 Cover of Insomnia |
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| Author | Stephen King |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Horror, Fantasy novel |
| Publisher | Viking Press |
| Publication date | 1994 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 663 |
Insomnia is a novel written by Stephen King and first published in 1994. Like It and Dreamcatcher, its setting is the fictional town of Derry, Maine.
Contents |
Plot summary
The novel deals with Ralph Roberts, a retired widower who begins to suffer from insomnia. As the condition worsens, he begins to see things that are invisible and intangible to others: colorful manifestations of life-force surrounding people (auras), and diminutive white-coated beings he calls "little bald doctors", due to their appearance. Roberts becomes perceptive of other planes of reality and their influence upon the "real" world. Eventually, he finds that a friend of his, Lois Chasse, is also a sufferer. She joins him in his efforts to thwart the growing evil and learns the truth about the doctors — Lois and Ralph refer to these beings as Clotho and Lachesis (the good guys) and Atropos (the rogue doctor), the Moirae of mythology. The background for the story is an approaching confrontation between women's rights groups and pro-life activists. The story climaxes with Ed Deepneau, a deranged maniac and former neighbor of Roberts and Chasse, attempting to crash a light plane containing C4 explosives into the Derry Civic Center during a heavily-attended rally while under control of an entity called The Crimson King. Ralph and Lois think Ed's intention is to kill thousands of people in the immediate area; however, Ed is only brainwashed into becoming a kamikaze to help fulfill The Crimson King's true motive. The Crimson King wishes to kill a boy named Patrick Danville who plays a key role in The Dark Tower. Ralph defeats the King and forces the light plane to crash into the parking lot, sparing Patrick's life and allowing him to fulfill his destiny and setting the path for the Dark Tower series. The doctors explain that Ed's innocent daughter Natalie will die if things are left to their own, but Ralph makes a deal which will allow him to trade his life for Natalie's.
Derry's mystical nature
Of interest to those following King's body of work is the fact that this tale goes some way in explaining the mystical nature of Derry (see, for example, It). Also, some of the metaphysical concepts underlying the Dark Tower series, and background story of Patrick Danville are discussed.
Trivia
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- Both Ralph Roberts and Joe Wyzer reappear in Bag of Bones.
- "In the Court of the Crimson King", a line that was in several parts of the novel, is an album by the British progressive rock group King Crimson.
- The Crimson King is the main villain of The Dark Tower.
- King's novel Pet Sematary is referenced when Lois and Ralph are in Atropos's lair, they find the shoe of Gage Creed, "run down by a speeding tanker-truck on Route 15 in Ludlow." Pet Sematary takes place in Ludlow, Maine and Gage is killed by a speeding tanker-truck whose driver was not paying attention. In this book, however, it is implied that his death was caused by the power of Atropos.
- The Dark Tower, from King's series of the same name, is shown to Ralph while being told about how life actually is.
- Ralph Roberts dreams about his wife having been buried up to the head at the beach, below the high-tide line. This is the same way that Harry and his girlfriend were buried in Something to Tide you Over, one of the segments of Creepshow.
- Mike Hanlon, a character from It, shows up, and gives Helen Deepneau a job at the library. No outright mention of the events of It occur, but many characters throughout the book reference that the town of Derry has a dark past.
- Bill tells Ralph that some homophobic people once beat a gay man named Adrian Mellon to death in Derry. This a reference to the novel It, where Adrian is thrown off the bridge on which he is being beaten, and then eaten by Pennywise the Clown.
- While escaping from the Crimson King's presence, Ralph encounters the deadlights, which were seen frequently in It.
- Patrick Danville returns in The Dark Tower VII. In Insomnia he describes both the Crimson King and "another king" named Roland being in his dreams. The continuity present in Insomnia, however, is ignored or changed. The most obvious examples include the Crimson King not being trapped at the top of the Dark Tower (when he is actually trapped on a 1st floor balcony) and Patrick Danville, while ultimately defeating the Crimson King, not dying while saving two men.
Nominations
Insomnia was nominated for a Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel in 1994.
Possible Movie
According to interviews with Director Rob Schmidt (Wrong Turn), he stared that "I'm doing the film mainly because King was such a big fan of Wrong Turn!" This has had an ill affect on King fans stating that the books metaphysical plot, surreal imagery, and heavy connections to the Dark Tower epic may make it almost impossible to translate into a movie. Such the same with Hearts of Atlantis which also had a heavy Dark Tower connection. IMDb hasn't confirmed the beginning of production as of yet.
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