Insomnia

Rating:
Summary: A good read; in King context, "Medium."
Review: Insomnia was a good read. King is a masterful storyteller; the narrative voice, the compelling main characters and the absolutely unstoppable plot are all trademark King features. Still, compared to the other King that I have read, I would rank it somewhere in the middle.

The recent King novels that I read before this were Rage, The Long Walk, The Running Man and Bag of Bones. Insomnia is very obviously a 1990's King; he writes with the kind of dry, New England wit that has come to distinguish him. But Insomnia just does not feel as tight as The Running Man or as compelling as Bag of Bones, which I feel really is King's best work that I have read. The dialogue in Insomnia is a choppy (which isn't unusual) and the pace of the story seems to start out slow and then to fluctuate back and forth between slow and quick.

There is also a lot of exposition involved, a good deal of fleshing out the world of the Dark Tower series, which is a little frustrating. The climax of the book turns out to actually be about two figures from the Dark Tower series which kind of annoyed me. I was compelled by the characters in the book, I felt empathy for them and I felt that the book didn't need this kind of deus ex machina to stress the importance of the climax, to make it integral to the continuation of the King Uber-story.

I am focusing here on some of the bad things. I listed the good things above, but you really just can't say enough about King's easy prose style. King is one of the authors that I just flat out love to read; he is imaginative, his voice is distinct and he consistently reinvents the fantasy (because this book is more fantasy than horror) genre in very exciting ways.

So to sum up: not King's best, but a good, fun read. Despite the three stars, I definitely suggest reading it (just make sure you have already read It, The Stand, Bag of Bones...).

Rating:
Summary: not one of his best
Review: The idea behind the story is clever and ripe with possibilities, but this book just doesn't work. The biggest problem is, at 650 pages, it is way, way too long and at some points utterly dull. Just when you think you've hit the meat of the story, it meanders away like a lost dog.There are large chunks of boring exposition and bad dialogue and when you finally do start to find out what's going on, it gets repetitive. I'm a big King fan and think he's an incredible writer but this was a misfire.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful story!
Review: First off, when deciding whether or not to purchase this novel, keep two things in mind... this is not the all out "horror" we're so used to from King, this is more of a thriller. Secondly, this novel has a serious tie-in to his Dark Tower series. Even if one has not read the Dark Tower novels, the reader could still enjoy this.
Now, this novel starts off much like 'The Stand' does, in the aspect of very slow start, yet once the action kicks in it's non-stop!

Ralph Roberts starts off with bad luck, his wife is mis-diagnosed by the family doctor and Ralph soon hears the "deathwatch" ticking his beloved's life away. Shortly thereafter, Ralph develops a form of insomnia, then that graduates and he can live in what others refer to as hyper-reality (seeing the auras of others). Then come the little bald doctors... and Ralph's world is turned completely upside down...

This novel has a serious side to it, King discusses the ever present abortion issue, and the effects that it (the issue and one's feelings) would have on a town, where everyone knows everyone (or so it seems). As this town's residents are split between pro-life and pro-choice, the reader also becomes involved; 'Where do I stand?' he/she might ask to the wind.
The magic that King wields here is unreal, from his character development (that the reader can easily love or hate), to his description of the town... one can see every inch of Derry. The sights, sounds, even the smells in that town become alive in the reader's imagination.

Bottom line... a King fan will love it, a non-King fan will cross-over, lol. Enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: Great premise, poor execution!
Review: Stephen King has a knack for taking seemingly mundane and ordinary objects (cars, dogs, menstruation, etc.) and transforming them into vehicles of pure, chilling horror. At other times he floats into the realm of fantasy or strict supernatural horror (Dark Tower series, It, Stand, Pet Sematary, The Shining) and succeeds at making the reader believe in the plausibility of the premise while simultaneously scaring us out of our wits. Occasionally, or perhaps I should say rarely, does he fail in either plausibility or chill factor. "Insomnia" is just such a rare book.

The premise itself is great: Ralph Roberts, a man in his twilight years, begins experiencing gradual sleep loss to the point that he begins catching glimpses into another world, a world that those around him cannot see. Soon Ralph uncovers an evil plot begun against the town of Derry, Maine, that is far-reaching and backed by the more sinister powers of his sleep-deprived spirit world. Since Ralph is the only one who can see into this spirit world it is up to him to intercept the threat to the town before a terrible evil is unleashed. As Ralph struggles with what to make of his newfound abilities he also wrestles with the loneliness and pain brought about by his beloved wife's death. Will Ralph be able to overcome his pain? Will he be able to stop the threat against Derry?

The premise of one man's sleep loss allowing him to peer into another world has tremendous possibility for a horrific adventure, but upon reading further one gets the sense that King dictated the story a bit TOO much rather than letting the story dictate itself. Dialogue appears contrived a lot of the time, certain situations have you rolling your eyes in disbelief or boredom, and the story tends to drag in its narration (it's close to 700 pages; 500 would have worked better). Character's moods shift from terrified to syrupy-sweet at the drop of a hat, and there's little in the way of development for pretty much everyone but Ralph Roberts. We get to see Ralph Roberts, and ONLY Ralph Roberts, perform nearly every task of his waking life to the seclusion of all the other major characters. When it ends you are indeed connected with Ralph, but his friends and their personal plights are of little interest to anyone. I love King, and I'll read anything he puts out because he's simply the best there is, but "Insomnia" was overall a huge disappointment.

Below is a rundown of the major points of this book and how they rank. (10=Excellent; 1=Awful)

1. Dialogue - 5. Felt contrived and silly a lot of the time.
2. Pacing & Action - 4. Very unevenly paced. Could have been shortened and would have had a better effect. Action takes a long time in coming.
3. Narration - 8. I haven't really read a King book yet where his narration wasn't on the money.
4. Scare & Suspense Factor - 5. Few and far between.
5. Character Growth & Likeability - 4. Sole focus is given to Ralph and it severly impedes the rest of the story. Ralph is a likeable protagonist, however.

Throw-This-Against-The-Wall-In-Frustration Rating: 8

Suggested reading BEFORE "Insomnia":
1. Cujo
2. Misery
3. Pet Sematary

Rating:
Summary: Love it or hate it...
Review: I was surprised to see so many negative reviews for Insomnia on Amazon and so many criticisms saying the plot is directionless, that nothing ties together, and that the story is too unorganized. Insomnia is an extremely long read, clocking in at almost 800 pages and does take time to develop certain things which some readers may not have the patience for, but if the story can keep you reading and interested as it did for me, it only adds to the buildup and mystery of the story which King is weaving together.

On the one hand King hands us his signature style of mystery, paranormal, and hypothetically terrifying in the most human of circumstances plots, which concern an old widower named Ralph Roberts who begins losing his sleep gradually after the death of his wife. After finding no remedies for his insomnia, he begins to see "auras" or "colors" around people, ultimately serving as gateways to their lives, life-spans, and souls. After discovering a female friend of his also suffers the same symptoms, Ralph is entwined in King's fantasy writing of fighting off The Powers That Be. Ralph and his female friend Lois then discover that a local wife-beating maniac named Ed Deepnau, who was once a loving husband, is involved in serious hyper-reality and mind-blowing passages into other dimensions and the book then takes off on a journey in which the two old-timers try to put a stop to what is essentially the fate of 2000 innocent people.

The plot is interesting and hooking enough for any fan of Stephen King's fantasy writing as in Eyes Of The Dragon or The Dark Tower series or any of his terror-filled, horror shock-fests such as It or Pet Semetary, satisfying both camps instead of just one, but the story also touches on other, deeper issues such as old age, death, abortion, domestic abuse, and the question of free will or destiny, all without being biased on any of them. Throughout Insomnia King weaves all these into one and the results are outstanding, with a plot, events, and climax which shouldn't leave anyone disappointed, but obviously did so to many reviewers anyway.

The book is a long haul and a great deal to read, but this is not unusual for Stephen King as most fans should know, and you should know within the first 200 pages whether you want to finish it out. But I can honestly reccommend this to both the new reader not quite ready for something as chilling as Pet Semetary as well as the dedicated fan and completist.

Rating:
Summary: Stephen King is more the king of weird.
Review: His books are hypothetically terrifying concepts, but for the most part, I think a lot of his books are just down right weird. It's good for a weird story, but I don't think it's scary. This book is among his weirdest. One observation I would like to make is that Derry, Main is the fictitious town where "It' occurred a number of years earlier.

Rating:
Summary: "Zone" clone
Review: I liked this book the first time I read it -- WHEN IT WAS CALLED "THE DEAD ZONE". Really, the "innocent-psychic-stumbling-upon-political-assassination-plot" storyline was interesting once, but not twice. King writes too much, and it's no wonder he has the reputation (in some quarters) as a verbose [writer]; and this self-plagarizing, recycled piece of rambling nonsense backs that accusation up in spades....

Rating:
Summary: I'll refrain from the hackneyed "it's a cure for"...
Review: If INSOMNIA was a stock instead of a book, you could short it and make it a lot of money.

My sincerest apologies upfront for such a negative proclamation, but I'm afraid this particular piece warrants such baleful analogy. To take the metaphor further, King found himself in a creative bear market when he took up the task of putting a tale behind such a fantastic title; INSOMNIA is, after all, an effusively evocative moniker, especially useful to the composer of the fantastic and the Grand Guignol. What could possibly happen to a hapless character suffering from the anti-somnolent affliction in King's dexterous hands?

Unfortunately, not a whole lot.

Well, let me rephrase: a lot happens, but none of it is necessarily transfixing. INSOMNIA follows the latter-stage life of recent widower Ralph Roberts, citizen of Derry, the Maine municipality which, at one time, was terrorized by a sadistic, shape-shifting clown from the dark bowels of reality. Ralph is having difficulty sleeping, and try as he might, he cannot seem to find a panacea which would afford him a proper night's rest. But his sleepless nights become even more restless when he begins seeing strange visions outside his window, the so-called "little bald doctors"- what are they, and what are they up to? Are they, good, evil, apolitical? Ralph also seems to have developed an extrasensory perception of the world around him, his eyes detecting colorful auras attached to people- what are these ribbon-like palettes, are they representatives of people's spirits, their souls?

But there are other concerns brewing in the cauldron of Derry. Susan Day, staunch pro-choice activist, is coming to town, bringing with her one heck of a polemic catalyst. Edward Deepneau is acting kind of crazy, and Dorrance Marstellar is running around uttering cryptic aphorisms like "done-bun-can't-be-undone". Ralph's female friend Lois is also undergoing a similar transformation as he himself, and together they find out what the trio of elfish creatures are and what roles they play in helping to maintain the homeostasis of existence and the productive distribution of destiny; they also do chivalrous battle with a sinister, frightening creature known as the Crimson King, a demon which is determined to confer its chaos.

INSOMNIA is not so much a book of plasma-chilling horror as it is a study in Dungeons-and-Dragons-like fantasy...a diluted kind, to be sure. In fact, a Lord-Of-The-Rings motif is threaded through the text, quite apt for today's marketplace. But the problem is the narrative never quite reaches critical mass, no fusion ever takes place, and we are left with a story full of characters and plot and concepts and well-meaning prose which can never be summated into anything grand, no matter how many sigma symbols we place before it. King even called the book's primary draft not fit for publication in an interview, saying that he was waiting for the "sparrows" to make it fly (he had a similar situation with THE DARK HALF, whose initial attempt lacked the hook of the sparrows, making the story less than vibrant; once he came up with the sparrows notion, a winner was born). I believe the birds which gave wing to INSOMNIA was the linkage between the conundrums in Derry and their relationship with Roland's parallel world in THE DARK TOWER series. Although it is arguable that this additional element did indeed add pizzazz to the manuscript, I'd offer counterpoint and say that whatever amount of gain King scored, it was insufficient to avoid a net loss in overall effect. (I'd also add, somewhat irrelevant to the current topic, that his consistent insistence on turning many of his previous works into subordinate chapters of the Tower series diminishes their value; I myself like it when pieces stand alone are not dependent on the rules and regulations of another universe [unless, of course, they were meant to in the first place]; just my personal preference.)

There is no question that King is an ace storyteller; his achievement at the craft is manifest in INSOMNIA. That's what my two stars are for: his writing is competent and poetic, he has a gift for metaphor-alchemy, his characters exist in several fleshy dimensions- here there be no bag-of-bones cast. But sometimes, ability can not cast a long enough shadow over banality, and I think INSOMNIA is one of those times. Reading it will not be such a bad decision, especially if you are a fan and if you desire to be exhaustive in your coverage. The book is an underperformer in King's literary portfolio, but one that still beats the broader market at large...

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful limited edition for the King collector
Review: This review relates to the limited edition from Mark Ziesing.
This version of the book is definitely worth investing in. The oversized book comes in a beautiful slipcase. The book itself is printed on heavy paperstock, has a smythsewn binding(for a lot longer durability) and contains severel color illustrations by Phil Hale. The book is not signed, but who cares, when everything else is topnotch!!! The 3 stars are given for the story which is not SK's best. Should i only rate the production of the book, it would get 5 stars!!!!

Rating:
Summary: Latent darkness with an aural light at the end of the tunnel
Review: Judging from other reviews I've read, this seems to be a book people either love or hate. I loved it.

As Stephen King matures, so too do his interests. This is one of his least gory works, and it has an unusually political backstory. King masterfully navigates the shoals of America's abortion debate, managing to make it an integral part of the scenario in which the story unfolds without exhibiting bias towards either the pro-choice or pro-life camps. This in itself is a masterful accomplishment, if you believe (as I do) that fiction writers should tell a story and that messages are for telegrams.

Ralph Roberts is a widowed septuagenarian who can't sleep. A retired travelling salesman and bookkeeper, he shares a duplex home with a retired schoolteacher. At first glance he would hardly seem a literary hero in the traditional epic mold. Yet in King's hands Roberts exhibits a quiet dignity, a serene determination that gives him inner strength when he needs it the most. Roberts is willing to stand up for what he believes is right, and does so without being corny. The human characters around Roberts are fully developed before the first hint of the supernatural appears in his life. When it does, the writing is vintage King: his imaginative descriptions of characters' auras, and the ways they change in different circumstances, create vivid images in the mind's eye. Evil forces ARE at work here, no doubt about that. When Ralph and his sidekick Lois finally make it into the lair of the sinister Atropos, the latent darkness of the moment is comparable to that found in King masterpieces such as "It".

From a storytelling standpoint, I felt this one of King's strongest works. Some of my favorite King books and stories over the years have been those which were as much sci-fi as horror, such as the short stories "Word Processor of the Gods" and "The Jaunt" in Skeleton Crew. This book fits nicely into The Big Picture that King is working to shape his works into - you'll find a few familiar surnames in extremis, such as Funderburke and Creed. You'll find a work which clearly shows the care its author put into creating it for over three years of his life. Most of all, you'll find a compelling story that you won't want to put down at night.