You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
Only Stephen King can write 800-1,000 page books and leaves me wishing they were even longer
Going to call this a DNF for the time being. I got about 450 pages in and realized it wasn't working for me at all. The premise is good, what happens to a guy that can't sleep? Tie that in with the fact that said guy is a senior citizen and we typically sleep less as we get older, and you have an exciting jumping off point.
It's just that King doesn't seem to know where to go from there. Insomnia is set in the same town as IT (Derry) and there's some pleasure to be had in returning to one of his best realized settings, but it's also considered a somewhat critical chapter in the broader Dark Tower saga. And again, getting a ground level view of the big universe shaking aspects of TDT and how it impacts King's small town Maine environs is not unworthy of elaborating on.
But again, it doesn't work. Insomnia spends hundreds of pages on its main character, just kind of dilly-dallying about, finding himself in the middle of a rising abortion debate (not irrelevant to today, but the way the arguments are framed feel extremely of their time) and ending up the target of his increasingly crazed neighbor turned spousal abuser. Then he starts seeing people's auras (kinda lame, Stephen) and eventually a trio of dwarf bald guys dressed up as doctors. Just when you think the book might get finally start to find some direction, the "doctors" end up being kind of annoying and the protagonist and his even more grating love interest start flinging auras at one of the doctors.
While I was interested to see how The Crimson King wrapped into all of this, I found myself just getting more and more annoyed each time I opened the book. I might try to get a little further on the audiobook while I'm running since I already invested in it, but it's time to move on.
It's just that King doesn't seem to know where to go from there. Insomnia is set in the same town as IT (Derry) and there's some pleasure to be had in returning to one of his best realized settings, but it's also considered a somewhat critical chapter in the broader Dark Tower saga. And again, getting a ground level view of the big universe shaking aspects of TDT and how it impacts King's small town Maine environs is not unworthy of elaborating on.
But again, it doesn't work. Insomnia spends hundreds of pages on its main character, just kind of dilly-dallying about, finding himself in the middle of a rising abortion debate (not irrelevant to today, but the way the arguments are framed feel extremely of their time) and ending up the target of his increasingly crazed neighbor turned spousal abuser. Then he starts seeing people's auras (kinda lame, Stephen) and eventually a trio of dwarf bald guys dressed up as doctors. Just when you think the book might get finally start to find some direction, the "doctors" end up being kind of annoying and the protagonist and his even more grating love interest start flinging auras at one of the doctors.
While I was interested to see how The Crimson King wrapped into all of this, I found myself just getting more and more annoyed each time I opened the book. I might try to get a little further on the audiobook while I'm running since I already invested in it, but it's time to move on.
I am a long time fan of Stephen King's books and generally feel like I know what to expect in terms of the reading experience. This was not one of those books. I will admit that there were times, especially early on, that I didn't like this book. I became bored. Maybe my imagination just isn't good enough. I had trouble processing what was going on, but I believed that if I kept reading it would begin to make sense. I am glad I kept reading, because this story seemed to me to be really about many different things and tackled some interesting questions. Also, there are many easter eggs in this book related to other Stephen King books, and how can you not like another story set in Derry, Maine. I highly recommend this book, and encourage you to keep reading. This truly is a great book.
All the reviews I read warned of the magnitude of this novel. They all said things like "if you have a nice weekend, pick up a nice book; if you have a nice trip to the moon planned, pick THIS book." I can't say that I agree more.
This was the never-ending book, to me. It felt like it grew in length. Every time I would try to read a few pages there were suddenly 50 more shuffled in at the end, taunting me.
Now, it is not a bad book, overall. It is not a particularly good book either, but it is a Stephen King book, which probably accounts for it's popularity.
I started reading this book with the initial thought that maybe Ralph (the protagonist) would enter his insomniac state like all good insomniacs do, with no prior warning. Yet Ralph's insomnia grows on him, like a fungus. At first he is simply losing a few minutes, maybe an hour of sleep a night. Then he realizes that he is consistently losing more and more sleep each night. That's when he starts seeing what he calls "auras".
This is where the book deviates from my expectations of it. I thought maybe Ralph's insomnia was some sort of window into the underworld of Derry. Maybe he was going to see into the world that housed It, the notorious child-eating clown monster, or maybe there were other monsters lurking in/under Derry that you could only see if you were severely sleep deprived. This is not entirely what happens to Ralph. Yes, he starts to see things that "normal" people can't see, but what he sees is not really "monsters". Ralph is seeing a part of the world that exists around our normal world. I mean, I guess this is where the monsters could live, but that's not exactly what happens.
I'm not entirely sure what happens, honestly. The book is very long. It is very convoluted. There's a big fuss about Right To Lifers that exists as a subplot with good reason.
Needless to say, I was ready for this novel to end about 300 pages before it ever really did.
This was the never-ending book, to me. It felt like it grew in length. Every time I would try to read a few pages there were suddenly 50 more shuffled in at the end, taunting me.
Now, it is not a bad book, overall. It is not a particularly good book either, but it is a Stephen King book, which probably accounts for it's popularity.
I started reading this book with the initial thought that maybe Ralph (the protagonist) would enter his insomniac state like all good insomniacs do, with no prior warning. Yet Ralph's insomnia grows on him, like a fungus. At first he is simply losing a few minutes, maybe an hour of sleep a night. Then he realizes that he is consistently losing more and more sleep each night. That's when he starts seeing what he calls "auras".
This is where the book deviates from my expectations of it. I thought maybe Ralph's insomnia was some sort of window into the underworld of Derry. Maybe he was going to see into the world that housed It, the notorious child-eating clown monster, or maybe there were other monsters lurking in/under Derry that you could only see if you were severely sleep deprived. This is not entirely what happens to Ralph. Yes, he starts to see things that "normal" people can't see, but what he sees is not really "monsters". Ralph is seeing a part of the world that exists around our normal world. I mean, I guess this is where the monsters could live, but that's not exactly what happens.
I'm not entirely sure what happens, honestly. The book is very long. It is very convoluted. There's a big fuss about Right To Lifers that exists as a subplot with good reason.
Needless to say, I was ready for this novel to end about 300 pages before it ever really did.
A brilliant and engaging return to Derry, Maine and its buried secrets for a book that in many ways is the "Old Fart" counterpart to It, another tale (or a continuation of the same in the larger multiverse) where the dark forces underneath the city are more complex and possibly even more dangerous, or more at least more sophisticated and purposeful in their malevolence.
Insomnia is for sure a slow burn but not less fascinating for it, centred on the lovable and relatable character of the widower Ralph Roberts.
King made the fairly bold choice of anchoring the novel, and by doing so anchoring as well all the whole "Derry mythology", into his Dark Tower universe. Having read all the DT books he published prior to Insomnia it's not easy for me to imagine how I would have reacted to this aspect of Insomnia without that. I guess what for me felt very revelatory and terribly exciting about the nature of the Tower and the levels of existence, and the denizens on those levels may have felt utterly bizarre, complicated and eventually non sensical to those not acquainted at all with Roland and his quest, Walter, the Crimson King. But maybe I would still have found it intriguing and fascinating.
As usual with King, it's a great journey into human nature, love and friendship, fear, loss, and the darker aspects. While not as expansive as some of the other cast of his "town novels" like It or Needful Things, he surrounded Ralph with the usual gallery of well drawn, colourful and interesting secondary characters, a lot of them elderly this time around, which gives King wonderful opportunity to explore the theme and realities of aging, and of course the curse of insomnia itself. As he's done episodically since Dead Zone, he wove a lot of socio-political elements into the narrative, this time around looking into women's rights and domestic abuse. While these elements do not have the depth they may have had in a novel where they would have been central, it's an interesting elements that further anchors Insomnia into reality despite its many supernatural element.
After a great build up in two acts, the third one wraps the story into an exhilarating, occasionally horrific fashion, with a fantastic, touching epilogue. Insomnia raises as many questions as it provides answers, more so than other King novels, but a bit like with Black House the answers were to come with the further Dark Tower novels.
Insomnia is one of the novels that showed a Stephen King in full control of his toolbox, a master work of a mature novelist. I rank it among his best, though it appears a bit underrated.
Insomnia is for sure a slow burn but not less fascinating for it, centred on the lovable and relatable character of the widower Ralph Roberts.
King made the fairly bold choice of anchoring the novel, and by doing so anchoring as well all the whole "Derry mythology", into his Dark Tower universe. Having read all the DT books he published prior to Insomnia it's not easy for me to imagine how I would have reacted to this aspect of Insomnia without that. I guess what for me felt very revelatory and terribly exciting about the nature of the Tower and the levels of existence, and the denizens on those levels may have felt utterly bizarre, complicated and eventually non sensical to those not acquainted at all with Roland and his quest, Walter, the Crimson King. But maybe I would still have found it intriguing and fascinating.
As usual with King, it's a great journey into human nature, love and friendship, fear, loss, and the darker aspects. While not as expansive as some of the other cast of his "town novels" like It or Needful Things, he surrounded Ralph with the usual gallery of well drawn, colourful and interesting secondary characters, a lot of them elderly this time around, which gives King wonderful opportunity to explore the theme and realities of aging, and of course the curse of insomnia itself. As he's done episodically since Dead Zone, he wove a lot of socio-political elements into the narrative, this time around looking into women's rights and domestic abuse. While these elements do not have the depth they may have had in a novel where they would have been central, it's an interesting elements that further anchors Insomnia into reality despite its many supernatural element.
After a great build up in two acts, the third one wraps the story into an exhilarating, occasionally horrific fashion, with a fantastic, touching epilogue. Insomnia raises as many questions as it provides answers, more so than other King novels, but a bit like with Black House the answers were to come with the further Dark Tower novels.
Insomnia is one of the novels that showed a Stephen King in full control of his toolbox, a master work of a mature novelist. I rank it among his best, though it appears a bit underrated.
The best parts of this story were maybe three stars--ultimately I did really like Ralph as a protagonist--but the worst were dragging, slogging, mind-numbing half a star or worse passages that took up far too much time.
This work is slow and rambling and repetitive. It held my hand when I didn't need it, stressing the importance of the physical objects stolen by a certain evil gremlin; but then when I wanted more explanation (the entire rooftop scene with the good "doctors") I felt like I was deliberately being run around in pointless circles, and not just because vital information was being withheld from the characters. I felt like after hiking through more than 400 pages of old-people problems I deserved more than half-assed metaphysical nonsense.
I can't even like this for its association with The Dark Tower series, because the ultimate point of this book is related to it, but in such a narrow way that I had to look up one of the characters involved, and even when I did, I didn't remember him. (Not the Crimson King, who is a much bigger deal and far more memorable. Yeah, I read the entire TDT series three years ago, and I didn't like most of the second half, but I didn't even remember the significance of the crossover character here.)
So this starts, not strong exactly, but interesting. As I said, Ralph is pretty darn likable, and it's rare in my experience to read a book with an elderly protagonist that isn't obviously a self-insert for the author. (King does that in other ways in other books, but I never once thought Ralph was meant to represent him here. I'm thinking more along the lines of The Bridges of Madison County and similar self-indulgent Old Man tales.)
But by page 250 I was still, in some sense, waiting for the story to show up. I'd been introduced to a lot of characters and there was a lot of background noise (the abortion "debate" and town drama was not a particularly satisfying backdrop to the main plot) but I didn't have a sense of what the story meant itself to be. It felt directionless. The sagging, repetitive, expository-but-unsatisfying middle made that directionlessness worse, even as it should have been solidifying the plot. Even when Clotho and Lachesis (yay, Greek mythology in a story where it doesn't really belong) literally explain what's going on to Ralph and Lois, I still didn't see where the story was headed, because there were too many unknowns.
At that point, I realized the underlying problem of the novel; Ralph is likable, sure, but he's incredibly passive. Things happen to him or around him, and he reacts. He gets told he has to Do a Thing, so he agrees to do it, even though he doesn't understand how--and yes, I've just described a stereotypical Call to Action from a hero's journey arc, only his happens more than halfway through the story.
The final act does jerk him around some more, and the supernatural nonsense leads him by the nose to what he's supposed to do. He does display some remarkable agency in making a deal with C+L that he's not really supposed to make, and eventually that brings the novel to a close in the epilogue, completing his story in a semi-satisfying way fitting with his character. The big blowout action scenes that precede it, ending the main plot, are so crazy as to be nearly unbelievable, and again rely on some of the worst aspects of storytelling this book has to offer--excessive repetition and hand-holding.
I can't recommend it as a true standalone to readers who haven't touched TDT--I think the frequent references to it would be frustrating and nonsensical. But I don't really recommend it to TDT readers either, unless they're deep fandom nerds who want to trudge through 800 pages to find out the "origin" story of a minor TDT character. (And I say that with love, because I am a deep fandom nerd of other things, so I understand the impulse even if I don't have it here. I was not satisfied; I am too casual a TDT fan.)
Do I regret reading it, though? No. Even if the book gave me nothing else, it explored a likable elderly protagonist in depth, giving him a quest and a new love and putting him through hell in the process. I think that was a valuable experience for me, even if it was sometimes a tedious one.
This work is slow and rambling and repetitive. It held my hand when I didn't need it, stressing the importance of the physical objects stolen by a certain evil gremlin; but then when I wanted more explanation (the entire rooftop scene with the good "doctors") I felt like I was deliberately being run around in pointless circles, and not just because vital information was being withheld from the characters. I felt like after hiking through more than 400 pages of old-people problems I deserved more than half-assed metaphysical nonsense.
I can't even like this for its association with The Dark Tower series, because the ultimate point of this book is related to it, but in such a narrow way that I had to look up one of the characters involved, and even when I did, I didn't remember him. (Not the Crimson King, who is a much bigger deal and far more memorable. Yeah, I read the entire TDT series three years ago, and I didn't like most of the second half, but I didn't even remember the significance of the crossover character here.)
So this starts, not strong exactly, but interesting. As I said, Ralph is pretty darn likable, and it's rare in my experience to read a book with an elderly protagonist that isn't obviously a self-insert for the author. (King does that in other ways in other books, but I never once thought Ralph was meant to represent him here. I'm thinking more along the lines of The Bridges of Madison County and similar self-indulgent Old Man tales.)
But by page 250 I was still, in some sense, waiting for the story to show up. I'd been introduced to a lot of characters and there was a lot of background noise (the abortion "debate" and town drama was not a particularly satisfying backdrop to the main plot) but I didn't have a sense of what the story meant itself to be. It felt directionless. The sagging, repetitive, expository-but-unsatisfying middle made that directionlessness worse, even as it should have been solidifying the plot. Even when Clotho and Lachesis (yay, Greek mythology in a story where it doesn't really belong) literally explain what's going on to Ralph and Lois, I still didn't see where the story was headed, because there were too many unknowns.
At that point, I realized the underlying problem of the novel; Ralph is likable, sure, but he's incredibly passive. Things happen to him or around him, and he reacts. He gets told he has to Do a Thing, so he agrees to do it, even though he doesn't understand how--and yes, I've just described a stereotypical Call to Action from a hero's journey arc, only his happens more than halfway through the story.
The final act does jerk him around some more, and the supernatural nonsense leads him by the nose to what he's supposed to do. He does display some remarkable agency in making a deal with C+L that he's not really supposed to make, and eventually that brings the novel to a close in the epilogue, completing his story in a semi-satisfying way fitting with his character. The big blowout action scenes that precede it, ending the main plot, are so crazy as to be nearly unbelievable, and again rely on some of the worst aspects of storytelling this book has to offer--excessive repetition and hand-holding.
I can't recommend it as a true standalone to readers who haven't touched TDT--I think the frequent references to it would be frustrating and nonsensical. But I don't really recommend it to TDT readers either, unless they're deep fandom nerds who want to trudge through 800 pages to find out the "origin" story of a minor TDT character. (And I say that with love, because I am a deep fandom nerd of other things, so I understand the impulse even if I don't have it here. I was not satisfied; I am too casual a TDT fan.)
Do I regret reading it, though? No. Even if the book gave me nothing else, it explored a likable elderly protagonist in depth, giving him a quest and a new love and putting him through hell in the process. I think that was a valuable experience for me, even if it was sometimes a tedious one.
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Read this as part of my Journey to the Dark Tower (because I'm a completionist in addition to being a Constant Reader).
I expected this one to be slow (considering the size, and Stephen King's typical pace in his longer books), and it was at times... But it was also an absolutely bonkers ride of a novel. (I was actually going to drop it down to 4 stars due to some of the slower bits, but I honestly can't. This book just TOOK me. And I have to give it full credit for that...)
Set in Derry (yay!) after the events of IT (because it's mentioned that the library had been redesigned by Ben Hanscom. [super yay!]), Old man Ralph has insomnia. (Ohhhh maaan are these bits ever fun to read as someone who has also suffered a bout of insomnia for a period in my life. That's what hooked me on this book almost immediately. Okay, let's keep going...)
His old buddy (and neighbour) Ed Deepneau is losing it (warning: spousal abuse & extreme misogyny) over "truckloads of dead babies" and abortions and the women's clinic and his wife and just about everything happening in the world.
Then Ralph starts seeing the auras of other people, in addition to the "bald, little doctors" (super creepy, not seen by others, they mess with the auras of people in Derry). There's 3; two of which aren't necessarily "bad guys" and the third, named Atropos, who is an agent of the Crimson King (oooh aaaahhh the Crimson King! Be afraid!!)
Ralph connects with Lois (an older woman who also has insomnia and is seeing the bald, little doctors). Ralph and Lois are pulled into a battle of otherworldly beings (there are other worlds than these!) and discover that they're the only ones who can stop Atropos, who is messing with the proper balance of the universe by corrupting people & their auras. (Are you still with me?)
All of this is set against the backdrop of a Derry that's dealing with the pro-choice vs pro-life debate (let's just get this out up front: I am very pro-choice - okay, let's keep going...). Stephen King really gives us a meaty issue for the idiots and monsters of Derry to grapple with. Obviously Derry isn't a progressive town, but I think King pretty clearly skews towards pro-choice (in that he writes poignant arguments from that angle for certain characters) without specifically giving the reader HIS answer. So, that's nice. It's always nice to see how low the town of Derry can stoop. And it's always nice when an author can explore a topic without slipping into sermonizing (when that's not the thesis of the story they're telling).
This coalesces into a conflict of good versus evil (not unlike The Stand), which takes place at a pro-choice rally where a prominent speaker is in attendance.
And in true Stephen King fashion, that conflict is going to be supernatural as all hell and deal with some really heady concepts, like alternate planes of reality (my Dark Tower prep feels so justified now! Hooray!).
This book had a lot of truly creepy and unsettling moments. It takes a lot for me to feel uncomfortable when reading, but certain scenes in this book gave me knots in my stomach and put me completely on edge, muscles tense, jaw clenched. I think this might be the most unsettling of King's books that I've read so far...
I also loved the full-circle (Ka is a wheeeeeel!!!) storyline for Ralph. Absolutely beautiful. And all the self-referential moments to Derry and IT and The Dark Tower (from what I know of it so far), amongst others, were just so deeply gratifying that I found myself pumping my first or squealing in celebration when they arose.
And now I think I'm ready for the Dark Tower. God help me, I think it's time...
As usual, Stephen King can just take all the damn stars!
I expected this one to be slow (considering the size, and Stephen King's typical pace in his longer books), and it was at times... But it was also an absolutely bonkers ride of a novel. (I was actually going to drop it down to 4 stars due to some of the slower bits, but I honestly can't. This book just TOOK me. And I have to give it full credit for that...)
Set in Derry (yay!) after the events of IT (because it's mentioned that the library had been redesigned by Ben Hanscom. [super yay!]), Old man Ralph has insomnia. (Ohhhh maaan are these bits ever fun to read as someone who has also suffered a bout of insomnia for a period in my life. That's what hooked me on this book almost immediately. Okay, let's keep going...)
His old buddy (and neighbour) Ed Deepneau is losing it (warning: spousal abuse & extreme misogyny) over "truckloads of dead babies" and abortions and the women's clinic and his wife and just about everything happening in the world.
Then Ralph starts seeing the auras of other people, in addition to the "bald, little doctors" (super creepy, not seen by others, they mess with the auras of people in Derry). There's 3; two of which aren't necessarily "bad guys" and the third, named Atropos, who is an agent of the Crimson King (oooh aaaahhh the Crimson King! Be afraid!!)
Ralph connects with Lois (an older woman who also has insomnia and is seeing the bald, little doctors). Ralph and Lois are pulled into a battle of otherworldly beings (there are other worlds than these!) and discover that they're the only ones who can stop Atropos, who is messing with the proper balance of the universe by corrupting people & their auras. (Are you still with me?)
All of this is set against the backdrop of a Derry that's dealing with the pro-choice vs pro-life debate (let's just get this out up front: I am very pro-choice - okay, let's keep going...). Stephen King really gives us a meaty issue for the idiots and monsters of Derry to grapple with. Obviously Derry isn't a progressive town, but I think King pretty clearly skews towards pro-choice (in that he writes poignant arguments from that angle for certain characters) without specifically giving the reader HIS answer. So, that's nice. It's always nice to see how low the town of Derry can stoop. And it's always nice when an author can explore a topic without slipping into sermonizing (when that's not the thesis of the story they're telling).
This coalesces into a conflict of good versus evil (not unlike The Stand), which takes place at a pro-choice rally where a prominent speaker is in attendance.
And in true Stephen King fashion, that conflict is going to be supernatural as all hell and deal with some really heady concepts, like alternate planes of reality (my Dark Tower prep feels so justified now! Hooray!).
This book had a lot of truly creepy and unsettling moments. It takes a lot for me to feel uncomfortable when reading, but certain scenes in this book gave me knots in my stomach and put me completely on edge, muscles tense, jaw clenched. I think this might be the most unsettling of King's books that I've read so far...
I also loved the full-circle (Ka is a wheeeeeel!!!) storyline for Ralph. Absolutely beautiful. And all the self-referential moments to Derry and IT and The Dark Tower (from what I know of it so far), amongst others, were just so deeply gratifying that I found myself pumping my first or squealing in celebration when they arose.
And now I think I'm ready for the Dark Tower. God help me, I think it's time...
As usual, Stephen King can just take all the damn stars!
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced