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4.32 AVERAGE
4.32 AVERAGE
dark
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
My first Stephen King and it was so amazing! Did not expect the ending - very emotional !
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
My time has finally come to read this. I have wanted to read this book for so long, but I told myself that I needed to read IT first, and okay yeah it had a nice little nod, but honestly, it wasn't that deep - I could totally have just read this off the bat.
But damn, what a wild fucking ride. I mean there were one or two times where there were passages that I did not care for and felt that were not exactly neccesary but honestly the rest of the story made up for it. This was a journey, one of which I was not prepared for in the slightest but grateful nonetheless.
And the ending... Jesus, I did not expect it to turn that way, but I really should have. I feel like all the ends were tied nicely and everything came together the way it should, even the things I didn't realise were relevant were brought to finality, and I loved that.
What an interesting, yet not exactly unique, take on time travel and its consequences. This was horrific and joyous all the same. For no matter how hard you try, the past will always try and rectify itself.
But damn, what a wild fucking ride. I mean there were one or two times where there were passages that I did not care for and felt that were not exactly neccesary but honestly the rest of the story made up for it. This was a journey, one of which I was not prepared for in the slightest but grateful nonetheless.
And the ending... Jesus, I did not expect it to turn that way, but I really should have. I feel like all the ends were tied nicely and everything came together the way it should, even the things I didn't realise were relevant were brought to finality, and I loved that.
What an interesting, yet not exactly unique, take on time travel and its consequences. This was horrific and joyous all the same. For no matter how hard you try, the past will always try and rectify itself.
To be honest, not a subject that held particular interest. But turns out Stephen King is a good writer, who knew? This was soooo long, but I also really enjoyed it. Wanted to read it always, but ready for it to be over, as well. Subtract 200 pages and some unnecessary details and it’s a 5 star easy.
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
11/22/63 is the second Stephen King book I have read (the first being Pet Sematary), but it is important to know that this book is different from most of King's books. It historical fiction, and revolves around one of the most shocking events in U.S. history. Although I don't read much fiction (the last three I read being Pet Sematary, A Prayer for Owen Meany, and The Da Vinci Code), but because I love history I was interested in this one. I have also read extensively about the Kennedy Assassination, so I also wanted to see how King would weave the story.
I was not disappointed. 11/22/63 is consistently engaging as a story. I won't give any spoilers, but the concept for the story, while make believe and not a completely original idea, is fascinating. One of the themes that comes up often is that the past is obdurate, and doesn't want to be changed. This makes intuitive sense, and as the story unwinds it becomes clear that events in history, or even small events in our everyday lives, don't exist in a vacuum but rather a string. If you disturb the string, it leads to other unforeseen consequences that sometimes are far worse than the event you went back to change. The universe, or God, or whatever energy force out there resists change and resists the possibility of multiple "strings" competing with each other. Thus the "butterfly effect theory" is played out in the story. The protagonist, Jake Epping, for me became someone I could easily identify with, and that is one of the reasons I really liked the book.
Why 4 stars rather than 5? The book is too long by about 100 pages in my opinion. I know, who am I to question the length that Stephen King deems to be necessary? But honestly there is some unnecessary detail in the book that did not add to the story much. King is such a good writer that you don't notice it much, but the book is a hefty number of pages. I just thought it was a bit too much.
In the afterword, King talks about his view of the conspiracy theories surrounding the Kennedy Assassination and concludes that he is now 98 or 99% convinced that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in the crime, and says that any reasonable person would come to the same conclusion (although it was rather funny that King says his wife Tabitha believes in a conspiracy). He cites Posner's book Case Closed as one of the books he used for research, among others. I respectfully disagree with King, in that I see it as quite reasonable to at least have some thoughts of a conspiracy in this case given what we know (and we don't know everything). I suspect King has not read many other credible sources on the crime that argue that Oswald was indeed a cog in a much larger wheel. We may never know all the facts given Oswald's quick death after the event, and subsequently Jack Ruby's death.
But all that doesn't really matter to the story, and certainly did not keep me from greatly enjoying the book. It is a fun read, but a bit long for me.
I was not disappointed. 11/22/63 is consistently engaging as a story. I won't give any spoilers, but the concept for the story, while make believe and not a completely original idea, is fascinating. One of the themes that comes up often is that the past is obdurate, and doesn't want to be changed. This makes intuitive sense, and as the story unwinds it becomes clear that events in history, or even small events in our everyday lives, don't exist in a vacuum but rather a string. If you disturb the string, it leads to other unforeseen consequences that sometimes are far worse than the event you went back to change. The universe, or God, or whatever energy force out there resists change and resists the possibility of multiple "strings" competing with each other. Thus the "butterfly effect theory" is played out in the story. The protagonist, Jake Epping, for me became someone I could easily identify with, and that is one of the reasons I really liked the book.
Why 4 stars rather than 5? The book is too long by about 100 pages in my opinion. I know, who am I to question the length that Stephen King deems to be necessary? But honestly there is some unnecessary detail in the book that did not add to the story much. King is such a good writer that you don't notice it much, but the book is a hefty number of pages. I just thought it was a bit too much.
In the afterword, King talks about his view of the conspiracy theories surrounding the Kennedy Assassination and concludes that he is now 98 or 99% convinced that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in the crime, and says that any reasonable person would come to the same conclusion (although it was rather funny that King says his wife Tabitha believes in a conspiracy). He cites Posner's book Case Closed as one of the books he used for research, among others. I respectfully disagree with King, in that I see it as quite reasonable to at least have some thoughts of a conspiracy in this case given what we know (and we don't know everything). I suspect King has not read many other credible sources on the crime that argue that Oswald was indeed a cog in a much larger wheel. We may never know all the facts given Oswald's quick death after the event, and subsequently Jack Ruby's death.
But all that doesn't really matter to the story, and certainly did not keep me from greatly enjoying the book. It is a fun read, but a bit long for me.
adventurous
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Well researched and written historical fiction. The amount of character development was amazing.
slow-paced