I have a rocky relationship with Steven King books. I love some of his books while others are some of the most disappointing books I've ever read. Part of that is that horror simply isn't my preferred genre, but that isn't all of it, because some of the better Steve King books are horror while others, which are more science fiction in nature simply didn't work. Still, I make it a practice to read one Steve King book every year. This year it was The Institute.

It is almost impossible to talk about this book without some minor spoilers, but the truth is once you're into the book it's fairly clear that either certain things are going to happen or you're going to be exceedingly disappointed in this story. So, if you're going forward be aware that while I'll avoid any of the major surprises at the end of the book if you want to go in without knowing anything then I'll just tell you it's worth your time and suggest you move on.

For those of you who are sticking around, the basic idea of The Institute is fairly simple. There is an organization that tracks down and kidnaps kids with psychic powers. These powers are usually very minor in the order of either getting a stray thought from someone or knocking over a tin can (if it's empty). The main character is Luke, a genius twelve year old who has been taken not because he has been accepted to two different colleges at the same time, but because doors occasionally slam shut when he's upset.

The nature of The Institute is kept secret from the kids and since Luke is the point of view character it's largely kept secret from the reader as well except for a few hints to keep the suspense up. Though I'm not sure that is necessary.

Like many Stephen King books this is a bit longer than necessary for my tastes, but pulling you along through the entire story is the need to see almost every adult in the story be killed. That is because they are all complicit in the kidnapping and abuse of children as well as most of them being sociopaths who enjoy what they are doing to the kids, though they all claim throughout that what they are doing is saving the world

This is a Steven King book and if you like those you're probably going to like this. But if you're worried that this is one of the many Stephen King books in which he sets up an interesting premise and then allows it to collapse in on itself by the end and then just kills everyone so the book can end then you can rest assured. The book does end with a fair amount of death and destruction, but it also has an ending that feels organic and earned rather than frustrating and exhausting.