On November 22, 1963, three shots rang out in Dallas, President Kennedy died, and the world changed. What if you could change it back? Stephen King’s heart-stoppingly dramatic new novel is about a man who travels back in time to prevent the JFK assassination—a thousand page tour de force.
Following his massively successful novel Under the Dome, King sweeps readers back in time to another … to another moment—a real life moment—when everything went wrong: the JFK assassination. And he introduces readers to a character who has the power to change the course of history.
Jake Epping is a thirty-five-year-old high school English teacher in Lisbon Falls, Maine, who makes extra money teaching adults in the GED program. He receives an essay from one of the students—a gruesome, harrowing first person story about the night 50 years ago when Harry Dunning’s father came home and killed his mother, his sister, and his brother with a hammer. Harry escaped with a smashed leg, as evidenced by his crooked walk.
Not much later, Jake’s friend Al, who runs the local diner, divulges a secret: his storeroom is a portal to 1958. He enlists Jake on an insane—and insanely possible—mission to try to prevent the Kennedy assassination. So begins Jake’s new life as George Amberson and his new world of Elvis and JFK, of big American cars and sock hops, 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.
A tribute to a simpler era and a devastating exercise in escalating suspense, 11/22/63 is Stephen King at his epic best.
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Like a lot of late Baby Boomers, I grew up on Stephen King. I have read many of his books and seen most of the movies made from these books. There are very few I have not enjoyed. King’s time-travel tome, “11/22/63,” is no exception.
It is the story of Maine English teacher Jake Epping, who travels from 2011 to 1958 with the intent of preventing …
Overall, I am not a Stephen King fan, but I am a sucker for a time travel story. This is an amazing story with a touch of horror, love, and science fiction.
King is another of my favorite authors, this one takes on another venue I like to read, Time Travel…………The what if’s we could possibly find if only we could venture back and change things, to make a better ending. This book twists and turns at the beginning, however, once our hero remains in a time period the ins and outs of that time …
King adds a new twist the JFK conspiracy theories! I can not believe how fast I read this book. The ideas that King comes up with are insane.
This is not the typical Stephen King novel. Time travel, changing the course of history (history of real events that happened) and the resulting consequences of making that change. There are no monsters – except the human ones – and no horror in the manner to which Stephen King fans are accustomed. Even with all of that, this was an excellent …
One of the best books I have ever read. A roller-coaster of a read couled with a perfect ending.
For over 50 years people have questioned what happened in Dallas that day. This book allows you to wonder “what if?”, and read about going back in time to investigate the possibilities of The Who and the why. Along with all the problems faced with having to not interfere with history and the results of changing even one incident. Very enjoyable …
Though I don’t read very much Stephen King anymore, this is easily my favorite book. He has proven why he’s a master at what he does, and this story wraps around the assassination of JFK with a fictional story that will keep you at the edge of your seat and turning the pages well into the night.
yes its long, but its worth it! Excellent revisionist history wrapped up in a love story
One of my all-time favorites and the first book to ever make me cry. Twice. The way this book builds the world of 1958 to 1963 inside your mind is nothing short of breathtaking. You instantly fall in love with the characters and draws you in from the first page.
Mr. King? This is what I aspire to be able to write one day. A true classic. I highly …
This book was so well written that I had to put it down and ponder so many of the historical nuances…
A little different for Stephen King. If you saw the tv series, you missed more than half the book. If you are at all interested in the events surrounding the Kennedy assassination, this is the book for you! It is speculative and thought-provoking.
I’ve been a Stephen King fan since the first time I read a book by him (The Shining). I love his writing style and the way he tells the story. His characters are always 3-dimensional and I am always engaged by and concerned for them.
Now in this novel, he took a historical event and put his own “spin” on it. All I can say without giving away …
Outstanding!
A long, twisted ride down the rabbit hole called time travel. Some things, should be left alone.
Loved this twist on time travel with the hero trying to go back in time to prevent the Kennedy assassination. Action packed and a very intriguing concept. Love the historical detail and twist on the time travel theme. Very well developed characters and a fun dash through time.
If you could go back and time and stop the JFK assassination would you? That’s the starting question to Stephen King’s 11/22/63.
The story is set in the nostalgic time right before America lost its innocence, the 1950s. A time-portal opens up in the backroom of a diner which drops the main character, high school teacher Jake Epping, into …
I love time travel stories, so I already knew I’d like this one. But I finished it in a couple days last year, staying up late at night on the couch and reading by flashlight to avoid bothering my wife. It has been a LONG time since a book did that for me! It’s the very definition of a beach read. You won’t be disappointed.
This is a solid Stephen King read. The story is more of the science fiction/alternate history variety but King being King is able to slide in a bit of the King Universe with a detour to always spooky Derry, Maine. Also, a first for me in a King story, is that there is a solid romance plot line along the main narrative.
The story is a take on the …
I have read many Stephen King books, but this one is by far my new favorite. Great plot effectively written with many loops and turns that all somehow manage to end up neatly linked carrying the story forward. History, mystery, crime and sci-fi buffs will all enjoy. Make time for it as you won’t want to put it down.