Rating: 
Summary: Lots of fun
Review: This book has been spoken of as difficult to get into, boring, and much too long. I thought it was great. I was interested the whole time, and I never found my mind wandering. A considerable amount of the book has no action whatsoever, but the main characters are almost all over the age of 65, and the dialogue is always interesting. There were parts of the book where the senior citizen heroes managed to do some things that seemed a little too physically involved for their age, but it was nothing too far out there. The subject of the auras left me with a lot of questions after I completed the book, but they were just details. The idea of a boy that must be protected because of his role in the future had a bit of a Terminator flavor to it,(okay, a lot), and came up very akwardly and unexpectedly, but it didn't strike me as ripped-off until after I read it, so maybe it doesn't taste of Terminator so strongly after all. The plot seemed to change paths in the middle, kind of like the movie, From Dusk 'Til Dawn, but it was nothing that troubled me much, and I wouldn't expect it to do so to many others, either. When it all came down to appeal of this book, I found I liked it for one reason only: it was entertaining. Not scary, not edge-of-your-seat thrilling, and not terribly gruesome, but a lot of fun to read.
Rating: 
Summary: Odd and interesting
Review: This was an odd book. It took a little while for it to truly grab my attention but from there it was smooth sailing. It's an odd book - especially since I couldn't identify with the lead characters (being quite a bit older than i) - but worth the turn of the page.
Rating:
Summary: Ralph, I Feel For You
Review: Thos who say that this novel is hard to get into are probably the ones used to what National Lampoon once referred to as the "plot, plot, BOO!, plot, plot, BOO!" technique King used a little more commonly in earlier years (Pet Sematary being a prime example). I'm not saying that technique isn't effective, because it sure is -- I'm just saying that King is trying to do something different in Insomnia, and I applaud it wholehearted-ly. You see, King in this novel is engaging in a deep character study, much as he did in Dolores Claiborne, establishing the "country of the mind" of Ralph Roberts as much as the actual setting of Derry, Maine. Ralph's life is the life of an old man, with little left to him but to watch his friends and loved ones die, and to wonder when his own time will come, hearing its slow approach like the ticking of a deathwatch beetle under the stairs -- an image King uses to great effect in the Prologue and Epilogue. In any event, what King is doing is evoking that world of uncertain certainty, that knowledge that death will strike, but not when. The fear that Ralph feels as he at first starts to lose sleep, then starts to experience the heightened reality of the Long-Timers, is the fear all the elderly must feel that they are losing their minds, that senility is taking hold, or, even worse, that they have some terminal illness. If you are unable to read these pages, then you are likely unable to face up to these ideas. King, a man who knows more about the fears of the living than any of us, has the surest feel for this country of the mind that I've ever seen. Young or old, you owe it to yourself to give Ralph Robert's and his world of certain uncertainty a try. The rewards will be rich.
Rating: 
Summary: It will definitely cure
Review: ....your insomnia. lots of people are saying that the first 200 pages are the hardest to get through. I found them to be the best part of the book. .... If you have insomnia, look no further....couple hundred pages and you will be cured
Rating:
Summary: Ralph isn't going crazy....he just can't sleep!
Review: After the death of his wife, Ralph Roberts begins having trouble sleeping. He gets less and less sleep every night. Eventually, he starts seeing strange and unexplainable phenomena. Some of the phenomena even appear to see Ralph! Convinced that what he is experiencing is real, and not a hallucination, Ralph seeks to find the answers. What he discovers is another reality lurking under the surface of the town of Derry. A world nobody but he can see.Having a senior citizen as its main character makes the novel fresh and somehow more real. Insomnia is a worthy novel, though it does drag at some points. Even so, it was frightening enough to convince me that Derry is no place I ever want to live!
Rating:
Summary: Great Story
Review: Unlike some of the reviews I have seen posted, I thought the first 200 pages easy to read and also thought they were needed. King uses these pages to evolve the characters and make you really care for them. The storyline of this book was fantastic and realy makes you appreciate the authors talent. I also found the link to the Dark Tower series a pleasant suprise. I recommend this book!
Rating: 
Summary: Don't read the Amazon review!
Review: There are many people for whom the book "Insomnia" will serve as a cure for the titular condition. It's an 800 page book that takes about 150 pages to start making sense -- the first quarter of the book is all strange goings-on with no exposition. Our hero, an old man with a dying wife, begins loosing sleep and (he thinks) hallucinating. He can see auras around people, fields of light that change according to their mood and health and terminate in a long "balloon-string," their soul. And if that's not strange enough, he starts seeing three little bald men dressed as surgeons, who go around snipping people's strings. It's all very psychedelic and intriguing, but I can see someone giving up on the book before it really gets rolling. Which would be a shame, because the plot kicks in around page 150 and it's a heck of a ride, all the more enjoyable if you don't know what's coming. Suffice to say that this is the multiverse-hopping, cosmic guru King of The Stand and It, not the bare-bones King of The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon and Running Man (I like 'em both, if you were wondering). Insomnia is actually a better read than both The Stand and It, because it is more closely tied into the world as we know it. Most importantly, the characters are complex and believable, truly people worth knowing. So if you've got the attention span and the physical strength to lift this book, definitely pick it up. It's a stone trip.
Rating:
Summary: Sleep Disorder
Review: This story takes place in Derry sort of a continuation of Stephen King's IT. The book is quite different and is about an older man who has INSOMNIA, Duh. This book also has an other story that is also going on and weaves around making it very interesting to read.
Rating:
Summary: Exceeded expectations!
Review: This was my first King book to read, and I was very surprised. I had expected a scary, nightmare inducing read, but this was amazing. It was spooky (I wouldn't say scary,) mysterious, and heartwarming. You cannot help but fall in love with the characters throughout this 780 pg. book. I read some reviews about a slow start, but I have to disagree. I thought it was an excellent way to set the stage for the highly imaginitive plot that was to unfold. I would love to read another book with the same characters! If anyone can recommend a Stephen King book that comes anywhere near to the plot or the writing style in Insomnia, please email!
Rating:
Summary: Another suspenseful winner
Review: This book was up to King's usual standards: creepy, twisted, and occasionally confusing...in a good way, of course. The book sported one major flaw, though: it was a very slow starter. It was a typical roller-coaster ride; the only problem was that the first third of the ride was buckling up, signing waivers, and writing living wills. The second is that first big hill: climbing slowly up, the suspense building inch by inch. And the final third, which was all too short, features the twists, turns, and loops that are so undeniably Stephen King. The story is one of Ralph Roberts, a 70-something widower who waits as insomnia whittles away his sleep, minutes at a time. This takes up quite a while, as we are with him through it all. Then, apparently as a result of sleep-deprivation, he is introduced into "hyper-reality," what he calls the world of auras. Then he starts to see little men, who are none other than the three Fates of Greek mythology (the gender issue is conveniently thrust aside). But he can't be crazy, because what he sees really happens...and someone else is seeing it too. Seeing as the people of Derry are recruited for a Purpose that no "Short-Timer" can fathom. King mentions random works of literature in Insomnia: Lord of the Rings, The Lady or the Tiger, etc. But what he most enjoys is tying the novel to his own works, creating a web of storylines that, I only hope, will one day be resolved through another current series, called Gunslinger. I recommend this series as a companion to Insomnia, because not only is Roland mentioned briefly in the reviewed work, but the Tower itself comes into play...and to understand that (to a point), one must read the Gunslinger books. Insomnia is not a quick read, but a rewarding one all the same.
|
