Book Review: The Institute

The Institute, By Stephen King

The beginning of this book is wonderful, if a bit drawn out. It's the backstory of a guy who will return later in the tale, and you just know he's gonna be a good guy.

Then we hear about the Institute, a dark and shadowy (we never really learn) ... company? ... government entity? ... military operation? ... that kidnaps children for its own nefarious reasons. And we meet Luke Ellis, a 12-year-old genius from the Twin Cities, who is about to start attending MIT in Cambridge and nearby Emerson College in Boston to pursue separate degrees simultaneously. In a rare trope reversal, Luke is emotionally well adjusted and has perfect vision, without the need for dorky glasses. But Luke does have one outstanding characteristic -- a mild form of telekinesis, which means he sometimes can move things around by thinking about it. He's not great at it, but that could change.

Luke is kidnapped and taken to the Institute, where he meets and befriends the kids -- Kalisha, Nick, George, Iris, and others -- already there, who fill him in as best they can on what is going down. All of them are subjected to various physical and mental tests -- Stasi Lights, shots for dots, the kids call some of them -- for unknown reasons. Sometimes, the kids disappear to the Back Half of the building, but we are told little about that.

But about halfway through, things start to get thrillery, as the good guys and the bad guys run and chase the other. Kings displays some great writing, as usual, even when you feel a need to roll your eyes at some of the plot twists. He also depends on stereotypes -- even as he delights in pointing out some of his anti-stereotypes.

Slotting The Institute in the final place
 on the bottom shelf of my SK bookcase.

For instance, during a gun battle in a small southern town, residents come out of their houses, all carrying guns, and they know how to use them. "This is the South," they said.

And this King story continues to dabble in various conspiracy theories about the government, businesses, and the people -- although no one knows exactly who they are -- who are really running the country and controlling the world.

All in all, it's a basic King book. Not his best, and far from his worst. It has good writing -- if a bit overdone. It has decent characters, if a bit lazily developed. And it has a fine story -- even if you have sneaking suspicion that King wrote parts of it for his other books.