Book Review: "11 22 63" by Stephen King (2011)
Overall: 9/10, highly recommended!
Summary: English professor Jake Epping is tasked to go back in time and prevent JFK’s assassination as a favor to his dying friend who failed in his own attempts.
Non-Spoiler Review: Upfront I will say that while I am not a fan of Stephen King’s works in general, I have a lot of respect for him. Which was why I was surprised how much I loved this novel. This book was excellent beginning to end and reminded me that when King goes all in he really goes all in.
It’s a rare time travel book that gives the past a critical look, being neither too sentimental nor overly cynical. The protagonist enjoys the food and manners of the past, but he is not blind to the overwhelming evils of racism and xenophobia that are inseparably woven into the period.
While the book is long it goes by fast. King loves to detail his scenes with a cinematic eye and piles on the atmosphere. There’s a lot of historical details and music references that add texture to what is essentially a straightforward plot. There’s a lull in the action during the second act as Epping has a few years to kill waiting for the titular 11-22-63 and he starts to build a life in Texas. A lot of readers find this part boring, but I didn’t mind it and it lays down crucial elements for the third act’s climax.
For me there is very little negative to say about the story. I felt it was well-constructed, gripping, and satisfying. The third act has a few splinters, but that’s largely because King changed the some things from his original manuscript and you can see the stitching. It’s also enough of a Stephen King novel which means you can play Stephen King bingo and fill the card by the first third of the book. That said King’s pet tropes didn’t really get on my nerves because the novel was more than just his collection of favorite things.
Characters: 7/10, the main characters were pretty well drawn. I felt myself getting very invested in them despite figuring out how they were going to end up well before the ending.
Queer Quotient: 2/10, there’s at least one sympathetic canon queer male couple and a few other coded queer characters (especially Poulin).
Good For: Fans of alternate history, conspiracy theories (sort of), time travel stories, historical fiction, and of course Stephen King in general.
Not Good For: People who don’t like historical fiction or long novels.
Availability: Widely available in print, Kindle, & Nook
Adaptations: A Hulu TV mini-series that is bad fanfic written by people who were clearly bored by the original novel. Not recommended.
Other Notes: You don’t need to know American history or be American to enjoy this in my opinion. King lays out all the things you need to know and why they’re relevant as well as how they’ve changed. Famous presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin was consulted for some alternate history ideas and it shows.
Summary: English professor Jake Epping is tasked to go back in time and prevent JFK’s assassination as a favor to his dying friend who failed in his own attempts.
Non-Spoiler Review: Upfront I will say that while I am not a fan of Stephen King’s works in general, I have a lot of respect for him. Which was why I was surprised how much I loved this novel. This book was excellent beginning to end and reminded me that when King goes all in he really goes all in.
It’s a rare time travel book that gives the past a critical look, being neither too sentimental nor overly cynical. The protagonist enjoys the food and manners of the past, but he is not blind to the overwhelming evils of racism and xenophobia that are inseparably woven into the period.
While the book is long it goes by fast. King loves to detail his scenes with a cinematic eye and piles on the atmosphere. There’s a lot of historical details and music references that add texture to what is essentially a straightforward plot. There’s a lull in the action during the second act as Epping has a few years to kill waiting for the titular 11-22-63 and he starts to build a life in Texas. A lot of readers find this part boring, but I didn’t mind it and it lays down crucial elements for the third act’s climax.
For me there is very little negative to say about the story. I felt it was well-constructed, gripping, and satisfying. The third act has a few splinters, but that’s largely because King changed the some things from his original manuscript and you can see the stitching. It’s also enough of a Stephen King novel which means you can play Stephen King bingo and fill the card by the first third of the book. That said King’s pet tropes didn’t really get on my nerves because the novel was more than just his collection of favorite things.
Characters: 7/10, the main characters were pretty well drawn. I felt myself getting very invested in them despite figuring out how they were going to end up well before the ending.
Queer Quotient: 2/10, there’s at least one sympathetic canon queer male couple and a few other coded queer characters (especially Poulin).
Good For: Fans of alternate history, conspiracy theories (sort of), time travel stories, historical fiction, and of course Stephen King in general.
Not Good For: People who don’t like historical fiction or long novels.
Availability: Widely available in print, Kindle, & Nook
Adaptations: A Hulu TV mini-series that is bad fanfic written by people who were clearly bored by the original novel. Not recommended.
Other Notes: You don’t need to know American history or be American to enjoy this in my opinion. King lays out all the things you need to know and why they’re relevant as well as how they’ve changed. Famous presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin was consulted for some alternate history ideas and it shows.