11/22/63

11/22/63 by Stephen King

For all the Stephen King haters out there, this book is not horror.  Also, Stephen King is one of the few writers that can develop a character in a single paragraph to the point where you are completely engaged with that character and are ready to delve into the depths of the story with that person so if you hate horror, pick one of his other books and read it (like this one).

For those old enough to remember, 11/22/63 was the date that John F. Kennedy was shot and killed.  Now, if you were a writer and could write a "what if" with regards to that date, what would you do?

Being a lover of time travel in the Outlander series as well as traveling with The Doctor, this book was right up my alley.  If you can suspend your disbelief long enough to read this wonderful "what if", I highly recommend it.

I loved this book.  The character, Jake Epping, was wonderfully believable.  I was engaged with his inner-wrestling.  I thought he was great making up stories on the fly (and I was ready to believe that he was the one making this stuff up).  This was a great trip back in history and I learned much about Lee Harvey Oswald but also what life was like in the late 50's and early 60's.  I have always had a vision of Happy Days but that isn't really the picture portrayed by King.  The anachronisms that rise up to bite Jake in the butt at times, were often sneaky enough that I didn't catch them.  I would be terrible at time travel in the long-term.  Sure, I could probably pop in to a different time for a day or two but for many years, I would probably fail miserably.

Anyway, before I blow it and give too much away, just read this book.