You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Racism, Stalking
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I never thought I’d say this about a Stephen King novel — but this may be one of my favorite books ever! It was nonstop, edge of your seat reading. I couldn’t wait to see what would happen next.
This is NOT a horror or thriller. It’s truly historical fiction meets science fiction.
This is NOT a horror or thriller. It’s truly historical fiction meets science fiction.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Cursing, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Terminal illness, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Stalking
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I enjoyed this book because I found the premise exciting and I wanted to know how the story would play out and be resolved. I did not find the main character himself to be that interesting and felt no investment in his personal relationships, so a good chunk of the last two-thirds of the book dragged, but I really thought it was all leading to something worthwhile. I was very curious to see how the story would be resolved once the main character carried out his mission, but I found the ending to be a bit of a letdown - perhaps due to my lack of emotional connection with the main character's love interest. Overall, I rated this 3.75 because I enjoyed much of the journey, but did not get the emotional "hit" I expected at the close of the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Blood, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Stalking
Minor: Alcoholism, Sexism, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt
from the introduction of the love interest onwards i felt a gradual decline in my enjoyment of the book as i am not a fan of how the romance is written at all. i really liked the beginning a lot but the the main character is very hard to like in my opinion, which gets worse and worse as the story progresses.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Yes
Beautiful writing and an enjoyable story. I LOVE this take on time travel. Very unique.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Racism, Suicide, Stalking
dark
emotional
mysterious
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Stalking, Murder
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Torture, Xenophobia, Grief, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Toxic relationship, Car accident, War
adventurous
dark
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I started really liking this book, but the longer I read (and it's a long, long, long book), the more I was bothered by some problems with this book:
- (Unnecessary) use of racial slurs and sexist language and the clearly white male perspective on those issues (in the past and present)
- There is too much happening with the characters, making the plot that the book is supposedly about, almost seem like an afterthought
- I really didn't like the protagonist..
- The ending.. (but that's to be expected I guess when you pick up a Stephen King novel)
But, I did finish it and there were parts that I was really enjoying it, but that doesn't make up for the story overall being underwhelming in the and, on top of the problems listed above..
Also, I read some positive reviews about the narrator of the audiobook, but I really cringed the way he portrayed the speech patterns and accents of certain characters, especially foreign, black and mentally challenged people.
- (Unnecessary) use of racial slurs and sexist language and the clearly white male perspective on those issues (in the past and present)
- There is too much happening with the characters, making the plot that the book is supposedly about, almost seem like an afterthought
- I really didn't like the protagonist..
- The ending.. (but that's to be expected I guess when you pick up a Stephen King novel)
But, I did finish it and there were parts that I was really enjoying it, but that doesn't make up for the story overall being underwhelming in the and, on top of the problems listed above..
Also, I read some positive reviews about the narrator of the audiobook, but I really cringed the way he portrayed the speech patterns and accents of certain characters, especially foreign, black and mentally challenged people.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Suicide, Murder
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Racism, Sexism, Stalking
Minor: Cancer, War
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
It wavers between being hard to put down and hard to keep reading often enough to feel like I'm getting whiplash, and the time traveling aspect could have been fleshed out a LOT more. Not his best but not his worst.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Suicide, Violence, Stalking, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cursing, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Antisemitism, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Alcohol, War, Classism
adventurous
hopeful
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Gun violence
Minor: Alcoholism, Death, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Terminal illness, Stalking, War
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-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:
Yes
So usually I break a book down in my reviews and comment on the style, but this is Stephen King. I think anyone who came to literacy in the last 50 years knows what they're in for. He is a master, and this story is one of his masterpieces, that's all I need to say. If you like time travel stories, or you're interested in JFK, hell even if you don't like those topics, this book is still worth the read.
I had a big Stephen King phase in high school. I totally overdid it. In fact, I read so much of him in such a short time that all the books sort of blended together and I managed to get turned off of his stuff. In my experience, Stephen King is a master at getting readers to binge the first half of a story like it's crack and then letting his stories slowly fizzle out. I pretty much swore off of King by the time this novel was published, and shortly thereafter I was firmly off of the reading wagon altogether.
What's that got to do with 11/22/63? Well aside from having the most engaging premise mankind's ever seen fit to imagine, 11/22/63 also happens to have an ending that wasn't entirely composed by Stephen King. It is his son, Joe Hill, to whom we have to thank for a Stephen King book with a proper ending. I can't stress this point enough because it was this little tidbit that got me to read this book to begin with, can you imagine it? A Stephen King book without the drawback of a shitty pissy little half-assed ending!
There are a few things about 11/22/63 that are special, these are small touches that elevate it beyond standard SK fare in my eyes:
The first is that it takes place in the same universe as many of King's other popular works, most notably It and the town of Derry features prominently. This is a book aimed squarely at the fans, there are more small nods than I could try to list, and as I worked my way through the book I was constantly finding them (to my delight).
The second is that this book is not a reference for reference's sake kind of story. I think it would have been all too easy to get lost in the nostalgia sauce/exploration of the late 50s/early 60s; this book does have a ton of 60's material to get lost in but it's doled out with a measured hand. This could have easily read like a 60's Highlights/SK bibliography highlight reel, but everything that Stephen King has added to the pot is in there for a reason.
The final touch is one that ties it all together; the theme and tone of the book are just perfect. This is a story of echoes, and the focus is on harmonics and repeating patterns. With every little detail, the story is meant to evoke a sense of Deja Vu, and there's plenty of that to be had between the nostalgic 60's callbacks (a decade which thanks to TV and film we are all nostalgic for, even if we never lived it) and in-universe references. Everything the main character sees and does is mirrored bizarrely in another section of the book, and the story itself reads more like a collection of stories set in the lead-up to, and aftermath of, the Kennedy assassination. There's a lot of interplay is the point, and the more you pick up on it, the more it amplifies the feelings that King wants you to feel as you read the story. I am a sucker for this kind of attention to detail, it's rare and hard to pull off but like I said before, we are in the hands of a master for this one.
TL;DR: Finally an SK novel with a proper ending. For my money, this is the best thing he's ever written. It's definitely aimed at SK and JFK fans, but I wouldn't consider it necessary to care about either to enjoy this book.
I had a big Stephen King phase in high school. I totally overdid it. In fact, I read so much of him in such a short time that all the books sort of blended together and I managed to get turned off of his stuff. In my experience, Stephen King is a master at getting readers to binge the first half of a story like it's crack and then letting his stories slowly fizzle out. I pretty much swore off of King by the time this novel was published, and shortly thereafter I was firmly off of the reading wagon altogether.
What's that got to do with 11/22/63? Well aside from having the most engaging premise mankind's ever seen fit to imagine, 11/22/63 also happens to have an ending that wasn't entirely composed by Stephen King. It is his son, Joe Hill, to whom we have to thank for a Stephen King book with a proper ending. I can't stress this point enough because it was this little tidbit that got me to read this book to begin with, can you imagine it? A Stephen King book without the drawback of a shitty pissy little half-assed ending!
There are a few things about 11/22/63 that are special, these are small touches that elevate it beyond standard SK fare in my eyes:
The first is that it takes place in the same universe as many of King's other popular works, most notably It and the town of Derry features prominently. This is a book aimed squarely at the fans, there are more small nods than I could try to list, and as I worked my way through the book I was constantly finding them (to my delight).
The second is that this book is not a reference for reference's sake kind of story. I think it would have been all too easy to get lost in the nostalgia sauce/exploration of the late 50s/early 60s; this book does have a ton of 60's material to get lost in but it's doled out with a measured hand. This could have easily read like a 60's Highlights/SK bibliography highlight reel, but everything that Stephen King has added to the pot is in there for a reason.
The final touch is one that ties it all together; the theme and tone of the book are just perfect. This is a story of echoes, and the focus is on harmonics and repeating patterns. With every little detail, the story is meant to evoke a sense of Deja Vu, and there's plenty of that to be had between the nostalgic 60's callbacks (a decade which thanks to TV and film we are all nostalgic for, even if we never lived it) and in-universe references. Everything the main character sees and does is mirrored bizarrely in another section of the book, and the story itself reads more like a collection of stories set in the lead-up to, and aftermath of, the Kennedy assassination. There's a lot of interplay is the point, and the more you pick up on it, the more it amplifies the feelings that King wants you to feel as you read the story. I am a sucker for this kind of attention to detail, it's rare and hard to pull off but like I said before, we are in the hands of a master for this one.
TL;DR: Finally an SK novel with a proper ending. For my money, this is the best thing he's ever written. It's definitely aimed at SK and JFK fans, but I wouldn't consider it necessary to care about either to enjoy this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Stalking