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 Sherriff. 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.
Copy received from Hachette Australia for an honest review
Sometimes you just have to wonder what Stephen King's search history is like. I mean, is he on any watch lists? Has he ever had any law enforcement turn up on his doorstep?
It has been a while since I have read a SK book, though I spent my entire teenage years reading nothing but his stories.
This felt like 80s/90s King, and I was left completely satisfied with dipping my toe back into his world.
As the story progressed, I was left wondering how the kids at "The Institute" were going to come out of it alive. Will they all die? Will it be a case of "the lunatics taking over the asylum?' Will good overcome evil?
I did feel that the ending was a bit lacking. I don't know, after all the build up, it just felt way to easy to me. I was hoping more would happen with the night knocker situation too. It felt flat - however this is probably just me.
Stephen King is now back to the top of my reading list, and I look forward to more in the future.
Stephen King is described by the Guardian as "one of the greatest storytellers of our time", by the Mirror as a "genius" and by the Sunday Times as "one of the most fertile storytellers of the modern novel". He is the author of more than 60 boos including the No. 1 bestseller The Outsider, voted winner of the Goodreads Choice Award for best Mystery and Thriller 2018, and the classic IT, "a book which speaks to everybody."
Many of his titles have been turned into films, TV series and streamed events, including MISERY, PET SEMETARY, THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION and MR MERCEDES.