Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'

The Shining by Stephen King

235 reviews

roadesntoades's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

3.75

Honestly anyone reading the Shining in 2024 knows the plot to some degree. They know that the hotel is possessed, that Danny has a gift, and Jack and Wendy are always doomed to fail. While this wasn’t my favorite King book I do like this over the movie. I like how it is never hidden what the endgame is, nor does it needlessly diverge from the plot for anything. Everything has a purpose, symbolism, or message to it that is really nice. It did feel sometimes like I was just muscling through it and other times it felt a little too slow but overall I liked it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Murder, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Sexual content, Addiction, Child abuse, Blood, and Death

Moderate: Confinement, Death of parent, Body horror, Racial slurs, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Racism

Minor: Torture, Suicide attempt, and Suicide

phantompansy's review against another edition

dark tense slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Alcohol, Confinement, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Stalking, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Blood, Misogyny, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Murder, and Cursing

Minor: Racism, Fire/Fire injury, and Racial slurs

emmavardy2's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

An absolute classic. Not as scary as the film. Much more multi-layered in the character development. Brilliant writing and story telling.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Racial slurs

lurieta's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Sexism, Violence, and Death of parent

andrea1975's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Racial slurs, Mental illness, Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Alcoholism, Blood, and Body horror

funyuns_the_movie's review against another edition

dark tense slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Gore, Child abuse, and Death

Moderate: Racial slurs and Gaslighting

Minor: Sexual content

asourceoffiction's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

5.0

I watched Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of The Shining 20 years ago, and I can remember struggling to understand the reasoning behind Jack's descent into madness. Now reading the book all these years later, it's so much clearer to me. King's original hugely outmatches the film in so many ways, but where it is most superior is in the quiet, creeping sense of dread and tension that builds agonisingly slowly, from the ominous beginning right to the conclusion. There are fewer iconic jump-scares (I was surprised by how much was created for the film), but what is there instead lingered, hanging over me long after I'd shut the book.

I always love that King spends time with his characters. Their histories and relationships are laid out in detail, and it makes the whole story rooted in humanity, which in turn makes it all the more scary. I didn't have a lot of sympathy for Jack from the start, but I did sympathise with Wendy's fierce desire to keep her family together and safe, and the way they all shine during their fleeting happy moments at the Overlook, before it's all taken away. It's such clever writing and confirms, as I've said many times before, that King's books are about so much more than the horror.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gore, Racial slurs, Murder, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Child death, and Child abuse

zellburke's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

2.0

The will-they-won't-they romance between Jack "I wish I knew how to quit you" Torrance and a stiff drink. They're the toxic couple that stays together because they love the drama.

Obviously, the book is going to differ from the movie adaptation. This was no different, and in both, they have their merits and their faults.

In the text, you do get a lot more depth into both Wendy's, Jack's, and Danny's characters. The family dynamic is tense from the start, and you end up lying in wait for the pressure to burst. King does a fair job throughout of building suspense and giving readers things to watch out for/fear.

However, something about King's writing is not for me. I suspected this going in so I acknowledge I am not the most impartial judge. Even though it is a horror story filled with evil and icky characters, the amount of sexist, racist, and homophobic language seems excessive at times, especially coming from a white, male author.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Racism, Racial slurs, Sexism, Child abuse, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, Alcoholism, Murder, Addiction, and Homophobia

litliz'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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Mental illness, Vomit, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Murder, Racial slurs, Car accident, Death, Blood, Confinement, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Cursing, Violence, Alcoholism, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Alcohol, Racism, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

so_casually_cruel's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Alcoholism, and Child abuse

Moderate: Racial slurs, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Fire/Fire injury