Stephen King's new work bland

After a much-publicized accident, Stephen King's future in writing was doubtful. As he chronicled in his memoirs, "On Writing," even the simple act of sitting at a computer was painful. His first novel since the accident, the first draft of "Dreamcatcher" was written using a Warterman cartridge fountain pen. \nBut while the novel can be seen as an accomplishment in that respect, the book itself fails to break from the formulaic rut in which King often finds himself.\nDreamcatcher is a story of aliens ("Tommyknockers"), a killer virus ("The Stand") and a special bond formed between children who are now adults ("It"). While not exactly the same as any of those books, "Dreamcatcher" does little to separate itself from any of King's previous works. \nLike "It," King tells the story of the four men as boys and as grown-ups trying to save the world. Based in the woods of New England (near Derry, Maine, also seen in such novels as "It" and "Insomnia"), half of the book is dedicated to an on-the-road chase between a virus-infected hero, a military commando and an alien intent on contaminating the world. While this lengthened scene provides plenty of time for story-telling, the present situation is boring, despite King's attempt to include some humor with the alien's craving for bacon.\nMost disappointing is King's use of characters, all of which seem obtrusively flat. This contrasts "The Stand," where King provides ample background information to give the reader a strong understanding of who these people are. In "Dreamcatcher," King starts killing off these uninteresting characters, leaving the reader apathetic and unsympathetic to the flat characters. The novel's only strong character is also its least seen, Duddits, a Down syndrome victim with a special gift. Granted, Duddits is at the heart of the story, but his physical presence, especially in the grown-up phase, is sorely missed.\nDuring his down time, King seems to have taken a course in Ayn Rand subtle style, otherwise known as being overtly blatant. King fills his book with literary and pop culture references, then proceeds to tell the reader exactly why they have relevance to the book. Come on, let the reader figure it out. Take the psycho-military commando Kurtz. The power he holds over his men, his utter disregard for human life and his name alone parallel the personality of Kurtz from Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness." Then there's Jonesy, who suffers a near-fatal car accident. It's cute, but hardly subtle. It's not hard to recognize that King is trying to explain that Jonesy's pain is his pain.\n"Dreamcatcher" is not necessarily a disappointment, but like he did with "The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon," King needs to pay more attention to his characters and to detail. Once he gets his strength back, perhaps King will also dedicate himself to discovering more original plots.