tian447 Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 Just finished the book "11.22.63" by Stephen King. It had became a bit of an obsession over the past few days, been up til about 5am every morning reading it. Simply could not put it down, until about 20 minutes ago, when it was finally finished. It was absolutely fantastic. It is definitely the best book I have read recently, if not ever. I can't think of anything else I have read that has engaged me so fully. The story is so well written, it just makes you want to read it all in one go. I highly recommend it, and you can pick it up in Waterstone's for under a tenner Has anyone else on here read it? If so, what did you think of it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seats Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 Have a look at my reply on the pillars of the earth thread.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jambo1874 Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 I read most of this book on the day of the hurricanes in Scotland as my flight had been cancelled and my train journey took over 6 hours. I had it on my kindle but it's one of those I will probably buy in print as well I enjoyed it so much Always been a King fan, never more so than his epic books like The Stand and It. Def think this book is one of the best he has written and was almost sad to finish it as I know it will be a long time before I enjoy reading anything quite so much. The level of detail he goes into to bring the past to life is incredible and I was really satisfied with how he tied the story up. I've been to Dallas and visited the school book repository and grassy knoll etc (but visiting South Fork ranch was my favorite thing to do in Dallas) so it was a subject I had a bit of a passing interest in anyway. I'll definitely read that book again, and it won't be years before I do! I highly recommend this book to anyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nookie Bear Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 One of those books that I was starting to set time aside to read - awesome. This, plus Under The Dome, are unbelievable works. If I had one teeny disappointment with the book it was this: the task was to change the course of history (trying not to spoil it for anyone who has not read it yet!) but I felt that, once he returned to the present day, there was very little detail as to what happened in the 50 years since 11.22.63, except for a brief summary from the old fella and the obvious impact on the town. Obviously I am not expecting a 100-pages of "what-ifs" but I was hoping for a bit more of how history changed and why his town ended up the way it did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fermit the Krog Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 ?9.99 on the kindle..... Quite fancy it but will maybe read 2 or 3 others beforehand and see if it comes down in price, maybe one for my Summer holiday.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tian447 Posted April 12, 2012 Author Share Posted April 12, 2012 One of those books that I was starting to set time aside to read - awesome. This, plus Under The Dome, are unbelievable works. If I had one teeny disappointment with the book it was this: the task was to change the course of history (trying not to spoil it for anyone who has not read it yet!) but I felt that, once he returned to the present day, there was very little detail as to what happened in the 50 years since 11.22.63, except for a brief summary from the old fella and the obvious impact on the town. Obviously I am not expecting a 100-pages of "what-ifs" but I was hoping for a bit more of how history changed and why his town ended up the way it did. I think that you've got to remember though (don't read this if you haven't read it yet anyone) Harry is an old man. He's still got memory problems, and was never the brightest to start with, and probably wouldn't be able to give a fully detailed description of what's gone on. Jake has a sensory overload from what he has caused, and is only taking in so much information. The description that Harry gives sums up the worst things that have happened in the last 50 years. Any more would be too much for the reader to take in, especially after the revelation about the Card Men and the resets. I don't think King wanted to go too much into the detail here, instead focusing on Jake's intentions to go back to the past as quickly as possible. A little more detail would have been nice, but unnecessary. It's pretty clear that he's screwed things up spectacularly and that the butterfly effect is indeed in full swing. I like the fact that when he goes back and runs off ("Come back Jimla!!") he starts to question absolutely everything that he has done in the past, and it's knock on effect. Sure, saving Kennedy kicked off major things in the future (his own time) and would have been the primary catalyst. But every single conversation, every single movement of dirt or squash of a bug that he done or caused in the past did not happen before his intervention. Could it be that the world in the future turned out that way because of the way he diverted loads of people from their original paths, such as at the dance? If he hadn't gone back, all of those people would likely have been in very different places, doing very different things. It shows that time should not be messed with. The one bit that struck me as the stupidest thing he done in the book was throwing his phone in the pond. I'm surprised that it never came up again in the story. Imagine if work had started on a house, or a highway and workers drained the pond and people found it. One flap of the butterfly's wings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nookie Bear Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 I think that you've got to remember though (don't read this if you haven't read it yet anyone) Harry is an old man. He's still got memory problems, and was never the brightest to start with, and probably wouldn't be able to give a fully detailed description of what's gone on. Jake has a sensory overload from what he has caused, and is only taking in so much information. The description that Harry gives sums up the worst things that have happened in the last 50 years. Any more would be too much for the reader to take in, especially after the revelation about the Card Men and the resets. I don't think King wanted to go too much into the detail here, instead focusing on Jake's intentions to go back to the past as quickly as possible. A little more detail would have been nice, but unnecessary. It's pretty clear that he's screwed things up spectacularly and that the butterfly effect is indeed in full swing. I like the fact that when he goes back and runs off ("Come back Jimla!!") he starts to question absolutely everything that he has done in the past, and it's knock on effect. Sure, saving Kennedy kicked off major things in the future (his own time) and would have been the primary catalyst. But every single conversation, every single movement of dirt or squash of a bug that he done or caused in the past did not happen before his intervention. Could it be that the world in the future turned out that way because of the way he diverted loads of people from their original paths, such as at the dance? If he hadn't gone back, all of those people would likely have been in very different places, doing very different things. It shows that time should not be messed with. The one bit that struck me as the stupidest thing he done in the book was throwing his phone in the pond. I'm surprised that it never came up again in the story. Imagine if work had started on a house, or a highway and workers drained the pond and people found it. One flap of the butterfly's wings. Good points and I suppose King was focusing more on the fact it had turned into a personal journey rather than the political one it started out as. To be honest, I just wanted the book to keep going and I would have loved to have read King's mind picturing the world if events in 1963 had unfolded as he had written. I bet the Yankees would never win a World Series, that's for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auld Reekin' Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 Why can't Americans spell properly and write their dates the right way round? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seats Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 11.22.63 has the potential to be one of the best books ever written. Unfortunately, I think he let's himself down a little bit towards the end. I'm glad he didn't go down the obvious route of "the third world war happened anyway" and returning to nuclear holocaust (which would have been a bit obvious) but the whole seismic events thing just didn't work for me and parts of the country joining Canada etc wtf . Expected something a wee bit better. Also as a softy, I thought he might've let him go back and get the girl!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valar Morghulis Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 This book is currently waiting to be read on my bedside table. Good to know so many folk have enjoyed it. Been a while since King's impressed me tbh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tian447 Posted April 12, 2012 Author Share Posted April 12, 2012 11.22.63 has the potential to be one of the best books ever written. Unfortunately, I think he let's himself down a little bit towards the end. I'm glad he didn't go down the obvious route of "the third world war happened anyway" and returning to nuclear holocaust (which would have been a bit obvious) but the whole seismic events thing just didn't work for me and parts of the country joining Canada etc wtf . Expected something a wee bit better. Also as a softy, I thought he might've let him go back and get the girl!! [ spoiler ] tags would have been nice for those people who haven't read it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boomstick Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 Under the dome was excellent. Is it as good? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dobmisterdobster Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 Haven't read the book yet but the plot of this novel was teased in Stephen King's other work "The Langoliers". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tian447 Posted April 12, 2012 Author Share Posted April 12, 2012 Under the dome was excellent. Is it as good? Not read it yet. Tell you what, you read "11.22.63" and I'll read "Under The Dome", and we'll swap and compare notes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nookie Bear Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 Not read it yet. Tell you what, you read "11.22.63" and I'll read "Under The Dome", and we'll swap and compare notes You will not be disappointed with Under The Dome. An epic in every sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl Fredrickson Posted August 26, 2012 Share Posted August 26, 2012 Just finished 11.22.63 (I didnt start it in April, honest!) and loved it. It was my first Stephen King full book (Ive read a collection of short stories and novellas) and would love to read more if there are others as good. Under The Dome has been mentioned and is probably next for me. I dont normally read horrors or sci fi as my tastes lean more to crime and thrillers but 11.22.63 was a great read. Any recommendations much appreciated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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