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dunnadam's review
5.0
Very good, better than expected and I'm glad I read it.
I last read Stephen King with any regularity in my teens, and in the last 20 years I've read two books by him, [b:Cell|10567|Cell|Stephen King|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1432828013s/10567.jpg|3017730] and [b:Revival|20926278|Revival|Stephen King|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1394651975s/20926278.jpg|27239641], both of which as soon as I finished I thought "Why did I bother to read that???"
I like the concept of time travel, but I've never found a good execution in book form until now. Part of what intrigues about time travel is that you are going back to see how things are different then from now, and King really immerses you in that 1960's world through a 2011 lens, and that's the good part. I find too many authors forget the lens, they tell a story of the past or future and forget the reason we came was the time travel aspect.
The book is very gripping, but not perfect. King is still his cringe-worthy self on occasion, like your dad talking about the good old days of rock and roll. The section on the surveillance of Oswald was not interesting but can be skimmed through without missing any plot details. Also we have a pretty good idea where the story is going before we start, despite plans to finish Oswald before 11/22/63, we know the action of the book has to take place on that day, that we as the reader need to see the scene from the grassy knoll. Consequently we know these set up plans will fail.
Still if life is about the journey then reading is about the ride, and the book offers great page-turning excitement for 900 pages. Topped off with a satisfying ending and this interesting story had me hooked. It was more than I expected and a very enjoyable read.
I last read Stephen King with any regularity in my teens, and in the last 20 years I've read two books by him, [b:Cell|10567|Cell|Stephen King|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1432828013s/10567.jpg|3017730] and [b:Revival|20926278|Revival|Stephen King|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1394651975s/20926278.jpg|27239641], both of which as soon as I finished I thought "Why did I bother to read that???"
I like the concept of time travel, but I've never found a good execution in book form until now. Part of what intrigues about time travel is that you are going back to see how things are different then from now, and King really immerses you in that 1960's world through a 2011 lens, and that's the good part. I find too many authors forget the lens, they tell a story of the past or future and forget the reason we came was the time travel aspect.
The book is very gripping, but not perfect. King is still his cringe-worthy self on occasion, like your dad talking about the good old days of rock and roll. The section on the surveillance of Oswald was not interesting but can be skimmed through without missing any plot details. Also we have a pretty good idea where the story is going before we start, despite plans to finish Oswald before 11/22/63, we know the action of the book has to take place on that day, that we as the reader need to see the scene from the grassy knoll. Consequently we know these set up plans will fail.
Still if life is about the journey then reading is about the ride, and the book offers great page-turning excitement for 900 pages. Topped off with a satisfying ending and this interesting story had me hooked. It was more than I expected and a very enjoyable read.
asummerholiday's review
The concept is really interesting and I really like the way King writes scenes. I just really was starting to dislike the way the main character was being written. I had little interest in King hyping up this man to look cool in front of high schoolers. I also did not enjoy the way the romance scenes were written. Had this been a shorter book, without all of this side stuff, I would’ve finished it for sure. Maybe one day I’ll come back to it.
krowledge's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I really wanted to love this book. I would honestly have to admit that I would probably give it three stars if it was written by a lesser known author. I started questioning the length of this book for about half of the book and even after finishing it I still believe it would’ve benefited from about 100-200 less pages.
It was a good plot and story but the middle of the book just dragged too long. I almost moved on and didn’t finish. I’m glad I finished it but I’m not surprised by the ending.
It was a good plot and story but the middle of the book just dragged too long. I almost moved on and didn’t finish. I’m glad I finished it but I’m not surprised by the ending.
brendanb11's review
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
aeclark12's review
5.0
A well-researched, thoughtful exploration of relationships, our role in the world, and a segment of American history.
bigolscrewup's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
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? Yes
5.0
If there is love, smallpox scars are as pretty as dimples. I'll love your face no matter what it looks like. Because it's yours.
Dancing is life
5/5⭐
I feel so stupid for thinking Stephen King can't write Romance, based on the few books I've read of him before 11/22/63. It wasn't just Jake Epping who went into the past and fell in love with Sadie, I bet it's everyone who read this book. I can't believe that the idea for this book came to King in the early 70's and I'm glad he finally wrote it, four decades later. One of the most beautiful story I've ever read. I read this book in seven days and almost every one of those days, I kept thinking I'll be able to read the next chapter tomorrow and see what happens next. I don't know how I will feel tomorrow, waking up knowing there aren't any more chapters. Utterly compelling and absurdly entertaining. I read this under comment section of some YouTube video and I didn't understand it back then, but now I can. "one of my life's greatest comfort is knowing that there will always be more Stephen King books to read" I only wish this story never ended, I want to live in the world he created and never come back. I even tried to watch the show that was adapted from this book and it's just not the same.
Dancing is life
5/5⭐
I feel so stupid for thinking Stephen King can't write Romance, based on the few books I've read of him before 11/22/63. It wasn't just Jake Epping who went into the past and fell in love with Sadie, I bet it's everyone who read this book. I can't believe that the idea for this book came to King in the early 70's and I'm glad he finally wrote it, four decades later. One of the most beautiful story I've ever read. I read this book in seven days and almost every one of those days, I kept thinking I'll be able to read the next chapter tomorrow and see what happens next. I don't know how I will feel tomorrow, waking up knowing there aren't any more chapters. Utterly compelling and absurdly entertaining. I read this under comment section of some YouTube video and I didn't understand it back then, but now I can. "one of my life's greatest comfort is knowing that there will always be more Stephen King books to read" I only wish this story never ended, I want to live in the world he created and never come back. I even tried to watch the show that was adapted from this book and it's just not the same.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Violence, Suicide, Child death, Toxic relationship, Gun violence, and Domestic abuse
braydeck's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
4.5
salgalruns's review
5.0
Let me start by saying that I haven't read a lot of Stephen King prior to this book. As a result, I'm not an expert in horror, so I wasn't frustrated with this type of work by him. In fact, I loved this particular work! I was sucked in from the very beginning and my interest in listening to the audio version never wavered.
The storyline itself chronicles a period in history that is seared into the minds of all Americans who were living or soon followed the 60's. Jake Epping finds a way to travel back in time to 1958. His goal is to stop the Kennedy assassination from happening in Dallas. Seems simple, right? Especially since the shooter is pretty well known? Nope, not so much.
Along the way, he meets so many amazing people and creates a secondary life, even so much as falling in love with the ever so lovable Sadie, and that's it. That's my favorite, favorite, favorite theme to the story right there. You never know where life will take you, what challenges you will face, but the bottom line to making your life fantastic is to make connections. When you're lucky enough to make the connection with a soulmate, everything just works.
Yes, the story was long. Yes, you most definitely had to suspend disbelief (it IS time travel after all). Yes, it was fantastic.
The storyline itself chronicles a period in history that is seared into the minds of all Americans who were living or soon followed the 60's. Jake Epping finds a way to travel back in time to 1958. His goal is to stop the Kennedy assassination from happening in Dallas. Seems simple, right? Especially since the shooter is pretty well known? Nope, not so much.
Along the way, he meets so many amazing people and creates a secondary life, even so much as falling in love with the ever so lovable Sadie, and that's it. That's my favorite, favorite, favorite theme to the story right there. You never know where life will take you, what challenges you will face, but the bottom line to making your life fantastic is to make connections. When you're lucky enough to make the connection with a soulmate, everything just works.
Yes, the story was long. Yes, you most definitely had to suspend disbelief (it IS time travel after all). Yes, it was fantastic.