Insomnia
Stephen King

Ralph Roberts has a problem: he isn't sleeping so well these days. In fact, he's hardly sleeping at all. each morning, the news conveyed by the bedside clock is a little worse: 3:15... 3:02... 2:45... 2:15. The books call it "premature waking"; Ralph, who is still learning to be a widower, calls it a season in hell. He's begun to notice a strangeness in his familiar surroundings, to experience visual phenomena that he can't quite believe are hallucinations. Soon, Ralph thinks, he won't be sleeping at all, and what then?
A problem, yes - though perhaps not so uncommon you might say. But Ralph has lived his entire life in Derry, Maine, and Derry isn't like other places, as millions of Stephen King readers will gladly testify. They remember It, also set in Derry, and know there's a mean streak running through this small New England city; underneath its ordinary surface awesome and terrifying forces are at work. The dying, natural and otherwise, has been going on in Derry for a long, long time. Now Ralph is part of it. So are his friends. And so are the strangers they encounter.
You, Gentle Reader, may never sleep again. Welcome to Insomnia.

As much as I rave about how amazing the works of Stephen King are, this is another to be added to the ever-growing list of my favorite books. This novel is everything a King novel should be and so much more. It is absolutely phenomenal and should be read by everyone.

The story starts out slowly, but that doesn't mean boring. What it means is that we get to know the main characters as if they were our own friends and neighbors and we get to see the slow decent into being able to see into another world that overlaps (or, technically is "above") ours.

The plot is sound and as it goes on the reader begins to tie together what seemed like different threads into one very horrifying plot. Some things that seem evil are not. Some that seem harmless are.

I also appreciate the references to other King novels in this book. A large nod is give to the Dark Tower series, a small nod is given to It (deadlights), and there's even a one sentence explanation of why Gage from Pet Semetary was hit by that truck in the first place. I love the way King's books flow into each other like that. It's one of the many things that make me believe that King is one of the best writers of our time.

Yes, the ending is sad. Yes, you probably will cry. But it comes naturally as a progression of the plot and doesn't feel as if you're being emotionally manipulated into crying. The ending is, actually, quite beautiful in its sadness.

King fan or not, read this novel. It's probably one of the best books you will ever read and even at a whopping 787 pages (hardcover) it's a fairly quick read because it's near impossible to put down.

My rating: Five out of five snails.