#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER In this spectacular father/son collaboration, Stephen King and Owen King tell the highest of high-stakes stories: what might happen if women disappeared from the world of men? In a future so real and near it might be now, something happens when women go to sleep: they become shrouded in a cocoon-like gauze. If they are awakened, if the gauze wrapping their bodies is … awakened, if the gauze wrapping their bodies is disturbed or violated, the women become feral and spectacularly violent. And while they sleep they go to another place, a better place, where harmony prevails and conflict is rare.
One woman, the mysterious “Eve Black,” is immune to the blessing or curse of the sleeping disease. Is Eve a medical anomaly to be studied? Or is she a demon who must be slain? Abandoned, left to their increasingly primal urges, the men divide into warring factions, some wanting to kill Eve, some to save her. Others exploit the chaos to wreak their own vengeance on new enemies. All turn to violence in a suddenly all-male world.
Set in a small Appalachian town whose primary employer is a women’s prison, Sleeping Beauties is a wildly provocative, gloriously dramatic father-son collaboration that feels particularly urgent and relevant today.more
Stephen King and his son care very much about women’s rights, which is evident in the content of this book. As with all King books, the characters become like friends–ones you get to know well. There were a few deaths I didn’t see coming and a lot of ugly truths about the world we live in from which neither author shied away. I couldn’t wait to pick this book up every night at bedtime. The ending didn’t give away all the answers so that the reader is left with wondering what might have happened after (though all loose ends were tied up). What I mean is that the reader’s mind kept engaging after the last page is finished. It’s another masterpiece, and the authors did a great job with uniformity, so that it seemed the book was written by one author.
I almost didn’t read it due to the reviews on Amazon about it being chock full of politics. I did however, and it turned out to be two short sentences, much ado about nothing.
The premise is interesting, the writing is good although it appears to be more Owen and less Stephen, not as much of Stephen’s beautiful descriptive writing is there. It is a book with an interesting premise, one I’m still thinking about days later. Well worth the read.
“She wiped the webbing from her eyes, astonished to see a whole ward of women, rising up from their hospital beds, tearing at the shreds of their cocoons in an orgy of resurrection.”
In this dark adult fairytale co-written by father/son horror authors, all I could think about was …
FEMINISM
A quick google search will show I’m not alone. Although super long, I was quite literally glued to this book. Deep and entertaining with major creep factor, this was an easy 5-stars for me. Check it out.
When I saw how thick this book was, I almost didn’t pick it up. It’s a big one. Then again, I was really in the mood for something different, and Sleeping Beauties is nothing if not different.
Without getting all spoilery, the tale is not what I thought it was. An affliction is raging across the world, but women are the only victims. With webbing growing across exposed skin, they fall into an endless sleep. If that webbing is disturbed, well, that’s not good for the one doing the disturbing. Left in a world without women, confusion ensues, and violence escalates quickly. One woman…and only one…seems unaffected. Is Eve Black the cause or the cure?
I think this father-son collaboration might be more son than father, with Owen doing more of the writing, but it’s got the King fingerprints all over it. It’s very different from the strict horror that typifies most of the other King books I’ve liked best, but it’s also refreshing. Many reviewers think it’s a political tale of the war between the sexes, and I do think some of that is in there, but it’s such a unique way to spin it that I couldn’t stop reading. Given that I read this tome in two days, I’d have to say it was marvelously engaging.
I enjoyed Sleeping Beauties. I’ve read where people have complained that the ending is another Stephen King mess (see Under the Dome), but I disagree. Yes, it wrapped up quickly, and certain plot points could have used some additional explanation, but what I like about it is that there is no clear-cut “Oh, that’s why all this happened” moment. Was it aliens? Maybe. Was it angels? Possibly. Does it have to be all wrapped up in a neat little bow with no questions unanswered? Not at all.
Sleeping Beauties is a collaboration between Stephen & Owen King, so I don’t expect it to be a Stephen King ‘original’. That being said, I did enjoy the story, but was left wondering if Stephen has lost his mojo or is in semi retirement. I hope not, because I have read a vast majority of his work and would love to have more of the old stuff. What gripped me most about the book, is the importance of the women. Hey guys, take a listen here. BUT, women without men, or vice versa, is not a workable solution to any problem. This fantasy exposes human failings, sharing their hopelessness, sadness, anger and rage, good and bad, and every emotion you can imagine. In the end, we do the best we can. There are plenty of characters for you to love and hate, but be careful, your favorite may not survive.
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This is my latest accomplishment, the book was huge, hard to hold up when wanting to read in bed, but the deeper I got into the book the lighter it became. It was such an unusual book, I’ve never seen anything like it. At the same time that a strange woman arrived in town, everything started to change in the most shocking ways ever. Evie doesn’t seem to be human, but she looks like one. She has strange powers, and when all the women, except Evie, in the world go to sleep and don’t wake up, she is fought over, some want her for questioning, some one to cut her open to find the difference between her and others. Mostly the men seem to realize what they have lost, and they are willing to try anything. Frightening, exciting and one of his best, in my mind it is the best book yet!
Very much a Stephen King novel!! Love that he is writing with his son. Did not disappoint.
I was disappointed in this book. It just didn’t keep my attention, although I did finish it. It has been a few weeks since I read it, and it is barely memorable. It could have been so much better with just a little more creativity and work.
Haven’t finished it yet but wonderful so far!
Not his best but certainly worth reading.
SK fan!!!!
Always enjoyable
I have tried three times to read this book, it feels like a chore, so I officially gave up.
Great writing between Stephen and his son..
Owen King has quickly became one of my favorites. That he co-wrote with his father is just a bonus. Powerful world building!
This was the first King book I’ve ever read and I was drawn in from the first page. As a woman, I was entranced with the perspective and amazing storytelling. I couldn’t sleep after reading it, which is certainly telling of the convincingness of this book.
Edge of your seat, a real page turner
One of my first books by Stephen King & it made me a huge fan of his work & helped start my journey into Kings works of art
It’s been a while since I’ve read one of Stephen King’s doorstop of a books. I’ve missed doing so. Fortunately this novel completely satisfied me and made me happy.
The story is simple enough: one day, every women who falls asleep grows a cocoon and stays asleep. If someone tries to wake them, the women strikes out viciously killing whoever woke them before going back to sleep. But as with most Stephen King books, there is a lot more to what is happening. One woman, Evie Black, is highly connected to nature and knows how to bring the woman back, if they want to come back. I’m not going to spoil anything because discovery is the fun of most books.
I found the story very engaging and topical; the book covers many of the societal aspects prevalent within the #MeToo and woman’s equality movement now occurring. The book isn’t a political book but I’m sure many will mistake it as one. Portraying a world where a large set of the population disappears is going to have some political aspects, at least it will if that portrayal is going to be realistic. Anyway, back to the book. I haven’t read any books by Owen King yet so I don’t know his voice. To me, this novel very much came across as a Stephen King book. It had many of the elements of a typical Stephen King book. I kind of feel sorry for Owen because I think his contribution is going to be overlooked by many. However, it does make me want to hunt down an Owen King book so that I can experience his pure writing. Nothing I say here is going to entice or discourage you from reading this book. You’re either going to do so or not. If so, get to it. You’ll be pulled into another world.