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  • The Institute

  • A Novel
  • Written by: Stephen King
  • Narrated by: Santino Fontana
  • Length: 18 hrs and 59 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (2,692 ratings)

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The Institute cover art

The Institute

Written by: Stephen King
Narrated by: Santino Fontana
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Publisher's Summary

A 2020 Thriller/Suspense Audie Award winner!

A New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2019 selection

From number one New York Times best-selling author Stephen King, the most riveting and unforgettable story of kids confronting evil since It.

“This is King at his best” (The St. Louis Post-Dispatch).

In the middle of the night, in a house on a quiet street in suburban Minneapolis, intruders silently murder Luke Ellis' parents and load him into a black SUV. The operation takes less than two minutes. Luke will wake up at The Institute, in a room that looks just like his own, except there's no window. And outside his door are other doors, behind which are other kids with special talents - telekinesis and telepathy - who got to this place the same way Luke did: Kalisha, Nick, George, Iris, and 10-year-old Avery Dixon. They are all in Front Half. Others, Luke learns, graduated to Back Half, "like the roach motel," Kalisha says. "You check in, but you don't check out."

In this most sinister of institutions, the director, Mrs. Sigsby, and her staff are ruthlessly dedicated to extracting from these children the force of their extranormal gifts. There are no scruples here. If you go along, you get tokens for the vending machines. If you don't, punishment is brutal. As each new victim disappears to Back Half, Luke becomes more and more desperate to get out and get help. But no one has ever escaped from the Institute.

As psychically terrifying as Firestarter, and with the spectacular kid power of It, The Institute is “is another winner: creepy and touching and horrifyingly believable, all at once” (The Boston Globe).

©2019 Stephen King (P)2019 Simon & Schuster Audio

What the critics say

"Stephen King's newest audiobook is compulsively entertaining and features a dazzling performance by narrator Santino Fontana.... Fontana does wonders with this diverse lineup of young characters who band together to fight their captors. Each of them sounds authentic and unique. Meanwhile, the adult characters, with a few exceptions, are a nightmarish bunch. Through them, Fontana shows that evil can have many different voices.... [King's] and Fontana's talents are a winning combination." (AudioFile magazine)

Editorial Review

There is nothing quite as disturbing as taking the innocence of children and exposing them to pure evil. The gifted young ones that are taken to the Institute are no exception.

Legendary author Stephen King tells the story of children with supernatural abilities who are imprisoned in a facility in Maine after their parents are brutally murdered. The disturbing plot of this supernatural mystery novel unfolds before the listeners in an intricate fashion, pulling them into the nightmare that has become these children’s lives. The Institute states that it experiments on the children for the greater good, which is a believable claim coming from a respectable organization, but there is a dark truth behind this peaceful front. King’s underlying political commentary and real-world parallels make this listening experience all the more chilling.

Stephen King has been the recipient of countless awards throughout his career and sold over 350 million copies of all of his works. Partnering with this legendary storyteller is Santino Fontana, who’s narration truly brings The Institute to life. His tone, pace and inflections perfectly complement every aspect of the story and he narrates it as if it was his own. This audiobook will have listeners both absolutely hooked and horrified.

Featured Article: Stephen King’s 32 Best Audiobooks: The Definitive List

Stephen King is one of the most prolific authors of all time. He has published 61 novels, more than 200 short stories, and six nonfiction books—and he shows no sign of stopping. With such an extensive portfolio, choosing one audiobook can be daunting. We’ve compiled a list of the 32 best Stephen King audiobooks to make the choice easier. Whether you’re looking to get stuck into one of his creepy, classic stories or a sci-fi novella, you’ll find a title on this list that will get your heart racing.

What listeners say about The Institute

Average Customer Ratings
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Love Stephen King - Santino an interesting choice

I enjoyed this book thoroughly, as with all of Kings work. I love Santino Fontana - he voices my favourite book ‘You’. Initially I did find his choice of narration slightly distracting as he chose to read the Third person narrative in the voice of the character and it got a little confusing at some points early on, I did get used to it though.

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very interesting

I really liked this audio book. I couldn't stop listening. I want some more of the same

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    4 out of 5 stars

ending dragged on.

I enjoyed this book..I was very well read. But I did feel the very ending was unnecessary.

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A good ending

I've always loved King stories even when he has not so great endings. Even he makes fun of those. This was a great story and a satisfying ending. Really enjoyed it

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Enjoyed the book

Reminds me of the immigrant children imprisoned in America
We all know yet do nothing
Enjoyed the book
Too bad the adults would not step up to the plate to remove future problems instead of putting the children on the front lines
By eliminating the future best of us, what future is there !

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Loved it!

I didn't want it to end....Another one to add to my list of Stephen King favorites.

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  • 2019-12-27

Hard to stop

This is a very high-end production that will keep you listening for hours effortlessly. Good story and amazing use of language by the author. Worth the credit!

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Engrossing story

The story was addictive. The details brought it to life. The narrator was excellent bringing different accents to each character and keeping the suspense going. Great listen.

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Great Narration

I couldn't stop listening to it. A great mix between books like The Talisman and The Shining. The characters were compelling to me and the story got me hooked right from the beginning.

This was very much one of my favourite listens of all time.

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Classic Stephen King

This reminded me a lot more of FireStarter and Carrie. Almost more of a young adult book but I loved it.

Was it totally original - nope. But the characters were were really relatable and likeable and the suspense made me clean my kitchen twice in one
day so I could listen to more.

The violence was minimal which I appreciate although there was some.

The only slightly critical thing I can think of is that the bad guys were a bit 1 dimensional. Their reasons for being so horrible never really explained. But it really didnt take much away from the story itself.

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