Reviews with content warning for Terminal illness - 11/22/63

At the time of release, the descriptor "romantasy" hadn't entered the set of literary genres, but I think it's apt to describe this novel. 11/22/63 is a corny time-travel romantasy with a dense background of historical fiction. And, being Stephen King, it's tonally tense and has moments of explicitly described violence.

Jake Epping, a high school English teacher in Maine, USA, gets summoned to the back room of his favorite diner by Al, a dear friend, who shows him a portal to the past. Literally. A straight line to 1958 and back. Al is dying, and wants Jake to stop the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Jr. But that would require spending 5 years in the past just to get to that point, and still it remains unclear who really shot JFK. Was it truly the lone gunman, Lee Harvey Oswald? Was it the CIA? Soviets? And what will the future behold, if he's successful?

But I've buried the lede. It's a romance novel, I promise.

What I liked:

strong historical research
feasibility of how the characters would have acted
the flow of the storytelling

What I didn't like:

failure to critically assess the downsides of the 50's and 60's
only a peek behind the curtain of the time travel system
the "downstream effects" of altering the past seemed farfetched in a book that was otherwise very reasonable (within its own world, of course)

When the book was written (2011), the willingness to overlook the glaring flaws of the midcentury in order to appreciate "a simpler time" was more okay than it is now, or maybe I just have a lower tolerance for it. Yes, major bad things happened to marginalized people as a part of the plot, but the character didn't seem to mind the "generic racism" that permeates his environment, for example. I prefer Kindred by Octavia Butler for getting that criticism correct.

The ease of systemic oppression is too distracting for me to really love the book. But to give the great Stephen King credit, it's the first book in a long time that I stayed up late to continue reading. Which was dumb, given that I was plagued with nightmares afterwards. But hey, I kept going back, because the book is written so compellingly. The characters are themselves. The time travel system sparks my curiosity, and I'll be thinking about it for a long time. And I'll certainly continue to pick up Stephen King novels.

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lqne's review against another edition

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informative mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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mariposa517's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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uphorikbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

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moona_gaia's review against another edition

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adventurous slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot

3.5

This was my first Stephen King book and the writing style did not disappoint, but damn… I picked a big one. The book was very long and the pace was very slow at points, which made it feel even longer. This was not always the case and then i was at the edge of my seat unable to stop reading. The book was very atmospheric and because it was on the longer side, I really felt the vibe of that time period.

The ending was very bittersweet. I wanted to toss the book across the room, but also couldn’t stop reading. I love that they reunited again in the end 😭

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savage_book_review's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This was my first ever Stephen King book, and I had no idea what to expect going in. I picked it up purely on the basis that I liked the premise, and just hoped that I wasn't being fooled into reading a horror story (definitely not my genre of choice!). At best, I was expecting to read it, shrug and unhaul it. But oh, my goodness, what a book. This has more than earned a place on my bookshelf; I am totally blown away by this absolute masterpiece.

For me, it's not so much about the overarching plot of trying to save JFK that makes this stand out. Instead, it's the attention to detail which vividly brings this man's journey to life, both in terms of the factual elements - tracing Lee Harvey Oswald's life in the lead up to the fateful day is fascinating in and if itself - but also the seamless weaving in of the fictional characters and their goings-on to 'harmonise' the past. It's so very easy to fall down your own rabbit hole and come to believe in these characters; it really wouldn't take much to convince me that George Amberson/Jake Epping did actually write his story, and Stephen King is just 'the face'.

The concept of time travel might be sci-fi, but the writing makes it effortless to just 'go with it'. There's no real explanation as to where this hole in the world came from or why it exists, but there wasn't a single point where I didn't accept the position as plausible. The plot device just works. The exploration of the butterfly effect and the repercussions of George/Jake's actions do drag you into a type of dystopia, and I love how enough detail is given to allow you to understand exactly what has happened, while leaving enough to the imagination to have you thinking of the consequences for a long time after you put the book down. In turn, it inevitably leads to you questioning what you would do if you had the same or a similar opportunity.

There are some very dark moments throughout, with depictions of murder and domestic violence being important to the story. In some cases it's quite graphic, but it's not gratuitous and these moments are truly gripping to read. They're also important to our main character's development as he learns about the world he's now inhabiting and how the rabbit hole works.

Even in the quieter moments though, he writing remains engaging. I wouldn't say it's a fast paced book, and certainly there are plenty of more 'domestic' interludes that by all accounts should drag, but every moment is beautifully and thoughfully written and really digs into your psyche. I adore the romantic element - definitely not something I was expecting in a Stephen King book! - and to be honest I almost stopped caring about the world in jeopardy! And when the main character finds his 'people', the book develops a sweet small town cozy feel, albeit with shadows looming...

I'll admit to wanting a different ending, but the one we got is absolutely fitting, if heart-wrenching .

I'd thoroughly recommend this to anyone.

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katierobertsonshaddix's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful informative mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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