Just Finished Rereading The Dead Zone by Stephen King

I first read Stephen King's 1979 novel The Dead Zone several years ago and, when a co-worker mentioned it as one of his favorites, I realized that I had forgotten a lot of what happened in it...only that I had also liked it.  So, as I have recently done with other King novels like 11/22/63, Salem's Lot, Insomnia, and Needful Things, I reread it...it really was pretty doggone good...

Johnny Smith is a young man...residing in Stephen King's home state of Maine, naturally...who had a childhood accident that occasionally gives him precognitive powers.  Employed as a high school teacher, he takes his date, Sarah...also a teacher at the same school...to the carnival where he freaks everyone out by repeatedly hitting the right numbers at a gambling stand. The circumstances during that night culminate in Johnny being critically injured while riding a taxi home...and he doesn't come out of his coma until five years later.  Meanwhile, Sarah has married and had a child...and history has marched on as well...

The Dead Zone follows another character, the antagonist Greg Stillson, as he "progresses" from a dog-killing Bible salesman to a heavy-handed small town mayor in New Hampshire.  Stillson has big plans for himself and decides to run for U.S. Representative in his district.  While this is going on, Johnny comes out of his coma...with much stronger abilities...to see into others' lives, even their futures...simply by touching them.  When he encounters Greg Stillson at a campaign rally, he sees a terribly ominous future for the country and the world...

As was the case in Firestarter...written by Stephen King at about the same general time...the protagonist cannot hide his paranormal abilities from others and as a result suffers persecution.  But Johnny cannot help wanting to warn others of impending doom...some heed his words, some don't, but almost all come away with the feeling that he is one very scary guy, to be avoided.  What I liked the most about this story was how the author developed the characters and put people like Sarah, Johnny's father, and his neurologist Sam Weizak into his life who genuinely cared and supported him...it wasn't just Johnny vs. the world...

I never saw the movie version of The Dead Zone, which came out in 1983 and starred Christopher Walken as Johnny Smith and Martin Sheen as Greg Stillson.  I do know that the ending was changed around a bit, though...but that doesn't surprise me.  I also read that the television version of this story is markedly different from the book.  Although a couple of people I know who saw the movie said they liked it, I'd still recommend that you read the book first.  Oh, by the way...that term "dead zone" referred to a part of Johnny's brain that had been damaged during his accidents and which caused certain lapses in his memory...