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A review by nathanjhunt
The Shining by Stephen King
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
This was my 71st book finished in 2025.
I've never read a Stephen King book, I honestly didn't think I would. But I didn't realise he wrote this one, I kind of just assumed the film was its own thing. So I thought I'd give it a go, as the film is quite legendary.
I want to start off by saying that Jack is an awful, horrible person. I hate him, I don't like anything he says, thinks or does, I have zero sympathy for him. I struggle to connect to or like any of the main characters, and when you're battling through a 500 page book, that makes it difficult.
Wendy should have divorced Jack years ago. She's a fool for giving him second chances and letting her son be at risk, so again I feel absolutely no sympathy for her.
Danny is kind of annoying, and doesn't talk like any 5 year old I know - has Stephen King ever met a child?
The only character I liked was Hallorann. But there was such unnecessary and uncomfortable racism and racial slurs throughout. It has absolutely no relevance to the plot, so why include it? Why can't the one black character just be a character who is black - why does his race come up in virtually every interaction? "His black hands", "his dark face". Fuck off Stephen!
There was also frequent awkward sexual scenes or references that always took me out of it. Wendy making reference to gang rape whilst she's giving birth, and all the midwives laughing? Sure, Stephen, sure. You fucking freak.
It's also loaded with the usual sexism from these 20th century novels.
This book is slow. And I mean SLOW. It's simply BORING for so much of it. It's full of back stories and flashbacks, and dream sequences, and so much stuff I don't care about. Oh no, someone else used to own the hotel, but who owned it after him? What a mystery! Who gives a fuck?! The scrapbook chapter was so goddamn boring. How can anyone find that string of useless info dumping interesting?
I even found the climax boring. Like, the whole 500 page build up lead to this. Yes yes, the pup will get it's medicine (for the 100th time), yawn yawn.
It just wasn't scary to me in the slightest, and I found most of the "villains" cringe, weird and weak. A topiary lion attacking people - err sure, why not. A man in a dog outfit, on all fours and barking at Danny - just weird, wtf Stephen.
It had American Horror Story: Hotel vibes, but much less interesting than that show.
I don't think Stephen King is that good of a writer. It certainly seemed a bit simplistic, repetitive and not particularly clever. I won't be reading another of his books!
I've never read a Stephen King book, I honestly didn't think I would. But I didn't realise he wrote this one, I kind of just assumed the film was its own thing. So I thought I'd give it a go, as the film is quite legendary.
I want to start off by saying that Jack is an awful, horrible person. I hate him, I don't like anything he says, thinks or does, I have zero sympathy for him. I struggle to connect to or like any of the main characters, and when you're battling through a 500 page book, that makes it difficult.
Wendy should have divorced Jack years ago. She's a fool for giving him second chances and letting her son be at risk, so again I feel absolutely no sympathy for her.
Danny is kind of annoying, and doesn't talk like any 5 year old I know - has Stephen King ever met a child?
The only character I liked was Hallorann. But there was such unnecessary and uncomfortable racism and racial slurs throughout. It has absolutely no relevance to the plot, so why include it? Why can't the one black character just be a character who is black - why does his race come up in virtually every interaction? "His black hands", "his dark face". Fuck off Stephen!
There was also frequent awkward sexual scenes or references that always took me out of it. Wendy making reference to gang rape whilst she's giving birth, and all the midwives laughing? Sure, Stephen, sure. You fucking freak.
It's also loaded with the usual sexism from these 20th century novels.
This book is slow. And I mean SLOW. It's simply BORING for so much of it. It's full of back stories and flashbacks, and dream sequences, and so much stuff I don't care about. Oh no, someone else used to own the hotel, but who owned it after him? What a mystery! Who gives a fuck?! The scrapbook chapter was so goddamn boring. How can anyone find that string of useless info dumping interesting?
I even found the climax boring. Like, the whole 500 page build up lead to this. Yes yes, the pup will get it's medicine (for the 100th time), yawn yawn.
It just wasn't scary to me in the slightest, and I found most of the "villains" cringe, weird and weak. A topiary lion attacking people - err sure, why not. A man in a dog outfit, on all fours and barking at Danny - just weird, wtf Stephen.
It had American Horror Story: Hotel vibes, but much less interesting than that show.
I don't think Stephen King is that good of a writer. It certainly seemed a bit simplistic, repetitive and not particularly clever. I won't be reading another of his books!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis