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11.22.63 cover art

11.22.63

By: Stephen King
Narrated by: Craig Wasson
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Summary

What if you could go back in time and change the course of history? What if the watershed moment you could change was the JFK assassination? 11.22.63, the date that Kennedy was shot - unless....

King takes his protagonist Jake Epping, a high school English teacher from Lisbon Falls, Maine, 2011, on a fascinating journey back to 1958 - from a world of mobile phones and iPods to a new world of Elvis and JFK, of Plymouth Fury cars and Lindy Hopping, of a troubled loner named Lee Harvey Oswald and a beautiful high school librarian named Sadie Dunhill, who becomes the love of Jake's life - a life that transgresses all the normal rules of time.

With extraordinary imaginative power, King weaves the social, political and popular culture of his baby-boom American generation into a devastating exercise in escalating suspense.

©2011 Stephen King (P)2011 Simon & Schuster Audio

Critic reviews

“This new epic from Stephen King rates among the best he’s written – no small praise for the man who wrote Carrie, It, The Stand and Under the Dome.” ( Trucking News)

What listeners love about 11.22.63

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Return to top form

Having spent a great deal of my early adult reading life hungrily devouring everything King produced, i went though a period where i felt that his early raw, powerful prose had became stale in a 'how many words can i use instead of one' kinda way. I 'listened' to this and realised that although i was getting on the King bus a stop or two late, the quality of the jouney paid back the price of the ticket. ( i have since listened to Under the Dome and thanks to these intend to back track and re-find King all over again.)
The book? I found it so very good that i sat down to write this, my first ever review.
King's love for all things 60's Americana shines through. His characters say 'howdy' and instill themselves into your lives. The settings are so vividly well drawn as to make you feel that you're returning to a place once lived at. He even introduces a couple of Derry characters from a previous book - Bevie from the Levey and Ritchie from the Ditchie from 'It'
The narration was excellent. Craig Wasson's accents were so so good; his impersonations of JFK himself - and a radio commentator i forget the name of now; Kronkite maybe - were superb. I listened to this, as i do with all my audio books, whilst travelling, and found that the length of my journeys multiplied as my enjoyment increased. Please purchase this audio book; i cant guarantee that you'll enjoy it, at least not in a 'money back' way, i just know you will.

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76 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Gripping. Superb.

Absolutely fantastic epic.

Stunning detail, characters and environments. Fantastic intertwining of fact and fiction, superbly narrated by Craig Wasson.

Most stories involving anything to do with time travel in any way, invariably have a shockingly poor ending. Not so here. Really well tied up and well, read the book (or listen).

Bad side: You'll probably want to put normal life on hold whilst listening to this.

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61 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

NOT A CONSPIRACY STORY!!

Reading the reviews of the audio and book version I can see why people are split on it. For me, I thought it was stunning. Craig Wasson's reading at times was genuinely moving and managed to bring me to tears and "I am not what you would call a crying man". The ending while some would say could be predicted is delivered in a way that it is at times shocking but also deeply moving.

The story centres on 1 man, Jake Epping; and is 1st person narrative so is deeply descriptive and paints truly wonderful images of a time that Stephen King seems to hold dear, the trip back to Derry was great and at the same time chilling resulting in me grabbing my copy of IT for a re-read!

Do not go in to this book expecting a JFK story, that isn’t what you’re getting and in fact JFK doesn’t appear till part 4 of the download! It's a time travel story, it's a romance, it's a tragedy, it's a comedy but most of all it’s a story of 1 man trying to do the right thing.

I honestly don’t think you can go wrong with this book, give it a little time, let the images and the characters wash over you and just… live as Jake Epping did.

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31 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

11.22.63 Stephen King..Reigns supreme!!

Stephen King surpasses himself with this latest novel.The writing is crafted beautifully and grips the listner from the opening lines. I lived(and loved) every moment of the book so good was the narration by Craig Wasson. Fans of the JFK saga and 60's America will love it. The canvas and spirit of the age is evocative, and for those who lived through it ,nostalgic.
It's crying out to translate to the silver screen.

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23 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Back on Form

Stephen King's books are almost always 'good reads', but this is the master back on top form. A superbly crafted story that evokes the world of 'ago' (1958 - 1963) quite brilliantly. I remember the Kennedy assassination and wondered how King would manage to deal with the event. He deals with it very neatly indeed! NO spoilers here - you'll have to download it to see exactly how he does it. The narration is brilliant - why doesn't Crag Wasson do all King's stories for Audible?
If you don't download this, you're missing something very special indeed.

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17 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

absolutely excellent

this book is well written & very well read. i found myself willing the characters not to take a particular course of action, do activity. the thorny issue of time travel paradoxes were dealt with very well and I thoroughly enjoyed the story. more please!

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16 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

"The Past Is Obdurate."

Can our hero change the past? Does it want to be changed?
A brilliant book by an author I hadn't read before. It contains different elements: history (the assassination of JFK), time travel (a portal in present time to 1958), murder (removing folk to change the future) and love (brought tears to my eyes a couple of times - yes, really). The narrator, Craig Wasson, is fantastic, bringing the characters to life and making it very hard to switch off. Hope my next selection is as enjoyable. Recommended.

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15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Doubly perfect

The combination of this intricate and spellbinding story with the wonderful narration makes this audiobook an absolute joy. This was my first Stephen King book which I bought because of the great reviews, though I had previously connected him with the horror genre which is not really my scene. However, I loved this book and and I will be going back for more of his work as I didn't want it to end. The characters are so beautifully drawn and evoke empathy and involvement in the reader/listener and the story is beautifully conceived and plotted. Excellent.

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    5 out of 5 stars

Pretty damn good.

I must start out with an opinion posted at another site. One that almost kept me from listening to this book. The book was given an awful rating, because the premise was ludicrous. A man is contacted by a near stranger, a magical time hole etc.

Well the reviewer was correct. But other than the Shawshank Redemption, I cannot think of a Stephen King story, that does NOT begin with an unreasonable premise. Vampire invades a town? Hotel with an evil soul? Coma patient who wakes with premonitions. Psychic high school dance massacre?

Mr. King takes a bizarre, what-if premise and runs with it. It's one of the things he does. This story is no different. The key is, HOW he runs with it. His style seems so easy. It must be tough as nails, but he makes it seem easy. The dialogue natural, like those that go on inside of our heads. The odd little things his characters see and Notice.

A fun, detailed, time trip. Very much worth the read. Enjoy.

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13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Strangely endearing....

I had finished listening to The Stand and Under the Dome and decided to download this after reading such promising reviews. Firstly let me state this book is completely different to most of his other work and NOT a typical horror novel at all. Honestly, I was unsure of this book but continued to listen anyway, I'm so glad I did. It is in parts simply beautiful, I loved being transported to another world, where the characters were wonderful, colourful and endearing. It's so easy to visualise the 60's as King diligently illustrates the picture through Jake's eyes. The narration is superb. I found nearing the end of the book I was gripped but had a lump in my throat, some of the characters are so easy to empathise with and I felt their sorrow.

It is apparent that King has researched the book greatly, it's beautifully written and the characters are charming.

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  • roy
  • 12-11-11

Excellent!!! sai King

I dont often write review, but this book has just cost me two nights sleep, i could not stop listening to it.
The story construction was excellent, it really got the grey matter turning..
That said its not the typical Stephen King novel, horror was lacking which is a breath of fresh air.
Stephen King just shows what a truely great story teller he really is in this very long but highly enjoyable book.

This is the first time ive listened to the narrator, Craig Wasson was perfect, i now rate him among the best and will be looking for more titles he reads,
thankyou thankyou thankyou, now for some catch up sleep...

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  • Janie
  • 24-11-11

the best!

I am now going to have to review all my previous book reviews and down grade them all to a 4 because none reaches the standard of this book by Stephen King. This is his best so far. The plot is well researched, interesting and very entertaining. The overriding theme is love, care for mother earth, and the world that is our reality. King has described with great thought about the world and how it might have turned out somewhat differently if changes to historical facts had occurred. I found this book immensely satisfying and thoroughly recommend it. I was a bit hesitant about the reader for for about the first minute but was quickly absorbed into the story and the storytelling by the narrator who is a true artist. Much better than The Dome. I will think about this book for a long time to come.

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  • Patrick
  • 12-12-11

Simply the best audio book I have listened too

I haven't been much of a Stephen King fan but when I saw this book I was interested in the premise so I decided to give it a listen. There are so many things that I enjoyed about this audio book that the review I could write would be longer than the book itself! The narration was done in such a good way that I felt I was sitting down at the kitchen table while the main character was just telling me his story. I found myself being sucked in the story so much that the only thing that was missing was my ability to stop and ask questions,

Now...being someone that belives that there is no way Oswald operated alone, or fired the fatal shot for that matter, that aspect of the story challenged me, but hey.. isn't that what good chats around the kitchen table are suppose to do!??

A++++ from me..

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    4 out of 5 stars
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  • Brodie
  • 20-11-11

You can 'smell & taste' the past!

A great yarn indeed and worth every dime, penny or drachma. My first foray into Stephen King’s world and loved it. It must have been very hard to write to keep the thread working for he has so many balls in play, making it believable would not have been easy but he does. Great fun for any baby boomer who wants a totally different slant on what did, didn’t or might have taken place in Dallas all those years ago. Great read too which makes it a bonus.

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  • Steve
  • 17-03-12

sorry when it finished

king is a great storyteller and the narrator made it even better. I was really sorry when the book ended, and I did not expect the outcome which was sad and a bit of a surprise.

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  • Amanda W-G
  • 23-02-12

My First Stephen King Book I've Ever Finished

What made the experience of listening to 11.22.63 the most enjoyable?

The story is absolutely amazing. The story is so much more then the storyline.

What other book might you compare 11.22.63 to and why?

Nothing, it's unique. I loved it.

Have you listened to any of Craig Wasson’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No I haven't but I give him 10 stars. This was my absolute favorite audible book and it wasn't just because the story is amazing. Craig Wasson did a wonderful narrative.

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

Lol, ok that's funny. The book is 31hrs long to listen to. No this is not a book I wanted to listen to in one sitting. But, it wasn't just because of the length of the book. The story was so in depth that I really enjoyed listening to it on my commute and then getting the chance to sit and ponder the concepts.

Any additional comments?

I have never been able to finish a Stephen King book before. Don't get me wrong I understand Stephen King is an amazing author. His other books are just not my genre. I honestly let that hold me back a few times when I viewed this book online. I thought it sounded interesting but let the predominant genre of Stephen King's other books hold me back. If you're in the same boat I was in just buy this book. It's absolutely amazing. You wont be disappointed.

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    3 out of 5 stars
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  • Sam
  • 19-04-12

I kept waiting for something to REALLY happen...

It was a long listen for what turned out to be way more of a love story than anything else, and I just didn't want that! So it might be just my reaction, but in the end I listened to the whole lot to then think I really need not have bothered. However, if you are interested in an alternative history fiction with a strong, long, love story then this may be for you.

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  • Christopher J. Ward
  • 09-01-12

A brilliant piece of work.

I confess to not being a Stephen King fan, despite wading through a few superficially attractive works. I managed a sneak preview of this work and then went straight to audible.com.

This is a long story about time-travel and its perils and paradoxes and Mr King has excelled himself. Working initially on the somewhat unlikely premise that the world would have been a better place had JFK not been assassinated, the hero is a rather nice person who becomes hardened by experience. A port to the past or rabbit hole has been the secret of a hot-dog restaurant who has made slight changes to the past which have had no world-wide change but a cigar-chomping, old marine has terminal cancer and time is running out. Enter the hero Jake Epping, who eats at the old boy's premises and has become friendly. The dying marine has a burning ambition - to prevent that day in Dallas. He obviously cannot achieve the goal but youth, a growing empowerment and a couple of simple excursions to alter history slightly for the benefit of others,not himself, show him that time-travel has potential problems with history trying to be "obdurate" but he persists.

The death of his marine pal leaves him little choice and a moral dilemma. To say more would be to give some of the plot away and that is something I will not countenance because Mr King deserves every accolade possible for this work. I remember the 1950s well and he has it down pat, trading off the advantages of a cleaner time than 2011, although his hero certainly misses cell phones. The characterizations are finely drawn and thoroughly believable,, along with the premises of the plot.

I would go so far as to say that if you don't buy another book this year, this is the one - an absolute gem.

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  • adam
  • 06-12-11

Loved It!

Really enjoyed this one, was a bit different from some of his other stuff, if ur a King fan like me, get it you wont be disappointed!

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  • Kylie Bishop
  • 13-05-12

Way too long!

Don't get me wrong, this is a great story. The premise of time travelling to alter events is really interesting, but the author goes into way too much detail about things that don't affect the storyline. I found myself wishing that the story would just get to the point. I wanted to hear this book so badly, but found myself really bored and disappointed. It would have been fantastic in an abridged format!

The narrator is great and does a good job.

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