The Institute by Stephen King #TheInstitute

Genre: Horror, Sci-Fi

Oiy..I had to take some time to think about this one, cause I’m a big fan of Stephen King’s previous books and movies, and this is sitting between a 3.5 to 4 stars.

This was part of a buddy/group read on Instagram, so I’m gonna keep this one spoiler free since I finished before everyone else..couldn’t help myself! I was in need-to-know mode.

The story starts off slow (like most of King’s previous books), but picks up at Shots For Dots.

What didn’t work for me..

The story lost momentum at the very end. For me, the last 40% of the book was the best part.

What I enjoyed most..

The setting and characters. Stephen King always knows how to set the stage and create the perfect cast of characters. Some of which, I grew very fond of.

If you’re planning to read this one, here are just some of my two cents:

– If you enjoyed Eleven’s story in season 1 of Stranger Things, you’ll most likely enjoy this as well.

– If you’ve never read any of King’s work, his stories are slow burn with a lot of character building. So that’ll either be something you enjoy or don’t. But if you’re new to his world, this is probably a good one to get your feet wet with, especially if you don’t care for horror.

For my horror & King fans: don’t expect to get scared with one. I would classify this as Sci-Fi and NOT horror.

Overall, it was a good read that kept me entertained and wanting to know what was going to happen next.

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.