The Dead Zone
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".