Insomnia
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Insomnia
by Authors:
Stephen King
Released: 01 September, 1995
ISBN: 0451184963
Mass Market Paperback
Sales Rank: 13558
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List price:
$7.99
Our price:
$7.19
(You save: $0.8)
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| Book > Insomnia > Customer Reviews: |
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Average Customer Rating: 
Insomnia >
Customer Review #1:
 Promising start, but ultimately a let down
King wrote Insomnia in the early 90s, when he was still trying to transition away from adolescent-driven horror stories (like Christine, Carrie, and It) and move into more adult fare. This book comes across as a hybrid of the two. King addresses serious issues such as growing old and abortion rights, but the story itself is pulp horror comedy, complete with troll-like demons, magic rings, and evil spirits that can take human and animal shapes.The characters are well-developed, and the story is fun, especially at first, but it is not good enough to carry its 800 pages. Unlike other King milestones-like The Stand or Dark Tower series-this book becomes tedious and repetitive. In the end, its about an elderly couple trying to save 2000 people from getting killed by right-wing fanatics who are unwittingly being manipulated by supernatural forces. Even the protagonists dont seem to care too much whether they succeed. For Dark Tower fans, there is also a small event near the end that will affect the story of Roland the Gunslinger. My recommendation is to skip this one. King has written many other, more entertaining novels.
Insomnia >
Customer Review #2:
 great read.
First off, either you will love it and possibly read it again or hate it and lose interest. Personally I loved it within a few pages. I give it a 4 by itself and if you mix it in with the tied in story line of other King books than its a five. But either way, you have an epic story [Dont worry I wont repeat what everybody else already typed in]- loveable characters and mysterious characters, and an ending that gives some closure but still leaves you almost missing the characters when you finish the book. [I missed them a little bit myself anyway.] The story has a political element that runs through the entire book. Politically its about abortion. Then there is a spiritual element about life after death and so on. SK talks about little men on a different level with names borrowed from greek mythology like Atropos, And how they deal with life and death. I dont want to give away too much. The two main characters are Ralph and his neighbor with whom he is quite fond of. Its kind of a cute chemistry he brings about with these two senior citizen friends. Then there is a typical Mr. nice guy named Ed, who starts going insane and becomes a wifebeater seemingly out of the blue, and the way King works this story line in is just a huge hook. It really causes the interest in the story and the charisma of Ralph to work. The book is fascinating and Im not the biggest reader, so believe me when I say that it probably wont seem nearly as long as it really is. SK has different kinds of books- occasionally theres a so-so book like cycle of the werewolf which is a good story but not really filling for a King book. Then theres books where he has a great story and writes it in a good way, and sometimes he has a good story that he writes in a great way. I think this is one of the occasions where he has a great story and writes it in a great way. It makes you think and yet its very entertaining at the same time. I think anybody that can get slightly interested in it, will eventually like it alot. Hope that helped.
Insomnia >
Customer Review #3:
Dark Tower fans will enjoy it better
Stephen King is an author gifted with a great power of development: his characters are, almost always, believable, even if the situations they are involved in are completely fantastic. Among SKs greatest characters we will notice many children. In "It", "The eyes of the dragon", "The talisman", "The shinning", the most interesting character are always children or young people. "Insomnia" is completely different in this aspect.The main character in "Insomnia" is Ralph Roberts, a man pushing seventy, and not in a very good health. After the death of his wife, he starts having sleeping problems, and, stragest thing of all, his perception rises to fantastic level: he starts to see colored auras around people, little bald doctors with scissors and scalpels, and other unbelievable manifestations. Soon Ralph finds that all this has a specific purpose, and the fate of many worlds may lie in his old hands. The beginning of the book is a little slow, very strange, but when the pace increases, its hard to put it down. I dont think "Insomnia" has any political conotation whatsoever, even with the abortion issue. Serious as the matter surely is, I think its there only to provide a thrilling background to the story. I dont consider "Insomnia" my favorite Stephen King book, but nevertheless I was never bored while reading it. I think its very good, but a little confusing at some parts. The confusion and the sense of pointlessness will be greater if the reader is not acquainted with the Dark Tower series. For that, "Insomnia" can be considered a standalone, but more like a complement to the Dark Tower books. I would not recommend reading "Insomnia" without reading the Dark Tower first. Grade 8.2/10
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Insomnia >
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