Reviews with content warning for Domestic abuse - Insomnia

For a Stephen King book that is a Dark Tower book in all but name, it’s shockingly diverse, and the amount of inappropriate boners and sexual moments is under 10 (popping a boner at the nice neighbour giving you a hug is about as bad as it gets) which for a King book? That’s a miracle in itself.

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jessi_lou95's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.5

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maclunkeyy's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

4.0

I really enjoyed this book. It's a very long, very dense, and very conceptual story. I found myself wishing it would just be over at times, but it always managed to pull me back in and keep me invested.

The emotional aspects of this book hit me pretty hard, and I found the story of Ralph and the other old-timers very unique and interesting. The ending was beautiful, and definitely touched my heart (especially that

handshake between Ralph and Clotho/Lachesis

. Ralph reflecting on

Carolyn's death in the hospital

ruined me; the line about his metaphors falling away and the inability to explain his deep grief was very raw and painful to read.

The themes of this book felt unique and well explored. Abortion rights and the fighting between 'Pro-Choicers' and 'Pro-Lifers' is, sadly, still relevant today. Abortion was used as a metaphor a few times during the plot, and felt appropriate and well used. I felt King did well exploring both sides of the issue in a fair and even manner.

The imagery of the auras was beatiful and well done, and built a wonderful and unique backdrop for the story. Big fan of Derry as the setting as well, and the small references to IT and even Pet Semetary.

This book is great, but I feel it should really only be read by people also reading the Dark Tower series. It seemed a little complicated and maybe baseless without prior knowledge of the universe. I read this book years ago, before starting the Dark Tower series. The stakes felt low during that read through, and the climax wasn't really that satisfying. This time around, I felt differently.

Spoilers for the Dark Tower series:

I think the book does a great job explaining the purpose of the Dark Tower, and I'm excited to see how the ending of Insomnia impacts Roland and his ka-tet. There is some fantastic worldbuilding present in Insomnia, and I feel that I understand a lot of complex moving parts in the backdrop of King's universe now.

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