The Institute
An epic thriller from the No.1 bestseller and an acclaimed TV series
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4.5 • 427 Ratings
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- £4.99
Publisher Description
***NOW A MAJOR TV SERIES ***
'It does everything you'd expect of a masterpiece - and it is one' Sunday Express
'Hums and crackles with delicious unease' Independent
'A captivating, hybrid novel that shape-shifts through several genres' The Sunday Times
Deep in the woods of Maine, there is a dark state facility where kids, abducted from across the United States, are incarcerated. In the Institute they are subjected to a series of tests and procedures meant to combine their exceptional gifts - telepathy, telekinesis - for concentrated effect.
Luke Ellis is the latest recruit. He's just a regular 12-year-old, except he's not just smart, he's super-smart. And he has another gift which the Institute wants to use...
Far away in a small town in South Carolina, former cop Tim Jamieson has taken a job working for the local sheriff. He's basically just walking the beat. But he's about to take on the biggest case of his career.
Back in the Institute's downtrodden playground and corridors where posters advertise 'just another day in paradise', Luke, his friend Kalisha and the other kids are in no doubt that they are prisoners, not guests. And there is no hope of escape.
But great events can turn on small hinges and Luke is about to team up with a new, even younger recruit, Avery Dixon, whose ability to read minds is off the scale. While the Institute may want to harness their powers for covert ends, the combined intelligence of Luke and Avery is beyond anything that even those who run the experiments - even the infamous Mrs Sigsby - suspect.
Thrilling, suspenseful, heartbreaking, THE INSTITUTE is a stunning novel of childhood betrayed and hope regained - and now a major TV series.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
King wows with the most gut-wrenching tale of kids triumphing over evil since It. In a quiet Minnesota neighborhood, intruders kidnap 12-year-old prodigy Luke Ellis and murder his parents. When Luke wakes up, he finds himself in a room identical to his own bedroom, except that he is now a resident of the Institute a facility that tests telekinetic and telepathic abilities of children. Luke finds comfort in the company of the children in the Front Half: Kalisha, Nick, George, and Avery. Others have graduated to the Back Half, where "kids check in, but they don't check out." The Front Half are promised that they'll be returned to their parents after testing and a visit to Back Half, but Luke becomes suspicious and desperate to get out and get help for the others. However, no child has ever escaped the Institute. Tapping into the minds of the young characters, King creates a sense of menace and intimacy that will have readers spellbound. The mystery of the Institute's purpose is drawn out naturally until it becomes far scarier than the physical abuse visited upon the children. Not a word is wasted in this meticulously crafted novel, which once again proves why King is the king of horror.
Customer Reviews
“The Institute” by Stephen King
‘The Institute’ is another fantastic novel in Stephen King’s modern run, and it has really struck a chord with me. The only thing that might not sit well with everyone is the political commentary and the fact that some of the characters don’t quite have the depth you’d expect from King’s usual small-town horror stories. However, the characters, especially the children, are wonderfully developed. The connections and relationships between them are both touching and deeply moving. The villains and the enigmatic Institute are well-crafted, the story moves at a good pace and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s definitely worth a read.
King back to his best
Very good read, only criticism is I wish he would get back to some horror!
Hmmm.
The story is ok, another typical king story, the political posturing and woke speak that he insists on including in his stories now are fast becoming a bore! King uses woke speak like a child with a new toy, couldn’t read while I was eating lunch and that wasn’t because of the story!