11.22.63

Mr King's writing, characterization, narrative skills, research are all displayed to great effect. Some of the inventions and reworkings of the whole literary concept of time travel are marvellous. For me though the book runs onto three very serious rocks. First the utterly uncritical assumption that JFK was a Good Thing and that his assassination was a Very Bad Thing Indeed. Perhaps you have to be an American, but for me he was a significant politician not a saint and his tragic demise was not the pivotal moment of the 20th century. The unthinking acceptance of this basic premise by otherwise rational characters in the book also jars. Second the entirely deus ex machina plot nonsense about why the dude has to die after all. It might as well have been an invasion of Giant Killer Tomatos. Third the utter refusal to engage with any fol-de-rol regarding free will versus predestination which actually becomes a tiresome ducking of the central question. The book ends up being annoying rather than satisfying.* Nevertheless (refer to my opening paragraphs) I doubt anyone would regret reading this book. [* As is the classification under science fiction rather than under fantasy by Google.]

The book was enjoyable and the topic enganging. It's clear that a great deal of research went into it but I can't help but feel that something is amiss. I'm not a 'die hard' King fan, in fact the only other title I've read of his is Needful Things, so it has nothing to do with expectations. I can't put my finger on it...

A great story. The first two adjectives in my summary are a standard fixture in reviews of Stephen King's novels. The third applies here because it would have been easy to write this novel without offering an opinion on the real people and events it portrays. But that wouldn't have been a very good book at all.