Reviews for 11/22/63--Many contain spoilers

[bobledrew]

Here's a link to Janet Maslin's review (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/31/books/stephen-kings-11-23-63-review.html?_r=2&pagewanted=1), and here's her conclusion:

"The pages of “11/22/63” fly by, filled with immediacy, pathos and suspense. It takes great brazenness to go anywhere near this subject matter. But it takes great skill to make this story even remotely credible. Mr. King makes it all look easy, which is surely his book’s fanciest trick."

Excited yet?

[Moderator]

Bob, I changed the title of your thread as I'd wanted to have one devoted to official reviews and that seemed the simpler solution rather than starting another one. :smile2:

[RichardX]

I knew SK was a smart guy! "By the way, he thinks it a near-certainty that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone."

[JohnDalglish]

Hi,

Certainly am excited, Bob, thankee for the link.

Long days and pleasant nights

[randallFlaggfan1]

Hi, Bob!

Excited, indeed. Many of us are ecstatic, actually.:)

Thank you for the thread and link.


("All things serve the Beam")

[randallFlaggfan1]

Fantastic review, BTW!


("All things serve the Beam")

[Moderator]

From the Washington Post (http://www.stephenking.com/forums/redirector.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost .com%2Fentertainment%2Fbooks%2Fstephen-kings-112263%2F2011%2F10%2F27%2FgIQARCxmaM_story.html)

[jchanic]

It should be noted that all these reviews contain major spoilers.

John

[Moderator]

Especially that Washington Post one :glare:. Even though reviews usually do contain at least some spoilers, I've edited the title of the thread to give people a heads up.

[prufrock21]

Just read the two reviews and don't plan to read any more. Not before I read the book. Why spoil the fun?
http://www.stephenking.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=13301&thumb=1&d=1313676786 (http://www.stephenking.com/forums/album.php?albumid=1438)

[GNTLGNT]

"
Mr. King makes it all look easy"

No, duh! Ya think? He's been pulling literary rabbits of his BoSox hat for years....

[PrisonerNumber6]

Something just occured to me. In regards to reviews, the first results are just coming in now (to use terms not unconnected with the story under discussion.) So far, reader reaction has been favorable. From here on in, let me caution those who wind up liking it to prepare for the most erratic and uneven series of peaks and valleys. I'm talking about what to expect from critics and the media here at large, a slolam run from The Twilight Zone in other words.

The reason I say this is because I got to confess I'm kind of worried about what the media at large may do to the book. We know what Mr. King has planned for post release publicity, and they say any publicity is good, but has anyone stopped to think what that means in terms of such outlets as CNN, MSNBC or even FOX NEWS?

Somewhere a while back, a joke was made about snide comments from FOX. Well, what if that's exactly the reaction that happens? What's got me worried most, now I think of it, is the idea of it being used as a kind of political cudgel to wielded by talking heads. In other words, what if 11/22/63 and it's contents wind up another victim of the partisan wars in this country?

It's easy to say, well, maybe that's inevitable, but think. Would you really enjoy it if something you bought just for entertainment were to wind up another side entrance to Spin Alley?

Let me know what you think of this, as I'd really like to hear others thoughts on this, and remember...

Be seeing you.

[GNTLGNT]

The media(and I are a member)collectively eat their own and others young...pit vipers have nothing on them in temperament...they zero in on the lowest common denominator(sex, scandal, money etc.)because there IS a segment of our "society" that lives vicariously through it...dirt sells and Don Henley was correct...pi** on "the spin"-it's why we have minds-we make our own judgements...

[PrisonerNumber6]

Well, thank God for that at least, I was kind of getting worried I was the only one concerned. Keep the comment coming as this is one topic that I think can only get more important as the release date and after arrives.

For a first hand glimpse of the kind of promblem I'm talking about here, anyone who's interested, or just plain crazy take you're pick (more on that in a moment) should feel free to read an online feature article by Washington Post columnist Gene Weingarten, one of the last genuienly funny reporters on the planet (and therefore totally bonkers insane.)

In the article, Weingarten details what it's like to expose yourself to twenty four straight hours of non-stop 24 hour news network coverage (see previous bracketed quote above.)

Once more, tell me and others what you think. And if I seem to be carping on this subject, well, the reason I think is it's one thing to have media pundits go on when the overall subject is the daily deluge that is what De Toquville called "The Tyranny of the Popular Majority," it's a whole n'other thing when you put yourself out on the line like that where your exposed to their barbs and useless taunts. That wouldn't be so much a problem if what GNTLGNT said earlier weren't true. There really is a segment of society that thrives on Spin, to which I have to add, and they can influence the flow of popular discourse.

I guess what all that amounts to is a kind of way of saying, DFTT, to which I'd add, thou shalt not sell thy soul for a plot of message.

And so my "Ah" fellow Americans, I'd "Ah like to leave you with this one thought...Don Henly said that? Really? Where was that from? Was that like from a song or something?

[Moderator]

The Today Show had the exclusive for Tuesday morning but he'll be taping a segment for Morning Joe which they'll air on Wednesday. We'll see how they handle it. :smile2:

[Moderator]

NPR's review (http://www.stephenking.com/forums/redirector.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.npr.org%2F2011 %2F11%2F01%2F141911595%2Fbook-review-11-22-63)

[muskrat]

PrisonerNumber6--I wouldn't worry about it all that much. I mean, what's the worst that could happen? A buncha ultra-conservatives don't read the book. Hell, they aren't gonna read the book anyway. Maybe Bill O'Reilly says he's doesn't like it. O'Reilly doesn't like anything. From the sound of it, 11/22/63 isn't gonna deal with hardcore politics, and, after all, it's a work of fiction--some pretty far out fiction at that. I don't think Uncle Stevie has much to fear. Now if he makes Jackie Kennedy out to be a closet pedophile eating the brains of girlscouts while dressed as Joe McCarthy, maybe some folks will squawk. Actually, that's a pretty good idea. I gotta write that down.

[PrisonerNumber6]

Here's keeping fingers crossed.

Be seeing you.

[Moderator]

The Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/nov/02/112263-stephen-king-review?newsfeed=true)

Time (http://entertainment.time.com/2011/11/02/in-stephen-kings-latest-trying-to-stop-lee-harvey-oswald/)

The Periscope Post (http://www.periscopepost.com/2011/11/112263-stephen-king-tries-to-save-jfk-in-new-time-travel-novel/)

[cat in a bag]

All of these reviews are great! I can't wait, getting that really anxious, impatient feeling in my stomach. I'm behaving like my kids all of October, they kept asking how many days til Halloween, with a few how many days until Christmas thrown in for good measure. When I would answer them, they would say, But Mom, that's so far!

Hubby has to work Tuesday, so I have to wait for him to get home at 5:45 in the evening to go get my copy. I think I will plan for something in the crock pot that night for supper so I can just start reading!

[Moderator]

Publishers Weekly (http://reviews.publishersweekly.com/978-1-4516-2728-2)

[GNTLGNT]

Don Henly said that? Really? Where was that from? Was that like from a song or something?

Apparently I'm quite the fossil here, if I have to explain that! Henley had quite a solo number one hit in 1982 with a cut called "Dirty Laundry"...from the album "I Can't Stand Still"......

[GNTLGNT]

PrisonerNumber6--I wouldn't worry about it all that much. I mean, what's the worst that could happen? A buncha ultra-conservatives don't read the book. Hell, they aren't gonna read the book anyway. Maybe Bill O'Reilly says he's doesn't like it. O'Reilly doesn't like anything. From the sound of it, 11/22/63 isn't gonna deal with hardcore politics, and, after all, it's a work of fiction--some pretty far out fiction at that. I don't think Uncle Stevie has much to fear. Now if he makes Jackie Kennedy out to be a closet pedophile eating the brains of girlscouts while dressed as Joe McCarthy, maybe some folks will squawk. Actually, that's a pretty good idea. I gotta write that down.

...and Gov. John Connally was the secret Russian spy lover of Oswald....

[Haunted]

He is, instead, offering a tale richly layered with the pleasures we’ve come to expect: characters of good heart and wounded lives, whose adventures into the fantastic are made plausible because they are anchored in reality, in the conversations and sense of place that take us effortlessly into the story. from Washington Post review


Ayup...that's why we are here!!

[PrisonerNumber6]

To GNTLGNT

Re: Dirty Laundry.

Aw, man, the fault's all mine. I must of heard that song in the car more times than I can count. I must have been to focused on other things to hear that lyric. (Again, open mouth A, insert foot B.)

If you want to, (if you can stomach it) don't forget to check out that Gene Weingarten article on what's like to expose yourself to Spin for 24 hours straight.

[PrisonerNumber6]

Well, it had to happen sooner or later. The worst part is it kind of validates what I worried about. The following link
http://www.irishcentral.com/story/news/sidewalks/please-leave-john-f-kennedy-rest-in-peace-133146273.html

I (http://www.irishcentral.com/story/news/sidewalks/please-leave-john-f-kennedy-rest-in-peace-133146273.html)s the first negative and politicized review I found. What's real disappointing is it all happened so quick. Well, here it is for any who'd even care to read it. For what it's worth. Sorry if this makes me the killjoy for the day.

[Moderator]

I wouldn't worry about that one. It's not so much a commentary on Stephen's writing as it is a displeasure with anyone continuing to comment on JFK's legacy.

[RichardX]

I don't really see any basis to believe reviews of this book will be affected by politics. Or that conservatives will have a negative opinion. It's a work of fiction. King might be a liberal but he is not a political entity. If anyone is critical of the book it will be the conspiracy crowd since King apparently believes that Oswald was the lone shooter.

[PrisonerNumber6]

Maybe, just bear in mind the fact that Kennedy is name that still gets tossed around a lot in places like capitol hill and in the press, and for a whole score of reason, many of them political. I wonder what questions the audience of the JFK library will have in store.

[PrisonerNumber6]

I think the problem is this. Even when you aren't writing about politics, or to discuss politics the problem still remains when your inspiration is a subject or personality that already comes with politics or political issues built into. JFK comes with all that built in, it's an unavoidable inevitable. For example take the recent Kennedys mini-series and the uproar that got started there. I don't say we'll see a repeat. I'm just saying subjects such as this will always come with a certain risk of backlash of one kind or another. Still, it's not like Spin speaks for Democracy.

[Moderator]

If we started obsessing over negative backlash, whether that be bad reviews, accusations of political or any other bias, etc., there wouldn't be any new releases. The attitude or reality we've come to accept can be summed up in the immortal words of Roseanne Rosannadanna, "Well, Jane, it just goes to show you, it's always something--if it ain't one thing, it's another." :smile2:

[JohnDalglish]

Still, it's not like Spin speaks for Democracy.

Hi,

Tell that to the Athenians who are being refused a vote today.

(Or the OWS protesters being refused a voice worldwide by the right wing media!).

Long days and pleasant nights

[bobledrew]

Prisonernumber6 et al, doesn't this all come down to free speech? King has written his novel. Then it's up to the "official" reviewers and gatekeepers and the unofficial ones (you and me) to read it and judge it, on whatever criteria we choose.

Keep in mind, SK got where he is DESPITE, not BECAUSE OF, critical acclaim. His early works, and even his whole oeuvre, have been the subject of some scathing criticism. Harold Bloom says even calling him a "penny-dreadful" writer is too good for him. S.T. Joshi has written (thanks to Delbert Grady for this quote): He is, to be blunt, not a very good writer. His conceptions are stale and largely derived from the films, television shows, and comic books that he openly admits constituted his literary diet in youth (see his ruminations on the horror field, Danse Macabre (1981)); his prose is flat, plain, and mundane almost beyond belief and tolerance; his novels are shambles of extraneous verbiage, episodes that go nowhere, and characters who are stale, stereotypical, and hackneyed. It is exactly these qualities that both condemn him (rightly) in the eyes of many critics and engender his popularity among a readership that would find anything more literarily elevated beyond its scope and comprehension.

If Rush Limbaugh or Bill O'Reilly or whoever use the new book as a talking point, I don't think it matters a whit to SK, or to his fans, or to the others.

I wouldn't waste my few remaining brain cells worrying about it.

[bobledrew]

Well, it had to happen sooner or later. The worst part is it kind of validates what I worried about. The following link
http://www.irishcentral.com/story/news/sidewalks/please-leave-john-f-kennedy-rest-in-peace-133146273.html

I (http://www.stephenking.com/forums/redirector.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishcentral.c om%2Fstory%2Fnews%2Fsidewalks%2Fplease-leave-john-f-kennedy-rest-in-peace-133146273.html)s the first negative and politicized review I found. What's real disappointing is it all happened so quick. Well, here it is for any who'd even care to read it. For what it's worth. Sorry if this makes me the killjoy for the day.

PS: Given that there's a grammar error in the hed and another in the first four paragraphs, I think this guy might want to stop columnizing for a bit and pick up "On Writing."

[PrisonerNumber6]

Yeah, sorry about that. Hands type too fast and I'm still a poor spotter.

[bobledrew]

P6 -- I wasn't finding errors in what you'd written, but what the IrishCentral guy had written.

[omm poppa mow mow]

Maslin's review:
Mr. King’s books have a far stronger real-world component than they used to

I disagree...one appeal his stories hold is that they contain people that are real....ha ha ha ha! Has the reviewer read any of them?


in ways that make this an unusually romantic novel for its author.

Nope...Maslin has not read the erotic westerns from King, the heart-throbbing romances...oy!

[randallFlaggfan1]

If we started obsessing over negative backlash, whether that be bad reviews, accusations of political or any other bias, etc., there wouldn't be any new releases. The attitude or reality we've come to accept can be summed up in the immortal words of Roseanne Rosannadanna, "Well, Jane, it just goes to show you, it's always something--if it ain't one thing, it's another." :smile2:


It does always seem to be something, doesn't it, Ms. Mod?


("All things serve the Beam")

[jchanic]

Cleveland Plain Dealer:

http://www.cleveland.com/books/index.ssf/2011/11/stephen_kings_112263_is_a_surp.html

John

[PrisonerNumber6]

Well, I just got a look at the touring and publicity schedule. Already missed the JFK Library with Tom Perotta (say sorry.) Hope it went okay. The only thing I'd like to know is did Matthews contact for an appearance?

[Moderator]

USA Today (http://books.usatoday.com/book/stephen-king-112263-a-novel/r562663)

Great review--ended with:

"Readers will be reminded of the suspenseful tension of King's horror tales. But 11/22/63 is no nightmare. It is not typical Stephen King. It is extraordinary Stephen King."

[bobledrew]

Hi everyone... I suppose I should contribute my Kingcast review here. I was off to a conference for the weekend, and coincidentally a review copy arrived from S&S the day before. Made the many travel foulups and the VERY long day getting from Ottawa to the Catskills of NY much more enjoyable. I was so excited that I couldn't wait to get home where my regular podcasting rig was, and just had to record: http://thekingcast.ca/site/?p=320 (I don't think it's too spoiler-infested, but better safe than sorry if you're the type who hates to have anything revealed.) Very appreciative to S&S for helping fill a long day.

[mstay]

USA Today (http://books.usatoday.com/book/stephen-king-112263-a-novel/r562663)

Great review--ended with:

"Readers will be reminded of the suspenseful tension of King's horror tales. But 11/22/63 is no nightmare. It is not typical Stephen King. It is extraordinary Stephen King."

I love those ending statements. That is exactly what I thought but couldn't figure out how to put into words.

[bobledrew]

Oh dear. The eminently fair and reasonable Andrew Breitbart's "Big Hollywood" site and its readers don't like Steve very much (http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/rcapshaw/2011/11/15/stephen-king-ignores-history-to-blame-the-right/):

"
In a recent interview withCamelot merchant Chris Matthews (http://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/scott-whitlock/2011/11/11/stephen-king-right-wing-hate-obama-anger-led-jfks-murder) on MSNBC, King reverted to the media’s “blame the Right first” school of assassination theories...."


And from the commenters:

I think I'm going to have a book burning in my fire pit tomorrow. I'm embarrassed that I even read his books years ago- and that they're still on my bookshelves. What a tool.





http://gravatar.com/avatar/cc42704619d54fa0be855bc81d2af1d6?s=26&d=http://s.intensedebate.com/smallimages/2610236 (http://intensedebate.com/people/Thedillyo)Thedillyo (http://intensedebate.com/people/Thedillyo)82p· 1 day ago (http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/rcapshaw/2011/11/15/stephen-king-ignores-history-to-blame-the-right/#IDComment222654358)


If I'm not mistaken, SK was hit by a vehicle years ago while walking down a country road. Maybe that explains his current mental state-of-mind.

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+11
http://gravatar.com/avatar/7e11f79fa674a6d66da03a64a3d5f3b2?s=26&d=http://s.intensedebate.com/smallimages/1415515 (http://intensedebate.com/people/Libertyinfinite)Libertyinfinite (http://intensedebate.com/people/Libertyinfinite)87p· 1 day ago (http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/rcapshaw/2011/11/15/stephen-king-ignores-history-to-blame-the-right/#IDComment222660104)


Steven King has duped marxist syndrome. Many in the "entertainment" field catch this. It is an inability to see that freedom is what made America the worlds greatest superpower. & marxism kills freedom.

As to Jack Kennedy, he was far too conservative for the left, & that's why they killed him. He was firmly & beligerently against marxism, & communism. He was pro freedom. Today he would be on the right.

I've enjoyed many of the movies made from sks books. But I just lost any repect for his future mental character. He has obviously lost it, mentally. He's doped, um, I mean duped.

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+5
http://gravatar.com/avatar/ef3edbda840c6cb1fca0b883503578a9?s=26&d=http://s.intensedebate.com/smallimages/2783965 (http://intensedebate.com/people/Tweety58)Tweety58 (http://intensedebate.com/people/Tweety58)90p· 1 day ago (http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/rcapshaw/2011/11/15/stephen-king-ignores-history-to-blame-the-right/#IDComment222660161)


This azznozzle's last readable book was The Stand-about 1,000 POS ago.

[bobledrew]

Maclean's magazine (Canadian newsweekly):

REVIEW: 11/22/63
Book by Stephen King

by Brian Bethune (http://www2.macleans.ca/author/brianbethune/) on Monday, November 28, 2011 9:05am - 0 Comments (http://www2.macleans.ca/2011/11/28/review-112263/#disqus_thread)
http://www2.macleans.ca/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Books-StephenKing.jpg (http://www2.macleans.ca/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Books-StephenKing.jpg)Opinions vary (and how) about the literary quality of Stephen King’s vast output—more than three dozen novels alone—but no one denies the man can tell a story. Or that he has an authentic channel to the zeitgeist, both capturing baby boomer pop culture and contributing to it: who can imagine a prom gone wrong without recalling Carrie, or notice a dog acting strangely without thoughts of Cujo? So it comes as no surprise that when King, 64, wanted to write a time-travel novel, its plot would pivot on his generation’s watershed moment, the assassination of John F. Kennedy in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963.
Jake Epping, a young Maine schoolteacher, takes up the mission bequeathed him by Al Templeton, the owner of a local diner who discovers that his pantry offers a portal to the age of Ike and Elvis, to 11:58 a.m., Sept. 9, 1958, to be precise. Al has learned that every time one of us visits 1958, it’s like the first time: everything he has done on previous visits has vanished as though it had never been. So Al, dying of lung cancer, needs Jake to go and live back then permanently, or at least long enough—five years—to accomplish a mission both consider vital: the portal doesn’t extend back far enough for Jake to kill Hitler, so he had better save Kennedy.
Al offers a summary of the expected benefits of erasing that bad day in Dallas, succinct enough not to bog down readers and persuasive enough to convince Jake, before King starts tackling just about every classic conundrum ever raised in sci-fi’s time-travel subgenre. Some are disposed of quickly—what would happen should he kill his own grandfather, Jake wonders aloud; “Why the f–k would you do that?” Al retorts. Others unfold more slowly over the novel’s 842 pages. Time is “obdurate,” and resistant to change, Jake soon learns; only later does he realize that’s a good thing, in a story that’s as ingenious as it’s compulsively readable.

[ajlafleche]

At The Walrus Said (http://thewalrus9.blogspot.com/2011/12/book-review-112263-by-stephen-king.html) blog.

[Becks19]

I just started reading 11/22/63 this Saturday. I love it!!! I absolutely could not put it down!!:love: ( hubby actually asked me......What are you obsessed with that book?) I am at the part where Al has left us and Jake has no choice but to go straight back to 1958 I can't wait to read more. I think this one of Sai King's best! There are those rare books that you cannot bear to close and this certainly falls into that category.

[PrisonerNumber6]

Well, in that case, looks like I picked one hell of a bad time to put this up. It's part 1 of Bryant Burnett's two part review of 11/22/63. It gives some interesting insights about character motivation. However, unless you have read all the way through, you owe it to yourself to finish the book rather start reading this.

http://honkmahfah.blogspot.com/2011/11/at-bottom-its-always-woman-112263.html

For those who have finished, enjoy.

[Princess Chardonnay]

I am enjoying the new novel enormously. Sending a person from 2011 in the past, almost half a decade ago, and describe his feelings throughout this journey. Only Steve could do that.I never missed to read a book by Stephen King throughout the years, but he still can surprise me with something utterly unthinkable. Looking forward for the next one Stephen and thank you for giving us the joy of reading your fine pieces of work for many years now.

[PrisonerNumber6]

Here below you'll find a review courtesy of Kevin Quigley, owner and operator of Charnel House, "A Stephen King Sight for the Discerning Reader." One thing to like about his reviews is how he always tries to relate each individual work into a greater thematic and story connected whole.

Enjoy.

http://charnelhouse.tripod.com/112263.html

[Dreamnine]

Hi, I joined up just to thank Stephen King for a great novel - I enjoyed it immensely.

I loved the plot, the descriptions of Derry and what life was like back in the years 58-63.

And I learnt quite a bit I didn't know about the Kennedy assassination.

Great book - my favourite since Hearts in Atlantis.

[The Goremet]

Where were you when 9/11 happened? Were you personally affected by this tragedy? What if you could go back and change it? Would you, or better yet, should you? Well, in Stephen King's giant novel 11/22/63 he asks this type of question, but instead of 9/11 he tackles the Kennedy assassination. Whatever the horror is it in the best interest to change the past? It seems like an honorable endeavor, one filled with ideas about making things better and changing the course of history - preferably changing bad things to good. King's tale warns about messing too often with the past as it creates roadblocks and recreates in different forms changes you have already made. In the end of King's book things are not for the better, regardless of the seemingly positive changes Jake Epping made; saving Dunning, saving Sadie and of course, saving Kennedy.

I ask about 9/11 since this is the most recent event to happen to us, one that we are remembering daily and scarred by whether or not you were at the center of the tragedy. what would the world be like if someone went back and changes that event?? What events in your life would you like to go back and alter and if so, how would that affect your here and now?

King taught me to be wary of wishing for a different today. If I went back in time and decided to go to college instead of running a bookstore and becoming a writer I might (and I stress might) have more money, but I would not have met my wife and had a beautiful boy. Would I risk all that? I think not. Would I love to see the world in a better state, less economic struggle and see the word war become something out of a sci-fi or historical novel? Is any of that truly achievable?

Jake Epping - our wonderful hero - tackles personal and worldly questions throughout the novel, but none so much as the personal one he makes in the books ending pages. Choosing to sacrifice the live of his life and leave events as they were played out is a decision no one should have to make. He decides to not go back again and try to save the world all over again, because what did he truly accomplish?

Early in the novel, readers will be reintroduced to a place called Derry - fans will shutter with glee, and it is this portion of the book that gives it its color. Epping has work to do here and the whole course of the novel is supported on the Dunning story and Jake's watershed moment. In a beautiful scene Jake meets up with Beverly Marsh and Richie Tozier, from IT. Not too long after the 1958 events of IT Jake enter the picture. Now, what if he had been brought back only months earlier?? Interesting idea.

Not since DUMA KEY have I loved a King book as much and moved it into my TOP 10. Bear in mind that I love all King's work and find this no easy task to change my favs, but every once in a while I am truly blown away by the brilliance King has. 11/22/63 is such a book. CRitics and reviewers say this is a departure for King, a genre shift and that comment makes me ache. King has never been a genre writer or a writer whose books feel repetitive or stale. 11/22/63 is made of the same cloth as all of King's work and the interconnecting layers make it all the more realistic to this reader.

The ending of 11/22/63 reminds me of the film version of THE MIST. Our efforts to do the right thing are what get us in the most trouble. For our own decisions are small shifts in the universe's gears and if we put too much pressure and try to alter who we are then the gears break. Good or bad we are both and make mistakes - people make horrible mistakes, but it is for us to look to the future and learn than go back and fix them.

Poor MISERY now falls off the Top 10, but sitting pretty in its place is 11/22/63.

[GNTLGNT]

...it's got a good beat and you can dance to it....

[PrisonerNumber6]

Well, welcome stranger, hope you like the board. Not to ruin the above review, which I thought was pretty darn good. However I was wondering, well, I don't know should spoilers tags have been used here and there?

Ah never mind, welcome aboard.

[The Goremet]

I am new to this kind of group here so I am sure to make mistakes, but I am glad you liked it and will try to warn if I am going to give too much away. I have been a fan for so long and love to talk about him and how he has changed me as a person and as a writer.

[The Goremet]

Hearts in Atlantis sure is closer in theme than other King books. Those tales are some of King's strongest and angriest writing.

[Karkie]

View some of the video taken of the assassination.....what were the Secret Service guys REALLY doing? Certainly not protecting the President!

[jchanic]

Well, welcome stranger, hope you like the board. Not to ruin the above review, which I thought was pretty darn good. However I was wondering, well, I don't know should spoilers tags have been used here and there?

Ah never mind, welcome aboard.

Since the title of this thread indicates there may be spoilers, I don't think adding the tags would be necessary.

John

[jarvi]

This was my first time reading a King book directly upon release and it was an absolutely wonderful experience. It's hard to say "one of his best" when he's always so good, but I loved being a part of the Jake and Sadie relationship, I loved having a chance to experience the late 50s in such a present-weighted way, I loved the experimentation with the timeline and the various consequences, and I particularly loved the author's obvious affection for his characters and his constant ability to drag every ounce of potential from the words "what if..." It was an amazing story filled with wonderfully human people capable of extraordinary things. It does the same thing every King book makes me want to do, pick up another King book right away. I loved it.

[mpsarch]

01/05/12 - my eyes were bulging out of my head as I carefully, but eagerly, turned the page....feet asleep under my blanket, back propped up while the wifey was sleeping beside me; "Oh, good for you," is what I said to myself. I couldn't put this piece down. Not now.
01/06/12, 12:30am - Done. But not really.
01/06/12, 8:00am - To: Sir Stephen
Constant Writer,
The reading of your new 11/22/63 novel was enchanting, extremely memorable, and a true delight. My
left arm was practically numb by the end, as the tome weighed heavily. I loved this piece; one of your
most eloquent, with a delicate balance between the absolutely horrifying and the absolutely joyful.

Per chance you read this brief review, please take away the following:
Keep strumming the strings on that guitar, Sir. But don't reach the harmony that will crack the glass or
break the crystal - that would not be good.

Michael P. Smith
Constant Reader
Orlando, Florida

[Waylander]

Well, I finished 11.22.63 this morning and I am upset. Why oh why did it have to finish?

I have to admit that I am not one for writing reviews, never have been and never will be. I usually just say whether I liked something or not and leave it at that. That is basically what I'll do here.

I loved this book. I wasn't sure I would as the premise never really stirred any excitement in me, but as a long time fan of Sai King and his work I was still looking forward to it.

From the opening pages I was hooked. As the story progressed I found it harder and harder to put the book down. I read somewhere that someone thought it the best ending for a King book ever, and I have to say that I'm inclined to agree. Wonderfully moving.

I always know when I've read a great book because my first thoughts are, why did it end? and my second thoughts centre around starting to read the book again straight away.

Thank you, Sai King, for a wonderful story, one that will stay with me for quite some time.

[PrisonerNumber6]

I think it's great that reviewer feedback has been so positive, even among the big critics. I also agree that 11/22/63 is linked thematically with Hearts in Atlantis.

As for Hearts being King's angriest book? Well, I wouldn't know. As I've said elsewhere Atlantis is in some sense a medidtation on those times and looking at the good as well as the bad. I remember someone in a Beatles documentary once saying the sixties were a time when people bared their souls on the line is the phrase I think was used.

I think King, in Hearts, also posits that the decade was a mirror of sorts, I could be wrong about that but I think it's the true. True enough about the decade anyway so that what you got when looked into the mirror that was the sixties amounted to different things to different people. I guess it depends on whose looking.

In 11/22/63 King seems to be taking a more measured look back at the decade and concluding that maybe in some ways America has come out the better for it.

Agree or disagree, there it is, for what it's worth.

[PeggyS]

Absolutely loved 11/22/63. I have it as an audio book. When I finished it, I immediately started it all over again. I just couldn't say goodbye to Jake. Mr. King says that his son advised him on the ending. Great advice! I was almost afraid of the end, because the more recent books have not had the type of ending that I am satisfied with. This one was perfect! I am always intrigued and delighted when "snippets" (is that a word?) of other books and characters make their way into a current book. Of course, the Dark Tower is an epic that I read, re-read, listen to as an audio book, and thoroughly enjoy. (I should not have continued to the the ending which Mr. King warned about, but how could I resist?) This one, however, is right up there as a favorite of mine. Dark Tower series is Number One, but this is a very close second. My gratitude and admiration to this very talented author!!!!

[they all float down here]

I love the book it is one of his best. And the ending is perfect

[The Sitting Dude]

His best stand alone novel since Bag Of Bones. Even the ending - so often the weak link - was wonderful.

While i've thoroughly enjoyed his last few novels, I feel this one will stand the test of time and be ranked a true classic.

Kudos, Mr. King.