Audiobook Review: Sleeping Beauties by Stephen King

Sleeping Beauties by Owen King, Stephen King
Narrator: Marin Ireland
Length: 25 hrs and 20 mins


Date Read: October 2017

Genre: Horror

In this spectacular father-son collaboration, Stephen King and Owen King tell the highest of high-stakes stories: what might happen if women disappeared from the world of men?

In a future so real and near it might be now, something happens when women go to sleep; they become shrouded in a cocoon-like gauze. If they are awakened, if the gauze wrapping their bodies is disturbed or violated, the women become feral and spectacularly violent; and while they sleep they go to another place. The men of our world are abandoned, left to their increasingly primal devices. One woman, however, the mysterious Evie, is immune to the blessing or curse of the sleeping disease. Is Evie a medical anomaly to be studied, or is she a demon who must be slain? Set in a small Appalachian town whose primary employer is a women’s prison, Sleeping Beauties is wildly provocative and gloriously absorbing.

Listened for Review (Simon and Schuster)
Overall Rating: 3.00
Story Rating: 3.00
Character Rating: 3.00

Audio Rating: 4.00 (not part of the overall rating)

Quick Thoughts: It is hard to review this story without getting spoilery. So I am going to have a spoiler section to be specific about my rating. In general, Sleeping Beauties almost got a 2 rating from me but ultimately I did stay somewhat engaged until the end. He has had better stories and honestly this one almost felt like an Under the Dome with more political overtones knock off.

My main problems (SPOILERS):

View Spoiler »While I get what the Kings were trying to convey (womens rights and the fights they go through), they missed the mark. First, I didn’t feel a connection to any of the characters other than maybe the son. Second, in the end it was a man that could save the women (or at least give them the right to choose if they were going to wake up) if he protected the woman that was the “gatekeeper” (for lack of a better word). Finally, there were several other things that really just kind of missed the mark for me but this review would turn into a novel if I listed them all. In the end, I stuck around just to see the final conversation of the women that were asleep. I felt that it was actually the most interesting part of the story and while I felt it missed the mark a bit–it was the best part of the story for me. « Hide Spoiler

Audio Thoughts: Narration was done by Marin Ireland. I don’t believe I have listened to her before but she did a good job with this large cast of characters. In fact, she might have been the real reason I stayed engaged. If I had been reading this, it might have ended up a DNF. I will listen to her again in the future.

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Felicia S

Blogger at Geeky Bloggers Book Blog

Felicia is just your average gal from Texas that loves Audiobooks and Libraries with a passion! She can wine them, dine them, and love them forever. Her eclectic reading tastes include: Cozy Mysteries, Thrillers, Swoon-Worthy Romance of all kinds, Zombies, Urban Fantasy, Historical Fiction, and the occasional YA read.

During her non-reading time you can find her hanging with her rescue furr children named after book characters: Lizzie a beautiful cattle dog mix (Pound Pup), Cinder a beautiful Shep/Pitt mix (Pound Pup), and Minerva a beautiful Shep/Pitt mix (Foster Fail). Gathering with friends and family, attending conventions, watching movies/tv shows, rooting for the 49rs, and crocheting.

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