The Institute A Novel

It goes without saying that nobody does it like Stephen King, but... nobody does it like Stephen King. After almost 50 years, he is still killing it, telling completely original stories, switching up genres, and almost always nailing it. I've had a bit of a rocky road getting started with Stephen King, but I'm fully on board now. In The Institute, he takes the classic idea of good vs. bad, as he does in many of his novels, and gives us a completely original story. Here, the good (telekinetic and telepathic children, and a small-town ex-policeman and his girlfriend) square off against the bad (a mysterious global organization that kidnaps psychic children to use, in the most psychotic of ways, for their twisted purposes). As always, he's a master of character, and the huge cast and crew was very well developed, considering the amount of people us readers were introduced to. He jumps between genres, though I would classify this mainly as... sci-fi? Action? YA? Who knows and who cares! It's an awesome ride.

This was such a good story and I think what makes it so horrifying is something like this (not to its full extreme) is possible. I liked how we learnt about the Institute and all the different levels that went on in this backward version of solving "world peace"

Slow But Picks Up I was never a big Stephen King fan so I never had any intentions to read his work, but this was a book club selection. I thought it was just okay. The story started off interesting, then it got really slow and boring, but luckily it picked up at the end.

3.5

The front half (iykyk) was kind of a snooze but the back half was hard to put down. very interesting story turning on the hinge sof very interesting characters. I appreciate King's ability to form multiple, distinct, full child characters without othering them.

** spoiler alert ** ‪“Grandes eventos se apoiam em pequenos suportes.”‬ Meu primeiro livro do Stephen King e não poderia ter feito uma escolha melhor. É aquele favorito que te faz questionar se os últimos livros que você favoritou e deu 5 estrelas realmente mereciam. Dizem que os livros dele podem ter uma escrita demorada, muito descritiva, mas O Instituto, com capítulos curtos e alguns pontos de vista, flui com muita rapidez. Poderia ter lido muito mais rápido se não estivesse lendo outro ao mesmo tempo. As cenas de ação, no clímax, passaram rapidamente, ainda mais com a alternação dos pontos de vista. As cenas descritivas também, com a experiência de Luke no Instituto e até mesmo as primeiras páginas sobre Tim, em que nada demais acontece, são fluidas. O enredo é incrível. O livro é sobre poderes psíquicos e crianças corajosas, sim, mas é muito mais que isso. É sobre crueldade, esperança e ignorância. É sobre ajuda e amizade. É sobre a capacidade do ser humano de se adaptar a qualquer situação. É sobre não desistir. Quando comecei o livro esperava que O Instituto fosse algo mais bobo, mas me surpreendi com a maneira que as crianças eram tratadas. Me surpreendi do começo ao fim com como o ser humano pode ser tornar absolutamente insensível e cruel se acreditar que existe uma causa maior para isso (o que me fez pensar em O Sorriso da Hiena do Gustavo Avila). Me apaixonei muito pelas crianças do instituto, principalmente Luke e Avery, e sofri muito por elas. O ponto de vista delas por muitas das vezes foi quase triste demais pra suportar. Gostei muito de Tim desde os primeiros capítulos mas não imaginava que ele seria o herói que foi. Fiquei muita tensa quando Luke escapou, na metade do livro, e fiquei pensando o quanto mais essa criança sofreria até o final. Graças a Deus acreditaram nele. Gostei muito de como o livro terminou, a dúvida se o mundo iria pra frente ou não. Mas acho que, apesar disso, não tem questionamento. É fácil dizer que vale a pena perder milhares pra salvar bilhões, mas quando você acompanha o sofrimento dessas milhares percebe que a equação não é fácil assim. Se o mundo acabar por isso, que acabe. Torci MUITO por Luke e espero que ele seja feliz por muitos e muitos anos, apesar de saber que não existe terapia que cure as semanas que ele passou no inferno. Stephen King, você é realmente o mestre do horror, principalmente quando se trata dos horrores causados pelos humanos. Esse livro tem um potencial pra adaptação muito grande, não deve nem demorar pra virar série ou filme. ——— Horas depois, ainda contemplando o livro... O King é muito genial mesmo cara. A frase “grandes eventos se apoiam em pequenos suportes” tem uma importância maior do que eu tinha previsto. No começo, as decisões do Tim o levam até DuPray, e sem ele lá, vai saber o que teria acontecido com Luke. A presença de Tim nessa cidade e suas conversas com um morador depressivo impediu seu suicídio, ele acabaria tendo um papel essencial no clímax do livro. Todos esses pequenos eventos levaram a um determinado futuro e isso se interliga com a grande questão do livro, o objetivo do Instituto. Eles mataram milhares de crianças com base em probabilidades que poderiam ser alteradas com o simples trânsito em uma estrada da Carolina do Sul, como ocorreu com Tim.

Thoroughly enjoyed. Definitely a beach read if you’re the kind of person who likes books that skew dark. Thoroughly satisfied with the story and ending. Loved the characters. Good shit.

Very much a Stephen King universe type of book. At this point, it feels cozy, somehow, visiting a familiar world that hints at so much more beyond our perception.

I fear this book won’t receive the credit it truly deserves because so many people might have Stephen King fatigue. I’ll read anything he puts out so I may not be totally objective. This book is great. It’s just a story that keeps unfolding and you have to know where it’s going. It was such a page turner and as the story progressed, I thought I knew what was happening only to realize I didn’t. Those are the books I love most. There’s plenty of “distrust of government” narrative in this for those who enjoy it but at the end of the day it’s also just a really damn good story. It’s like Stranger Things done King style.

hmmmmmmmm. need to think a bit about that rating.

He was only twelve, and understood that his experience of the world was limited, but one thing he was quite sure of: when someone said trust me, they were usually lying through their teeth. The Institute was absolutely fantastic and mind-blowing. Can you imagine a secret facility full of special children? They are too special that you can rule the world with all of them. But how? That’s where the questions have got answers. Great events turn on small hinges.

Great! Drawn out though

The King is back and he’s still got it! A fantastic read, that reminded me of the old school Stephen King. I was absolutely hooked from beginning to end. A must read if you’ve enjoyed his previous books!

4/5stars Great events turn on small hinges. One of Stephen King 's classics. The premise is very entertaining, the way the characters are written is amazing. The bind this group of kids share, their TK and TP abilities very beautifully described. Sane people don't sacrifice children on the altar of probability. That's not science, it's superstition. Despite being a 600 +pages chunky book, I was so invested and it did not feel like a stretch, (the way some of the other King books are). I was very hyped up to find out how it's gonna end because the set up, the 500 pages worth of build up had my hopes HIGH. But the ending was kind of a let down, I expected more, more of action? More that how it ended. It kinda fell flat for me. I'd still give it 4stars for the mere entertainment that buildup got me, the whole two different story lines happening and the way they connected: Classic King. It came to him, with the force of a revelation, that you had to have been imprisoned to fully understand what freedom was. In a nutshell: One of the better works of this author, def recommend.

Man. This is a roller coaster let me tell you! The characters are so relatable and real, the story is intricate and interesting and the mystery behind it all is captivating and convoluted. Holy mother forking shirt balls this book messed with me a little bit. Usually I don’t enjoy book about children being treating in abusive ways but this kept my interest without becoming disgusting. Stephen King is a genius storyteller and pushes out some of the most cares about characters I’ve ever seen. I have loved (or loved to hate) every single character in this book from Avery down to Gladys. I highly recommend!

This was a solid adventure story that moved along at a brisk pace. I was expecting something a bit more horror-tinged when I started reading it, but instead this was mostly a fantasy about terrible things happening to telepathic and telekinetic kids. This was also the closest King has come to a young adult novel since maybe Eyes of the Dragon, although it was fairly profane, so maybe that would disqualify it in some circles. King sticks the landing here, and I enjoyed it a lot.

¿Les ha pasado que en las historias que leen de gente o niños superdotados por lo general pueden con todo y son sin emociones? Bueno, esto no sucede aquí. Una vez más king nos muestra el lado más humano de cada ser y conecta de una manera magistral cada uno de los sucesos. La evolución de todos y cómo avanza te hace querer continuar de una sola. Este libro ha sido el primero del año y un regalo muy especial 💙

First Stephen King book, it was nice! Halfway through I was intrigued, but it was about 60-70% through that I was hooked and couldn't put the book down. Loved the story and the way it all unfolded. Very enjoyable read.

Disappointed with the ending. Amazed by the imagination to build such a storyline.

Well, well, well... It was something. I took me fooorever to read it. The story is good. Well, the idea of it. Great start, great end. The middle though... It was endless. It's like nothing was happening.   yeah they were kidnapped and stuff, but nothing was really happening. They were only getting tested infinitely I have to say that, for a good week, I hardly read the book because I didn't want to keep reading those endless pages/chapters. On the other hand, I didn't give up, and I was surprised by the end. Finally some actions. I can even say it was sad. In conclusion, maybe I won't recommended this book on a daily basis, but I also won't talk sh*t about it. It's really up to the reader.

Ik wilde al heel lang een boek van Stephen King lezen, want ik weet dat mijn ouders hem een fantastische schrijver vinden, maar ik was een beetje bang dat ik het te eng zou vinden. Ik heb lang getwijfeld welk boek ik zou kiezen, want ik wil It ook al heel lang lezen. Uiteindelijk is het Het Instituut geworden. Ik kon niet wachten om erin te beginnen. Het eerste hoofdstuk vond ik heel vaag, want het had niks te maken met de omschrijving. Rond pagina 50 begon het verhaal waar het echt om ging en toen vond ik het al wat interessanter worden. Ik merkte dat ik steeds maar door wilde lezen, wat bij mij een teken is dat ik het een heel goed boek vind. Rond pagina 35o kwam het verband met het eerste hoofdstuk en werd alles duidelijker. Ik vond het een heel spannend boek en ik ben blij dat ik deze gelezen heb. Ik zou hem iedereen aanraden! Ik ga zeker vaker boeken van Stephen King lezen.

this was so incredible… it might be one of my fav if not my fav king book honestly. the idea of kids having super powers is not a new concept, and it’s something that has been written about plenty of times, but this truly does have an original, horror spin on it. seeing the world through the lens of an extraordinarily intelligent child is rlly a unique reading experience, and i think it was so well thought out. the plot itself was always interesting, and nothing was ever irrelevant / negligible to the plot (as always with stephen king). some parts were so unflinchingly cruel it was hard to read, especially when children are involved. i loved the characters! the antagonists were so awful (in a good way) and frustrating. my favorite quote from the book doesn’t really fit the actual vibe of the majority of the book, but i love it anyway: “Sometimes a hug was telepathy.”

** spoiler alert ** El inicio de este libro fue tranquilo tengo que decir que el personaje de Tim me gustó bastante de momento ahí todo bien pero ya que se inicia con la historia de Luke como que no me agrado y ya de ahí empecé a sufrir un poco con la lectura la parte donde se explica lo que hacían con los niños dentro del instituto fue interesante pero me costaba seguir lo que pienso es que en ese momento no lograba conectar con Luke todo lo que le pasaba al pobre me daba igual porque aunque había otros niños que me agradaron como Sha, George, Nicky, Iris (pobre niña) Helen y mi bebé Avery no me estaba enganchando. En el momento en que se llevaron a Kisha a la mitad trasera Luke tuvo una evolución y ame como cuido al pequeño Avery. La relación de ellos dos fue una de las cosas más lindas en el libro. Desde el momento que Luke escapa del instituto yo ya estaba más que enganchada en que momento paso ni cuenta me di, ya quería saber que iba a pasar y vaya que pasaron un montón de cosas y tengo que decir que no sería un libro de Stephen King si no hay una carnicería de por medio. Pero en serio, ¿eran necesarias tantas muertes inocentes ? Porque la de los malandros sobre todo de la víbora Sigsby no lo lamento. El equipo que hicieron Tim y Luke fue de lo mejor junto con Wendy. Jamás imaginé que existieran más institutos en otras partes del mundo. Me da a pensar que tal vez exista una segunda parte. El final fue adecuado me dejó satisfecha aunque llore y sufrí mucho y todavía siento feo con el pequeño Avery ¿por qué él no se pudo salvar? Pensé que este libro me iba a decepcionar que iba hacer el primer libro de King que no me iba a gustar y pues el Sr King me dejó otra vez sin palabras y obviamente seguiré leyendo más de él.

Such a great SK book! It had all the elements of King's best writing. Character development, mystery, supernatural elements, humans who are bad people, plus a good ending. I have read 13 Stephen King books this year and this is in the top 5 of the year for sure.