Reviews

The Shining by Stephen King

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the_sunken_library's review against another edition

3.0

I enjoyed about the last 100 pages. I found this incredibly slow and hard to get into. But the world and idea about people with shine is so fascinating and wonderfully constructed.

plasm4_4's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad 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

lmichellereads's review against another edition

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4.0

I have to say, I spent most of the time analyzing the text and the movie. Vastly different but both incredible. Finally, I can say that I can’t pick between a novel and its major motion picture.

teeese's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced

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

4.75

ladygodivas's review against another edition

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5.0

finishing this book is a milestone for me. fully reading a stephen king book always makes me feel so accomplished. mainly because i'm a huge scaredy cat. however, i'm not so sure if i will be reading the sequel...

sneeps's review against another edition

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4.0

So like, all the changes Kubrick made were 100% correct. The hedge monsters for example would have been ridiculously silly on film, though they were incredibly effective in print. The wolf man was stupid and dumb no matter the medium, so replacing him with a quick shot of a furry giving a blowjob was way better. This book takes some time to warm up (I considered quitting a third of the way through bc it was honestly just boring), but then it rachets up real fast and gets Terrifying. However, in classic King form, it goes on too long and elements become borderline silly. The ending is sincerely goofy. The villain shows its hand as always and stops being terrifying, and is defeated in a way that (though very much foreshadowed) is pretty dumb in execution.

As a story about alcoholism, it's effective and scary/sad.