Reviews with content warning for Animal death - Insomnia

What a fun read :)

While I can't compare this novel to Stephen King's other works, I enjoyed it just the same. My first King book and now it's one of my faves.
Set in the nineties, we follow Ralph Roberts after his late wife passes away and he begins to experience complications while falling asleep. His condition deteriorates greatly, causing hallucinations beyond comprehension. Eventually, his hallucinations begin to align with current political events. Others soon experience insomnia induced hallucinations as well, luckily that's to Ralph's advantage.
I don't think I can explain any more of the plot without giving spoilers, though the book ended swiftly and concisely.
Character-wise, I appreciated our MC's with their quick thinking. Ralph and his love interest, Lois, made quite the pair. Side characters were just as unique, significant to the plot and MC's development.
Five stars.

Content Warnings

saemiligr's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

I had someone point out that King sometimes meanders in his writing and GOOD God is it very apparent in this book. I enjoyed the visuals and explanations of different aura's but occasionally I wanted to shake the book and scream "YES BUT WHAT HAPPENS NEXT!? STOP TRIPPING BALLS!"
I did tear up in the end, even though though it was still drawn out. Don't like that he toed the line between pro life and pro choice. That was incredibly frustrating, especially when Ralph was sad Helen was gay. Like she had been missing out on something. Overall however I still think this was a fantastic story. Especially since I was reading this along with the dark tower series. Just really frustrated how it seemed to ramble a lot. In fact I feel like a quarter of the story could have been chucked out of the window and nothing would be lost. Recommended read but don't be afraid to crank up the speed on the audiobook.

For this particular audiobook the audio was HORRIBLE. I'm all for effects and music to enhance the story but in this one there was this loud wailing guitar that more often than not sounded like audio feedback and had me ripping out my ear buds until it was over. Find a different version if you want the audiobook.

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erinrlreader1994's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes

4.25

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elisweets's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

This book took me on a damn roller coaster ride, that’s for sure, but I loved every minute of it. I loved the little details that connected this book to IT and added more depth to one of my favorite Stephen King stories. There’s a whole other world… many of them in fact… but they're especially active in Derry, Maine.
This is one of Mr. King’s stories that I think has a perfect ending and it had me bawling my eyes out at almost midnight. The one thing I will say is

Bill, my favorite character, deserved better.

Content Warnings

smithreads's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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