This is the first Stephen King book I've read in too many years to even count. I stopped reading him after reading 3-4 in a row that were to horrible to believe (horribly written I mean). There is a lot of repetitiveness even among the main characters, they will be talking about something that happened and relive it down to the last detail again and again. I listened to this as an audiobook so there is no skipping ahead to get past this stuff because who knows what you'd miss so I was stuck with this regurgitation of facts. This is vintage Stephen King and it was overly gruesome and convoluted as hell and I loved it! Henry, Beaver, Pete and Jonesy are childhood friends who save a downs syndrome boy (Douglas) from some bullies and become life-long friends with him. Duddits, as he calls himself, is a little different above and beyond the downs syndrome. He is incredibly psychic and draws the four boys into his world. They become better people and become psychic themselves. Since a young age, the four boys go on an annual Fall hunting trip which is one of the few places Duddits isn't allowed go with them. The main focus of this book is the hunting trip with the four boys when they are in their thirties. One of them is suicidal, one has had a hip replacement, one is divorced and the other happily married.
Wouldn't you know it, a UFO crash lands in the woods not far from their cabin and the entire area (a couple hundred miles or so) is placed under quarantine. The alien invasion is something only Stephen King could dream up. The unholy smell of the farting and burping of the infected is absolutely hysterical. I laughed so hard at some points that I almost peed in my pants. At other times, the book had me in tears. It was a real roller coaster ride like only Stephen King can do.
Of course, even though Duddits isn't on this trip, he is an integral part of the story. His life is so sad that you can't help but feel sorry for him and pity him as well. What a sad sad book but funny at the same time. I guess I'll have to give Mr. King another try after all.
