This is my first reading of King's newer works. I've not read the Outsider or the Bill Hodges trilogy, so coming into this right off the bat the one thing I noticed was that it does not read like the King I'm used to.
Which is not a complaint at all. There's something refreshing about reading Insomnia at the same time and feeling like I'm jumping between two authors. King has sort of taken a more detective styled approach to the writing. This is all the more noticable in the first part. Honestly I really enjoyed that bit and wish it had been extended.
But the true bulk of the story is less detective and more with the usual King tropes. Kids with special abilities. And you know what? It hasn't staled. Hell I was thinking the kids would come off as too old fashioned but he implements it well. They're real as always, they're unique and rounded and it's what keeps the story afloat even as it goes into the usual lull in the middle. All in all I'm really happy to have bought and read it while it was still fresh. It makes me want to visit the Bill Hodges trilogy and more. Even the ending wasn't bad, it was kinda heart breaking and actually one where you put the book down and can be content with it.