Insomnia

Rating:
Summary: Will keep you awake like you had...well...insomnia
Review: This is one of my favorite King books from these last few years (along with the Dark Tower series). This was one book that literally kept me up to finish. I love the image of the little men with their scissors cutting the chord and that our "hero" can now see them because he is slipping in that delirium of waking sleep. Or is he just imagining everything. Though the story loses its momentum and focus 2/3's of the way through it is quite interesting as the main characters are extremely fleshed out where you know the pain and agony of the main character - suffering through his own waking hell - unable to refresh himself with even one nights sleep - and why does he keep waking up at that exact same time? I loved the story and the details King came up with on this one. The twisted little dirty man with his bloody scissors was really a visually fleshed out "monster?!?" and a rather perverse one at that. I have not read this book in many years but so much of it still stays with me - from the walks by the airport to the den of blood and bones. An interesting look at the afterlife and what if. Makes me think of the "Men in Yellow" from "Hearts in Atlantis" and like so many of King's books - seems to referance a lot of books that come before and after.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing Dark Tower Backstory
Review: What you make of Stephen King's "Insomnia" all depends on what kind of story you enjoy. If you like King stories like Christine or Firestarter, then this is one you may wish to skip.
However, if you're a fan of his epic Dark Tower series, then this is the book for you. While it appears to get off to a slow start, it is really just setting the stage for an amazing fantasy.
Ralph isn't your typical protagonist (being older), but you warm up to him really quickly. He is your average Joe who has entered the doldrums of old age, and you become sympathetic to him right off the bat (when he loses his wife). He's a good man at heart, even after he starts losing sleep, and always has that good natured aspect with him throughout the story.
And the story...Stephen King really shakes things up by throwing in political issues (something he's only TOUCHED upon in The Dead Zone, and really not controversially). Abortion is the hot topic, and no matter what your views on it are, you can't help but appreciate how King weaved it into the supernatural aspect of the story.
Fans of the Dark Tower will get a nice dose of backstory, and a good look at the Crimson King. People not farmiliar with the Dark Tower will get a story that will most likely make them smile. It is probably one of King's lighter tales, making Ralph's friends a caring, lovable bunch, and focusing (especially in the beginning) on their lives Derry, Maine. Sure, they might see a bit more active than your run of the mill senior citizen, but if King didn't make them that way, the story would be much more boring.
Read it, but hang in there for the first two hundred pages. Your reward is a beautiful tale of purpose and loss.

Rating:
Summary: VERY GOOD!
Review: This is Stephen King at his BEST people. Ralph Roberts is suffering from insomia, and things are not going his way. Of course if this was not written by Stephen King, then this novel would be boring, but it isnt. First it starts off with Insomia, then it leads of these things that float around everybody's heads (sort of like life.), and when he breathes them in, he grows stronger.
Then he starts seeing these gray beings everywhere. Eventually he meets one of them and talks to them, they tell him that he has to save a four year old boy named David because the bad gray being is out to kill him!
Now David is a certain key in The Dark Tower series, and the same thing with Ralph Roberts. So all in persective, this is a good novel, it may be long, but it is good nonetheless.

Rating:
Summary: Something you'd stay up all hours to read...
Review: How can I not love this book? The protagonists are not young, bouncy characters, but aging people that many may actually overlook in real life. In a way, that makes the "This guy is a bit off" sentiment absolutely credible, but your disbelief is so suspended by King's artful style that you can almost see the grey men walking by you on the street! Trust me, don't read this book to try to go to sleep- the smooth writing style and the intriguing plot will keep you up hours after your alarm clock has announced the new day.

Rating:
Summary: Not worth the paper it's printed on
Review: This is by far the worst Stephen King book I have ever read. It is titled Insomnia but it really is a sleeper. It lacks excitement and the nail-biting, heart stopping talent that King exhibits in his other epic's and novels such as The Stand, The Shining and Geralds Game, to name a few. There was no mystery in this book and it left me feeling nothing more than annoyed that I wasted my time on reading it.
If you are a die hard King fan, than the chances of my review stopping you from reading this are slim, however don't say I didn't warn you.

Rating:
Summary: "Insomnia" by Stephen King review
Review: This novel by Stephen King was written in 1994 in the transitioning stage of king's adolescent style of writing including "It" and "Carrie". To his now more adult style in which he writes. King addresses serious issues in this novel including abortion rights.He takes you into a super natural realm full of evil spirits taking human and animal shapes.The main characters in this story is the protagonist Ralph Roberts, his wife Carolyn and Ralph's easily tempered neighbor Ed Deepneau. The characters in this story are well developed. This 800 paged book can at the beginning be described as...horror comedy but it begins to lack that "fun" deeper in the story. And as a result it turns out not being "fun" enough to be able to carry the reader throughout the whole 800 pages!!! And plus the story tends to be tedious and somewhat repetitive. I guess Stephen King is so well known for his twisted, descriptive and suspensefull writings that this just had'nt been one of them. Especially when compared to other classics like "The Stand" or "Dark Tower." I'd reccomend skipping this novel there are much better ones worth the time but if you are patient and you've got the time and you don't mind slow and repetitive stories this would be one for you.

Rating:
Summary: Uninspired, Time passer
Review: This novel falls just short of average. It really doesn't challenge the reader in any facet of original thought, and the characters are interminably dull. I did not choose to finish after about 600 pages, so I'm still not sure how it ends, although the plot became rather predictable at that point so I have a good idea of what happens, I just failed to care by page 600. It is annoying to invest time to read 600 pages only to finally make the decision that I just didn't care enough about any of the characters to warrant reading any further. The dialogue between the characters is contrived, and worse, the characters do not seem distinctive. They all act, think, and talk similarly so the whole town kind of dissolves into one old, boring morass. There is also some relatively lame science fiction, laser powers shooting out of people's hands, which is just tired. I would suggest looking elswhere for entertainment -- at least this book didn't do it for me.

Rating:
Summary: Good read
Review: This is a good one by Mr. King... the end bits were pretty wild and far out... but great story and vivid look at insomnia... not as good as his greats but definitely worth your time.

Rating:
Summary: Biggest waste of time.
Review: Not only was it boring....but it could cure insomnia. ... Dont waste your time with this book. If it doesnt grab you by page 10....put it down. I read the entire thing hoping, praying it would pick up somewhere. It never did. Dont waste your time or money. Pick something else of his.

Rating:
Summary: Insomnia is the proper title for this book
Review: This is the first Stephen King novel that I have read. If his other works are as bad as this one. Then Insomnia will be my last Stephen King novel.