Rating: Summary: Alright.... Review: This book did not blow me away, like King's other works, "The Stand," "Christine," among many others. It started out as a highly enjoyable tale that gave me a sense of "Grumpy Old Men meets Stephen King," but quickly took a bad turn into...BORING LAND. After about a hundred or so pages, King just writes ON and ON....I was really amazed at how much he just babbles in this book. The mindless, nonsense writing OFTEN stands in the way of the plot. While reading the book, if you so dare, you will probably stand back at all this babble and say..."Mr. King...does anyone REALLY care? GET TO THE PLOT, sir!" The only redeeming qualitie of this book is the off-and-on plot. Yes, the book becomes awful to read when the storyline goes by-by, but when the plot DOES show up, there are some pretty powerful story devices in there. I only reccommend this book if you are looking to waste time.
Rating: Summary: Far-fetched? Aren't they all? Review: I've heard this book called "far-fetched", but aren't a lot of King's works that way. I mean things that happened in books like The Shining and It hardly happen every day! King has woven a wonderful tale here... just jump on and enjoy the ride. That's what I did and I enjoyed it immensly. Recommended to those who are willing to stretch their imaginations.
Rating: Summary: a PROFOUND disappointment Review: I'm one of King's many fans, but I can't honestly say that this book was worth the money I paid for it. Contrary to what the title would suggest, this work was really quite a remedy for the illness. I highly recommend this book ONLY to insomniacs. The plot was weak to the point of non-existence, and major aspects of the book were way beyond ridiculously far-fetched. In fact, I felt BETRAYED after forcing myself to finish the book. It felt like Mr. King pulled a fast one on his loyal fans to make a fast buck. For better King specimens, read "Pet Sematary", "Salem's Lot" or "It" instead. "Insomnia" is a waste of sleeping time.
Rating: Summary: A Pleasent Surprise Review: I honestly wasn't expecting much of this book, but I was delighted to find it took place in Derry (Those of you who read IT know what I'm taking about). Insomina has believable characters although the story of couse, is a bit far fetched. This is a good rainy day book. You'll like it a lot better if you read IT first.
Rating: Summary: Stephen King's Brilliance Shines Through Again! Review: Insomnia is a book that will keep you up half the night reading and marveling over this example of one of King's best works ever! If you have never read a Stephen King book and are thinking of reading one, this makes for an excellent choice. I suggest this book to King fans and soon to be King fans alike! Great job Stephen!
Rating: Summary: "One of King's best works!" Review: A great little tale that will surely keep you up late night just waiting for the next page to turn. An excellent work of fiction which will surely add to the overwhelming imagination of anyone who has actually suffered from insomnia and beleived themselves alone with no cure! Great morals and sybolic realization about the complexity of life and death and the coexistance of one another. A must read book!
Rating: Summary: A true masterpiece. Review: This book is one of Stephen King's true masterpieces. It starts out pretty slow, but it's well worth the wait once the ball starts rolling. Very well-written, exciting, and anything but mediocre. Highly recommended. All Dark Tower fans, I cannot stress how important this book is going to be in the cycle. Read this book!!!
Rating: Summary: One of his best Review: This should have been a 5-star book, and easily could have been, but little things kept getting in the way. The plot was excellent, but King kept pausing to put in debates and points of view. This isn't bad, but when they go on this long and start interrupting the flow of the book I think it's time to stop. The stereotypes are another thing. He seems to divide the whole town equally: on one side are the pro-choicers who just want freedom to kill babies in peace, on the other are the pro-lifers who just want life for everyone, and the right to kill the people who disagree. He could have just published a separate political essay instead of preaching through dozens of pages in a book. All of King's best abilities are here: characters you care about, an intense plot, a little romance, humor thrown in here and there, and a satisfying ending. But still too much preaching.
Rating: Summary: The King has no clothes Review: This book is the latest in a continuing series of mediocre efforts from Stephen King. It displays a particularly obnoxious tendency that has crept into his fiction of late: political correctness. Early in the book, King makes a blatant plug for Clinton. Ralph encounters a very minor character who is ranting about how much he hates Clinton. King then tells us that Ralph thinks that Clinton is doing a good job. This has nothing to do with the action. In fact, it stops the action, however briefly. This is only the beginning. A major subplot is the deterioration of Ralph's neighbor, Ed. King is careful to tell us that Ed and his wife Helen supported Clinton. Then Ed, under the influence of the malign Atropos, begins ranting against abortion and eventually attacks Helen. (Apparently King believes that once you stop being pro-choice, it's only one small step to spousal abuse.) This is heavy-handed enough, but King goes further and involves Ed with an Operation Rescue-type group that is willing to kill for its beliefs. This group's members are nothing more than stereotypes: unkempt, ugly, bigoted, violent, and stupid. This elitist stunt in a writer known for his unique appeal to the masses is simply outrageous. Furthermore, Ed's metamorphosis from normal neighbor to right-wing terrorist is not at all believable. We are not given any scenes from Ed's point of view which would allow us to witness the deterioration of his mind. This could have been very powerful (think Harold Lauder in THE STAND, or Lou Creed in PET SEMATARY). Seeing Ed struggle against and eventually surrender to the forces compelling him could have added a needed note of tragedy. But after Ed attacks his wife and is arrested, we barely see him until the climax of the book, a few hundred pages later. This is a major character? Equally obnoxious is the "explanation" of Ed's new pro-life views: his possession by Atropos. Is King implying that one would have to be demon-possessed to adopt pro-life views? This is extremely poor characterization. We deserve better from a professional writer. This review doesn't come from my feelings about Clinton or abortion, which have no place here. But King's feelings about these topics have no place in his fiction, especially if he can't do a better job of characterizing opposing views. Stereotypes should never replace good, solid characters you can care about. I didn't care about Ed or any of the characters, and this made INSOMNIA a major waste of my time. King once criticized a Harlan Ellison story for its preachiness, saying "I prefer my stories without billboards." Well, so do I.
Rating: Summary: SCARY, One of his best! Review: I have read the hardcover version and am now going to listen to the audiobook version. Having been a Stephen King fan for years, I can hardly wait to revisit old friends, Ralph and all. It's a scary, involved, great King novel.
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