Combining the suspense of The Outsider with the childhood camaraderie in It, The Institute is a powerful new novel from Stephen King which is destined to become the number one blockbuster of autumn 2019.

Deep in the woods of Maine, there is a dark state facility where kids, abducted from across the United States, are incarcerated. In the Institute they are subjected to a series of tests and procedures meant to combine their exceptional gifts - telepathy, telekinesis - for concentrated effect.

Luke Ellis is the latest recruit. He's just a regular 12-year-old, except he's not just smart, he's super-smart. And he has another gift which the Institute wants to use....

Far away in a small town in South Carolina, former cop Tim Jamieson has taken a job working for the local Sheriff. He's basically just walking the beat. But he's about to take on the biggest case of his career.

Back in the Institute's downtrodden playground and corridors where posters advertise 'just another day in paradise', Luke, his friend Kalisha and the other kids are in no doubt that they are prisoners, not guests. And there is no hope of escape.

But great events can turn on small hinges, and Luke is about to team up with a new, even younger recruit, Avery Dixon, whose ability to read minds is off the scale. While the Institute may want to harness their powers for covert ends, the combined intelligence of Luke and Avery is beyond anything that even those who run the experiments - even the infamous Mrs Sigsby - suspect.

Thrilling, suspenseful, heartbreaking, The Institute is a stunning novel of childhood betrayed and hope regained.

Listening Length

19 hours and 59 minutes
Author

Stephen King
Narrator

Santino Fontana
Audible release date

10 September 2019
Language

English
Publisher

Hodder & Stoughton
ASIN

B07NBZ653F
Version

Unabridged
Program Type

Audiobook
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Product details

Listening Length	18 hours and 59 minutes
Author	Stephen King
Narrator	Santino Fontana
Whispersync for Voice	Ready
Audible.com.au Release Date	10 September 2019
Publisher	Hodder & Stoughton
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Unabridged
Language	English
ASIN	B07NBZ653F
Best Sellers Rank	1,798 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) 10 in Supernatural Thrillers (Audible Books & Originals) 40 in Supernatural Thrillers (Books) 76 in Adventure Science Fiction

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Top reviews from Australia

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Phillip Clark

An Epic of the standard of some of his earlier works.

Reviewed in Australia on 25 June 2020

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King has really done it again. Unbelievable that after all those years he can still put together a story that has it all. This saga starts off at an interesting pace with a single character and just when you are getting into it, it moves into what appears to be a new story. I like this style and always look forward to the return to the start.
The characters are great and you love the hero's with a few laughs al a king.
A great yarn of a decent length that is a bit horror a bit sci-fi and overall a Damn good heart-string pulling story.
King hasn't lost his touch.

2 people found this helpful

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Brent Taylor

The Institute - A Great Read

Reviewed in Australia on 13 November 2019

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This book reminds me of the atrocities that the Nazis engaged in during the second world war. It presents the same scenario of hopelessness that must have been felt by the prisoners in the camps. But this book shows how that can be overcome when individuals come together. The timeline was well presented and I never lost track of where I was. Chilling and gripping! The usual excellence from this great author! Well worth a read.

One person found this helpful

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Mallrat

Horrible. And not in a good way.

Reviewed in Australia on 1 June 2021

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King has done what I thought was impossible; produced a putdownable book. Got 2/3 in, gave up. Too padded comes to mind and perhaps better as a short story treatment. A real short story treatment. The political stuff? Well, that's just some Pee Pee (Politics of the Privileged). We get it, you're hurting. Anyway, hope this was an aberration and not a new trend for one of my fav authors.

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Ebony Bennett

Another horror classic

Reviewed in Australia on 24 September 2019

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I love how Stephen King writes kids, I dunno how he gets it so right, but he always transports me back to that feeling - in IT, in The Body and now in The Institute.
I ripped through this book in just about one sitting and I hope someone snaps up the rights for a TV show because I would binge it.
The horror of the premise hooked me but, as always, it’s the small details he builds into these worlds that really suck you in.

2 people found this helpful

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Ellie Humphris

Ripping read

Reviewed in Australia on 26 July 2020

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Stephen King never fails to disappoint. I read this in one day as I couldn't put it down an my family for stuck with leftovers as I wasnt stopping to cook. Loved every moment

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John Stuart Plant

Wow what a great unputdownable read

Reviewed in Australia on 19 September 2019

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This book was admittedly my first Stephen King outing. And I was not disappointed. Move beyond the initial backstory and then it’s a roller coaster ride, one that philosophises while moves. That is, moving you into rooting for the main character/characters. Looking forward to my next King outing now!

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Zeilla

A good read

Reviewed in Australia on 12 June 2021

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I’m not a fan of this type of book but I did enjoy this. Was a tad predictable but then I wasn’t expecting otherwise. It was an easy read good story

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Rebecca

Exceptional

Reviewed in Australia on 15 October 2020

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I spent my non-reading minutes thinking about this book and what was going to happen next. I have had to finish it TONIGHT just so I can get a full nights sleep without wondering, and I am so glad I did, this book was amazing. There is no other way to describe it than exceptional. READER BE AWARE HOWEVER - the Author’s note had me burst into tears.

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Top reviews from other countries

Mary K.

Shut up about Trump

Reviewed in the United States on 16 September 2019

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It’s getting old and banal Mr. King. I was hoping to enjoy this book but alas, not to be. A word of advice though... If you continue to write, avoid politics so you don’t alienate half your reading audience because we are after all the force behind your income. Your Trump digs have nothing to do with the story. You're just a sorry old man trying to grand stand. I pick up a book to forget about the trivial day to day political b.s. so why do you feel the need to shove your beliefs down my throat? Wish I could get my money back on this but I won't purchase anything else from this author. I might also add that this book repeated itself over and over, had a slow moving story line and was hard to finish. Might be a good time for you to retire Mr. King...

3,173 people found this helpful

Michael D. Watson

Open Mouth, Insert Politics

Reviewed in the United States on 11 September 2019

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Preordered this book some months ago, as was always a fan. Then read some recent SK rants made comparing events in this novel to certain views on law enforcement at our borders. Immediately returned the book for refund before reading it. I will not make another SK purchase.

2,223 people found this helpful

Vicuña

Simply brilliant. King delivers again.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 10 September 2019

Verified Purchase

I’m a Stephen King fan. His storytelling remains captivating and horrifying in equal measure and he can still make my blood run cold. The Institute is another belting tale, showing his finely honed writing skills to perfection.

There’s a very ordinary start. Something at which King excels, small towns with ordinary people just going about their business. In this case a disgraced former cop settles in Du Pray (he loves his word play! I enjoy finding his hidden references. Eliot’s The Love Song of Alfred J Prufrock is there in a passing conversation and there must be more!) The story shifts to the Institute of the title. A shadowy place which houses children with exceptional gifts. They’re ordinary kids with extraordinary abilities who have little idea why they’re there and are fearful of the director Mrs Sigsby, and Stackhouse, the security manager. There are doctors and other adults who all play a part in a tale of dark secrets and exploitation.

So much of King’s writing is understated. He hooks you in with banal detail about people, places and conversations. It’s ordinary and almost mundane, but bit by bit he’s spinning an intricate web and setting the reader up for one twist after another. As usual, King is exploring a number of wide ranging themes. Saving the human race or maybe the planet, child abuse, extra sensory abilities, the Trump administration, minorities...it’s all there, predominantly adult’s inhumane treatment of children and loss of moral compass. As usual, King creates an array of distinct and memorable characters to shape his tale. He’s a master storyteller and his power to influence and challenge remain as relevant now as when he first started. This is a gripping and horribly plausible tale. Chilling, thought provoking and extraordinary. Simply brilliant.

133 people found this helpful

Miss Barbara

A great character study about people who justify their horrible choices

Reviewed in the United States on 11 September 2019

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King writes so well about the innocence of kids. He also writes at his best when the subject is pure evil. Slap them together and you have The Institute. The book starts in a simple little town where a cop passing through takes a job as a night knocker. There's a kid, a really smart kid, who's 12 years old and getting ready to attend MIT because he's, you know, special. That's the setting. From there it gets chilling. Even without ghosts, or vampires or outer space boogie men.

The child, Luke, is taken in the middle of the night. His folks are murdered. He wakes up at The Institute in Maine in a room that's just like his - almost. There's other kids there and he gets the skinny from a young girl in the hallway, seemingly smoking a cigarette. She tells him that they "do stuff" to the kids, injections-flickering lights-dunking, but at least they're in the Front Half. You don't want to go to the Back Half. No, that's like the roach motel. Kids go in and don't ever come out.

To say this is a character study of the people throughout history who have told themselves that the horrible, hideous, atrocious things they do are for a "higher good". This book is King at his best. It's tense and I found myself ill at ease throughout the 500 plus pages. But it's good. A good story, good writing, and yeah, sure, it's relevant in the America of today and about our choices.

1,161 people found this helpful

Dozy Mare

Excellent

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 September 2019

Verified Purchase

I am no wordsmith, so my review will be simple and concise.

The story is wonderful. My favourite part is always when the converging stories meet and merge together to deliver shock and awesomeness.

Thank you Mr King

76 people found this helpful

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