Reviews with content warning for Injury/Injury detail - The Shining

This was a very tense book riddled with mystery and a page turner from the beginning. I honestly never wanted to put it down as the momentum of the events never seemed to slow down and I was always anxious to read what was next. Highly recommend for horror and Stephen King fans.

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onyxem's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Well, this is my first Stephen King novel as well as the first book I've read this year (yes, I am much behind on my reading goal..) and it was an unsettling delight! At first, I was quite overwhelmed at the prospect of reading something that is over 600 pages and that being my first read of the year. However, the way that King writes made it easy to keep my pace up, it was always either fast or medium paced.

I loved the characterization, the use of foreshadowing, and the claustrophobic nature of the book itself. The mystery at hand of what The Overlook was hiding and its past secrets kept me wanting to read more and subsequently had me dreading what was going to take place. It gave me that feeling that I seek after when I consume thriller/horror genres, I felt creeped out and off-put in the best way.

If I had to ask for anything, I really wish I knew more about the history of the Overlook and its inhabitants. What caused them to be so bitter? I want to dive deeper into each character's backstory and the hauntings of this place.

I do have Doctor Sleep to look forward to, and I'll definitely be reading it in the future after I take a lil' breather/break! A solid 4 stars overall :)

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uranaishi's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.0

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pizzaisjesus98's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
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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briar_nettleroot's review against another edition

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dark emotional 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

5.0

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chaptersbydani's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

BANNED BOOKS CHALLENGE READ:
Word on the street is that every one of Stephen King’s books have been banned/or challenged at some point since their publication. The Shining was challenged for “containing violence and demonic possession and [ridiculing] the Christian religion” in Wyoming and Alabama.
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I’m honestly shocked that I liked this as much as I did. This book broke my reading slump and kept me up all night. This is my first Stephen King book and I totally understand why he is the icon he is.

The way he writes is just mind blowing. It’s so simple. You never feel like it’s over your head and you always feel so close to figuring everything out. But you just never quite do until he reveals it. And despite the fact that basically every character is the most awful person I’ve ever encountered (Jack being the worst), I was sucked in immediately.

And the way the text was formatted??? Cherry on top. It added so much suspense and really illustrated the flirtation/ descent into madness.

There definitely was violence and demonic possession. I didn’t see the ridicule of Christianity (and wouldn’t have cared if it was there tbh.) My only issue is that I didn’t love King’s use of racial slurs. It made sense when the hotel used them and I could halfway accept that. Capitalism is an incredibly racist system and is violent- emotionally and physically- to Black folks (understatement). It makes sense that the Hotel, the symbol of capitalism here, was verbally violent to our main Black character. The other uses just felt out of line considering the author is white.

I wish that our main Black character, Dick, had more purpose in the book than guiding Danny and saving him and Wendy. It felt like he was just a tool for Danny’s development than anything. He’s a cool character and deserved a little bit more.

I will say, this is a book that I was pleasantly surprised lives up to its hype. I’m excited to watch the movie and see how it matches up. Also apparently there’s a sequel? I’m thinking of checking that out too.

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