Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - The Shining

Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

aniloma's review against another edition

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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

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ndheredia2's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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vampirepages's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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danaburger's review

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dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.5

The Shining is a great book (dare I say, a masterpiece), however, one of the reasons I stay away from Stephen King books is because they simply do NOT need to be 450+ pages long… the writing is often times verbose and repetitive; as if the editor was asleep at the wheel. King’s style of storytelling and character development also meanders; there are multiple tangents that leave the reader going, ‘ok, wtf did that have to do with anything,’ not metaphorical or plot driven in any way, seemingly just a device King uses to make a character 3 dimensional for himself and himself alone in his creative process.
As a reader of color I also find it pertinent to add a trigger warning for others, especially if you opt for an audiobook enjoyment of this title: Heavy use of the N word. Completely fitting for the time period’s social climate, and puts an exclamation point on Jack’s descent into madness as well as the notion that The Overlook is an inherently evil entity which resorts to mental manipulation of it’s victims… buuuuuut also gratuitous, and it did make me cringe the 3rd, fourth and successive times reading it. I get it, but we could’ve reined it in with some more thoughtful editing.

Also:

Kubrick killed Halloran, King did not. Meaning, your boy is the hero of the tale and not just another dead black body in a horror film.

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mrgriffit's review against another edition

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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.

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