The Institute by Stephen King

The Institute: A Novel by Stephen King

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Stephen King whose “storytelling transcends genre” (Newsday) comes “another winner: creepy and touching and horrifyingly believable” (The Boston Globe) about a group of kids confronting evil.

Synopsis:

In the middle of the night, in a house on a quiet street in suburban Minneapolis, intruders silently murder Luke Ellis’s parents and load him into a black SUV. The operation takes less than two minutes.

Luke will wake up at The Institute, in a room that looks just like his own, except there’s no window.

And outside his door are other doors, behind which are other kids with special talents - telekinesis and telepathy and who got to this place the same way Luke did: Kalisha, Nick, George, Iris, and ten-year-old Avery Dixon.

They are all in Front Half. Others, Luke learns, graduated to Back Half, “like the roach motel,” Kalisha says. “You check in, but you don’t check out.”

In this most sinister of institutions, the director, Mrs. Sigsby, and her staff are ruthlessly dedicated to extracting from these children the force of their extranormal gifts. There are no scruples here. If you go along, you get tokens for the vending machines. If you don’t, punishment is brutal. As each new victim disappears to Back Half, Luke becomes more and more desperate to get out and get help. But no one has ever escaped from the Institute.

Summary:

As psychically terrifying as Firestarter, and with the spectacular kid power of It, The Institute is “first-rate entertainment that has something important to say. We all need to listen” (The Washington Post).

About the Author: Stephen King

Stephen Edwin King, born September 21, 1947, in Portland, Maine, is a highly acclaimed and prolific American author known for his horror, supernatural fiction, and suspense novels. He is often referred to as "The King" or "The King of Horror". King's books have sold over 350 million copies worldwide and many of his works have been adapted into successful films and television series.

Early Life and Career:

King grew up in Maine with his mother after his parents separated when he was a toddler. He attended the University of Maine, where he wrote for the school newspaper and met his future wife, Tabitha Spruce.

• After graduating, he taught high school English while continuing to write short stories.
• His first novel, Carrie, was published in 1974, launching his career as a horror author.

Literary Works:

• King has written over fifty novels, two hundred short stories, and nine collections of short fiction.
• His works include The Shining, The Stand, The Dead Zone, and It.
• He also wrote under the pseudonym Richard Bachman.
• Many of his novels and short stories have been adapted into films, including The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, 1408 and Misery.

Personal Life:

• King is married to Tabitha Spruce and they have three children: Naomi, Joe, and Owen.
• He is also a philanthropist, supporting education and community programs through his foundation.
• King has battled drug addiction in the past, but he has overcome it and is now a recovered addict.