The Institute - Stephen King

The Institute

By Stephen King

  • Release Date: 2019-09-10
  • Genre: Mysteries & Thrillers
Score: 4.5
4.5
From 5,654 Ratings

Description

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Stephen King whose “storytelling transcends genre” (Newsday) comes “another winner: creepy and touching and horrifyingly believable” (The Boston Globe) about a group of kids confronting evil.

In the middle of the night, in a house on a quiet street in suburban Minneapolis, intruders silently murder Luke Ellis’s parents and load him into a black SUV. The operation takes less than two minutes. Luke will wake up at The Institute, in a room that looks just like his own, except there’s no window. And outside his door are other doors, behind which are other kids with special talents—telekinesis and telepathy—who got to this place the same way Luke did: Kalisha, Nick, George, Iris, and ten-year-old Avery Dixon. They are all in Front Half. Others, Luke learns, graduated to Back Half, “like the roach motel,” Kalisha says. “You check in, but you don’t check out.”

In this most sinister of institutions, the director, Mrs. Sigsby, and her staff are ruthlessly dedicated to extracting from these children the force of their extranormal gifts. There are no scruples here. If you go along, you get tokens for the vending machines. If you don’t, punishment is brutal. As each new victim disappears to Back Half, Luke becomes more and more desperate to get out and get help. But no one has ever escaped from the Institute.

As psychically terrifying as Firestarter, and with the spectacular kid power of It, The Institute is “first-rate entertainment that has something important to say. We all need to listen” (The Washington Post).

Reviews

  • Good story

    5
    By Gatorboy19@
    I’ve been an avid SK reader since Carrie when I was in elementary school. Although his stories never bore or disappoint me, I’m disappointed in SK himself for the numerous jabs at Trump and conservatives in general. I mean, I get it. He’s a liberal. But I read to escape the world for a bit, not be immersed in politics. Get over it!
  • Awesome read, I couldn’t put it down.

    5
    By Cupton512
    See subject line 😊👍👍👍
  • I forgot how suspenseful King’s books can be

    5
    By Meatball 2
    I was at his mercy throughout this novel, and loved every page. I didn’t want to walk the dog, I just wanted to read.
  • Couldn’t put it down

    5
    By justkim1106
    This is a great read, scary and yet uplifting
  • Drawn out.

    3
    By M_Lubo
    I felt that the character development was decent. Some aspects of the story were predictable while other aspects seemed far-fetched. Not worth the time spent overall.
  • Great book

    5
    By Daveo 1858807
    First king novel , couldn’t put it down.
  • Couldn’t put it down…

    5
    By Dog-Bother
    Wow! This book cost me sleep. But sleep I happily lost, a real page turner which I couldn’t put down. There are elements which happily reminded me of The Dark Tower series. I’d highly recommended The Institute to anyone & everyone!
  • Amazing read

    5
    By kaaaaaails
    King strikes again with the amazing suspenseful plot. could not stop reading. one of my favorites from King
  • Great

    5
    By cp151
    Great book, could not put it down.
  • Great read!

    5
    By Father cream god allah
    I hope it turns in a movie! Sinister plot!

Comments