Doctor Sleep
A Novel
-
-
4.4 • 4.3K Ratings
-
-
- $9.99
-
- $9.99
Publisher Description
Now a major motion picture starring Ewan McGregor!
From master storyteller Stephen King, his unforgettable and terrifying sequel to The Shining—an instant #1 New York Times bestseller that is “[a] vivid frightscape” (The New York Times).
Years ago, the haunting of the Overlook Hotel nearly broke young Dan Torrance’s sanity, as his paranormal gift known as “the shining” opened a door straight into hell. And even though Dan is all grown up, the ghosts of the Overlook—and his father’s legacy of alcoholism and violence—kept him drifting aimlessly for most of his life. Now, Dan has finally found some order in the chaos by working in a local hospice, earning the nickname “Doctor Sleep” by secretly using his special abilities to comfort the dying and prepare them for the afterlife. But when he unexpectedly meets twelve-year-old Abra Stone—who possesses an even more powerful manifestation of the shining—the two find their lives in sudden jeopardy at the hands of the ageless and murderous nomadic tribe known as the True Knot, reigniting Dan’s own demons and summoning him to battle for this young girl’s soul and survival...
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
You don’t have to be a fan of horror to appreciate Stephen King’s masterful new novel. Doctor Sleep is exceptionally scary, but it’s also a brilliantly paced and moving redemption story. Billed as the sequel to The Shining, the book hones in on Danny Torrance, once a little boy who discovered the Overlook Hotel’s demonic secrets. Dan's now an adult, a recovering alcoholic who—after hitting rock bottom—becomes a self-contained hospice orderly known as Doctor Sleep. But when Dan befriends a young girl who shares his psychic abilities, that so-called “shining,” he’s pulled into an epic battle between good and evil. King has perfected his gift for taking the sordid, nightmarish realities of American life—seedy roadside bars, desolate trailer parks, front-page child abduction stories—and infusing them with supernatural elements to make them truly horrific. But what makes Doctor Sleep shine is its fully realized heroes, whose inherent decency makes you believe there’s hope for the good guys after all.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Iconic horror author King (Joyland) picks up the narrative threads of The Shining many years on. Young psychic Danny Torrance has become a middle-aged alcoholic (he now goes by "Dan"), bearing his powers and his guilt as equal burdens. A lucky break gets him a job in a hospice in a small New England town. Using his abilities to ease the passing of the terminally ill, he remains blissfully unaware of the actions of the True Knot, a caravan of human parasites crisscrossing the map in their RVs as they search for children with "the shining" (psychic abilities of the kind that Dan possesses), upon whom they feed. When a girl named Abra Stone is born with powers that dwarf Dan's, she attracts the attention of the True Knot's leader the predatory Rose the Hat. Dan is forced to help Abra confront the Knot, and face his own lingering demons. Less terrifying than its famous predecessor, perhaps because of the author's obvious affection for even the most repellant characters, King's latest is still a gripping, taut read that provides a satisfying conclusion to Danny Torrance's story.
Customer Reviews
Very inspiring
Stephen King is a king. The king of writing.
I loved the book. So inspiring. I read some reviews complaining about the multiple references to AA. Am not in AA, but geez did I appreciate those!
Stephen King is able to grab the big picture and express it in an entertaining way. Masterful. To be in the inner of one character, and several.
Yes I love his rich writing. His vocabulary. Which forces me in any case, to go to the dictionary.
Uplifting, enriching, compassionate writing. Yet able to describe things as they are, good and evil. In fair amounts on both sides!
One of Kings BEST
Aside from the gruesome deaths of the victims, this book is a non-stop thrill ride through the imagination of one of America’s best storytellers. Loved how Danny resolves his issues from childhood to adulthood with the help of those human angels that seem to pop out of nowhere when you need them. Not being predictable or inappropriate like so many other authors I will not name; King always delivers a spellbinding story told as only he can. Thx for the nightmares and the adrenaline rushes!
Slightly Above Average and Undercooked
The Movie had a better ending, let me start there. It’s Stephen King so you can expect good, engaging storytelling with the Book. But there is a sneaky lingering sense that he pulled his punches a bit. There is enough raw content in this book to make a masterpiece but he held his hand, maybe because of time? Maybe he ran out of ideas? Or maybe for ‘political’ reasons? Who knows? He could have really turned up the heat in this story with true horror instead of the few teasing tidbits that we got. What we have here is the shadow of a masterpiece that suffers from ‘neatness’, a fair bit of filler and underdeveloped ideas and tangents. I expect Part 2 (Shining Part 3?) and that this universe will be fleshed out. Until then, 2 stars for being only slightly above average, undercooked, and being outperformed by the movie with a lazy ending.