A great story, ruined by discordant instrumentals.

Would you try another book written by Stephen King or narrated by Eli Wallach?

Definitely written by Stephen King, I have almost all his books in hard copy as well as audible and e books.

How could the performance have been better?

I think Will Patton or Kate Mulgrew would have been a better choice as narrator, they adapt their voices well for the characters.

Do you think Insomnia needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Follow up books can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on how they are written, just as with films.

Any additional comments?

The awful instrumentals laced throughout this book ruined it for me. I have read it in hard copy and was really looking forward to listening while driving or doing housework. I can't express how disappointed I was that a good story was ruined so badly by that strident "music"

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13 people found this helpful

Death comes in two flavours

If you could sum up Insomnia in three words, what would they be?

Death has morals

If you’ve listened to books by Stephen King before, how does this one compare?

It holds up well. The story is good but I found the main character, Ralph Roberts, to be a little unlikable. It doesn't bode well when you know he's trying to do good but you secretly want him to fail!

Which character – as performed by Eli Wallach – was your favourite?

Lois is a lovely lady. She certainly brought out the best in Ralph in more ways than one!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No. It was hard to listen at times. No reflection on the author or the reader, it just was.

Any additional comments?

The story and concept are good and very interesting. I wish Ralph was a little more likable but it may be that King was characterising to account for someone suffering with insomnia and getting crotchety.

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Stupid Music

This is one of my fave books but why oh why is that silly music played over the top of the reader really spoilt my listening experience, whoever had the idea of adding music please think again.

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Annoying ‘dramatic’ musical input

Great story and well read, however..... Some bright spark decided to include jarring, loud, scratching ‘music’ for dramatic effect periodically throughout the piece! Often so loud it drowned out the speaker. For me it ruined a good performance and an a excellent story. Please do not do it again!!

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Great book, shame about the soundtrack.

What did you like best about this story?

Insomnia is Stephen King doing what Stephen King does best: Putting ordinary people in bizzare situations and forcing them to adapt as the strangeness gets amped further and further up. Its nice too, when there is a tentative link to other books in the King-verse.

What about Eli Wallach’s performance did you like?

At first it felt like listening to Jimmeny Cricket telling a horror story, but as the story goes on, and more members are added to the cast, Eli Wallach proves himself to be the perfect man to voice the largely octogenarian cast.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

There are several funny moments throughout the book, peppered through the horror and fantasy aspects as the characters find ways to cope with the craziness that they've been thrust into by the little white men, and of course Mr King. It did manage to raise a tear or two as well. I would have to say, its probably the first time I've been sad to finish a Stephen King book and to say goodbye to the characters.

Any additional comments?

All in all the audiobook is great, with the exception of the soundtrack. Once in a while when things are either dramatic or pivotal, atmospheric music comes in. This music though, is often jarring and so far up in the mix as to sometimes make it difficult to make out the narrator, who can sometimes be quite softly spoken. Listening on headphones I often had the volume up quite high, and frequently had to turn the volume down after getting painfully blasted by screeching rhythmic guitars. Its a shame, because generally atmospheric music has been something that I've felt alot of audiobooks could benefit from, to heighten the dramatic experience (after all, most of us will listen to music when we read). On this occasion though, it detracted from the listening experience,

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Random music

The strange jarring music is totally unnecessary. Not sure about some of the narrators pronunciation

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Pointless music

All great as usual, but filled pointless bloody music and sounds at the end of each chapter.!

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Almost perfect

Another great King novel. However, this version has awful "music" in parts that are just awful. The sound levels of them with the narration are off and I would not recommend listening to this when trying to fall asleep. The "music" will scare you far more than the story.

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Very engaging.

Whenever I read Stephen King I lose myself in his words and vividly imagine the scenario he paints.
I chose an Audible version of the book Insomnia as I drive long distances and the radio can seem soulless.
The Audible book allowed me to emotionally connect with the narrative and I actually cried at the end.
Loved the reader and his voice, will definitely choose another Audible book immediately!

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Ruined

I read the paperback version of Insomnia several years ago and absolutely loved the story, the characters, setting, everything. So I thought it would be a nice thing to rediscover it again in audiobook for. Seeing as it was read by Eli Wallachtoo added an unnecessary incentive for me to get the book.
Sadly though, I was wrong. First, as much as I respect Mr Wallach he was the wrong choice for narration. He does not give a lot of differing, convincing characterisation, nor convey the characters’ emotion very well throughout. At times sounding like he is straining his voice in case the wrong people in the real world should complain about his swearing or shouting.
That said, the short-comings of his narrative performance pails next to the unfathomably poor logic behind the decision regarding the “music” accompanying each chapter of the book. To say it is unnecessary, intrusive, an affront to the ears, perfectly destroys your submergence into the mood of the book is doing it a woeful injustice!
The tuneless “nails-on-blackboard” screeching violins and heavy electric guitar are not only wholesomely out of place but they also completely and comprehensively destroy the listeners’ experience and entertainment of the already weak performance.
I would advise falling back to the paperback if you are reading the reviews and considering the audiobook or perhaps the ebook version. This offering is simply appalling.

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