hunters that have decided to get away for a weekend in the Jefferson Tract. (Then, of course, there's the infamous \\"shit weasels\\" that this byrum, or \\"Ripley Virus\\" implants into the bowels of its more unlucky victims).

I won't fuck around with talking about the premise anymore. I just wanted to stress that I think Stephen King should be appreciated for giving his fans something entirely different from what is admittedly a pretty common subject. This book does also have its typical King tropes, which (if you're a fan) is always most certainly welcome. This book has so many references to It - (the inscription and graffiti on that standpipe monument in Derry made me even more excited the second time around; that one paragraph was so poignant, and yet creepily suggestive, as well. I wonder if King ever plans on bringing back Pennywise. Generally I'm not into those kinds of sequels... but man, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't totally into the idea of that one).

The four main characters - (and Duddits, of course) - are, I think, some of the best that King was given us. All four are flawed, realistic, but likeable people, and it is genuinely sad what happens to some of them later in the story. The whole segment with Jonesey being locked inside his mind was also awesome. Kurts and Mr. Grey were both intriguing and fun-to-hate villains (although I actually kind of liked Mr. Grey... aside from the fact that he killed civilians). The wintry setting lends itself perfectly to the story, and places it apart from most of King's other stuff.

I love how King really pushed the violence up in this book, going intentionally for a B-Movie kind of tone, with its many gruesome deaths which were sometimes goofy, but always disgusting. I'm pretty used to King's use of violence, which is pretty mild compared to some writers, but some parts of this book fucking shocked me with their vividly gross descriptions that made me feel like I could almost feel the pain myself. That part when Mr. Grey forces that truck driver to thrust a pen into his eye socket, and the part when he wills that shopkeeper to jam his fingers so far up his nostrils that he almost touches his brain were particularly hard to forget.

There is no denying that this book does become pretty slow, and even tedious, at times. But for the most part, there are just so many great moments that make up for it. Dreamcatcher is never going to be considered one of Mr. King's greatest books. And it really isn't very scary, which is my favourite kind of King story. But it is a delightfully disgusting, refreshingly original, frequently funny, occasionally moving, and easily memorable read.

I've got good news and bad news.

The good news is, Dreamcatcher is not just a rehash of It. The bad news is it's a rehash of The Tommyknockers, too, which is perhaps my least favorite of all of King's works.

All right, maybe that's not quite fair. Dreamcatcher does involve aliens, a secret in the woods, and telepathy, but it's not exactly a carbon copy of The Tommyknockers. It re-uses pieces of many of King's works. There's the "adults who bonded as children and did a great thing" theme from It. There's also the "child with a great secret power" trope from The Shining and/or Firestarter. Granted, Duddits is technically an adult, but he is retarded and therefore retains, quite literally, the mind of a child, as evidenced by everyone calling him by his childhood name. Duddits is also reminiscent of Tom Cullen from The Stand, as another example of the sweet and noble retarded person who, after enduring great hardship, saves the day, or at least a piece of it. Speaking of The Stand, let's talk about a nasty, virulent disease that wipes out around 99% of the population. Granted, in this case the "disease" is actually a creature, and the affected area is relatively small, but within that area, the terminal rates are about the same.

So what's the big deal, you ask? King has always re-used certain themes in his work: kids in danger, life in Maine, narrators who are writers. Why am I harping on this one book in particular? I'm harping on it because he doesn't bring anything new to the plate this time. In the past, these themes were simply a framework of familiarity to hang a new story on. It was fun for long-time readers to get the references to previous characters and stories, and to feel like they knew the territory. We've been to Derry and Castle Rock so many times it feels like we belong there. But in Dreamcatcher, it doesn't feel like King's using similar elements. It feels like he's telling the same stories, albeit in bits and pieces and mixed around some. You know how you feel when you watch a movie adaptation of a Stephen King book? With a few notable exceptions, they just don't get it right. The casting is a little bit off or the script keeps the wrong parts of the story (or loses the wrong parts). The bones of the book you loved are there, but the mad doctor put them together all wrong, attaching a femur to a vertebra, or the skull to a kneecap. That's how Dreamcatcher felt to me: right pieces, wrong place.

King is an amazing storyteller; he always has been. Even the books I didn't particularly like, I finished. I find that I get caught up in his stories despite myself, and I have to follow through to the end. Maybe that's the crux of my displeasure with Dreamcatcher; I know King is capable of so much more. Authors aren't perfect. Some books are going to be better than others. You just hope that over the course of a career, the good books outweigh the weak ones.

However, with Dreamcatcher, it seems that King has fallen a bit short of his usual high standards. The rehashing of old themes and tropes without adding anything truly new or innovative makes this book feel a bit stale and unoriginal. It's as if he's recycling his own ideas instead of coming up with fresh and exciting new stories.

Despite this, I still have hope for King's future works. He is a talented writer, and I相信 he will be able to bounce back and produce more great books in the future. But for now, Dreamcatcher stands as a bit of a disappointment for this long-time King fan.

This is one of the hardest psychological thrillers I have ever read.

It gripped me like the main character, Grizo, and wouldn't let me rest until I turned to the last page.

The story was filled with twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat.

The author did an excellent job of creating a sense of mystery and suspense that had me guessing until the very end.

Each character was well-developed and complex, adding to the overall depth of the story.

I found myself completely invested in their fates and couldn't wait to see how it all played out.

Overall, this was an outstanding read that I would highly recommend to anyone who loves a good psychological thriller.

Going into this one, I wasn't sure what to expect. I knew it was one of the more disliked King books. However, some friends I trust had told me that it was actually good and I would probably like it. Now that I'm done, I've got to ask - why do people hate this book? It's basically IT mixed with Tommyknockers, but without most of the things that made Tommyknockers a bad book.

King isn't great with aliens, that isn't a secret. They're not done very well in this book, honestly. But that's okay, because they're not really the point. This is a book about four lifelong friends and a chance encounter that brought them together forever with another character named Duddits. And let me tell you, everything with Duddits is absolutely fantastic - maybe some of the best stuff King has ever done; very moving and powerful. The flashbacks to them in Derry were easily my favorite parts of this book and gave a lot of IT vibes.

I've seen some complaints about this book being bloated but I only half agree. The Kurtz/Underhill stuff was a significant step down from the Beav/Pete/Henry/Jonesy/Duddits storyline, and it probably would've been better had that been cut or reworked to be shorter, but it still wasn't bad.

Overall, this is a pretty good and super underrated King book. It has its flaws, but the strengths, especially the relationship between the friends and Duddits, more than make up for them. It's a book that I think is worth reading and gives a different side of King's writing that maybe some people overlook.

I really enjoyed this piece more than I initially expected.

The last few pages, however, did make it a bit confusing. But perhaps that's the beauty of it, as it seems open to interpretation.

Anyway, there were definitely some creepy parts that added an element of mystery and intrigue.

Overall, I found it quite interesting.

I think this work often gets more hate than it actually deserves.

On the other hand, I can also understand why some people might not care for it.

Maybe it's because of the confusing parts or the fact that it doesn't follow a traditional narrative structure.

But for me, it was a unique and engaging read that I'm glad I took the time to experience.

After I knew what I was getting into with this book, I was able to really enjoy the reading.

This was, of course, due to the characters. Especially the friends really managed to draw me in.

I immediately took Duddits to my heart and for me, he is, next to John Coffey, one of the best characters that King has ever created.

How King deals with the theme of aliens is once again magnificent. This really excited me.

Since I could hardly put this thriller down, it counts for me from now on as one of his best books.

King's ability to craft such engaging characters and handle unique themes is truly remarkable. The way he weaves the story together, with the friendship of the characters and the mystery of the aliens, keeps the reader on the edge of their seat.

The book not only entertains but also makes you think about the nature of friendship, loyalty, and the unknown. It's a captivating read that I would highly recommend to any fan of King or anyone looking for a great thriller.

Overall, this book has left a lasting impression on me and I'm sure it will do the same for others.