(book review)

“We never know which lives we influence, or when or why”
(Stephen King)

My rating is 9.5/10. This smashing sci-fi novel applies the ‘Alternative History’ method, which is a subtype of magical realism. The main character, Jake Epping, found a place through which to go to the past. He finds himself in 1958 and almost immediately gets the idea to change the past. It’s amazing that every time he passes through the portal in the diner, he ends up at the same time and place. Thanks to this, he has many attempts, since, with each movement of him, all past changes are reset.

Stephen King links many of his books to one universe —  the universe of the ‘Dark Tower’ —  and this novel is no exception. The same laws of time operate in it as in other books. Stephen King’s novels with an alternative story are numerous: they are mentioned like in passing or they set the pace for the entire plot. One law of time passes from book to book – if something changes, something very significant, then it pulls a series of some dramatic events and ‘failures’ in reality.

Being fascinated by the plot twists of the novel and by the creativity of the author I can`t but mention that in this book Stephen King keeps repeating himself. In my opinion, that is one of his shortcomings.

The actions of the hero of the main novel shattered the balance of the world —  or one of the worlds, if you recall ‘The Dark Tower’ —  and therefore entailed dire consequences. He planned to save the life of US President John F. Kennedy, and the novel describes in detail (one might even say about history) key personalities of that time. Thanks to the efforts of the protagonist, the reader can observe in detail how the story is divided into two bands —  the real one and the one in which the changes have taken place. This can easily be classified as magical realism: even fantastic events are described as something ordinary and so simple that it is hard to believe that this is not in reality.

So the novel is not only a vivid representative of the alternative history but also one of the key parts of the magical realism of the world that Stephen King created. According to him, many of his books are connected, and all their plots somehow lead to the ‘Dark Tower.’ By the way, in this sci-fi novel, there are also many episodes connected with magical realism. For example, the Magical Foundations of Reality, Alternative History, Immortality, and so on. In conclusion, Stephen King’s novels are a very good example of many types of magical realism.