The relief Stephen King's Constant Readers feel at seeing the first full-length novel from the horrormeister since his accident most likely overshadows the weaknesses they might find in an effort that, while not King's best, is neither his worst. Set partially in the Derry, Maine, of It and Insomnia, and with shades of Tommyknockers in its subject matter, Dreamcatcher hearkens back to It and that novel's theme of the lifelong endurance of childhood friendships -- …showed first 75 words of 525 total…

…showed last 75 words of 525 total…from the same sort of injuries that kept King away from his word processor and at the table writing with a fountain pen. Dreamcatcher, written entirely in longhand, suffers from some diarrhea of that pen. The author has become such a force that it seems his editors have become wary of editing him at all. However, King is still the master of characterization in his genre, and the boys (and men) of Dreamcatcher buttress the