The Shining/Doctor Sleep (no spoilers beyond back of the book)

[neadods]

Doctor Sleep is an extremely unsatisfying story. Not because King has lost his touch for horror per se, but because what makes The Shining so scary and thrilling is that it is a survival story; it is three people attempting to get out of an area alive. The ghosts in the Outlook, the things that happened in the Outlook, were there because they were *part of the Outlook* - "This inhuman place makes human monsters."

Doctor Sleep, on the other hand, is a story of man's inhumanity to man. And if you want to read about THAT, you can turn on the news.

Comments

[amethyst-hunter.livejournal.com]

I've never been a fan of Stephen King. The only two things I liked by him were Misery and On Writing, and the former, I only like because I liked the movie, not the book. (in the book, Annie chops *off* Sheldon's feet, whereas in the movie she only breaks his ankles. Not that I can even watch that scene - I always fast-forward through it because it was just so horrid to watch the first time, so I don't need to see it again)

Years ago I tried reading Gerald's Game and something else (I forget the title) by him, and all I came away with was "oooookaaaaay. S&M gone wrong and assweasels exploding out of the bowels. What. Ever."

[neadods.livejournal.com]

The Shining has grown on me over time, although it and the movie of the other hotel horror story (1402? Don't remember) are favorites. TBH, they're also the only two Kings I liked, although his son scared the crap out of me with Heart Shaped Box.

[airie-fairy.livejournal.com]

I wonder how this is going to turn out for me. I'm okay with man's inhumanity to man as a theme, but like...having not read any King besides The Shining, I dove on Doctor Sleep because DANNY. And on that front so far, it's been great; but on the front where the villains are like actual tangible villains rather than basically an eerie sense of foreboding grafting onto self-destructive tendencies -- and also that there is so much going on rather than basically an eerie sense of foreboding made literal -- is sorta killing the suspense for me. (The ghosts of the Overlook remaining after the explosion part works, though, because the ending of The Shining was too clean for me.)

[neadods.livejournal.com]

I will be curious to talk over some of the plot points when you finish it.

I have to confess, having seen the miniseries version of Shining, which implied Danny would be okay, I was kind of disappointed that he seemed doomed to spiral downwards despite his mother and Dick.

[airie-fairy.livejournal.com]

I mean, wishful thinking wants Danny to be okay (and I still feel like ultimately he managed to get there), but I really appreciate the detail and the realism of the complicated process that it would be living life after that stuff.