The Dead Zone

The first book in my chronological SK readthrough that I find hard to rate. There are elements of it that I loved but others that I really wish played out differently.

I would have enjoyed a whole book about the characters dealing with good and bad “luck”, twists of fate, and troubled personal relationships. I loved the dread and sadness of the early parts of the book; the idea of an accident unlocking a frightening new power in you, its isolating effect on every interaction and relationship you have, and the loss of years of your life. But the plot ends up being fairly pedestrian “What would you do if you were psychic?” fare, i.e. solving crimes and altering world events, of course. I preferred the more personal scale and stakes before that.

I really liked the fragmented storytelling style, with short vignette-like chapters switching between different characters - it's one of my favourite aspects of the book. But I can also see how this maybe worked against it, with villains not really given enough groundwork with the protagonist for their storylines to land for me.

Great character writing, brisk pacing, dodgy plotting, and a very King ending that I'm not sure how I feel about. I enjoyed it and was gripped by it, but ultimately it frustrated me a bit.