Reviews

The Institute by Stephen King

rennegade's review against another edition

5.0

4.5 rounded up.

Another good one from King! I will eventually go back to listening to all of his classic horror books, but for now I am enjoying the books that are a bit off his beaten path.

I really enjoyed how the book started with the seemingly unconnected story of Tim Jamieson, a small town former cop who spontaneously gave up his seat on an overbooked airplane and headed out in a random direction. I had no idea where that was going, as the synopsis I read dealt with a kidnapped kid from Minnesota being taken to Maine.

Over the course of this 19+hour audiobook, I got Luke's story as well as how it eventually ties into Tim's story.

The kids were fantastic. I was so invested in each one, and I was furious at the adults involved in the Institute. The book brought up some big questions that we should probably ask ourselves more often about whether the end result is worth the path it took to get there.

I docked off half a star mostly because there were times when the book almost started to drag a bit. It always picked back up, but as with other King novels, I feel like it could have been a solid 75 pages shorter and been very successful.

Next up for me is 11/22/63!

cgrady17's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad slow-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? It's complicated

3.75

smkean's review against another edition

5.0

When King writes a story with children as main characters, you know it's going to be great. The Institute brings you along for a pretty weird ride, I loved the characters and the setting is vividly written, drawing you in. Definitely a great read that will leave you questioning the characters ending decisions for a while.

kayedykes's review against another edition

5.0

Absolutely incredible. I have never read a book which has given me goosebumps or made me feel on edge and want to race reading to keep up with the pace of the adventure. King has absolutely blown it out of the park again with this one

bellestrange's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.5

aliciasgalleri's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious fast-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? It's complicated

4.0

ellsawhite's review against another edition

5.0

I loved this one so much.

brett's review against another edition

4.0

4.5

angelam78's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

ibeforem's review against another edition

5.0

One day, 12 year old Luke is discussing early admission to MIT with his parents, the next he is waking up in a room that looks like his, but definitely isn't, and the people outside his door are not his parents, but are other kids with various levels of telekinetic/telepathic powers. They've all been stolen from their homes, forced to undergo various tests until the day they are taken to the other building, never to return. But Luke isn't going without a fight. He's going to be the one to escape and bring the whole system down.

I thought this was one of King's stronger books in recent years. Of course, there's a hefty dose of suspension of disbelief required for the scheme, but as a sci-fi/horror it works.