Review: The Institute

The Institute by Stephen King
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Who doesn't love when the King talks psychic abilities??

Maybe not the spine-tingling, goosebumps-raising horror I was expecting but thoroughly enjoyable all the same!

Setting the scene: Kid genius Luke goes from dreaming of college to waking up in an unfamiliar 'Institute' for 'gifted' kids. Turns out they don't even care that he's a genius at 12 - the people running the Institute only care that he occasionally flips empty pizza pans with his mind. He's in there with a bunch of other 'special' kids who have also been abducted, and what lies in store for them is not a good time.

I LOVED the setup, and the personalities of the different kids. If a sequel comes out featuring these badass youngsters, I AM THERE. Nicky of course with his attitude is a fave but also just the way they connect - they're all in it together and it makes them a solid unit. I liked that.

King seems more focused on the hands of fate here, and as the story unspools we understand there's a lot here about choices and consequences. On the surface, however, we get this neat little thriller about a bunch of talented kids stuck in a seemingly helpless situation.

I appreciated that these kids weren't Carrie-level gifted. There's nothing hugely special about any of them, except for the new addition, Avery, whose mind-reading ability is slightly stronger than most. No big.

'Great events turn on small hinges.'

There's a bit of a kids-vs-adults mentality, but it's cleverly countered with a helpful housekeeper and Tim, a former cop who finds himself mixed up in things incidentally. I think this was an important element, because when it comes down to it, these kids are still just kids. Plus the relationship between Tim and Luke reminds me a little bit of Roland and Jake and I will never not love the bond between those two. I think it was important to recognise that the kids were just ordinary kids, despite their abilities. This was well done.

Sadly some minor errors, with wrong names being used in a few places, but ultimately easy enough to overlook for another addictive ride from the King. It wasn't scary, so to speak, but there was still a cleverness to the thrills and certainly a few moments when I found myself holding my breath and just hoping things didn't go awry.

Maybe not his best work - a bit of a sprawl and less complex than some - but I enjoyed it all the same. There's room here to revisit some of the characters and expand on events, which gives me hope we will see more from this world.

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