Reviews

11/22/63 by Stephen King

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youraveragedave's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

The assassination of JFK has played a massive role in Stephen King's life (and many others of his generation). It comes up again and again in his works. This is his attempt to dive into that great history question, what if JFK wasn't killed.

The character work in this book is classic King. Everyone is so fleshed out, when the side characters we briefly meet. The settings feel lived in too: having an outside perspective on the wrongness of Derry and bleak in nature of Mercedes St in Dallas.
George/Jake and Sadie's relationship is one of King's best. You're pulling for them so much and every joy is well earned and every tragedy is a real gut punch.

The climax is a relentless fast paced tour de force. And the follow up is just as compelling. And people say King can't write good endings!

I think this, along with IT and The Stand will go down as King's best after all is said done.

This was a reread (first time on audio: excellent narration by Craig Watson btw) for the bookclub podcasts Kingslingers and Derry Public Radio.

rossbm's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

Listened to this as a French audibook. Very long. This is the first Stephen King book I have finished. I suppose that they aren't all as long as this, but previous ones I have tried (The Stand) were also very long. Narrator was very good for this book which helped me get through it. Since it's so long, definitely slow. Takes too long in the beginning to reveal the main hook, then after the big climax at the end, there's 6 hours of denouement!

Still, was enjoyable. Waiting to see how/if assassination would be stopped. Then the love story got interesting.