Just Finished Reading The Institute by Stephen King

The Institute is the latest novel written by my favorite author, Stephen King, published just this past September.  It's about the abduction of specially talented children by a ruthless, shady organization...I don't think I'm giving away the story by saying that the "Institute" is a remote facility in which they're housed...or more precisely, imprisoned.  In the meantime, a decorated ex-cop from Tampa is looking to sort out his life and future as he hitchhikes his way to a rural South Carolina town, where he is hired to be the "night-knocker"...a part-time, unarmed employee of the police force whose job entails checking out the town's various businesses and neighborhoods late at night for their security.  How these two separate story threads eventually come together...well, I guess you'll need to read the book for yourself as I want you to get its full impact.  Instead of going further into the plot and characters, I think I'll reiterate something I've discussed on this blog in the past...

I don't subscribe to the notion that some people have paranormal abilities such as telepathy (mind-reading and thought-transfer) or telekinesis (mentally moving objects).  Of course there are people out there who claim to be psychics, often making a bit of money publicly hawking their claims.  But anyone who actually possessed such abilities would be well-advised to keep them private and not allow them to become common knowledge.  Not only would it arouse suspicion and mistrust among the people around them, but a paranormal ability could well attract the attention of the kind of nefarious people that King described in his novel.  There was a similar situation in his excellent 2011 book  11/22/63, in which a time traveler to the past...technically not "gifted" with precognition...nevertheless had to be careful with his knowledge of upcoming events not to allow it to inadvertently slip out to those around him....

When I was in the first grade, my teacher Mrs. Parsons had the class play a little game.  One student would be picked to stand outside in the hallway while another in the class would be given an object, like a blackboard eraser.  Then the student in the hallway would come back in and, without a word being exchanged, survey the classroom and try to pick out the classmate hiding the object.  It seems I had a special talent for looking over the many faces and picking the right one...repeatedly...to the point where some kids began to grumble that I was somehow cheating.  But I wasn't cheating...or psychic...but rather was simply good at accurately reading faces and body language.  Still, I think the temptation among many of us is to quickly make that giant leap whenever a confounding situation arises and attribute it to the supernatural or paranormal...or with my example, start accusing.  It's as if the correct and intellectually honest response "I don't know why this is so" has become taboo...

I thought The Institute was one of Stephen King's better novels...why not read it and let me know your own reactions...