Product Description

Ralph's insomnia gets worse when Ed Deepneau gets out of control. Ed is obsessed with the notion that Derry is becoming the new Armageddon and that time is ticking away for the residents. An evil of imaginable propotions has began and Ralph has one chance to beat it.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #80962 in Books
• Published on: 1995-07-20
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 768 pages

Interzone
'As accomplished as ever'

Review
'Stephen King brings his usual chilly touch to INSOMNIA, the story of a small-town gripped by a creeping evil … This is not a horror story in the classic mould; it is a supernatural adventure romp on the fringes of the imagination, popular fiction at its best' (The Times )

'A supreme page-turner and a plot that will keep you awake at night' (GQ )

'As accomplished as ever' (Interzone )

About the Author
Stephen King is the bestselling author of more than thirty books of which the most recent are THE GIRL WHO LOVED TOM GORDON and HEARTS IN ATLANTIS. He lives with his wife, the novelist Tabitha King, in Bangor, Maine.

Customer Reviews

King at his best, but then when isn't he?
I read 'Bag of Bones' before 'Insomnia' and I noted a character named Ralph Roberts who informs Mike Noonan (central character in Bones)that he looks tired, perhaps he's suffering from insomnia, and Ralph Roberts knows all about that.
Much as I expected, Ralph Roberts turns out to be the hero of 'Insomnia', surely one of King's most unusual and unpredicatble novels.
King himself admits (in the forward to 'The Green Mile') that he experiences bouts of insomnia, thereby explaining the incredible insight he shows into the nature of the condition; any erstwhile insomniac will be able to relate to Ralph's experiences in the early part of 'Insomnia' in the same way that it's easier to understand the nature of a pain once you have experienced it yourself.
In some ways Ralph Roberts isn't a typical Stephen King character; for one thing he's much older than King's usual lead characters and he's neither a writer or a teacher. In some ways this is a welcome break from the pattern, although King does manage to retain other patterns which his 'constant readers' will find both pleasing and gratifying.
The story is set in Derry, surely the strangest town this side of Castle Rock and there are plently of references to other events in the history of that troubled place which should be familiar to those who have read 'It' (Mike Hanlon is still the librarian), 'Bag of Bones' or 'Dreamcatcher'. There's also a nod to the Dark Towers and intelligent suggestions concerning the layering of reality.
This is a surprising, compelling and somehow inspiring book. Ralph's insomnia is a key to far, far stranger things. It is scary in the right places, amusing in the right places and thought provoking in the right places.
Incidentally, if you do read it, and I ernestly suggest you do, it adds an extra dimension to the proceedings if you reflect afterwards that, in mythology, Atropos (one of the three fates)was considered 'The Inevitable'.

Brilliant
This was the first Stephen King book that I ever read. Until then, I mistakenly thought that Stephen King only wrote horror - this book really opened my eyes. The hero of the book is an elderly man and a very likeable character - and his story gave me the same feel-good factor as watching Cocoon. I have now started reading the rest of King's books - perhaps 20 so far and this is still one of my favourites, though King himself doesn't think it is one of his best (according to his comments in On Writing).

It's 2am while i sit writing this about Insomnia..funny that
This was the first book I read by Stephen King and it got me hooked. I received it as a birthday gift and I must admit that I was a little disappointed. I thought it wasn't my kind of book. How wrong I was!

I started reading it eventually out of sheer boredom and quickly forgot all my preconceptions. It is a brilliant tale of Ralph, an elderly gent who has a little trouble sleeping after his wife dies. As he sits at his window in the dark of night, he sees things that aren't quite right. Little bald headed men in white doctors coats. He also begins seeing auras around people, or balloon strings as he refers to them.

This is a story of magnific proportions. Ralph and his loyal friend Lois begin a journey of discovery and terror. The Crimson King shows his ugly face once again too. Along the way there is tragedy and romance. This is the first book to ever have made me cry and it's a horror by King!!!

I recommend this to any true King fan and to anyone else who fancies something a bit different. I mean there aren't that many books where the hero is an old guy is there?! Point made I think!