Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

The Shining by Stephen King

32 reviews

aniloma's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

mrgriffit's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

It’s clear to see why this book is a staple of the horror genre. King’s writing flows easily and the pacing is nice and tense, even when the story gets stretched out in the middle and towards the end. That said, I think King is holding himself back with his own narrative.

I honestly could not find any sympathy for Jack by the end of the book like I think King wants you to; I only found pity. There was ample opportunity to center the story on the very human ways that Jack is evil and actively choosing to be so, irregardless of how he was raised or how other people treat him, instead of making the hotel actually possessing him. By doing this, it comes off that King is saying that Jack is just a victim and not at fault for his own actions.

All that to say, for all the things King does right, there’s a better version of this story out there somewhere (and it may be the movie version, which I’ve never seen, since I know that there were some bigger changes to the story in it). Still, it’s a well crafted story and is worth the read.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death

Minor: Homophobia

ggmartini's review

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Violence, and Murder

autienaut's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

One of king’s finest works, a fictional delicacy ready to pounce on your every thrilling need. 
Impeccable writing and flawless execution.  🖤

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Blood, and Car accident

Minor: Cursing and Forced institutionalization

sur_m4xersiz3's review against another edition

dark hopeful tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Glad I gave this book a re-read. Mr. King is nuts, his world building is done so well. You can easily imagine all of the scenes. King is also a very good story teller, the development of one of the characters was done so well; great foreshadowing and the characters really pop out of the book. My main critique in most of King’s older books is the use of black characters; the magical n* and the horrible racism they have to endure. It’s very upsetting; not for everyone. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, and Injury/Injury detail

eadrianschmitz's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

<Spoiler>
At first I was like omg ok I get it, he's an alcoholic. But then the emphasis made sense. I kind of wish it had been Jack that unravelled on his own rather than the hotel's fault for possessing him. Still a wonderful read and quite different from the film! 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

inamz's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

legsleg's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Cursing, Drug abuse, Gore, Racial slurs, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Death of parent, and Alcohol

mangoatwar's review

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The Shining is a masterpiece written by Stephen King. It perfectly depicts the horrors of human psychology and dives deep into it. The book sends you on a nail-biting, terrifying rollercoaster of emotions. The way this book is written scares you both in the short-term and in the long-term.
Example: Some parts of the book had me shaking from fear and the book instilled a slight fear of hotels into me for the long-term. I do not give this book 5 stars due to the extremely graphic content which I had trouble reading. However, besides the extremely detailed descriptions of violent acts, I love everything about it.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gore, Racial slurs, Self harm, Torture, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Suicide, Blood, Car accident, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Car accident

chris_reads's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Violence, and Vomit

Moderate: Cursing, Drug abuse, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Racism, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Car accident, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury