Name: Fabian's review of The Institute by Stephen King
Item: The Institute
Rating: 4
Author: Fabian

Stephen King

'It does everything you'd expect of a masterpiece - and it is one' Sunday Express 'Hums and crackles with delicious unease' Independent 'A captivating, hybrid novel that shape-shifts through several genres' The Sunday Times Deep in the woods of Maine, there is a dark state facility where kids, abducted from across the United States, are incarcerated. In the Institute they are subjected to a series of tests and procedures meant to combine their exceptional gifts - telepathy, telekinesis - for concentrated effect. Luke Ellis is the latest recruit. He's just a regular 12-year-old, except he's not just smart, he's super-smart. And he has another gift which the Institute wants to use... Far away in a small town in South Carolina, former cop Tim Jamieson has taken a job working for the local sheriff. He's basically just walking the beat. But he's about to take on the biggest case of his career. Back in the Institute's downtrodden playground and corridors where posters advertise 'just another day in paradise', Luke, his friend Kalisha and the other kids are in no doubt that they are prisoners, not guests. And there is no hope of escape. But great events can turn on small hinges and Luke is about to team up with a new, even younger recruit, Avery Dixon, whose ability to read minds is off the scale. While the Institute may want to harness their powers for covert ends, the combined intelligence of Luke and Avery is beyond anything that even those who run the experiments - even the infamous Mrs Sigsby - suspect. Thrilling, suspenseful, heartbreaking, THE INSTITUTE is a stunning novel of childhood betrayed and hope regained.

The Institute

A Novel

Institute

isabelle

HELL IS WAITING. I'LL BE HERE TO MEET YOU.

Una fascinante historia sobre de la lucha entre el bien y el mal, en un mundo en donde los buenos no siempre ganan. En mitad de la noche en un barrio tranquilo de Minneapolis raptan a Luke Ellis, de doce años, tras haber asesinado a sus padres. Una operación que dura menos de dos minutos. Luke se despierta en E Instituto, en un cuarto exactamente igual que el suyo pero sin ventanas. En habitaciones parecidas hay más niños: Kalisha, Nick, George, Iris y Avery Dixon, entre otros, que comparten capacidades especiales como la telequinesia o la telepatía. Todos ellos se alojan en la Mitad Delantera de la institución. Los mayores, en cambio, se encuentran en la Mitad Trasera. Como dice Kalisha: "El que entra no sale". En este instituto tan siniestro, la directora la Señora Sigsbyy sus empleados, se dedican a extraer la fuerza supernatural de cada uno de los niños, siempre de una manera despiadada y sin escrúpulos. Si los niños cooperan, ganan monedas para las máquinas de dulces. Pero si no, el castigo es brutal. Cada vez que una víctima desaparece, Luke se encuentra más desesperado por escapar y buscar ayuda. Pero nunca nadie ha logrado escapar del Instituto "Bajo los fuegos artificiales de su imaginación incansable, Stephen King nos muestra en sus mejores novelas que lo raro, lo extraordinario, lo verdaderamente insólito es vivir". --El Mundo

El instituto

Juan Sebastian Perniola

Fabian

A NEW YORK TIMES 100 NOTABLE BOOKS OF 2019 SELECTION From #1 New York Times bestselling author Stephen King, the most riveting and unforgettable story of kids confronting evil since It. 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. As psychically terrifying as Firestarter, and with the spectacular kid power of It, The Institute is Stephen King’s gut-wrenchingly dramatic story of good vs. evil in a world where the good guys don’t always win.

Ryan Mateyk

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"

Kaitlin Simpson

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.

Jordan

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.

elizabeth

O Instituto

Ana Luiza

** 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.

Liz collins 

Lara Engle

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.

John Lopiano Jr.

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.

Bilge Ince

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.

Kayla 

Jacqueline Englund

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!

Midori Kobayashi

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.

Taylor Nuzzolo

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!

Jeff James

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.

The Institute [Large print]

Felipe Saldarriaga 

¿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. 

Omar Fernandez

Beatriz Pereira

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

Mark-Olivier

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.   <spoiler>yeah they were kidnapped and stuff, but nothing was really happening. They were only getting tested infinitely</spoiler> 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.

‘De koning van het spannende genre.’ VN Detective en Thrillergids ‘Spannend, snel en gewelddadig, maar met humor.’ Noordhollands Dagblad Voor de fans van Stranger Things Midden in de nacht, in een huis in een rustige straat in een buitenwijk van Minneapolis, worden de ouders van Luke Ellis stilletjes vermoord. Luke zelf wordt in een zwarte SUV geladen en weggereden. Dit alles duurt minder dan twee minuten. Luke wordt wakker in het Instituut, in een kamer die precies op zijn slaapkamer lijkt, alleen zonder raam. Aan de andere kant van de deur zijn meer deuren, met daarachter meer kinderen, die daar allemaal op dezelfde manier zijn beland als Luke. Kalisha, Nick, George, Iris en de tienjarige Avery hebben allen speciale krachten, zoals telekinese of telepathie. Zij zitten in Voorkant. Ooit waren er nog meer kinderen, maar die zijn naar Achterkant verhuisd. Het personeel van deze sinistere faciliteit, dat onder leiding staat van de genadeloze mevrouw Sigsby, wil de bovennatuurlijke gaven van de kinderen inzetten voor zijn eigen doeleinden. En deinst nergens voor terug om dat te bereiken. Als je meewerkt, krijg je muntjes voor de automaten. Zo niet, dan wacht een wrede straf. Hoe meer kinderen er naar Achterkant worden gestuurd, hoe wanhopiger Luke wordt om te ontkomen en hulp te zoeken. Maar er is nog nooit iemand uit het Instituut ontsnapt... De Nederlandse pers over Stephen King ‘Niemand minder dan de horrorgrootmeester.’ NRC Handelsblad 'King voert je mee naar de grenzen van de horror.' Trouw ‘De fantasierijke en tegelijkertijd zo angstaanjagend realistische verhalen van King definiëren wat literatuur hoort te zijn: de oneindige mogelijk tot het scheppen van nieuwe werelden.’ de Volkskrant

Het Instituut

Iris Wijshof

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.”

Carlos Milla Soler;

El Instituto

Mary Garza

** 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.

James Eaton

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.

Fabian &
The Institute by Stephen King

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The Institute by Stephen King