Doctor Sleep

Hardcover, 531 pages

English language

Published Jan. 6, 2013 by Scribner.

OCLC Number:
793575424

View on OpenLibrary

4 stars (6 reviews)

The now middle-aged Dan Torrance (the boy protagonist of The Shining) must save a very special twelve-year-old girl 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 spunky twelve-year-old 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 …

27 editions

Review of 'Doctor Sleep' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Picking up this book warped me right back in time to 1987, when I was a 16-year old teenager who had just recently discovered Stephen King and read all his books. It was summer, it was hot, and my favorite record was New Order's Substance 1987, which was playing constantly in the background while I read The Shining. Reading about the Overlook Hotel, I can hear Shell Shock in my subconscious.

Anyhow, Doctor Sleep is the book I never knew I wanted, a return to Danny. It's not quite as good as The Shining, but I loved it anyhow.

As quick synopsis, we watch Dan grow up into an alcoholic like his dad to dull his Shining. Eventually he settles in New Hampshire, joins AA and meets Abra Stone, a 13-year old girl with the same powers he had, just stronger. But there's a group of beings called The True …

Review of 'Doctor Sleep' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

The continuing saga of Danny Torrance was a wonderful treat. This story delves into what shining means and what it costs, not only the dangers that can be attracted by letting it surface, but also the internal pain of these encounters. I learned a lot about alcoholism, which is shocking because I had an external appreciation of its horror, but now through Danny, I can see deeper. The treatment is brilliant.

King mentions he set out to write a scarier book than The Shining. I don't think it's as scary, but I also think that's the wrong question. This is a BETTER story. The characters dwarf Jack and Wendy. This Constant Reader was happy to take the plunge!

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