Monday, October 21, 2013

The Shining Part Two

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 (from Goodreads).
I did feel the book moved slowly in the beginning, only gaining speed near the end.  There was one unanswered question I had from The Shining. It was the part when Jack is thinking about what happened when he beat up a student of his. Because it was from Jack’s perspective you can see why he was so angry at the kid but there was one small line that I only caught because I was listening to the story. Jack hinted at believing that the kid “knew something” about Jack and I could never figure out what Jack thought the student knew. Jack never mentioned it aloud or in his thoughts throughout the book  and it was never referred to again. There is a twist in Doctor Sleep that answers that small question. I have no idea if anyone ever caught it but it bothered me.
Only one inconsistency I found between the two books was that Dan in Doctor Sleep mentioned something about his mother Wendy never going to college, where in The Shining she did go to college. It is where she and Jack first met. I cannot remember if she finished and got a degree or if she quit once they got married but either way it was a small detail that seemed incorrect.
This book was not scary like its predecessor but I do not think it was meant to be. We learn more about the gift of shining and the area of the Overlook Hotel is still important. The main point of the book was to see Danny again and find out if he can live after that horrible winter in the mountains.
I enjoyed this book and am glad that King took the time to write about what happened to young Danny. This is a slow-moving book and King takes his time in telling it. Avid and loyal readers will enjoy this book.
3.5 stars

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