Insomnia Review

Published: 15, September 1994

Author: Stephen King

Genre: American, Classic, Fiction, Horror, Literature, Media Tie-In, Supernatural, Thriller

Check the summary of this book here:

Insomnia Summary

The Review

Stephen King's novel Insomnia is a horror/fantasy. It follows retired widower Ralph Roberts, whose increased sleeplessness allows him to sense auras and other hidden phenomena, prompting him to get involved in a fight between the powers of the Purpose and the Random. The narrative, like It and Dreamcatcher, is set in the imaginary town of Derry, Maine. It contains references to other Stephen King novels, most notably his novel series The Dark Tower.

One thing I want to clarify right away is why I only offered a 90 percent recommendation, despite if it is worth a hundred percent. The length of this book is the cause, and not many casual readers will pick it up for that reason alone.

Before the Tablet and Smartphone eras, I used to take my books around with me, and many people were terrified of seeing me reading works like Battlefield Earth, Gone with the Wind, It, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Stand, War and Peace, and many more.

Some even inquired whether I was studying for an exam. I was initially perplexed, but I soon realized that the people who asked me such questions, as well as those who were simply afraid of these books, were not book lovers or casual readers.

Although this book does not have over a thousand pages like the others I mentioned, it is still over 900 pages on paperback, which is a lot for non-readers or casual readers.

It's difficult to think that in this day and age, someone hasn't read at least one book by Stephen King, but I'm just talking about book aficionados, not the whole world's population.

His work is so prolific that even those who aren't fans of horror literature will be able to find something to like.

I heard somewhere that Stephen King has written at least one favorite novel for every reader, and that we, the readers, must seek that novel if we have never read any of his works.

I believe that is accurate because I have many favorites written by him. And I'm not the type of reader who easily likes or favorites something.

In this story, the main antagonist mentions a prominent evil that becomes the force in another of Stephen King's popular novels, The Dark Tower series, and it is here that all of the puzzle pieces are first coming together for the hero in that series to begin his journey.

I admire how the author's writings always seem to connect with people on some level. I appreciate the allusions to former characters in his earlier works, having read all of them before this one. For example, he cited Ben Hanscom as the architect who designed a famous structure in the region, and if you don't know, he was one of the seven scared teenagers in the wildly successful novel It.

One of the things that keeps me coming back to Stephen King, even if he does get a little carried away with details, is the way he always takes ordinary people, or even people who are even below average, and gives them extraordinary abilities and makes them do extraordinary things, such as people who are weak or underprivileged and are ignored by others.

These are the protagonists and heroines of many of his stories, which I find refreshing since I enjoy reading about ordinary people triumphing or gaining the upper hand.

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