Book info

• Title Doctor Sleep
• Author Stephen King
• Year 2013
• Genre Horror

Following a childhood haunted by terrifying events at the Overlook Hotel, Dan Torrance has been drifting for decades. Finally, he settles into a job at a nursing home where he draws on his remnant 'shining' power to provide crucial comfort to the dying. Aided by a prescient cat, he becomes 'Doctor Sleep'. Then he meets Abra Stone, a girl with 'the brightest shining' ever seen. But her gift is attracting the beautiful yet merciless Rose the Hat and her followers The True Knot. They may look harmless, the sort of people who are devoted to their campers and RVs, but they live off the 'steam' that children like Abra produce. Now Dan must call upon his powers once more as he battles for Abra's soul and survival - facing his fears and reawakening ghosts from his past.

Thoughts

I love The Shining, a book that I can re-read over and over, but I’ve never really been tempted to read the sequel until now. I’ve been getting into Stephen King books again, so was interested in this - one of those sequels that no one really expected or asked for. If I’m honest, I didn’t really like it. It’s very readable and the tale is told excellently, as you’d come to expect from King. But I wasn’t that bothered about this weird group and their steam, and although I liked how plucky Abra was, I felt a bit let down by Daniel… although he’s remarkably well adjusted for what he’s been through, really! The good news is, it’s quite different to The Shining, so that remains untouched in my mind.

Rating: 2 / 5