Insomnia

How did I miss this one? I know...I'm very late to the "Insomnia" party. I lost touch with SK for awhile in the 90s and early aughts. I've had to go back and discover the "Dark Tower" series along with several of his other works from that era. I'm glad to have finally found this one and was pleasantly surprised to discover the references to some of the "Dark Tower" lore. I found "Insomnia" very enjoyable. It was suspenseful and compelling but it also had deeply insightful moments of reflection and philosophizing. I read in several of the reviews that you had to "slog through" the first 150-200 pages or so before "Insomnia" really got going. I certainly do not agree. There is a slower burn to the build in this story than many of his "strap in and hold on" books, but I like that! I recently got around to "Desperation". It's a fun story, but the action was so immediate and breakneck that I never felt the characters really developed. The build to "The Stand" (one of my favorites from Mr. King) was a long, slow burn. Sure, it featured a world-destroying plague...but the slow and steady spread of the plague worked perfectly as a device to introduce and establish characters then set the scene for the post-apocalyptic battle to come. "Insomnia", in a much smaller setting, does the same thing. Sure, once the action catches hold and the hero's goals are in place, you'd better have your seatbelt firmly fastened. But I thoroughly enjoyed meeting Ralph and slowly descending into his altered plane of perception. He fully develops as a character, we understand what he's going through, how it changes him and why he is the perfect choice for his mission. I'm also a sucker for the follow-ups...and the follow-up to the follow-ups...once I become invested in a character, I want to know more! The coda and epilogue to this story is immensely compelling and a satisfying conclusion to Ralph's story arc.

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...;)

This is my second time reading Insomnia. I read it the first time in 1994 and loved it then so I wanted to revisit it. I am so glad I did! If anything it is better the second time around. I loved the story line and that I could not quite figure out for sure what would happen next (22 years is a long time between reads). Ralph and Lois both touched my heart. I laughed, I cried, I was easily carried along with the book and didn't want it to end (again)! It is a little bit of home town life, a little bit of sci-fi, a tad of horror (depending how easy you scare) and it makes you wonder what might be coming next after we leave this world. I just may read it again in a few years!

I don't know why I insist on not reading certain books because I don't fancy the title. Insomnia definitely caught me off guard. It's not a spooky scare, but a deeply intense thriller of sorts. And I adore the mentions of Kong's other works within it. Trust me, you want to give this book a chance, but you might suffer you're own version of insomnia, from not being able to put the book down.

The beginning of Insomnia was great. Towards the middle, things just seemed a little too unbelievable- even for a Stephen King novel. But the ending got me good. It was a perfect ending that left me sobbing in bed at 5:30 in the morning. And it made the entire book worth it for me. This is why Stephen King will always be my all-time favorite author. He may disappoint a little, but he eventually does what he was born to do- which is take us to a completely different world and completely immerse us in his fantasy.

I love Stephen King's writing: not only does he beautifully mesh sci-fi, fantasy, myth, and poetry, but he does so in away that creates pathos, thrills and chills, and sheer, glorious BEAUTY! Thanks, Steve! And THAT's all right, as it always is when you hold the con! Bravo! A++

I loved this book. Took me all of four days to read. Which believe me is a huge feat.The characters are wonderful, and are so vivid as well as grounded within the story told, that I never once felt like I was reading about fictional characters.It was actually exciting for me to get a glimpse of Derry before reading “IT” (I know I am hanging my head in shame.) Because Stephen King’s Maine is so well thought out and executed you forget it’s not real. And the more I’m reading of his work, the more little threads I’m seeing that bind his universe together.The story itself, without giving spoilers, has a Stephen King signature; blending the surreal and incredible with what could quite easily feel like anyone’s Tuesday. That is what makes him brilliant and what makes Insomnia amazing! You almost feel like you’ve accidentally stumbled across something that you’re not entirely comfortable looking at, like car crash or someone having an emotional meltdown, but you just can’t stop looking at it.Plus take it from an insomniac, King did his research. And I have had a few times when I was entirely convinced some crazy stuff was happening due to a week with no sleep.So worth reading not just for the Stephen King fans, but for anyone who is a lover of Thrillers, Suspense and Horror done the right way.Stay Twisted my lovelies Xxx

I read this book a very long time ago and it's still my favourite Stephen King story. It's a fantasy rather than a horror - although, it has its horrific moments - but it's far more optimistic than many of his stories.The idea of auras is fascinating, and that otherworld feeling...what if...?Ralph was a likeable character and perfect for the tale, and it was wonderful to read about the older generation for a change.There were villains and other characters that filled their roles and it was great to read about ordinary folk and 'life', too.Overall, a fantastic, imaginative story, written in the usual flowing style of this author that captured my interest just as much as it did the first time I read it.Highly recommended.

Although I usually love Kings story telling I found myself getting bored reading this at times. You can read several pages without gaining any interesting knowledge about anything and loads of pages without the story hardly moving on.Strangely, I didn't get the usual clarity of the characters and surroundings, something for me was just missing.The worst part for me was that although the storyline was ok there was nothing to bind it together; what was the big picture? Why were things the way they were? There is nothing that relates to the horrors we are aware of at all.

To like this book. I am a long time fan of King and have read most of his book. Some are BRILLIANT, others so bad. This one.. I just cant warm to it. It just keeps droning on and cant hold my interest or attention. I WILL read through the whole book and really hope it gets better. As it is now, it just feels like a chore.

it may be that I'm still too early in, but im finding it very hard to get into this book. I do think it's partly because I'm just too early on, and there are signs that it's going to get more interesting, but personally I'm finding that it's dragging a little bit, which has resulted in me not reading as frequently as I was beforehand. Will return to the book in the near future and update my review based on how it goes.