King has still got it! The beginning of the book is very entertaining. Charlie and his dad are realistic and relatable. The story gets more interesting when Charlie meets Mr. Bowditch, the tension ratches up when Charlie realizes that Mr. Bowditch may be hiding something odd in his shed!

And here begins the trope of the portal to another world, a favorite of King's. Sometimes the portal is a Buick 8, sometimes it is a pantry, but in this case, it is a shed. Even though King uses this trope in several of his books, each portal brings the characters to a different type of alternate reality. This won't let you down. This alternate world is the stuff of dark fairytales.

Three stars- the beginning and the end of the book were excellent and enjoyable. The middle, in which Charlie was in Empis (the alternate reality) was too long and a bit tedious. ( )

Man was this good. Enjoyed every second of it. How does he still have so much imagination after all this time? ( )

Fascinating read. Easy-to-read for those of us who aren't scientists. Harari's approach is balanced, pragmatic, and complete. He presents all sides of an issue or theory while not taking sides (as a good scientist would). ( )

Overall interesting, provided you remember you're reading a viewpoint and put it in context. Could have been a bit clearer about what is largely accepted as fact, what is debated theory, and what is personal opinion. ( )

After listening to most of this book as an audio book it all seemed a bit like a well worn sock. It's certainly difficult to cover such a vast topic as human history without the kind of confidence that comes from either narcissism or brash ignorance. The extent to which there are errors is beyond me but I did notice a few (perhaps minor) errors. For example, Yuval Harari asserts that no one could have predicted the internet. Yet Vannevar Bush had presciently predicted the World Wide Web in his much quoted 1945 article in the Atlantic Monthly to the extent that it has become part of internet lore. Nevertheless, good on Yuval Harari for having a go at being an independent thinker. I felt as though there was little that was new or particularly insightful but there were moments when some of questions posed seemed worth the effort. I was left with the confirmation that predictions are risky and short-lived. The book is approaching being 10 years old. In many respects it is already embarrassingly dated, especially when it comes to Yuval Harari's speculations about war and bioprocessing. The rise of AI and the invasion of the Ukraine have changed the way we Sapiens think, so rapidly that speed of change and its consequences could easily have been a chapter heading. ( )