Doctor Sleep: a chilling classic from the No. 1 bestseller (The Shining)

Just the other day, I was saying that sequels are not normally as good as the first book, well, Doctor Sleep completely disproved that theory. It far exceeded The Shining, in my opinion, and has become one of my favourite King novels! King has taken the best parts of The Shining, and carried them into Doctor Sleep. Not only did he keep the best bits, but he enhanced them. Danny’s ‘shining’ is brilliant, but Abra’s is next level, the extent of her abilities were so interesting to read about, simple and complex at the same time – simple in that you could easily read and understand it, but complex in that when you really think about it, it’s some next level stuff! What was fantastic was this novel comes with a range of supernatural abilities, varying in strength and wonder; the paranormal aspects of this novel were amazing! As a sequel, this far exceeds its predecessor, and that’s no small praise, because The Shining was very good! To enhance your enjoyment of this novel, you should read The Shining first, so, not only can you pick up on elements that have been carried over, but you understand the mention of previous events and past characters. There are some really clever things in this novel that you will miss out on if you don’t know the beginning of the story. “Because that was then and this is now. Because the past is gone, even though it defines the present.” Doctor Sleep joins Danny as a middle-aged man working in a hospice, and let me tell you, I adore Danny. His character was one you believe in with your whole heart, you can see that he is the boy you met in The Shining all grown up now; surviving his demons and ready to fight for Abra. And Abra is up against some tough adversaries, one being Rose ‘the hat’ O’Hara who has some telepathic abilities of her own. You witness some real battles of will power in this novel, psychological warfare. One thing King has mastered is his ability to create amazing antagonists, ones that, while you don’t like their characters, you appreciate what they do for the story. Abra is a brilliant protagonist, and it was interesting to see how she coped/lived with her ‘shining’ compared to how a younger Danny did. The relationship between Abra and Danny was so well done, they were both such endearing characters; to see Danny guiding Abra as best he could just warmed my heart, because I remember the trauma Danny experienced in The Shining and how he struggled with his ‘shining’ initially. Seeing Abra come to embrace hers, and test the extent of her abilities made for great reading. “The shining. It was a good name, a comforting name, because she had always thought of it as a dark thing.” Doctor Sleep is an addictive read, with some great characters – everyone that made up The True Knot were interesting in their own right. The suspense was felt, the plot intensified when it needed to, but most importantly this novel has so much heart, you become emotionally attached to some of the characters and this guarantees you’re invested in the plot and fearful for their survival, because we all know King has no issue killing-off his characters, whether they are main characters or secondary ones! I could talk about this book all day, I loved every aspect of it; without fail, it’s one of my favourite books of the year!

OK I'm biased when it comes to a Stephen King novel having been a devoted reader of all his works even and including his less impressive patch mid career. Given that, I believe this to be one of his finest. The story is part horror, part people observation, part small town America, classic King then ! The pickup from The Shining is such that it is not essential to have read it as there are sufficient references neatly included in the flashbacks to provide continuity and understanding. The struggle Dan has with his personal demons clearly draws from King's own life experience and is quite moving. The character development of Abra and Dan as well as the chief 'evil' Rose the Hat is excellent and the secondary characters particularly Abra's parents well drawn. The story line of the True Knot is weird,sort of vampires but not as we know them and works well. The book has warmth, intrigue and compassion. Is it really scary ? Not in an in your face way and is all the better for that it has subtlety and some great plot twists. Is there horror ? Oh yes. The ending is perfect and satisfying to the reader. This book is eerie. Buy it and enjoy Stephen King at the top of his game.

I don't tend to review every single book I read otherwise Amazon would probably ban me for over-use, however when I come across a really bad or a really good book, I like to have my say about it and this book most definitely falls into the latter category. I should start by explaining that I adore The Shining, it wasn't the first King book I read as a teenager but it was the one that stuck with me, so much so, that I make it a point to re-read my battered paperback copy of it at least once a year, it's hard to pick a favourite King book but this one would be in my top three for sure. So when I heard the news that a sequel was to be written I awaited its release with much anticipation but also quite a mix of nerves too......what if it was an awful book? what if (god forbid) it completely ruined The Shining for me? So, I pre-ordered Dr Sleep with much trepidation, but I was also very excited by the thought of an update on Danny, Dick and Wendy. And so onto the book itself, I remember reading a critics review of the book who said that it was an 'emotional roller-coaster ride' and boy they weren't wrong. The first section of the book deals with getting us back up to speed with Danny, Dick and Wendy and that part of the book was like putting on an old pair of comfy slippers for me, I loved it, one of my favourite parts of The Shining is the relationship between Danny and Dick and to revisit that was quite lovely. Shortly after that, we start to read about Dan (as he is now known) as an adult and without spoiling it, this part was a very difficult read not because it was badly written but just because of how much I love Danny Torrance as a character, to see him go through something so difficult was hard to read. So hard I almost stopped reading the book but I pushed past my emotional connection to Danny as he was and continued. I'm so glad I persevered because that's when the story really kicks into a higher gear, it becomes a very fast paced, exciting, tense and at times incredibly emotional to read, one section in particular had me on the verge of tears. The characters as always are beautifully written so much so that you start to feel as if they are a part of your family, I don't know how he manages it but Stephen King always seems to be able to connect you emotionally to his characters. There are emotional highs and lows throughout the story (again, some parts make for difficult reading if you loved the characters from The Shining) and as with a lot of Stephen King's books there are some wonderful tie ins to other stories and other worlds he has created. I loved the villains of the piece, the idea of 'normal' looking people travelling around in their RV's somehow made them all the more scary because they didn't look like monsters (I'll never look at a camper van in the same way again) and I wonder if maybe Stephen King might re-visit the True Knot one day, there seems to be a whole lot more to their story. Only one part of the book made me think "oh Steve, that's a bit of a stretch!!" but I guess you will have to make up your own mind about that part, again I don't want to spoil it. All in all, it is an extremely well written and entertaining book which I really enjoyed. I can't give it 5 stars but that's only because I consider The Shining to be a 5 out of 5 star book and this one, although a great sequel, it's not The Shining! But it's definitely worth a read, like so much of his later work (from say 2000 onwards) this one is really well written so it's great to see that he is still writing incredible books and long may he continue. A real must for any Stephen King fan and although it doesn't matter too much if you don't do this, I would recommend that you re-read The Shining first before starting Dr Sleep, it is a stand alone book, but it makes for a much better read if you read the books together. Happy reading!

A fantastic continuation of Danny’s story! Simply could not put this down, do your self a favour and read the shinning first.

If you’re thinking about buying it go for it. It’s a pretty good price and much more interesting than The Shining. Buy it besties

Dan Torrence ist inzwischen 40 Jahre alt und muss sich dreier mächtiger Gegner stellen: seiner Vergangenheit, seiner Trunksucht und dem True Knot. Letzteres ist eine Gruppierung vampirähnlicher und fast unsterblicher Wesen, die sich vom „Steam“ derer ernähren, die das Shining haben. Um an den „Steam“ zu kommen, quälen und töten sie vorzugsweise Kinder, da bei diesen das Shining deutlich stärker ausgeprägt ist als bei Erwachsenen und der „Steam“ entsprechend nahrhafter. Neben Dan Torrence, der inzwischen seinen Lebensunterhalt als Doctor Sleep verdient, indem er in einem Hospiz Sterbenskranken ihre Reise in eine hoffentlich bessere Welt erleichtert, begegnet uns in einer Hauptrolle die 12-jährige Abra Stone, die aufgrund ihrer extrem stark ausgeprägten paranormalen Fähigkeiten die Aufmerksamkeit des „True Knot“ erregt und von deren superböser Chefin Rose prompt auf den Speiseplan gesetzt wird. Keine Frage, dass Dan alles dran setzen wird, der kleinen Abra zur Seite zu stehen und wenn möglich ihr Leben zu retten. DOCTOR SLEEP hat mir insofern ausgesprochen gut gefallen, dass es Stephen King gelingt, die Hauptfiguren lebendig und interessant zu beschreiben, vor allem auch vielschichtig und mit Stärken und Schwächen. Es handelt sich nicht um die genreübliche Abziehbilder, die nur die Handlung befördern sollen, sondern um Charaktere, die der Leser mit der Zeit tatsächlich kennen zu lernen glaubt. Interessant, dass auch die „Erzbösewichtin“ Rose und die meiner Meinung nach interessanteste Nebenfigur Snakebite Andi nicht nur oberflächlich und als das personifizierte Böse dargestellt werden, sondern ihre eigene Geschichte haben und wie jeder andere auch ihre Bürde tragen müssen. Eine mindestens so Prominente Rolle wie die einzelnen Charaktere nimmt das Thema Alkoholismus in DOCTOR SLEEP ein, das Stephen King nie loslässt, aber selten so zentral und ausführlich behandelt wurde. Dieser Kampf wird (auch) Dan sein Leben lang begleiten, einen echten Sieg kann es nicht geben, nur einen Waffenstillstand. Dieses macht King deutlich, und da es ihm eine Herzensangelegenheit ist, kann der Leser sich nicht entziehen. Und auch die Abhängigkeit der Kinder von ihren Eltern, wie einige unter schlechten Vorbildern leiden, andere misshandelt und missbraucht werden, und wie das eine wie das andere die Lebensläufe bestimmt, ist ein wiederkehrendes Thema, dass King in DOCTOR SLEEP in vielen Passagen aufnimmt und bewegend gestaltet. Erzähltechnisch ist King für meinen Geschmack absolut auf der Höhe, er erzählt witzig und anspielungsreich, bewegend die vor allem spannende Geschichte vom ewigen Kampf des Guten gegen das Böse. Einen Kritikpunkt muss ich aber doch ansprechen, und auch dieser ist meiner Meinung nach für King typisch: die Architektur seiner Romane weist oft Schwächen auf. Viele seiner Romane sind mir zu lang und King erzählt oft sehr umschweifig , kommt nicht auf den Punkt und erzählt gelegentlich am Höhepunkt der Handlung vorbei oder erschöpft sich und den Leser im Vorfeld. Bei DOCTOR SLEEP ist nun ironischer Weise das Gegenteil der Fall. Die ersten 450 Seiten bereiten den Leser auf ein unheimliches Showdown vor, doch dann geht plötzlich alles sehr schnell und ist vorbei, fast ehe man sich's versieht. Ich war ob des Tempos und der Geradlinigkeit, mit der die Handlung schließlich zum Ende kommt, ein wenig enttäuscht. Andererseits, auch ein Western endet mit einem Showdown, bei dem sogar ein einziger Schuss ausreichen kann, um alles zu entscheiden. Doch wer den Roman selbst gelesen hat, wird mir vielleicht Recht geben, wenn ich sage, dass King erzählerisch nicht ökonomisch mit den eingeführten Figuren umgeht. Insbesondere für Snakebite Andi hätte ich mir mehr Raum gewünscht (vielleicht sogar ein anderes Ende). Fazit: Sehr gut erzählter, spannender Roman. Dan Torrence als Hauptfigur überzeugt, ansonsten wirken die Bezüge zum Overlook Hotel aber etwas aufgesetzt. Abra wird in Erinnerung bleiben, auch viele der anderen Charaktere. Leichte Abzüge gibt es für Schwächen im Romanaufbau. 4 '1/2 Sterne und für King-Fans eine klare Leseempfehlung.

Dan Torrance has become an adult. He can help the shining Abra now.

First off: I promise, NO SPOILERS. I apologize if there is some vagueness as a result. I'd like to write two reviews for Dr. Sleep: one on its stand-alone merits, and as a continuation of the story of the Shining, and one on its success as a continuation of the brilliance of The Shining. I'd give the first 5 stars, but the second only...3. Which is unfair, I guess, especially in light of Stephen King's afterward ("...people change. The man who wrote Doctor Sleep is very different from the well-meaning alcoholic who wrote The Shining, but both remain interested in the same thing: telling a kickass story. I enjoyed finding Danny Torrance again and following his adventures. I hope you did, too. If that's the case, Constant Reader, we're all good.")--which seems to say that my first 5 star review is the one King would care about, if I were to presume he cares what I have to say. And since I love Stephen King, that's what I gave it, officially, and that's the one I'll start with. This book is SUCH a fun read! The best kind of King book, the kind that leaves you hungover in the morning because you were up much too late reading, and almost makes you miss your bus to work because you get engrossed in it again while you brush your teeth. Several times I got a big giddy grin on my face and even laughed aloud with ridiculous delight at a super stephenkingy turn of phrase, words I imagined gave him a similar satisfaction as they left his fingers for the page. Some of these were even scary-creepy things, but they were so perfectly done, they were thrilling on that second level, too. It felt to me like King had a lot of fun with a lot of this book, just reveling in his own GoodAtItNess, long passages spooling out with gleeful sprezzatura. The story runs smoothly along, suspenseful questions answered with perfect timing, never leaving so much unknown at once that the complications are impossible to follow. The central characters are excellent. Grownup Dan surprisingly unlike 5 year old Dan in the way my own grownup children are surprisingly unlike their 5 year old selves--something of the little boy remains, but he didn't just stretch to man-size, he's a fully realized person, very changed. Abra is a great character on her own, and her relationships with Dan, her parents, and her friends, are all truthful and nuanced. Good on whoever talked King through the markers of early adolescent girlness that pepper her believability. The scary creepy horrors are scary, creepy, and horrible; turning off the light when I finally forced myself every night was just as unpleasant as it had been when I read The Shining. Loose strings of the original plot are nicely knotted up. I'd have maybe liked to know more about Wendy, but real grown men--as Dan is, in this novel--don't have the kind of insight or, frankly, interest, in their mothers' inner lives. Even if they're psychic. So it works, as a function of Grownup Dan being well done. Less likely, I thought, was the way Dick was written out of Dan's life, but I have to admit that works too, in the sense that Dan grew up in ways that were unpredictable when he was five. Expository backstory from the first book doesn't get the clumsy treatment it normally does in sequels, but is dropped in usefully and gracefully throughout the plot. It was very satisfying to have some things I thought I understood about the Overlook, and Dan, and Jack, confirmed, and equally satisfying to have some new details mixed in to deepen and thicken that foundation of the story. The final revisitation from The Shining gets a muted, subtle treatment in the narrative, and I hope it's not just sentimental over-imagination on my part to think King let it be so simple because it might have been unbearably moving otherwise. Five stars! Buy it, read it, you'll enjoy it! Now then. The Shining is one of my all-time favorite books. It's the one I wax rhapsodic about when I'm making an obnoxiously over-thought case for Stephen King as an underrated capital G genius of American capital L literature. It's the one I compare to Dickens and the one I compare to Steinbeck and the one I say doesn't need to lean on those comparisons because it's capital G greatness all by itself. I like to make people listen to me say that the only reason The Shining is not a genuine masterpiece, recognized or not, is that King was young and still growing as a writer. And still not so market-proven that his (now routinely over-indulgent) editors gave him free reign. I have always assumed those factors caused the flaws (I apologize for my cheek, Mr. King; I know I'm unworthy, but for lack of a better, more obsequious term, I have to go with flaws) in The Shining, and I was unrestrainedly thrilled to hear a sequel unaffected by those was in the works. I refused to entertain fears that I wouldn't like it as much as the original, the way absolutely everyone likes the sequel less than the original; when the first reviews came out and I read that Barbara Kingsolver loved Dr. Sleep, I went directly to Kindle, did not pass go, and Amazon collected my seven dollars. And it was, as I've already said, money well and unregrettedly spent. But this book isn't anything like The Shining. Not as a literary feat. Both books tell, as King says he intended, kickass stories. The Shining, though, spent its first half telling a fascinatingly ambiguous story, too. The Shining is about a man with demons we all recognize, and a lot of us live with intimately. For a good chunk of the beginning of the book, it is impossible to determine from the text alone whether or not those demons are the only demons in the Torrance family's life. The interplay between Jack and his family and the things in Jack's head is fantastic, and the aforementioned flaw is that the transition between "Is This Real or Is Jack Just Crazy" to "Oh, yeah, it's real. Jack's crazy, too, but that's secondary" is less smoothly done than the writing on either side of the divide. And Dr. Sleep has nothing at all like that. The kickass story is all out in the open and straightforwardly linear, as is the development of all the characters and the reader's understanding of who they are and what they're doing. Dr. Sleep is extragood pop culture writing. The Shining was that, with unrecognized actual literature icing its cake. Without the icing, I give it three stars.