The Langoliers by Stephen King has been on my list to read for a long time with the main location taking place at the Bangor International Airpot, just down the street from where I grew up. While finally reading the novella was fun and worthwhile, it didn’t hit as well as I had hoped.
On a cross-country, redeye flight from Los Angeles to Boston, ten passengers awaken in Bangor, Maine, to find that the crew and most of their fellow passengers have disappeared. The airport shows no signs of life. Yet they hear “radio static” in the distance. Craig Toomey, an irritable investment banker on the verge of a breakdown, believes it is “The Langoliers,” monsters he was afraid of as a child who attack those who waste time. It’s mystery author Bob Jenkins who first theorizes that they have flown through a time rip.
Bob declares they have entered a place that forbids time travelers to observe or interfere with past events. It turns out that Craig is right, in a way. Two creatures, followed by hundreds more, emerge from the forest and head for the plane, consuming everything in their path. Can the survivors manage to fly the plane back to Los Angeles, back to the correct time, before the Langoliers succeed in their deadly mission to destroy the plane and the world? Dinah Bellman, the young blind girl whose aunt did not survive the time rip, has the greatest insight of all.
First published as part of the 1990 award-winning collection, Four Past Midnight, The Langoliers is a blend of everyday scenarios with an extraordinary chain of events that push the story into the supernatural. While it doesn’t stand up to most of the heavy hitters in the Stephen King library, The Langoliers offers its own unique take on suspense and horror through an unsettling journey.
Each character aboard Flight 29 from Los Angeles to Boston has their own quirks and complexities that King handles really well with each passenger bringing something unique to the table. These characters form unlikely bonds when facing unimaginable odds together with depth and realism.
This eerie story immediately captured attention, setting the stage for a psychological thriller that explores themes of isolation and survival. It’s not just about finding out what happened; it’s about surviving whatever comes next. The initial mystery surrounding the disappearance is paced well, creating tension and curiosity about what could have possibly caused such an event. However, these events that take place aboard the plane are way more enjoyable than the Langoliers themselves.
While I am fan of most of Stephen King’s works, The Langoliers fell a bit short and I kept wondering whether I would’ve even enjoyed this book as much as I did if King wasn’t the author and it wasn’t based in an airport I am super familiar with in BIA. The story of a time-rip and a group of characters working together to figure things out is great and I am glad to have been along for the ride. However, I feel like the tale was missing something and I just can’t seem to put my finger on it.
The Langoliers is part of the Four Past Midnight collection of stories which is available at bookstores everywhere. The audiobook collection, narrated by James Woods, Tim Sample, Willem Dafoe & Ken Howard, is available at Libro.fm.
