The Institute

A Novel

By: Stephen King

Narrated by: Santino Fontana

Length: 18 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

A 2020 Thriller/Suspense Audie Award winner!

A New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2019 selection

From number one New York Times best-selling author Stephen King, the most riveting and unforgettable story of kids confronting evil since It.

“This is King at his best” (The St. Louis Post-Dispatch).

In the middle of the night, in a house on a quiet street in suburban Minneapolis, intruders silently murder Luke Ellis' 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 10-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."

In this most sinister of institutions, the director, Mrs. Sigsby, and her staff are ruthlessly dedicated to extracting from these children the force of their extranormal gifts. There are no scruples here. If you go along, you get tokens for the vending machines. If you don't, punishment is brutal. As each new victim disappears to Back Half, Luke becomes more and more desperate to get out and get help. But no one has ever escaped from the Institute.

As psychically terrifying as Firestarter, and with the spectacular kid power of It, The Institute is “is another winner: creepy and touching and horrifyingly believable, all at once” (The Boston Globe).

©2019 Stephen King (P)2019 Simon & Schuster Audio

Critic reviews

"Stephen King's newest audiobook is compulsively entertaining and features a dazzling performance by narrator Santino Fontana.... Fontana does wonders with this diverse lineup of young characters who band together to fight their captors. Each of them sounds authentic and unique. Meanwhile, the adult characters, with a few exceptions, are a nightmarish bunch. Through them, Fontana shows that evil can have many different voices.... [King's] and Fontana's talents are a winning combination." (AudioFile magazine)

Hillary=Mrs. Sigsby. baaahaahaha. Trump Won!

I love this book and it's story but I could have done without your Trump bashing. I know you've already made your fortune and fame but you just lost a faithful fan.

Best King book in decades!

After a series of clunkers with lack-luster or confusing endings...Under the Dome, Revival, Dr. Sleep, ect...Stephen King has done a great job with The Institute. The concept of a secret research lab conducting experiments on gifted children was intriguing from the start and characters were well developed. To my great relief the children were not presented in an overly cutesy manner which kills a good story, but given depth and intelligence. The ending is well handled, no loose threads dangling or abject disappointment.
The narrator adeptly handled the task of creating distinct voices for many characters, both adults and children. His reading enhanced the story.
On another note, many people are upset by the "political jabs" in the book. What are they talking about?? I can only recall one time where a political reference was made, and it was a joke. I guess some people are overly sensitive and saw a jab where there was none. The Institute is not in any way, shape, or form a politically based story

Bizarre, but well-thought-out premise

I found the characters well-developed, as they always are in King's books. The premise was interesting. A few things bothered me. I get it that these children are already world-weary at a young age, and some are geniuses in addition to possessing their abilities. Still, the way they spoke was often far more adult than child. I just didn't buy it sometimes.

The reader did a good job overall. The various voices were done well and he differentiated between characters with accent and cadence. However, that was also a sticking point. Often, he lapsed into characters' accents at inappropriate times. This was most obvious with Annie. It took me out of the story to hear third person narrations spoken in the accents of characters. These weren't instances where we were privy to a character's inner dialogue or viewpoint, but third-person descriptions of what the character was doing in the moment. Those times kicked me right out of the story.

King continues to bring out fresh worlds and I enjoyed it.

Fantastic

One of his best
Loved it
Beginning to end
Would highly recommend to all
Thanks again to the KING

GREAT story, but annoying politics.

Fantastic story. Great author. But the Trump hate breaks the spell a bit too often for me. Everyone is certainly entitled to their political opinions. I didn't vote for the man, either. But when I wait with measured breath for a new King novel, only to be smacked numerous times with Trump digs and insults ( more shade gets thrown at the current President of the US than the referenced Nazis of Germany's experimentation ventures.... yes, really), it disappoints me. I've been one of King's "constant readers" since I picked up a tattered copy of Needful Things in a resale shop in 1995, and consumed it over a rainy weekend. I was a strange, smart kid who found respite from a troubled home in the fantasy of King and his way of seeing the world - and grew into an adult who has few happy childhood memories that don't revolve around King's stories. But to see this more and more in his novels - this being the worst yet - it removes the magic and wonder he once could cast for me.

TL;DR: Worth the read, if you can ignore the occasional political inflammation that surfaces from time to time. I'm trying.... but it's getting more difficult to overlook.

Gripping ‼️

From the first words ( as all of Kings books) I couldn’t put it down. I’m hoping there will be another ☺️

Amazing

This book was absolutely amazing. Not scary, no horror here. Awesome kids that you will fall in love with, a super interesting story- super addictive book. I could not stop listening! If you like Stranger Things, you’ll love this.

A meditation on human decency, and our need of it.

I've become a soft King fan this year, having listened to and thoroughly enjoyed It, The Shining, Full Dark, and a few others. I was excited to get access to a fresh, new King book. This is my first time waiting for a release.

A note about Fontana's narration: when a chapter or section is mainly about a character, he often voices the entire section in the voice of that character. It's a nice touch that helps connect you more to the flow of the story. I'd like to see this technique picked up by other VO workers. No complaints, great work by Fontana.

The book is firmly placed in the modern age, reflects on the philosophical questions of what is ethical, and I think he lands on the Kantian assertion that it is never OK to use humans as means to an end.

King is kind to his characters, fully devolping a cast full of lovable (and detestable) complete human beings, many of whom would no doubt disagree with his own political leanings, and paints a vivid picture about what it means to fall asleep at the wheel.

This book, like so many of King's works I've had the good fortune to experience, is many things, but to me it seems to be mostly a meditation on human decency, and the little rays of love we get to shine into each other's lives. Things like helping someone understand when they're being taken advantage of, and what to do about that. Things that make all the difference.

As usual, King does not disappoint

An excellent tale of kids with special abilities at the intersection of conspiracy, New World order, and supernatural talents.

Beware of the men in the black cars.

REVIEW PROVIDED BY: Kelly
NUMBER OF HEARTS: 4
Well now.....

The Institute is a classic Stephen King with all the “What the heck?’, ‘OMG could that really happen ?’, and the ‘I will never be able to trust that gut feeling without questioning everything’. The Institute was not scary like It or Pet Cemetery, but it was highly disturbing and will make you wonder.

There are a lot of moving parts in this story and listening on audio was a little confusing at the very beginning. Trying to figure out who and why we were following certain characters. But Mr. King does a great job of putting everything in order and give us as many answers as possible.

This is my first audiobook narrated by Santino Fontana. Mr. Fontana does a really good job bring the characters alive. My only struggle (and I think I struggle with a lot of male narrators) is the female voices. There were a few of them that I just wasn’t wild about. But other then that it was a wonderfully long audiobook.

Fans of Stephen King will enjoy this latest installment to his amazing library of classics.

Disclaimer:
I purchased this audiobook from Audible.com and this review is my own opinion and not a paid review.