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)

This book is well read but too long.

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

Above average for reader. Below average for length.

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

Its a good story but way too long. Stephen King is such a good story teller but throws in so much detail that does not contribute.

Any additional comments?

The reader is brilliant.

Enjoyable

The story, narration and production of this audiobook are all done well. A worthy King read/listen. 5*****

Fantastic!!

Hands down my favourite Stephen King book to date!
Craig Wasson is an excellent narrator

perfect!

i loved it...the love story it includes is heart wrenching. exciting read nonetheless! the narrator is fantastic!

Best audiobook I have purchased.

Wow. Best book ever. Highly recommend. The narrator is amazing. I long ago read the stand. This book is just as awesome.

Fabulous Book

This book kept me enthralled the whole
way through. Great story, great characters and great performance. If you are interested in history and fascinated by the concept of time travel you'll enjoy this.

What would you do?

Exceptionally well researched with believable, everyday characters involved in an "existence" changing plot. A beautiful love story set in dramatic times of which we are all aware with a perfect ending as well. I can't recommend this book enough.

I never imagined I would cry over a Stephen King novel but that was excactly what I did. This story kept me intriqued from beginning to end and I kept asking myself the same question over and over, 'What would you do?' I still don't know the answer but the story, climax and ending were much more than satisfactory.

I'm not a huge fan of the horror genre so haven't read much Stephen King but there is no way this would fall into that category. Having said that I believe that if you are a fan of Stephen King you will not be disappointed. Time travel it is, but in this book the horror is a very real concept. He is a wonderful storyteller.

Yes, it is longer than my normal audiobook but it was never boring. Every word was necessary to the story and the narration varied with the characters so it was good listening.

It doesn't stop with the story. You must listen to the afterword by Stephen King. Impressive!

Compelling

This was a long listen, and brilliant. the narrator is well matched for the story, and the story is compelling. I was sad when it finished, because I felt so involved with the plot. While there is a lot of story, the book never looses the thread of the ever thickening plot.

King Reigns Again

What did you love best about 11.22.63?

The narrator and the story. It had it all. Action,mystery and a love story. I have read or listened to all Kings books this is his best yet!!

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

YES!!! Being a long book it was like listening to a mini series. Each trip in the car became another installment. The twists and turns interwoven with history is fantastic. Stephen King has developed each character to the point that you feel you are having a relationship with them especially the main one. You really feel for this guy, you want to know what happens.

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

Have never heard him before but he is outstanding. Will certainly be looking out for him. The best narration to date!!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made me laugh and the ending certainly made me cry. I don't want to give anything away but I nearly had to pull over as I couldn't see for the tears. The ending is not what was expected though, I tried to work it out before it finished and this was nowhere near what I thought, true to Stephen Kings style he always keeps me guessing and I am always pleasantly surprised, although this is by far his best yet.

Any additional comments?

When reading or listening to a book if I start to feel reluctance for it ending I know I have enjoyed it. I never wanted it to end. I want to know.... What next?? I felt so much apart of the story that its like my friend has moved away. The narrator did a magnificent job. I felt that the story was being told to me by the character. He didn't ruin it by trying to be different people, he told it as if he was actually relating it to me over a cup of coffee or during a long car trip.

Is it just me, or does King do bad romance?

I enjoyed this long novel.

I got a bit bogged down in the part where, Jake Epping (George Amberson: main character) has a love interest and, boy, did I find that woman, Sadie, boring and annoying. I don't believe King, does romance all that well but then that could be just a "me thing" because I don't generally like to read romance. The character of Sadie seemed cheesy and I kept hearing "Sadie, the cleaning lady" from the song by John Farnham which was quite a distraction [my bad].

I was intrigued by the story behind the story of stopping the death of J.F.K. and the consequences of such an action.

I feel very lucky to be in a world where one can read the work of a famous author and not feel that he slaved over every word for years and researched his butt off, although he must have. Thank you Mr. King.

As always, Stephen King, did a great job keeping me reading until the end.