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justinearianna's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
zuzubaloox's review against another edition
2.0
Dan, after surviving the horrific scene at The Overlook Hotel ends up following his father’s legacy of violence and alcoholism. After years of casually travelling across the States, he finally settles in New Hampshire, on the word of his childhood friend, Tony. This is where he eventually settles into working in the local hospice offering comfort to the dying patients. But who is Abra who keeps appearing to him? And what does she want?
I wasn’t looking forward to [b:Doctor Sleep|16130549|Doctor Sleep (The Shining, #2)|Stephen King|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1510335480l/16130549._SY75_.jpg|17851499] after reading [b:The Shining|11588|The Shining (The Shining, #1)|Stephen King|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1353277730l/11588._SY75_.jpg|849585]. The Shining was like torture it was that slow, and I was expecting Doctor Sleep to follow a similar pace. However, I found that the sequel was by far better than its predecessor, even if I did only find it mediocre.
The first half of the book, I'm not going to lie was boring. It was almost like reading The Shining again. I didn't find either of them scary, to the point both actually made me sleepy.
The two main characters, Dan and Abra, were quite boring. They lacked so much in terms of personality. They didn't have much depth and left me not caring for them much in terms of what happened to them. I found Abra to not be very realistic at all.
The True Knot was about as scary as a bunch of toddlers. They weren't very proactive in being evil. They had the stupidest names, and their leader Rose the Hat’s scariest feature was her weird hat that defied gravity.
It was only once I was three-quarters of the way through that I started questioning if I'd read this book before or not. Certain parts of the book seemed a little memorable to me, either that or my mind was playing tricks on me hoping it'd get the book over with sooner.
I wasn’t looking forward to [b:Doctor Sleep|16130549|Doctor Sleep (The Shining, #2)|Stephen King|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1510335480l/16130549._SY75_.jpg|17851499] after reading [b:The Shining|11588|The Shining (The Shining, #1)|Stephen King|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1353277730l/11588._SY75_.jpg|849585]. The Shining was like torture it was that slow, and I was expecting Doctor Sleep to follow a similar pace. However, I found that the sequel was by far better than its predecessor, even if I did only find it mediocre.
The first half of the book, I'm not going to lie was boring. It was almost like reading The Shining again. I didn't find either of them scary, to the point both actually made me sleepy.
The two main characters, Dan and Abra, were quite boring. They lacked so much in terms of personality. They didn't have much depth and left me not caring for them much in terms of what happened to them. I found Abra to not be very realistic at all.
Spoiler
She’s being hunted down by supernatural beings intent on torturing and murdering her, almost gets severely hurt, or killed several times, and has her uncle, under the control of Rose, almost strangle her to death, and every time she gets up, smiles and carries on with no care.The True Knot was about as scary as a bunch of toddlers. They weren't very proactive in being evil. They had the stupidest names, and their leader Rose the Hat’s scariest feature was her weird hat that defied gravity.
It was only once I was three-quarters of the way through that I started questioning if I'd read this book before or not. Certain parts of the book seemed a little memorable to me, either that or my mind was playing tricks on me hoping it'd get the book over with sooner.
szagski13's review against another edition
3.5
Entertaining enough empty calories junkfood follow-up to The Shining. Offers an intriguing continuation of Dans story to hook you in with some fun plot points along the way, but it peaked for me about 2/3 through. Pair that with one of the more underwhelming endings to a King novel I've encountered yet and I've got to say it was a slight letdown, albeit still a solid enough read.
mcleary's review against another edition
3.0
There is something comforting about reading King, particularly if you experience nostalgia from having read him when you were younger. I enjoyed this even though there was a bit of retrofitting, the true knot thing didn’t really work for me, Rose needed to be a stronger threat, and some of the stuff to do with the spirits was a bit hard to digest.
witchshark's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
tense
fast-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
sylsbookcorner's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
aliyahovert's review against another edition
4.0
interesting and fun, but not as good as ‘the shining’.
undadarsea's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
darren0101's review against another edition
3.0
Its been about 10 years since I read a Stephen King book and following the release of Doctor Sleep I was interested to see what he did with Danny Torrance. It would be safe to say before reading that he wasn't enjoying life. Would he be a drinker? Of course. Would he be a loner? Definitely.
The premise of Doctor Sleep is there are travelers in America calling themselves the True Knot who, to prolong their own lives, feed off the essence (shine or steam depending on the character) of young children as they torture and eventually kill them.
Early on in the book, Danny is contacted by Abra Stone, a child with the shining like Danny but a lot more powerful. They eventually meet when she learns of the True Knot who in turn learns of Abra. Together they plot to bring them down.
This is good, but not great. I have read all of his classics and enjoyed the Dark Tower series and this has all the traits of a Stephen King book, which is not a bad thing as it is what brings you back to his stories. The problem is that I never felt either Abra or Danny were in any danger. Also, for the True Knot to have survived hundreds of years I cannot believe this is the first time they have fed on a child with a disease such as measles or any other childhood ailment. Also, the return to where the Overlook Hotel once stood and the association it has with the True Know felt like a crowd-pleaser rather than part of the story. Even though it awakened some of Danny's demons it was never fully explored.
I am looking forward to picking up another of Stephen King's book and enjoyed Doctor Sleep to an extent but not as much as I would have hoped.
The premise of Doctor Sleep is there are travelers in America calling themselves the True Knot who, to prolong their own lives, feed off the essence (shine or steam depending on the character) of young children as they torture and eventually kill them.
Early on in the book, Danny is contacted by Abra Stone, a child with the shining like Danny but a lot more powerful. They eventually meet when she learns of the True Knot who in turn learns of Abra. Together they plot to bring them down.
This is good, but not great. I have read all of his classics and enjoyed the Dark Tower series and this has all the traits of a Stephen King book, which is not a bad thing as it is what brings you back to his stories. The problem is that I never felt either Abra or Danny were in any danger. Also, for the True Knot to have survived hundreds of years I cannot believe this is the first time they have fed on a child with a disease such as measles or any other childhood ailment. Also, the return to where the Overlook Hotel once stood and the association it has with the True Know felt like a crowd-pleaser rather than part of the story. Even though it awakened some of Danny's demons it was never fully explored.
I am looking forward to picking up another of Stephen King's book and enjoyed Doctor Sleep to an extent but not as much as I would have hoped.
theatretenor's review against another edition
5.0
Boom! Now THAT’S how you finish a book! Loved it. Read the last 150 pages in one day! Don’t hate me, but I loved it way more than The Shining!