This book is not a horror novel. But that doesn’t mean that it isn’t one of Stephen King’s best stories. After finishing the Dark Tower series, I came back to this book to read it again with the context of the Dark Tower epic still fresh in my mind.

This is a story that has close ties to the Dark Tower, and serves to enhance that series, while at the same time, it also is a story where King has taken steps outside of his ’’norms.’’ Which should be applauded for the fact that he’s not trying tried and true formulas that he knows will be successful. Instead he takes a step outside of comfort to tell a story of an old man who finds purpose and love at the end of his life.
 
Many reviews have said that this story starts off entirely too slow, and this turned off a lot of readers. In my opinion, this story starts off with a very interesting incident, and then starts to flesh out its’ characters, while still coming back to that first mysterious incident. The payoff for this is well worth it.

Anyone who reads King on a regular basis should know that he takes his time with character devlopment, when appropriate, and that is just his style. If one is looking for slam-bang action that carries on continuously, read another author, such as Dale Brown or the like. This substance isn’t boring - it’s a way of creating the attachment that people so appreciate in a good book. His descriptions of that other level are so wonderful and vivid, it makes me want to lose a little sleep. But enough of that.

Insomnia is a great read, and once one has the Dark Tower context to put it into, it becomes that much more fascinating. We even see in this book, King’s eventual involvement in the story itself. When Clotho and Lachesis talk of the higher powers controling them all, one can’t help but think of King as that power.
 
And to anyone who read the final chapter of the Dark Tower, one has to wonder why Roland discarded this book. It’s something to give some thought to. I’d welcome any thoughts.

Plot Revealed In The Review:	Somewhat revealed
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Purchased From:	Internet