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doomkittiekhan 's review for:
Doctor Sleep
by Stephen King
You absolutely would do yourself a disservice if you read Doctor Sleep before you read The Shining. Also, if you've only ever seen the film version of The Shining, trust me when I say that you absolutely need to read the book.
To date, [b:The Shining|11588|The Shining (The Shining, #1)|Stephen King|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1353277730l/11588._SY75_.jpg|849585] is one of the best "haunted house" stories I have ever read. I heartily recommend it, even to people that typically do not gravitate toward the horror genre. King weaves a tale of toxic masculinity, substance abuse, generational trauma, broken ambition, elitism, and of course, the demons (real or imagined) that can torment us, that will stay with you long after you've left The Overlook behind. And what is left of that behemoth hotel? How do we move past the wreckage? As we learn in the opening chapters of Doctor Sleep, no one truly can put the past behind them.
Doctor Sleep is King's answer to the question "what ever happened to the Torrance boy?". When we meet Danny, Wendy, and Hallorann again, it is in the aftermath of the events of The Overlook. We learn that everyone is trying to heal, but that Danny is still being threatened by the ghosts of the hotel who are drawn to his Shining. With the help of Hallorann, Danny gets a little assistance to once again confront these ghosts. This is all prologue. King propels the story forward several years and we see Danny again (now going by Dan), fully wrecked and living up to his father's legacy of alcoholism and rage. It's uncomfortable, and by the end of this book you'll probably know more about AA than you ever wanted to know, but there it is. Dan struggles, and we struggle with him. But all is not lost, unlike Jack Torrance, Dan finds his way to an AA meeting and "does the work" instead of trying to live by white-knuckle sobriety.
While Dan begins to confront the issue of his sobriety, there is a "disturbance in the force" - the birth of Abra Stone. Abra is another child touched with the shining, however, we quickly learn that her abilities greatly surpass those of Dan. From the time she is an infant, Abra telepathically links herself to Dan and send him messages over the course of the next few years. Dan is intrigued by this and is curious about the person on the other end of his mind.
What 'the shining' is and what it can do to a person is explored so beautifully within Doctor Sleep. Through Dan and Abra, we see how different people can react to their gift. What factors like a steady home life, drugs and/or alcohol, etc can have on the development of those gifts. Dan and Abra's lives are parallel in more ways than one. With Abra, the daughter of academic and loving parents, we see what Danny's life might have been like if Jack Torrance had made different decisions. And, as we learn over the course of the story, they are linked by more than the shining, but also by blood.
Dan and Abra's relationship is brought sharply into focus when Abra has a terrible nightmare about a group of vampire-like people torturing and sucking out the wispy life-force from a boy in a baseball uniform. Abra quickly comprehends that these vampires are eating people like her and that they need to be stopped. Reaching out to the only person she thinks will understand, Abra telepathically tells Dan about what she saw.
The shining is a tangible and changeable thing, and the True Knot, the vampiric creatures of Abra's dream are semi-immortals who, in their human lives, also possessed the shining (what they refer to as 'steam') and now seek to steal it from others in order to prolong their lives. Their greed and hunger have the power to consume them. When the leader of the True Knot, the charismatic and terrifying Rose the Hat, becomes aware of Abra's existence, she will stop at nothing to find her. Find her and turn her into a member of the True Knot, eat her, or keep her alive and slowly siphon off her steam for years.
I could not put Doctor Sleep down. I want to discuss the intricacies of the plot and the character development, but I would rather you read it for yourself. I want you to have the same, unspoiled journey reading this that I did.
Abra is the spunky superhero that we all need.
Dan's redemptive hero's journey is wonderful to see unfold.
And Azzie the Cat is the real mvp. [a:Stephen King|3389|Stephen King|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1362814142p2/3389.jpg], are you listening? I need an Azzie the Cat story. Please and thank you.
To date, [b:The Shining|11588|The Shining (The Shining, #1)|Stephen King|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1353277730l/11588._SY75_.jpg|849585] is one of the best "haunted house" stories I have ever read. I heartily recommend it, even to people that typically do not gravitate toward the horror genre. King weaves a tale of toxic masculinity, substance abuse, generational trauma, broken ambition, elitism, and of course, the demons (real or imagined) that can torment us, that will stay with you long after you've left The Overlook behind. And what is left of that behemoth hotel? How do we move past the wreckage? As we learn in the opening chapters of Doctor Sleep, no one truly can put the past behind them.
Doctor Sleep is King's answer to the question "what ever happened to the Torrance boy?". When we meet Danny, Wendy, and Hallorann again, it is in the aftermath of the events of The Overlook. We learn that everyone is trying to heal, but that Danny is still being threatened by the ghosts of the hotel who are drawn to his Shining. With the help of Hallorann, Danny gets a little assistance to once again confront these ghosts. This is all prologue. King propels the story forward several years and we see Danny again (now going by Dan), fully wrecked and living up to his father's legacy of alcoholism and rage. It's uncomfortable, and by the end of this book you'll probably know more about AA than you ever wanted to know, but there it is. Dan struggles, and we struggle with him. But all is not lost, unlike Jack Torrance, Dan finds his way to an AA meeting and "does the work" instead of trying to live by white-knuckle sobriety.
While Dan begins to confront the issue of his sobriety, there is a "disturbance in the force" - the birth of Abra Stone. Abra is another child touched with the shining, however, we quickly learn that her abilities greatly surpass those of Dan. From the time she is an infant, Abra telepathically links herself to Dan and send him messages over the course of the next few years. Dan is intrigued by this and is curious about the person on the other end of his mind.
What 'the shining' is and what it can do to a person is explored so beautifully within Doctor Sleep. Through Dan and Abra, we see how different people can react to their gift. What factors like a steady home life, drugs and/or alcohol, etc can have on the development of those gifts. Dan and Abra's lives are parallel in more ways than one. With Abra, the daughter of academic and loving parents, we see what Danny's life might have been like if Jack Torrance had made different decisions. And, as we learn over the course of the story, they are linked by more than the shining, but also by blood.
Dan and Abra's relationship is brought sharply into focus when Abra has a terrible nightmare about a group of vampire-like people torturing and sucking out the wispy life-force from a boy in a baseball uniform. Abra quickly comprehends that these vampires are eating people like her and that they need to be stopped. Reaching out to the only person she thinks will understand, Abra telepathically tells Dan about what she saw.
The shining is a tangible and changeable thing, and the True Knot, the vampiric creatures of Abra's dream are semi-immortals who, in their human lives, also possessed the shining (what they refer to as 'steam') and now seek to steal it from others in order to prolong their lives. Their greed and hunger have the power to consume them. When the leader of the True Knot, the charismatic and terrifying Rose the Hat, becomes aware of Abra's existence, she will stop at nothing to find her. Find her and turn her into a member of the True Knot, eat her, or keep her alive and slowly siphon off her steam for years.
I could not put Doctor Sleep down. I want to discuss the intricacies of the plot and the character development, but I would rather you read it for yourself. I want you to have the same, unspoiled journey reading this that I did.
Abra is the spunky superhero that we all need.
Dan's redemptive hero's journey is wonderful to see unfold.
And Azzie the Cat is the real mvp. [a:Stephen King|3389|Stephen King|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1362814142p2/3389.jpg], are you listening? I need an Azzie the Cat story. Please and thank you.