Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
3.5? Not sure yet!
In a world where women have fallen asleep in cocoons, the men are left to figure things out. The premise was super intriguing but I'm not 100% sure I'm happy with the ending.
This book contained a lot of characters. A LOT. I did appreciate most of the feminist views included although it sometimes bordered on the "m'lady hat tipping" side.
This book also featured one of my new most hated character of all time! Congrats Don Peters, you're a POS! :D
I'll probably update this review when I have more time to think about it. I did like it but it's not my favorite from SK.
In a world where women have fallen asleep in cocoons, the men are left to figure things out. The premise was super intriguing but I'm not 100% sure I'm happy with the ending.
This book contained a lot of characters. A LOT. I did appreciate most of the feminist views included although it sometimes bordered on the "m'lady hat tipping" side.
This book also featured one of my new most hated character of all time! Congrats Don Peters, you're a POS! :D
I'll probably update this review when I have more time to think about it. I did like it but it's not my favorite from SK.
Being a huge Stephen King fan I was super excited for "Sleeping Beauties" that he wrote with his son Owen King. I loved the concept of every woman in the world falling asleep and being covered in a cocoon like substance. Men are left to fend for themselves realizing that humanity will become extinct without women. How men handle this situation in their very male way is a fairly good read. This lengthy novel had some very good parts and other parts that dragged. Once again we have a diverse group of people with some kind of force taking over their town. This is a formula that I am finding tiresome from Stephen. There was so much great dialogue in parts that I felt I was listening to a play. In the interview with Stephen and Owen at the end of the book, they did say that at first it was supposed to be a tv series. It absolutely read like one. They then decided to flesh characters out and they could only do that in a novel form. A fairly good read.
I've read all kinds of negative reviews for this book... bland characters... too long... this and that... and because of popular opinion, I've been dreading the prospect of reading Sleeping Beauties. I mean, it is still a King book, so I obviously was going to have to get to it at some point, and it would have been hard to believe if this could be any worse than Cell. Surprise surprise, this was a fantastic read. Yes, the criticisms are probably well founded, but they did not stop me from enjoying this book. Such a fantastic and imaginative premise.
4.5/5
Fantastic! While a collaborative effort, I never once felt pulled out of the narrative because the writing changes were jarring. In fact, not entirely sure I’d be able to pick who wrote what. While a large cast of characters can often be intimidating, I found myself embracing the times where I did have to piece together who was whom. It truly felt like a small town, built brick by brick. A book well worth a read, even if it takes you nearly a month like me 😉
Further thoughts 3/05/2018:
- The characters were engaging and had such depth. Each character, even if I hated their actions, had motivations that made sense in this story. While the character list might've been daunting, I felt that it really made the small town of Dooling feel real.
- While the books of King's I've read thus far have largely been gory, this was the least so in my opinion. While there was certainly violence, I never felt like something was unnecessarily gruesome. Violence, especially that enacted against women, was never once purely for shock value and for that I will applaud Stephen and Owen.
- The references to police violence against people of colour was a fantastic commentary and I felt that it was really important to acknowledge it (and they did, multiple times and very respectfully too). The acknowledgement to Sandra Bland took me aback but in a positive way.
Overall, I feel that this book is a great step in the right direction for the future of King's works. There was so much care put into the world building and the representation of women but particularly incarcerated women and women of colour. Bravo!
Fantastic! While a collaborative effort, I never once felt pulled out of the narrative because the writing changes were jarring. In fact, not entirely sure I’d be able to pick who wrote what. While a large cast of characters can often be intimidating, I found myself embracing the times where I did have to piece together who was whom. It truly felt like a small town, built brick by brick. A book well worth a read, even if it takes you nearly a month like me 😉
Further thoughts 3/05/2018:
- The characters were engaging and had such depth. Each character, even if I hated their actions, had motivations that made sense in this story. While the character list might've been daunting, I felt that it really made the small town of Dooling feel real.
- While the books of King's I've read thus far have largely been gory, this was the least so in my opinion. While there was certainly violence, I never felt like something was unnecessarily gruesome. Violence, especially that enacted against women, was never once purely for shock value and for that I will applaud Stephen and Owen.
- The references to police violence against people of colour was a fantastic commentary and I felt that it was really important to acknowledge it (and they did, multiple times and very respectfully too). The acknowledgement to Sandra Bland took me aback but in a positive way.
Overall, I feel that this book is a great step in the right direction for the future of King's works. There was so much care put into the world building and the representation of women but particularly incarcerated women and women of colour. Bravo!
Classic King-ian tale, with some pretty dubious gender politics.
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
3,45⭐️ loved the writing (always masterful) but this is a 300-page story disguised as a 800-page one. Way too long and overcrowded; it really diminishes the impact of some of its conclusions
Overall, this book was okay. I finished it and it was an interesting concept, but too preachy for me. Yes, men rule the world and are more agressive than women. No news there. What woman doesn't want things to be different sometimes? Me. I like my place in the world. I guess I'm lucky. I have been dealt my share of misfortune and have decided that I am going to keep going and not let it define me. Maybe that's the message inteneded here, but I felt it was incomplete, or undefined. I was not blown away by this book and wouldn't recommend it to friends as a must read.
The story and characters were all just so captivating. There are many perspectives and most characters were very well written, each having their own unique personalities, intents, motivations, thought processes, and characteristics. The suspense was also amazing!
I would have given this book 5 stars if it weren't for a few things.
1. The kids and teens in this book don't really act like or speak the way real kids and teens do. It's understandable why, but still pulled me out of the story a bit.
2. (SPOILER) There was a scene where Dr. Norcross and Evie Black are talking. At this point it's been suggested that Dr. Norcross cheated on his wife years ago and had a baby in secret. Evie Black says "She found out about you" and when he says he had nothing to hide, she says "I think you believe that". So, Evie is a supernatural being who just knows things, right? Her predictions were all correct. So then, why did she say this? It made no sense and bothered me. Even later after Dr. Norcross and his wife talk about the situation and it's revealed that the child isn't his and he didn't cheat on her, afterwards Evie calls him and says "I'm glad that all got worked out". So...WHAT!? What was the point in Evie acting like he really did it if she knew he didn't? It would be different if she was speaking to somebody else about it, but she wasn't. So in the context of the story, Evie for some reason said this to Dr. Norcross in reference to the child that wasn't his just for the hell of it? Why? Nobody was listening so the argument can't be that she was playing mind games with him. The only thing he had to hide was that he saw his ex at a bar and rejected her when she asked him to sleep with her. So...was that the "you believe you aren't hiding anything" crap? It made no sense and was just frustrating.
If it weren't for those two things, I would have giving this book a higher rating. It has everything you could want in a good supernatural thriller. It has violence, suspense, high stakes, an amazing story, phenomenal characters, and even some humor and South Park references. I would definitely recommend it!!
I would have given this book 5 stars if it weren't for a few things.
1. The kids and teens in this book don't really act like or speak the way real kids and teens do. It's understandable why, but still pulled me out of the story a bit.
2. (SPOILER) There was a scene where Dr. Norcross and Evie Black are talking. At this point it's been suggested that Dr. Norcross cheated on his wife years ago and had a baby in secret. Evie Black says "She found out about you" and when he says he had nothing to hide, she says "I think you believe that". So, Evie is a supernatural being who just knows things, right? Her predictions were all correct. So then, why did she say this? It made no sense and bothered me. Even later after Dr. Norcross and his wife talk about the situation and it's revealed that the child isn't his and he didn't cheat on her, afterwards Evie calls him and says "I'm glad that all got worked out". So...WHAT!? What was the point in Evie acting like he really did it if she knew he didn't? It would be different if she was speaking to somebody else about it, but she wasn't. So in the context of the story, Evie for some reason said this to Dr. Norcross in reference to the child that wasn't his just for the hell of it? Why? Nobody was listening so the argument can't be that she was playing mind games with him. The only thing he had to hide was that he saw his ex at a bar and rejected her when she asked him to sleep with her. So...was that the "you believe you aren't hiding anything" crap? It made no sense and was just frustrating.
If it weren't for those two things, I would have giving this book a higher rating. It has everything you could want in a good supernatural thriller. It has violence, suspense, high stakes, an amazing story, phenomenal characters, and even some humor and South Park references. I would definitely recommend it!!
Really unique plot and interesting commentary on the human nature (per usual with King), especially with the sexism/gender stereotype bent to it.
However, only giving it three stars because the book was a solid 150-200 pages longer than it really had any need to be and lagged at several points.
However, only giving it three stars because the book was a solid 150-200 pages longer than it really had any need to be and lagged at several points.