Reviews

If you're ready to commit virtually a whole day of your life to this unabridged version of King's latest blockbuster, this is what you'll get: some of King's best storytelling, beautifully read by DeMunn, an actor of great skill and subtlety who knows that less is more especially when it comes to this book's ample blood, horror and ferocious little aliens. DeMunn quickly and expertly creates four very distinctive characters to fit the quartet of Maine men boyhood chums who gather for their annual deer hunt as their lives seem to crumble around them. One of them, the history professor Jonesy, is recovering from a serious accident an event on which King dwells heavily but which DeMunn downplays as best he can. The Maine accents are perfect: working-class for the Beaver, who does menial work; a slight overtone of aspiration for Pete, the car salesman; slightly more polish for Jonesy, teaching in Boston; and a definite aura of erudition for Henry the psychologist. Even the aliens are distinguishably different testimony to the skills of both writer and reader. Simultaneously released with Simon & Schuster hardcover (Forecasts, Feb. 12). (Apr.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Four childhood friends, each laboring under the burden of their own midlife crisis, agree to take their annual hunting trip to the north Maine woods. There they are quickly and violently drawn into the immediate aftermath of an invasive landing by a viral/fungal/parasitic alien race. Though one of the friends has always been slightly telepathic, "infection" by the aliens has the side effect of enhancing mind-reading ability in humans. The story becomes a race to prevent the aliens from conquering Earth by viral contamination of the water supply. On this journey, King demonstrates his prodigious writing skills, character development, and storytelling abilities, while leaving his audience more than slightly bewildered by some of the metaphysical and psychic aspects of the action and conclusion. Jeffrey DeMunn does a great job with an extremely diverse range of characters and some unusual vocal gymnastics. Dreamcatcher is a solid purchase on its literary and audio merits and will be extremely popular. For all fiction collections. Kristen L. Smith, Loras Coll. Lib., Dubuque, IA Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.