Author: Stephen King
Title: Doctor Sleep
Place Published: New York, USA
Publisher: Scribner, a Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Year Published: 2013
No. of Pages: 531
Price: Php 1,199.00 (Hardcover)
Place Bought: Fully Booked Rockwell
The Shining is one of my favorite Stephen King books, and I couldn't wait to get my hands on a copy of its sequel Doctor Sleep. The new novel follows the story of Danny Torrance, who grows up following in the footsteps of his dad. Struggling with alcoholism, he travels from town to town in search of menial jobs, until he reaches a certain New Hampshire town.
There, under the guidance of his new employer, he joins Alcoholics Anonymous in an attempt to overcome his addiction. As Dan recovers, so does his Shining. He finds a job at a hospice where he uses his powers to provide dying patients some comfort. This is when he is contacted by Abra, a young girl with the strongest Shining Dan's ever known.
Meanwhile, a group of quasi-immortal humanoid creatures called the True Knot live off the "steam" produced by children with The Shining--as they are slowly tortured to death. The True Knot is running out of steam when they discover the existence of Abra, a child with the mother load of it.
As the True Knot plans to abduct Abra, Dan and his friends get ready to save her.
Review:
I had high expectations for Stephen King's Doctor Sleep, and while I wasn't disappointed by his sequel to The Shining, I wasn't amazed (or terrified) by it either. The novel started strong. I enjoyed reading about how Dan learned to control his powers with the help of Dick Halloran. I learned more about Dick's past too, which was an unexpected treat.
I found Dan's struggle with alcoholism quite moving, especially the part where he hits rock bottom. Instead of portraying him as superman with The Shining power, King made him very human and very relate-able. Unfortunately, super girl Abra got the exact opposite treatment. Although she was a young girl with her fair share of normal problems, she was way too powerful.
She just stomped on everyone like they were tiny ants. I half expected her to go all Carrie on the True Knot with flying spoons and RVs and all that. She does have the power...
I do accept that it's difficult to write about such a powerful character, while still making her human and relate-able. However, I do have a bias against characters like Superman, who is basically invincible. Abra, for me, is like the Supergirl of King's characters.
I also missed the claustrophobia of the first novel, where Dan and his parents were trapped in The Overlook Hotel for the winter. With the True Knot travelling cross-country in their RVs and camping everywhere, the novel was too wide-open-spacey for me.
Disregarding all my nitpicking, the story as a whole was great, especially the parts focusing on Dan. While not as scary or mind-blowing as its predecessor, Doctor Sleep is a worthy sequel to The Shining. Stephen King rules!
My Rating:
4 out of 5
Title: Doctor Sleep
Place Published: New York, USA
Publisher: Scribner, a Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Year Published: 2013
No. of Pages: 531
Price: Php 1,199.00 (Hardcover)
Place Bought: Fully Booked Rockwell
The Shining is one of my favorite Stephen King books, and I couldn't wait to get my hands on a copy of its sequel Doctor Sleep. The new novel follows the story of Danny Torrance, who grows up following in the footsteps of his dad. Struggling with alcoholism, he travels from town to town in search of menial jobs, until he reaches a certain New Hampshire town.
There, under the guidance of his new employer, he joins Alcoholics Anonymous in an attempt to overcome his addiction. As Dan recovers, so does his Shining. He finds a job at a hospice where he uses his powers to provide dying patients some comfort. This is when he is contacted by Abra, a young girl with the strongest Shining Dan's ever known.
Meanwhile, a group of quasi-immortal humanoid creatures called the True Knot live off the "steam" produced by children with The Shining--as they are slowly tortured to death. The True Knot is running out of steam when they discover the existence of Abra, a child with the mother load of it.
As the True Knot plans to abduct Abra, Dan and his friends get ready to save her.
Review:
I had high expectations for Stephen King's Doctor Sleep, and while I wasn't disappointed by his sequel to The Shining, I wasn't amazed (or terrified) by it either. The novel started strong. I enjoyed reading about how Dan learned to control his powers with the help of Dick Halloran. I learned more about Dick's past too, which was an unexpected treat.
I found Dan's struggle with alcoholism quite moving, especially the part where he hits rock bottom. Instead of portraying him as superman with The Shining power, King made him very human and very relate-able. Unfortunately, super girl Abra got the exact opposite treatment. Although she was a young girl with her fair share of normal problems, she was way too powerful.
She just stomped on everyone like they were tiny ants. I half expected her to go all Carrie on the True Knot with flying spoons and RVs and all that. She does have the power...
I do accept that it's difficult to write about such a powerful character, while still making her human and relate-able. However, I do have a bias against characters like Superman, who is basically invincible. Abra, for me, is like the Supergirl of King's characters.
I also missed the claustrophobia of the first novel, where Dan and his parents were trapped in The Overlook Hotel for the winter. With the True Knot travelling cross-country in their RVs and camping everywhere, the novel was too wide-open-spacey for me.
Disregarding all my nitpicking, the story as a whole was great, especially the parts focusing on Dan. While not as scary or mind-blowing as its predecessor, Doctor Sleep is a worthy sequel to The Shining. Stephen King rules!
My Rating:
4 out of 5
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