When a writer announces that he is writing a sequel to one of his most popular and seminal works, it is natural for fans to have equal feelings of excited anticipation and trepidation.
But we are not talking about just any writer here. This is Stephen King. Undoubtedly the most important writer the genre has known since H.P. Lovecraft. Some might argue that he has had more impact than Lovecraft.
And this is The Shining sequel. Very few would disagree that The Shining is one of the handful of genuine masterpieces in the history of horror literature. It is the book that put King on the map as not only a great horror writer, but one of the most interesting writers in the world.
I ought to know, because I was one of the doubters.
I was a science fiction reader, but I also liked horror. I had read Lovecraft, Levin, Matheson, Bloch, and I was beginning to read some modern writers in the genre, like Charles L. Grant. Like the idiot I can be, I assumed that this Stephen King upstart was a trashy bestseller. A spooky equivalent of Sidney Sheldon, or Judith Krantz.
One night I was staying at a friend's and I was up late. Could not sleep, so I picked up a book from the shelf. It was The Shining. Expecting to be less than impressed, I started reading it. And immediately I was taken away into the troubled mind of Jack Torrence.
Not only was I a fan right away, I think it is safe to say that I had a new favorite writer. This is what I had been waiting for.
The writing in The Shining was so sharp, so perceptive. It reminded me a little bit of Philip K. Dick, but as much as I admire the mind and talent of that SF innovator, Stephen King writing was immeasurably richer. Perhaps because Dick had come up from the pulps, and while I know that King read and enjoyed his share of that type of writing, he also had an academic background.
It's kind of an unbeatable package: Genre fiction written in a literary style. Many have attempted it. Few have succeeded the way King has. And King himself has rarely succeeded as well as he did with The Shining.
I've been a King fan ever since. Like most readers, I loved some of the books, others didn't work so well with me. I never stopped coming back to see what he had in store for his constant readers next.
It pains me to say it, but King's work has been especially hit and miss for me in the last decade. I am very happy to say that, for me as a reader, he has been on one hell of a roll since Duma Key. I thought that one was terrific, and I also loved Full Dark No Stars, 11/23/62, Under the Dome, Blockade Billy, and especially Joyland.
Stephen King announced a sequel to The Shining a while back, and it was promised to be a return to the King of Olde. The guy whose job it was to scare the living hell out of his readers.
I saw a lot of guarded excitement. Rumors of a psychic cat worried fans. Myself included. Still, who could resist the idea of King returning to The Shining? Not many. Surely not I.
I was thrilled to receive an advance copy of Dr. Sleep recently. My excitement was palpable. This is surely the horror fiction event of a lifetime. Though I tried to keep my enthusiasm in check, it was nearly impossible. The very idea of getting back acquainted with Danny Torrence, his mother Wendy, Dick Hallorann, and even Danny's imaginary (or is he?) friend, Tony, seemed almost too good to be true.
How could anything live up to it? Could even King pull it off? Painful memories of Son of Rosemary sprang to mind as I held the book.
I could not be happier to report that he succeeded. Magnificently. I can not imagine a finer Shining sequel than Dr. Sleep.
Danny Torrence, now grown, is an alcoholic. He inherited the malady from his father. Having hit a particularly ugly bottom, Danny finds acceptance in a new city with new friends. He gets a job as a hospice and earns the name, Dr. Sleep, because he eases the passage of dying patients into the next realm. Yet the shining has never left him and he senses need from a child. Just as Hallorann knew that young Danny needed help in The Shining, adult Danny becomes aware of a young girl named Abra. A girl who shares his gift. A girl who is in deadly danger from a group of traveling beings who gain sustenance by ingesting the essence of human beings. But they will gain much more if they can devour Abra.
Stephen King is a multi-faceted writer, and his works can be taken on various levels. The Shining is a terrifying story of a haunted hotel, and it can be enjoyed as such. Some have speculated that The Shining is a metaphor for alcoholism. Jack Torrence is an alcoholic in a very shaky recovery, and there are definitely some haunted rooms in his mind. He returns to drinking and brings destruction upon himself and his family.
Dr. Sleep is an exciting, scary, suspenseful story of a man still haunted by his own past, but he also feels bound to assist a badly frightened little girl. It can be looked upon as a story of intervention.
Those who have read King's On Writing know that he is a former substance abuser and a resounding success in his struggles with it. Alcoholics Anonymous plays an integral part in Dr. Sleep. This might scare more readers off than the psychic cat, but believe me, it does not slow the story down a bit. On the contrary, I found it to be fascinating and inspiring.
Dr. Sleep is a horror novel, and it does its job well. It is also a deeply spiritual story. I've seen the question arise about whether horror can be life affirming. Dr. Sleep answers that question with a resounding YES.
Stephen King has never been in finer form than here, in Dr. Sleep. I'd say that it is like the old King many of us fell in love with in the 1980's, but that would be inaccurate. He is better than he ever has been.
No book will please all readers, and surely there will be those who dislike Dr. Sleep. I truly believe that these will be in the small minority. Trust me, you are going to love it.
And, please, don't worry too much about that psychic cat.
But we are not talking about just any writer here. This is Stephen King. Undoubtedly the most important writer the genre has known since H.P. Lovecraft. Some might argue that he has had more impact than Lovecraft.
And this is The Shining sequel. Very few would disagree that The Shining is one of the handful of genuine masterpieces in the history of horror literature. It is the book that put King on the map as not only a great horror writer, but one of the most interesting writers in the world.
I ought to know, because I was one of the doubters.
I was a science fiction reader, but I also liked horror. I had read Lovecraft, Levin, Matheson, Bloch, and I was beginning to read some modern writers in the genre, like Charles L. Grant. Like the idiot I can be, I assumed that this Stephen King upstart was a trashy bestseller. A spooky equivalent of Sidney Sheldon, or Judith Krantz.
One night I was staying at a friend's and I was up late. Could not sleep, so I picked up a book from the shelf. It was The Shining. Expecting to be less than impressed, I started reading it. And immediately I was taken away into the troubled mind of Jack Torrence.
Not only was I a fan right away, I think it is safe to say that I had a new favorite writer. This is what I had been waiting for.
The writing in The Shining was so sharp, so perceptive. It reminded me a little bit of Philip K. Dick, but as much as I admire the mind and talent of that SF innovator, Stephen King writing was immeasurably richer. Perhaps because Dick had come up from the pulps, and while I know that King read and enjoyed his share of that type of writing, he also had an academic background.
It's kind of an unbeatable package: Genre fiction written in a literary style. Many have attempted it. Few have succeeded the way King has. And King himself has rarely succeeded as well as he did with The Shining.
I've been a King fan ever since. Like most readers, I loved some of the books, others didn't work so well with me. I never stopped coming back to see what he had in store for his constant readers next.
It pains me to say it, but King's work has been especially hit and miss for me in the last decade. I am very happy to say that, for me as a reader, he has been on one hell of a roll since Duma Key. I thought that one was terrific, and I also loved Full Dark No Stars, 11/23/62, Under the Dome, Blockade Billy, and especially Joyland.
Stephen King announced a sequel to The Shining a while back, and it was promised to be a return to the King of Olde. The guy whose job it was to scare the living hell out of his readers.
I saw a lot of guarded excitement. Rumors of a psychic cat worried fans. Myself included. Still, who could resist the idea of King returning to The Shining? Not many. Surely not I.
I was thrilled to receive an advance copy of Dr. Sleep recently. My excitement was palpable. This is surely the horror fiction event of a lifetime. Though I tried to keep my enthusiasm in check, it was nearly impossible. The very idea of getting back acquainted with Danny Torrence, his mother Wendy, Dick Hallorann, and even Danny's imaginary (or is he?) friend, Tony, seemed almost too good to be true.
How could anything live up to it? Could even King pull it off? Painful memories of Son of Rosemary sprang to mind as I held the book.
I could not be happier to report that he succeeded. Magnificently. I can not imagine a finer Shining sequel than Dr. Sleep.
Danny Torrence, now grown, is an alcoholic. He inherited the malady from his father. Having hit a particularly ugly bottom, Danny finds acceptance in a new city with new friends. He gets a job as a hospice and earns the name, Dr. Sleep, because he eases the passage of dying patients into the next realm. Yet the shining has never left him and he senses need from a child. Just as Hallorann knew that young Danny needed help in The Shining, adult Danny becomes aware of a young girl named Abra. A girl who shares his gift. A girl who is in deadly danger from a group of traveling beings who gain sustenance by ingesting the essence of human beings. But they will gain much more if they can devour Abra.
Stephen King is a multi-faceted writer, and his works can be taken on various levels. The Shining is a terrifying story of a haunted hotel, and it can be enjoyed as such. Some have speculated that The Shining is a metaphor for alcoholism. Jack Torrence is an alcoholic in a very shaky recovery, and there are definitely some haunted rooms in his mind. He returns to drinking and brings destruction upon himself and his family.
Dr. Sleep is an exciting, scary, suspenseful story of a man still haunted by his own past, but he also feels bound to assist a badly frightened little girl. It can be looked upon as a story of intervention.
Those who have read King's On Writing know that he is a former substance abuser and a resounding success in his struggles with it. Alcoholics Anonymous plays an integral part in Dr. Sleep. This might scare more readers off than the psychic cat, but believe me, it does not slow the story down a bit. On the contrary, I found it to be fascinating and inspiring.
Dr. Sleep is a horror novel, and it does its job well. It is also a deeply spiritual story. I've seen the question arise about whether horror can be life affirming. Dr. Sleep answers that question with a resounding YES.
Stephen King has never been in finer form than here, in Dr. Sleep. I'd say that it is like the old King many of us fell in love with in the 1980's, but that would be inaccurate. He is better than he ever has been.
No book will please all readers, and surely there will be those who dislike Dr. Sleep. I truly believe that these will be in the small minority. Trust me, you are going to love it.
And, please, don't worry too much about that psychic cat.
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