Reviews with content warning for Death - Docteur Sleep

I can absolutely understand why people were disappointed with this book. But, in comparing a book to its predecessor there will always be hurdles- especially if you are expected to follow one of the cultural watermarks of the 20th century- The Shining.
Regardless, I thought that Doctor Sleep for what it is, was a very interesting read that I felt built on the foundation which King laid down in The Shining very well.
The story follows Dan (Danny) Torrance- a man plagued by the traumatic events of his time in the Overlook Hotel. Dan finds himself an alcoholic who is not above stealing money from single mothers solely to pay for his next drink.
As time progresses Dan eventually starts in AA and becomes sober with the help of Billy the fucking MAN Freeman, and Dr. John. He becomes employed as a worker at a hospice center where he helps people pass through the veil of death. He is gifted the nickname of "Doctor Sleep", as he phrases passing away as "going to sleep".
While working here he comes in contact with Abra Stone- a young girl who not only has the shining, but, who has a shit your pants strong version of it. Dan and Abra are in contact for a little while before it becomes evident that her shine is being targeted by... a group of bumbling goons.
The True Knot are the central antagonists of this story and quite honestly, they were a fucking disappointment to me. I have not recently read a book where the villains were so so so outclassed by the protagonists to the point where I was certain that none of the protagonists would perish at their hands. And, you know what? I was right. These characters had such an easy time dismantling the enemies in this book that I truly didn't feel like there were any stakes at risk, which is a bit disappointing, especially when compared to things like Salem's Lot, The Stand, Duma Key, Needful Things... every fucking book by King. Even the ending of the Shining had the main characters battered and bruised, but, the villains in this book were so fucking nonthreatening. I thought that more background to these characters would have been really appreciated as well. I mean, they are people who are in some cases centuries old, and all we know is that they have been around for a while.
I was not cheering for any of the good guys to win, but, there was scarce a moment where I thought someone could even die.

In comparison to the movie, I felt that the book versions of the True Knot were much less interesting. I did appreciate, however, how we could see and understand the desperation which each of them faced. I thought that the characters themselves were interesting as they were all archaic by standard human lifespans, but, they were still just psychic vampires who prey upon the "steam" released when a person with the Shine is killed.
I thought that these were some of the most doofus ass characters, because they were continually outmatched by the tag team of Dan and Abra.
I got such fucking satisfaction from these characters dying, because they are child predators who have a god complex due to their chronological invincibility (perceived).

I thought that the final showdown was.... kinda boring to be honest. However, I did like the feeling of catharsis that follow when Dan utilized the "ghostie people" who he had locked away for 30 years to kill members of the TK. I thought that this was a symbolic release of the trauma that Dan had been carrying. And, reading about him getting his 15 year chip from AA? I was like a proud son. Hell yeah. I read this book and got the feeling that Dan had become the man that Jack had aspired and ultimately failed to become, as he fell victim to his demons of addiction. Ultimately, Dan broke the chains of generational trauma and addiction.

I felt that this book was a strong follow up to one of the greats in terms of horror fiction. The pacing, however, was wonky to me, and there were sections wherein I felt that the book could have hurried the fuck up, but, all in all I appreciated getting a bit of closure regarding Dan Torrence.

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_masha_'s review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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taliatalksbooks's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense medium-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

3.0

Doctor Sleep by Stephen King couldn’t hold a flame to its predecessor, The Shining, but was entertaining all the same. I loved getting to see a grown up Danny Torrence, and King’s approach was certainly meant to push some buttons. In King fashion, Doctor Sleep deals with tough topics in addition to its plot, such as addiction, which I think he handles extremely well. With that being said though, even though I genuinely loved The Shining, King’s sequel fell short in a lot of key areas. First off, the characters. I genuinely didn’t feel an attachment to any character, so things happening to them felt weightless and inconsequential. Not to mention that the villain (the True Knot and Rose the Hat) was one of the worst villains I’ve seen to date. Evil for evil’s sake, the True Knot is certainly bad, there’s no doubt, but WHY. Why them? Why now? There were a lot of unanswered questions and so many factors trying to break them that it felt chaotic and convenient. Second, the book lacked a reliance on the events of the Overlook in my opinion. Yes, there were mentions and a few characters, but I was largely disappointed in how the final battle ends, due to the potential of the location and host of characters that once wandered the halls of the Overlook. Third, the plot. The plot was so simple and predictable, which is typically not something I’d attribute to King and his writing. You pretty much knew where the story was going, even if you weren’t sure how you were going to get there, whether it be an Earth cruiser or The Helen Rivington, someway somehow, you knew where the book would end. I think this book had potential, but it tried to separate itself from the original while holding on to minor aspects (instead of using the major callbacks from The Shining: the roque mallet, Jack Torrence, the hornets nest, the hedge animals, the boiler). Obviously some of these couldn’t make a return, but, then again, it’s a Stephen King novel. Anything is possible. If you’re a fan of the Shining and want more Doc, then I’d say it’s worth the read, but try not to compare it to the Shining too heavily, or you may be disappointed.

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alaskan_bull_worm's review against another edition

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adventurous dark sad 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

3.25

The beginning of this book is horrible, but mostly because you have to accept precious little Danny is no longer precious little Danny. After you’ve let that sink in, the book is pretty good. But having to see Danny as he is as an adult in the beginning was so hard I nearly quit right off the bat.

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eliasiexil's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious sad tense fast-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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amandas_bookshelf's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad 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

4.5

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a_alves00's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-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? No

4.0

Stephen King did not disappoint with this one!

I watched the movie last year and I was curious to see how different the ending was gonna be, since in the shining movie, the overlook didn't burn down. Although it was a great movie, I barely remembered most of it and the book brought all the memories back!

SK Books are always amazingly written but sometimes also quite hard for me to follow. But the writing of this one was very clear, even though it still took me days to finish it 🤣

When I first heard of this book, I didn't know what to think. I really enjoyed the shining, to me its one of his best works, and I wasn't sure whether a Sequel was necessary. But it was. I loved Danny in the shining (the book, NOT the movie) and I love him even more now. He could have easily let Abra do her own thing and not bother to help but he did! And I love him for it.

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mzynda's review against another edition

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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

Along with Lisey’s Story, this might be one of my favorite Stephen King books.

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