The Institute
By Stephen King
Published Year : 2019
Page Count : 570
Medium : Paperback
Genre : Contemporary, Science Fiction, Horror, Paranormal Fiction, Thriller, Children, Child Abuse, Child experiments,2023-read.
Rating : 5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Fantabulous. Mind blowing. Very heart warming and refreshing despite dealing in subjects of child abuse and exploitation. Reinstates Stephen King as a master story teller and a genius in orchestrating a spectacular thriller. He has an uncanny ability to channel the inner voices of children and not only make the reader empathize with them but root for them from the bottom of their heart. This is a book with children in lead characters. They do some brave, unbelievable,fantastic feats and as surreal as they might be, the story is so engrossing, magical - we believe in them anyway.
Children who are born with some special capabilities are kidnapped and secreted away in a remote place called the Institute. They are fed on drugs to boost their psychic powers, experimented and ruthlessly used to alter the events of the world. Enter into this world a bunch of kids of whom two are very notable - Avery with high power of telepathy and Luke with super high IQ and telekinesis. Luke manages to escape his imprisonment and finally with the help of "All" the other kids, topples the establishment running this secret operation. They shake the roots to its foundations both literally and figuratively. The illusory judgements the establishment has been offering itself to justify this massive, high scale exploitation of children also blow up in the face of reality and sane thinking.
I didn't understand why the book ended without the details and the horrors of what was perpetuated becoming public news. Perhaps it was to keep more rabble from rising. To ensure a peaceful and undisturbed world. Whatever it is, this story really got through to me. We naturally want to protect kids and ensure nothing happens to them. And this story hits hard on this very desire and makes one see the devastation and loss. Hard core!!