Insomnia Paperback – May 31, 2016

I’m reading this book and I look up at the tv and OMG it’s the 50th Anniversary of Roe vs Wade. What a bizarre feeling that I’m reading this book at this time when Roe vs Wade has been overturned. I can’t even believe it. Everything that happened in 1992-3 in this book is still happening to this day in real life, what irony. But to this day in the real world, Roe vs Wade has been over turned. Abortion is illegal in many states now, some states it is a crime punishable by numerous years in jail or worse. Again I just can’t believe it. Art imitating life, life imitating art? What a question….. I don’t want to get all political because this is a book review and I’m not a politician. So back to the review. This is one of Stephen King’s best. I love the characters. I love the Easter Eggs that are peppered all the way through the story. I really love the senior citizens as the heroes in this story, it is also a romance. The love story is sweet and tender. The character building is amazing and detailed. I will be reading this book again probably next year. I need to read the Dark Tower series. I had read reviews that said you could read this book as a standalone. Then I read other reviews that said that you should read the series first. My opinion is that I would have read the series first and then this novel. I think I would have gotten a much better overview of this World. I’m much more interested to take a deep dive into the Dark Tower series than I was before reading Insomnia. I’ve read many Stephen King’s books so I recognized many Easter Eggs and some I didn’t understand. I feel if you just sort of know this World you can read this as a standalone and very much enjoy it. I really love these two quotes, they aren’t long but they are very, very impactful,“done-bun-can’t-be-undone” “Life, Death, the Purpose, the Random”. I’m very interested if these show up in the Dark Tower series. Overall this was a great read.

It helps if you have read the Dark Tower series to understand some of the references. As usual, King writes a masterful tale of good vs evil.

There are a lot of things I love about this book. Most of all the character development is amazing. Ralph is an unforgettable hero. I know that when I come across situations in my life that call for me to have strong character I will channel some of Ralph Roberts into my actions. That’s an incredible thing. To imagine transferring the ideals, judgement, and character of a fictional person into your real life. That being said, while there is much to love about this book, I found a lot of issues as well. One, the book is way too long. It’s just about 800 pages. Length works for many a good story. One of my all time favorite books is Atlas Shrugged which is at least around 1200 pages. It works. For insomnia though, the length is not needed and leads to starting, stalling, and confusion during the most important moments in the book. The action is so drawn out with memories, backstories, and just a bunch of random thoughts that it’s like moving through molasses during scenes that should be intense, riveting, and holding you on the edge with bated breath to see what’s going to happen. Instead, I ended up being mixed up, having to reread a few sentences back over and over and really just thinking to myself, can we get to the climax already. Part of the issue is we, as the reader, understand that time is different in certain situations and what is happening in the climax, as far as times concerned, doesn’t seem to match up with how we’ve seen time elapse before. There are also some scenes in the 200 of pages of the multi level climax that are unclear as to what is exactly happening. I liked the concepts of reality, life, and death that are explored but the descriptiveness of it, while brilliant, sometimes became heavy and in the way. I’d say especially toward the end. I think so much was put into it beforehand that I did not need such heavy handed descriptions in middle of the action that seemed to mostly stall the plot. I think the first 300 pages were solid. A very clever unfolding of the story. The level of detail is intense, which was great to set up the story. My feeling is it needed more succinct story telling after the good set up. All the elements were there, perhaps sometimes a bit unbelievable, it just got too bogged down with meandering thoughts/words and began to feel a bit contrived. I also wish some of the wordiness had been saved for a little peek into what happened to the main character in the end, or after the end. This book would of shaped up to be a great 600 page novel, even 650. I appreciate a slow burn and I appreciate character development, in this case though I feel the lengthiness caused the story to come apart some. Perhaps if there had been more explanation of the overall forces at work, it may have given the story the extra continuity to pull off the length. If the extra words brought something integral to light. I just didn’t find that they did. So, I can recommend this book bc I did read it in 6 days. I loved most of my time reading it but by the last 200 pages I was becoming frustrated. It was go time, and the go was just not going, we were on a leisurely stroll still even though the stakes were intense and high. As I said before Ralph Roberts and of course Lois are awesome and completely developed characters. There are also many other great characters, and so many great small moments. If you love Steven King and especially if you are looking for a unique non-horror read. This may do you good. I would call this a supernatural story that ties in with Dark Towers. I have not read Dark Towers but I have to admit this made me curious. I need a Stephen King break right now but I’ll look into it when I’m in the mood again. The SF novel I read before this was The Outsider which is one of my favorite books I’ve read. The balance of description, development, action, tension, and in the Outsiders case- horror was spot on. With a balance like that insomnia would be in my top picks as well. I will say though, I’ll never forget Ralph, so that’s a testimony for this story. Also, visually, this story would make a cool movie or mini series. Sorry, speaking of too long...;)

Great book. Another of Stephen Kings can’t put down. Can’t wait to start another one of his books. Thank you Stephen King

Great book so glad I can get them on Amazon first book I read by hom and was hooked had to buy and reread and wasn’t disappointed

Insomnia starts slow. It's as if Stephen King is winding up for a long ball game, or a place in the choir. And in the middle it keeps going. And you kind of want it to be over. And after a long, long, time, you come to the ending. And incredibly enough, it keeps on going even after that. But this time, you want it to never end. Because what he has served up, is superb.

This is very much up there as one of King’s best works. The grandiose, the storytelling, the rollercoaster of emotions and a multitude of Easter eggs make Insomnia an unforgettable read. Just finished and honestly want to read it again!

Nach „It“ mein zweites Buch von Stephen King und sicherlich nicht das Letzte. Zwei starke Hauptcharaktere und eine spannende, detailreich erzählte Geschichte, haben dafür gesorgt, dass mich das Buch jeden Tag aufs neue fesseln konnte. Zwar hat es bei diesem Buch etwas gebraucht, bis die Story mich packen konnte, danach wollte ich es aber kaum noch aus der Hand legen.

Envio llegó en tiempo y forma. En n cuanto al contenido, es un libro excelente. Recomendado.

The book is great, many people would be of the opinion that it is too slow. But it is very important suppliment to the Dark Tower.I ordered the book from Cloudtail India. The delivery was good. The copy itself is clean and prestine. I loved it and most King fans would love it too.