Insomnia by Stephen King (Audiobook Review)

Audiobook Reviews from Audiobook-Heaven

Title: Insomnia
Author: Stephen King
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Narrator: Eli Wallach
Duration: 25 hours, 39 minutes
Copyright: 2009
Genres: horror, supernatural
Filed in: Audiobook reviews
Review copy provided by Kearney Public Library.

THE GIST: Ralph Roberts is having trouble sleeping. He just lost his wife, and it seems like he’s getting less and less sleep with each passing night. Pretty soon, he’s only getting three hours of sleep each night.

When Ralph starts seeing the auras, balloons of brilliant color tethered to every person he sees, he thinks he’s going mad. And when he starts seeing the little bald doctors; the ones with the long sharp scissors; he’s sure of it. But the little bald doctors need Ralph’s help. One of their number has gone bad, and they need Ralph to help stop him.

MY THOUGHTS: I'm a pretty huge fan of Stephen King, so it pains me to say that "Insomnia" is not his best audio book. But that's a little like saying Beethoven's 4th was not one of his best symphonies. It's still pretty good. Even at his worst, King is entertaining.

Stephen King’s characters have always seemed very credible to me, and his plots have always had an air of plausibility no matter how far-fetched they may seem. In other words, his audio books always make sense to me. “Insomnia” just didn’t make sense, though. The credibility and plausibility are missing from this audio book.

NARRATOR: I liked Eli Wallach’s narration of "Insomnia”, I think he was a goodpick for this audio book. The main character of "Insomnia”, Ralph Roberts, is an older, retired man, and Eli Wallach's voice fits the bill nicely; he sounds like an older, distinguished man.

FINAL WORD: Stephen King is always worth reading, or listening to, in my opinion, but you can do better than Insomnia.

CHECK OUT THESE OTHER AUDIOBOOK REVIEWS:
The Dark Half by Stephen King (Audiobook Review)
Bag of Bones by Stephen King (Audiobook Review)
Hearts in Atlantis by Stephen King (Audiobook Review)

If you liked this audiobook review, you can purchase the audiobook here:
Get "Insomnia" by Stephen King (Unabridged Audiobook) from Amazon.com.

This audiobook review is based on the unabridged audiobook.
Audiobook review by Steven Brandt
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