#9 – The Institute

Plot

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.”

Review

The Institute is peak Stephen King storytelling.  It’s also a reflection of an author who has absolutely perfected his craft over the preceding decades.  The Institute is full of dramatic moments, captivating dialogue sequences and unforgettable characters.

There is not one single aspect of this book that I did not find enjoyable.  It was one of the easiest reads I’ve encountered as King brings the action up front, provides layer after layer of character development in the middle, and closes with an action and emotionally packed finale.  Chef’s kiss.

The Institute felt a little like Firestarter where it centers around a secret governmental agency working with children who possess special abilities.  The difference being The Institute dealt with a collection of unique children while Firestarter had one girl as its primary focus.  King enhanced Firestarter by creating a bigger and more realized cast in The Institute, although it did have me missing Rainbird.

Reading this book had me thinking how wonderful this would be as a television series.  A complex cast of memorable children.  A mysterious government facility.  A would-be hero is currently down on his luck.  Sound like any Netflix shows you may have recently watched?

Details

Pages: 561

Dates Read: September – October 2019

Quote: “Great events turn on small hinges.”

Best Part: Luke and Avery becoming friends.

Hint for #8: Gary Potter (Kevin Nealon) from Happy Gilmore was inadvertently talking about this book: “Oh yeah. Lotta pressure. You gotta rise above it. You gotta harness in the good energy, block out the bad. Harness. Energy. Block. Bad. Feel the flow Happy. Feel it. It’s circular. It’s like a carousel. You pay the quarter, you get on the horse, it goes up and down, and AROUND. It’s circular. Circle, with the music, the flow. All good things.”

 

Until next time, peace be the journey.