This is one of King's most underrated works, and while the King himself may dislike it, personally I think it's a worthy contender for the top 10 list of his publications. He described it as a 'trying too hard' novel, along with Rose Madder. Although I understand the direction he comes from with that statement due to the heavily ambitious and somewhat political content of the book, I still find the book utterly compelling which is only made better by the heavy Dark Tower connection. One of the books biggest criticisms is the length and pacing of the book, but I had absolutely no problem joyously following the path of delicate old Ralph and his descent into good and evil.

We’re back in Derry, but you’ll be glad to know that that awful clown has finally buggered off. Whassat, you say? Where the hell’s Derry? And what’s all this about clowns? OK, let’s quickly explain the King Method. If you read all his stuff, although God knows how you’d find the time, you start to notice a certain intertextuality creeping in. This is a slightly pompous term meaning that some of his characters and locales turn up in more than one book. Sometimes this is done so quietly that you feel kind of proud of yourself for having noticed it; other times you just roll your eyes and say ‘Oh for heaven’s sake’, because you know it refers to something, and you’re pretty sure it’s important, but you’re damned if you’re going to read all 98 volumes of The Collected Works to find out what. ‘Insomnia’ gives us the King Method at its best and worst. Passing references to Gage Creed from ‘Pet Sematary’ and It from, er, ‘It’ are made with subtlety and restraint; great big galumphing references to the Crimson King from ‘Dark Tower’ are not. They jump up and down with a sandwich board and a vuvuzela and a merry shriek of ‘Look at me! Look at me!’ Annoying as this undoubtedly is, ‘Insomnia’ sees our boy on classic mid-season form. It’s a mighty fine read. As with all his better efforts, he takes a very basic situation, which has visited most of us at some point - clue’s in the title - and then takes it a little further. That sleeplessness can lead to hallucinations or even schizophrenic episodes is a well-established fact. But what if the things you see are really happening? What if those strange auras floating out of everyone’s head, and those little bald doctors who turn up every now and again with an enormous pair of scissors, are actually glimpses of a higher reality? King’s said that this book is one of his weakest, that it tries too hard. I can sort of see what he means. While our hero, septuagenarian Ralph Roberts, gets drawn ever deeper into a brave new world of auras, little bald doctors, and a nasty piece of work called Atropos, who’s more of a little bald maniac, the townsfolk of Derry are working themselves into a right old lather about abortion. Hoo-hah doesn’t begin to describe it. Now, whatever our personal views on this subject, I hope we can all agree that popular novelists should think very carefully indeed before addressing it. Don’t go there, we mutter, it’s just embarrassing and unnecessary and you’re not gonna change anyone’s mind, please please please, Mr King, please don’t go there. So, naturally, he goes there, interrupting the plot several times for a series of earnest reflections on the dreadfulness of pro-life activists, and a ridiculous homily by a Catholic policeman where he tells us that if the Pope saw some battered babies, maybe he’d be for abortion too. Well, I’m sorry, but that’s no argument at all. If the Pope saw some battered babies, he’d tell us that battering babies is wrong. The one thing I can absolutely guarantee he would not say is that babies are wrong.

One of King's longer pieces, Insomnia is often overlooked compared to the creepy horrors of It and Pet Sematary but this deserves more attention. Set in the fictional town of Derry (with references to other tales set in the same town), elderly Ralph goes on a roller-coaster ride of adventure, starting with losing all sleep and seeing people's auras surrounding them. What ensues is a gripping tale that follows Ralph and his neighbour take on extra terrestrial beings and change the course of the future.

Elderly Ralph develops insomnia which gives him the ability to see things that most people can't. He is soon drawn into a complicated good vs. evil battle. It's a bit creepy in places but it's not really a horror story, more a fantasy adventure. Overall, it was really good and I enjoyed the fact that the main character was older. King often writes characters who are young children, teenagers or middle aged so it was nice to see him create a hero who was old. I wouldn't neccessarily recommend this to those who aren't familiar with King's work, this is very much a 'deep cut' and one for those who are wanting to read his whole catalogue.