Reviews with content warning for Terminal illness - 11.22.63

Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

savage_book_review's review

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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katrinarose's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.0

What a disappointing thing it is to spend almost 900 pages and weeks of time for a 2 star book. It may have been 3 stars if the ending wasn’t bad, but it was. This was my first Stephen King book, and I chose it because a time travel thriller sounded fun, and definitely more appealing than a 900 page horror like his more famous works. After this experience though, I’m doubtful I’ll ever read a King book again. Even if the others are objectively better (which I doubt, because this one had tons of 5 star reviews so I can’t trust the hype), he gives me creepy old man vibes from the way he wrote women.

My main complaint is that this book could have been 500 pages shorter. For a book that is supposed to be a thriller, there was so much boring filler. We got a second life built by the main character in the late 1950s, complete with King's fantasies of being a cool English teacher beloved by all his students, having a beautiful, virginal (insert eye roll here) woman he gets to save who falls deeply in love with him, and more. There is so much that did not add anything to the story, and I kept wondering when we'd move on from this romanticization of the mid 1900s. He threw out a couple acknowledgements of the racism that existed but it seemed more perfunctory than real thought-provoking criticisms, espcially when he spent far more time talking about how much better the drinks tasted in that time.

Finally, the ending was awful. I don’t want to give any spoilers but it was not satisfying in the slightest bit. I think I could spitball five different better endings on the spot if I was asked to. Also, the time travel mechanics were lazy and introduced so late that it felt pointless. I’m trying to think of positives for this book, and all I have is that the concept is interesting and the writing style is engaging.

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1721egp's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.75

I never thought I’d say this about a Stephen King novel — but this may be one of my favorite books ever! It was nonstop, edge of your seat reading. I couldn’t wait to see what would happen next.

This is NOT a horror or thriller. It’s truly historical fiction meets science fiction.

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nenah_elizabeth's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional informative mysterious sad tense fast-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? N/A

5.0

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newswoman's review against another edition

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from the introduction of the love interest onwards i felt a gradual decline in my enjoyment of the book as i am not a fan of how the romance is written at all. i really liked the beginning a lot but the the main character is very hard to like in my opinion, which gets worse and worse as the story progresses.

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richardw2024's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

Stephen King is most known for his horror writing and, like many readers, because I don't tend to gravitate to that genre so I have always automaticallg dismissed reading Stephen King. Which I now feel is a mistake because he am incrediblely good author. This was a good introduction for me to Stephen King as this is not a horror story, but more of a speculative fiction/time travel story. I really enjoyed it. I found the time travel mechanic quite confusing as reading it - it gets explained at the end, but maybe that's the point because time travel is theoretically confusing. If you like these types of themes then you may well enjoy this book. I do think it's a bit long and meandering sometimes though, but never felt particularly like it dragged. I'd definitely consider reading more (non horror) Stephen King.

I edited my rating to 5* a few months after finishing because I heard someone talk about it and remembered how great this book was, so I feel that is worthy of a 5* rating. Few books can evoke that kind of reaction from me.

Also check the content warnings - there are a few.

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bambicat234's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.75

It wavers between being hard to put down and hard to keep reading often enough to feel like I'm getting whiplash, and the time traveling aspect could have been fleshed out a LOT more. Not his best but not his worst.

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