Stephen King's The Institute - Review

The Institute by Stephen King

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Approximately 800,000 children are reported missing each year in the United States alone. Stephen King’s immersive thriller questions what may happen to the thousands of those children who are never found, lost forever within the walls of ‘The Institute’.

Chance circumstances lead ex-police officer Tim Jamieson to take up the job of Night Knocker in the small town of DuPray, a decision that leads him to stay longer than planned. Meanwhile, exceptionally bright Luke Ellis, only twelve years old, is already facing a crossroads in his life, having surpassed all the education his school can offer him. As well as his academic talents, Luke is also struggling to understand the hint of telekinetic ability he possesses.

One night, a team of strangers breaks into Luke’s home, murdering his parents and kidnapping him. He wakes in a secret, secluded facility, where experiments are conducted on children with the explanation that their purpose is to achieve a greater good. Luke befriends several of his fellow prisoners and it soon becomes clear that between them they possess telekinetic or telepathic abilities to varying degrees, something that those behind the Institute are attempting to enhance and harness for their own purposes.

Their situation appears hopeless, their fates inevitable. But when a new resident arrives at the Institute – Avery Dixon, a young boy with exceptional telepathic abilities – Luke realises there is a glimmer of hope. Together, Luke and Avery devise an audacious escape plan; one that will, by chance, lead to both the town of DuPray and into the heart of the Institute itself, threatening this secret facility to its very foundations.

When you pick up a Stephen King novel, you are submerged in the life of the characters and, by the end, left with the sense of the journey those characters have experienced between the beginning and the end. Stories at their best conjure and provoke thoughts and feelings, blending them together in a way that allows the tale to touch your very soul. King is a master of telling such stories and ‘The Institute’ is another fine example – packed with well-developed characters and detailed plotting that sucks you in to the emotional and intellectual plights of each character and situation. Moral and ethical questions are raised throughout, while the main characters are thrown into peril, building to a dramatic climax.

With shades of sci-fi and conspiracy thrillers blended with horror, the novel shines in its characterisation of the imprisoned children and how, even in the most horrific and terrifying of circumstances, they build solid, emotional bonds with each other. This is a story about friendship, standing for justice, and putting trust and faith in others even when the odds are stacked against you.

Another intense, gripping and emotionally-resonant thriller in the ever-expanding bibliography of a master storyteller.



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