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Stephen King - Doctor Sleep (The Shining Sequel)


Michelle

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I think I class The Shining as my favourite King novel, so I was rather surprised to learn today that there will be a sequel next year.

 

Stephen King returns to the characters and territory of one of his most popular novels ever, The Shining, in this instantly riveting novel about the now middle-aged Dan Torrance (the boy protagonist of The Shining) and the very special twelve-year-old girl he must save from a tribe of murderous paranormals.

 

On highways across America, a tribe of people called The True Knot travel in search of sustenance. They look harmless—mostly old, lots of polyester, and married to their RVs. But as Dan Torrance knows, and tween Abra Stone learns, The True Knot are quasi-immortal, living off the “steam” that children with the “shining” produce when they are slowly tortured to death.]

 

Haunted by the inhabitants of the Overlook Hotel where he spent one horrific childhood year, Dan has been drifting for decades, desperate to shed his father’s legacy of despair, alcoholism, and violence. Finally, he settles in a New Hampshire town, an AA community that sustains him, and a job at a nursing home where his remnant “shining” power provides the crucial final comfort to the dying. Aided by a prescient cat, he becomes “Doctor Sleep.”

 

Then Dan meets the evanescent Abra Stone, and it is her spectacular gift, the brightest shining ever seen, that reignites Dan’s own demons and summons him to a battle for Abra’s soul and survival. This is an epic war between good and evil, a gory, glorious story that will thrill the millions of hyper-devoted readers of The Shining and wildly satisfy anyone new to the territory of this icon in the King canon.

 

Publication date is 24th Sept 2013 - it seems a long wait, but I'll definitely be watching out for it.

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  • 3 weeks later...

i just finished the shining last night.when u get to page 200 odd its starts to get going.but i liked it dont know if my fav stephen king book but is def up there!! i reading a gangster book next called the fall of south bridge bit of a change.then im gonna read 'IT'.

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i just finished the shining last night.when u get to page 200 odd its starts to get going.but i liked it dont know if my fav stephen king book but is def up there!! i reading a gangster book next called the fall of south bridge bit of a change.then im gonna read 'IT'.

 

"IT" is one of my favorites.My wife and I travel some in Maine and there is one town we went through that reminded me of "IT" and, LOL, I was glad to get out of the town. I had goose bumps.

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  • 4 weeks later...

As you can tell by my username I love anything by Stephen King. I am only 20 years old but I have been wanting to read Stephen King novels from an early age. My dad owned a copy of The Stand and kept it on his bedside table, I would sneak a look at it but my mother would say it was an 'adult's' book.

 

Eventually when I was about 15 I read it through once and I was hooked on King. In the last 5 years I have read almost everything he has wrote and I am terrified that he will stop writing and I will no longer have a favorite author to keep up to date with. Therefore I was thrilled when he announced Dr Sleep and also Joyland.

 

I wait every year for a new King book to be released - 11.22.63 was great and I expect great things from the next two.

 

King never disappoints!

 

:readingtwo:

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I read The Shining years and years ago, but didn't particularly enjoy it. It's one I definitely have to revisit as I know my tastes have changed quite a bit over the years and I will probably like it the next time around.

 

I recommend reading anything a second time because you will pick up things that you missed. But I ESPECIALLY recommend reading a King book twice because of the depth of his writing, you will most certainly find multiple things you've missed or have different views on characters the second time around.

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  • 4 months later...
  • 2 weeks later...

I didn't realise what a brilliant writer Stephen King was until last year when I read the Shining (my first Stephen King novel). Thanks for this post Michelle - I'll be waiting impatiently for the sequel. In the meantime there are so many of his books to keep me going! - I'm going for The Stand next, I think.

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I've read a lot of S. King's books. The Shining was my first and it was what got me hooked on him. Since then I've read lots of his books, and only recently started reading him again after giving him a break for quite a few years.

The Stand is great.

Dome is also very good,but very large.

I enjoyed reading & watching Needful Things

for something different try Gerald's Game.

I've never actually read IT as the movie was creepy enough...

 

I think the sequel of the Shining sounds interesting enough to give it a try.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I'm not very happy that there is a sequel coming up, I'm afraid it will ruin part one. I like "The Shining" because it's so simple, it doesn't have any Dark Tower references, it doesn't try to be original. And the sequel may be an opposite. Lately Stephen King has been trying very hard to impress his readers (at least that's what I thought reading his newest books) and I think the description of "Doctor Sleep" confirms it. Of course, I hope I'm wrong.

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  • 4 months later...

Not one for me I'm afraid! I saw Stephen King on tv the other day, and that's when he was talking about this book, it was the first I had heard of it. I thought, 'oh good' because I thought the film of The Shining was excellent [had not read the book.]He said in the interview that he hadn't liked the film at all, so I am guessing the book was quite a bit different and perhaps a bit more horror filled?

I don't 'do' horror, so am very selective with Kings books. Thank you for the synopsis Michelle, I won't now be reading it, 'the slow torture of children?' ugh.

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I will be getting the Kindle version, but I plan on re-reading The Shining first. I haven't read it in a long time, and I remember not liking it much. However, I'm willing to give it another go, as there's a good chance I'll enjoy it more this time around.

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I was pleasantly surprised to have a copy through my door on Friday, so I'm almost half way. The beginning was really good, and it's a bit 'quieter' now, I'm interested to see where the story ends up.

 

It really would help to read The Shining first, but I don't think a re-read would be necessary, as long as you remember the general goings-on of the story.

 

The cover is just gorgeous!

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