11.22.63

By: Stephen King

Narrated by: Craig Wasson

Length: 30 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

What if you could go back in time and change the course of history? What if the watershed moment you could change was the JFK assassination? 11.22.63, the date that Kennedy was shot - unless....

King takes his protagonist Jake Epping, a high school English teacher from Lisbon Falls, Maine, 2011, on a fascinating journey back to 1958 - from a world of mobile phones and iPods to a new world of Elvis and JFK, of Plymouth Fury cars and Lindy Hopping, of a troubled loner named Lee Harvey Oswald and a beautiful high school librarian named Sadie Dunhill, who becomes the love of Jake's life - a life that transgresses all the normal rules of time.

With extraordinary imaginative power, King weaves the social, political and popular culture of his baby-boom American generation into a devastating exercise in escalating suspense.

©2011 Stephen King (P)2011 Simon & Schuster Audio

Critic reviews

“This new epic from Stephen King rates among the best he’s written – no small praise for the man who wrote Carrie, It, The Stand and Under the Dome.” ( Trucking News)

Good, good

If you could sum up 11.22.63 in three words, what would they be?

This was the 1st King's book of main. I do like it.I would recommend to any reader.

Just get it

Would you consider the audio edition of 11.22.63 to be better than the print version?

Definitely. The performance is outstanding. Plus if you want to get anything else done in the 30 waking hours after buying this book then best you have the audible version - the paper version you probably will only put down from fatigue - I imagine its a heavy one.

Interesting Premise - classic Stephen King

If you could sum up 11.22.63 in three words, what would they be?

interesting, heart-warming, entertaining

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I listened to this over the period of a day and a half while I repaired a dozen laptops, and I only wanted to fast forward it once as it got toward the end. That was only because I was exhausted and didn't want to go to bed without hearing the end.

Any additional comments?

I really enjoyed this story - it's quite unique, and reminiscent of the quality of books Stephen King wrote 20 or 30 years ago. I highly recommend it. In addition, while I found Craig Wasson's New England accent a little hard to bear at some points, all in all, he read the story well with very few mispronunciations.

Stephen King takes you to a past world

What did you love best about 11.22.63?

The reader (Audible performer) must get his dues, it's almost as if this book was written for him to read. I love the New England accents and the tone of the readers voice throughout this story.Once in it I got the sense that the author really was enjoying his time in the past as much as the hero in the story was. I got a real feel for the mood of the time and what life must have been like in a simpler but crueler time. Well done Stephen King, I was not disappointed but I was delighted. When a story is good like this one was you want to roll around in it a long as possible and that is what happened here.

What other book might you compare 11.22.63 to and why?

I don't like to compare work but "Under the Dome" takes the reader on a similar type of experience. The author introduces prodigious and dare I say obdurate characters that are often humorous in their strong or weak personalities. PLEASE DONT JUDGE THE BOOK "under the dome" by the miniseries.

Which character – as performed by Craig Wasson – was your favorite?

Craig Wasson was really good all round. I mean really good. The main character (the hero) of the book was best performed by Craig... as it should be.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

A film sure - PLEASE not a TV mini-series. No tagline from me, leave that to author or producers

Any additional comments?

Yip, I really love the slight humours that Stephen King brings across in some of his books. The ability to make the reader chuckle at the way the characters are, it makes for rich and colourful reading. This book is not perfect, nothing is... but I had a good time listening to it.

Fantastic :O)

Where does 11.22.63 rank among all the audiobooks you???ve listened to so far?

This book rated amongst my Top 10 Audiobooks.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

The plot was enticing and has a great insight into what America's personality was during the late 50's-60's.

What about Craig Wasson???s performance did you like?

Craig Wasson's performance was wonderful, always consistant and easy to listen to.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I loved how the characters all meld so well together while showing the turbulance of the times and the social differences & showing clearly that the grass was definatly not greener on the other side no matter how how memories may look back and think of good times. The book as a whole was thought provoking and although it has Kings usual insight into the minds of humans this was on a different level from his other books in that I wouldn't class it as a horror....

Extrordinary fantasy tale, that keeps you guessing

If you could sum up 11.22.63 in three words, what would they be?

fascinating, almost plausible

What did you like best about this story?

enthralling take on a landmark event of our lifetime, brilliantly told

Have you listened to any of Craig Wasson’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

no

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

There were a few. Jake's horror when he couldn't save the boy on his first attempt at protecting the Dunning family. The injuries to Jake & Sadie, and probably when Jake realised he wasn't going to continue on in 'the land of ago' to save Sadie. Also when he got to meet Sadie again in 2012.

Any additional comments?

Not normally a sci-fi fan but found this a very entertaining, thrilling well-told story. Could not stop listening!

Good book. Amazing Performance.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. It's a great story with a lot of detail and interesting characters. The performer is, without a doubt, the best reader I've heard.

What about Craig Wasson’s performance did you like?

Everything. Craig Wasson is the best performer I've encountered. In fact, after listening to this book I'm finding it difficult to engage with others. I can feel the person reading the book now, whereas when Craig was reading 11.22.63 I was completely immersed in the story. The way he changes his voice for each character is amazing.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

11.22.63 is over 30 hours, so too long to listen in a single sitting.

King back to form

I am a hardcore King fan but had been a little disappointed with his last few books. This one is back on form. If you could go back in time and save Kennedy would you do it and what would the effect be?

He shows again his mastery of structure, slowly leading you down the impossible path with layers of detail and emotional resonance until you believe utterly in the reality of this story and then slowly amping up the pace until at the end you are racing towards the conclusion. It reminded me of 'Needful Things' in the use of pacing.

I knew almost nothing about the Kennedy assasination, nor the politics of the time. I actually learnt a lot and became very interested. You don't need to know a lot about it, but having the tour through Dallas in the late 50s and early 60s was fascinating.

Oh and for those interested in the King universe, check the little nods. For a start the protagonist spends a lot of time in Derry in the late 50s. This is definitely the universe of The Dark Tower.

I loved the narrator. He did a stirling job. Five star performance.

The only reason for this being 4 stars and not 5 is that the ending faltered for me. It felt like it ended a couple of times too many and with some little editing it could have been far more powerful. But the journey was more than worth it.

Thoroughly enjoyable listen

Craig Wasson is perfect for the job, an extremely talented narrator. I wouldn't have Stephen King change a single page. His attention to detail was fantastic. Recommended 100%

Excellent performance by Wasson

Who was your favorite character and why?

Ms Mimi - great writing by King and great performance by Wasson.

Which character – as performed by Craig Wasson – was your favorite?

Ms Mimi. Maybe Al Templeton.

Any additional comments?

I loved this book. Wasson's characterisations were excellent and the story was a great.