Story summary
Dreamcatcher starts with the story of four friends, Beaver(a drunkard who had a lousy marriage), Henry( a teacher who was recovering from a nasty accident), Pete(a car salesman) and Jonesy(psychiatrist). They were very close friends during their childhood but were now separated though they had something like an annual reunion in the woods of Maine for some deer hunting. Each of the four have their own problems in their life. However they have a strange ablity of ESP.
After they get together for hunting, Jonesy came upon a guy called Mccarthy and almost killed him, mistaking him for a deer. It seems that the man got lost from his team of four and was wandering. Jonesy took him into their cabin and gave him some food. By the time a huge storm developed and Beaver too returned to the cottage. Then they began to notice strange things about the man like his missing teeth of which he was not aware of and a strange red coloration on his cheek. They also were concerned of Pete and Henry who went to get some supplies.
Meanwhile Pete and Henry had a crash, trying to avoid a woman sitting in the middle of the road, oblivious to their horn. The woman was showing no responses until they saw bright circles of light when she screaed ’’They’re back’’. The three also get into a loggers shelter nearby.
As the storm continued to intensify, Jonesy and Beaver got more wary of their guest. One of the reasons was his prolonged...farts that smelled of antifreeze. He suddenly jumped out of the bed and went to the toilet. By then they noticed another curious thing, an exodus of animals. They decided that something was really wrong with Mccarthy and broke the door when....
The story then goes back to the childhood when the four rescued a retarded boy from the bullies and became his friends.
The story returns to Jonesy and Beaver where they find the guy dead with a lot of blood from....
By then it becomes clear that there had been an alien landing in the woods, with the military involved. A crazy man called Kurtz was in charge of the mission, with a saner man named Owen Underhill as his deputy. They destroyed the alien ship and killed all except one.
Beaver and Pete then gets killed while Jonesy and Henry get a moss like infection alongwith the local people and the military personnel. The infection was the same that affected Mccarthy and the woman.
Something special happens then to Jonesy. He sort of becomes a ’’typhoid mary’’, he and his infection lives in symbiosis, unlike others whose bodies were rapidly attacked by the infection. The infection takes control of Jonesy’s mind along with him and they journey towards south.
By then , Jonesy and Henry realize that the boy they rescued in their childhood was the link and possibly ’’the only hope of world’’
Although the main theme may sound cliched, the way Stephen King leads the story is brilliant. There is plenty of gore with the descriptions of the alien coming out of the body through....
There are the classic excursions into the mind with songs that regular readers of King will be familiar with. The portrayal of the villian , Kurtz as someone had written in another review , too shallow.
The section about the retarded child and the friends was really heart warming, which may sound strange in such a King novel. Really well executed though.
The interaction of Jonesy with Mr Gray, the invader is excellent with some humorous moments also.
King fans wont be disappointed with this effort.
Those who are not into King will also get their money’s worth, though some sections maybe confuing or irritating. You might check out Insomnia or Desperation as well.
All in all, a good buy.