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phillysaurus's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
This was bloated, and longer than it needed to be, but I enjoy King's apocalyptic epics so was happy to trundle through. It's not a patch on The Stand or Under The Dome, but it scratches a similar itch.
dj68's review against another edition
2.0
2½ stars *slight spoilers*
I wasn't impressed, sadly.
I mean, the premise is interesting and it starts out good enough with a couple of handfuls of interesting characters, but very soon a lot of them start to blend together, and after a while I had trouble remembering who was who, except for a handful of main characters.
There was a lot of filler and I usually like it when Stephen King writes long novels (I wanted 11/22/63 and IT to last forever), but there was just so many characters that were introduced and then killed off few pages later without having an impact on the overall story.
It drags on for a couple of hundred pages and around the middle, when one of the characters "passes over", it picks up speed and has a lot of interesting stuff going on, but they are interspersed with the less interesting stuff. Had the novel been cut in half, or even just two-thirds, it would have been so much better.
Around 85 pages from the end it becomes really riveting and sadly just reminds you how much better the book could have been.
The writing was serviceable, I missed a lot of King's usual humour, musings on humanity, and shocking situations, all of which I think he usually excels in. I have never read anything by Owen King, so I don't know how much of his voice was coming through.
So, overall... it is not a book I would recommend to anyone right off the bat.
In a few months The Outsider comes out; I have high hopes for it, but will try to not expect too much.
I wasn't impressed, sadly.
I mean, the premise is interesting and it starts out good enough with a couple of handfuls of interesting characters, but very soon a lot of them start to blend together, and after a while I had trouble remembering who was who, except for a handful of main characters.
There was a lot of filler and I usually like it when Stephen King writes long novels (I wanted 11/22/63 and IT to last forever), but there was just so many characters that were introduced and then killed off few pages later without having an impact on the overall story.
It drags on for a couple of hundred pages and around the middle, when one of the characters "passes over", it picks up speed and has a lot of interesting stuff going on, but they are interspersed with the less interesting stuff. Had the novel been cut in half, or even just two-thirds, it would have been so much better.
Around 85 pages from the end it becomes really riveting and sadly just reminds you how much better the book could have been.
The writing was serviceable, I missed a lot of King's usual humour, musings on humanity, and shocking situations, all of which I think he usually excels in. I have never read anything by Owen King, so I don't know how much of his voice was coming through.
So, overall... it is not a book I would recommend to anyone right off the bat.
In a few months The Outsider comes out; I have high hopes for it, but will try to not expect too much.
nbrodsky17's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
lmurray43's review against another edition
5.0
Love Stephen King and I have to say that this book was unique and that is what kept me wanting to read more. There is no actual boogie man so to speak and you have to keep reading to find out what is happening with the women of the world.
I’d recommend this book to any Stephen King fan.
I’d recommend this book to any Stephen King fan.
buuee's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Alcohol, and Blood
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt
angus_mckeogh's review against another edition
3.0
Got off to a rip roaring start. Crazy and engaging premise. But it was long and at times just seemed to meander as if the authors had exhausted their ideas. Then as it approaches the end it seemed to slowly grind to a halt. Not terrible, maybe just a bit better than merely okay, but certainly not amazing.
emily_m_green's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
In Sleeping Beauties, a collaboration between Stephen and Owen King, a powerful feminine force has created an epidemic in which women form a cocoon around themselves when they fall asleep. Once they form the cocoon, they don’t wake up.
As women around the world fight to stay awake, the men do not know what to do. Some try to cut away the cocoon, which makes the women respond violently and to often kill the male who woke her up. In this epidemic, women are trying to stay awake by any means available and men are trying to find an answer to wake the women. Maybe, however, they don’t want to be woken up.
One of the themes of this book is the violent behavior of men. Men abuse, fight each other, harm animals. Women, however, work together and create new opportunities. While there is some violence amongst the women, it is rare. And while men do work together, it always brings violence, even when they’re getting along.
As an allegory, the book presents an extreme view of the cruel behavior of most men. The criticism of men within the book is frighteningly harsh. I am surprised by how extremely bad the men are painted. One of the focal points is a women’s penitentiary, and nearly every woman has been lead to incarceration as a result of being treated abominably by men.
The plot is interesting and while the characters are pretty flat, it is still fascinating to see where they lead and to learn the fate of the women—and the men. I just can’t wrap my head around the hard headedness of the male characters in this book.
Would I teach this book? Probably not. The starkly negative look at men’s behavior is so extreme that it would need to be discussed and I am not sure it could be explained in a satisfying way, even as an allegory. Discussing a gendered epidemic in our post Covid world would certainly spark conversation, especially since Sleeping Beauties was published pre-Covid.
wellreadintrovert's review against another edition
4.0
In the not too distant future, women and girls everywhere are falling asleep. Only, they aren't waking up again. Instead, they are being covered in a cocoon-like substance. When they are forcibly awakened or the gauze is disturbed they become crazed and violent. While the men are left behind to fend for themselves, the women are transported to a utopian world where everything is safe and calm. Except for Evie. Evie is the one women alive to be able to fall asleep and wake up as normal. But is Evie just a lucky one? Or is she a demon that needs to be slain?
Sleeping Beauties achieved a few things, for one, it feels like a deeply metaphorical and political read. It's hard not to miss the gender gaps, equality issues and struggles of the women involved here. The second thing, is this is a long winded but very necessary tale of horror needed for this generation. I have seen quite a lot of reviews mention the likeness to other King novels, and while yes, they are there. There is still a distinct enough difference that even seasons King fans shouldn't be too nervous about those similarities. My only gripe, is this probably could have been cut down - even by 50 pages. There was quite a lot of filler that could have been taken out without losing any of the story.
Definitely don't dive into this one first if you're a King virgin - but long time fans should find enough brilliance in this to enjoy it. Sleeping Beauties isn't your typical horror, though! So tread lightly if you prefer some of the classic King horror to the more Thriller/Horror's from recent years.
Sleeping Beauties achieved a few things, for one, it feels like a deeply metaphorical and political read. It's hard not to miss the gender gaps, equality issues and struggles of the women involved here. The second thing, is this is a long winded but very necessary tale of horror needed for this generation. I have seen quite a lot of reviews mention the likeness to other King novels, and while yes, they are there. There is still a distinct enough difference that even seasons King fans shouldn't be too nervous about those similarities. My only gripe, is this probably could have been cut down - even by 50 pages. There was quite a lot of filler that could have been taken out without losing any of the story.
Definitely don't dive into this one first if you're a King virgin - but long time fans should find enough brilliance in this to enjoy it. Sleeping Beauties isn't your typical horror, though! So tread lightly if you prefer some of the classic King horror to the more Thriller/Horror's from recent years.