The Dead ZoneThe Dead Zone is a science fiction thriller novel by Stephen King published in 1979. The story follows Johnny Smith, who awakens from a coma of nearly five years and, apparently as a result of brain damage, now experiences clairvoyant and precognitive visions triggered by touch. When some information is blocked from his perception, Johnny refers to that information as being trapped in the part of his brain that is permanently damaged, "the dead zone." The novel also follows a serial killer in Castle Rock, and the life of rising politician Greg Stillson, both of whom are evils Johnny must eventually face. Though earlier King books were successful, The Dead Zone was the first of his novels to rank among the ten best-selling novels of the year in the United States. The book was nominated for the Locus Award in 1980 and was dedicated to King's son Owen. The Dead Zone is the first story by King to feature the fictional town of Castle Rock, which serves as the setting for several later stories and is referenced in others. The TV series Castle Rock takes place in this fictional town and makes references to the Strangler whom Johnny helped track down in The Dead Zone. The Dead Zone is King's seventh novel and the fifth under his own name. The book spawned a 1983 film adaptation as well as a television series.
Rosemary's BabyThe genre-defining classic that ushered in the era of modern horror One of the best-selling books of all time, Rosemary’s Baby is a foundational work of suspense and psychological horror which remains as powerful and chilling as the day it was written. Hailed by Truman Capote as a “darkly brilliant tale” and adapted with near-total fidelity into the monumental film starring Mia Farrow and John Cassavetes, Ira Levin’s Rosemary’s Baby ushered in the era of contemporary horror as we know it, opening the floodgates to later works such as The Exorcist and The Omen. Levin ingeniously fused gothic literary tradition with modern-day New York, creating an enduring classic which the New York Times placed on its recent list of “The 25 Most Significant New York City Novels From the Last 100 Years.” Rosemary Woodhouse and her struggling-actor husband Guy are thrilled to move into the Bramford, a sought-after Manhattan apartment building prized for its Victorian details and gargoyled facade. Yet as they learn of a darker side to the building’s history—and become acquainted with their overly attentive neighbors, the Castevets—unspoken tensions enter into the young couples’ relationship. Matters improve when Guy lands a major role, and Rosemary at last becomes pregnant. But as her pregnancy takes frightening turns, Rosemary begins to question if her neighbors’ heightened interest is strictly innocent, or if their motivations—and those of Guy himself—portend terrifying consequences for her, and her unborn child. Is Rosemary “...going mad, or going sane”? Foreword by Chuck Palahniuk. Afterword by R. L. Stine.
