Stephen King: referred to as the master of horror, the magician of thrillers, the man when it comes to scare. Although, in writing about the beloved president John F. Kennedy’s death, King chose not to capture the horrific state of the nation, rather the beauty that preceded his death, and no one has done it better than He. Stephen King’s science fiction novel, 11/22/63, imagines life in an alternate reality if John F. Kennedy’s assassination had been prevented five decades ago. By stepping through a time portal in 2011, high school teacher, Jake Epping takes a stroll down memory lane into 1958. Rockabilly music, sock hops, and poodle skirts are all the rage. Assuming a new identity, Jake embarks on a mission to save America and stop Lee Harvey Oswald from blowing Kennedy’s brains out. While the action in the novel is extremely suspenseful, 11/22/63 is much more than a rescue mission. Even though the novel is fiction, King incorporates elements of the early sixties and historic details of Oswald’s life and Kennedy’s presidency that build up to the shooting and makes the story realistic. 11/22/63 is a great novel because it keeps the reader on the edge of their seat and asks the difficult questions like: Can one person really change the world? Should things just be allowed to take their natural course? And is time inescapable? King received many accolades for the novel such as the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller and the Goodreads Choice Awards Best Science Fiction. 11/22/63 was also adapted into a series on Hulu starring James Franco in 2016.
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