El’s review of Doctor Sleep (The Shining, #2) > Likes and Comments

I was kind of expecting this.

I'm very sad about it. Very sad.

I'm sad, too, El. I had thought about re-reading The Shining, but I am glad that I didn't. I think that the distance helped me to view this more of a stand alone story.

I'm not upset with you at all, because I think that Stephen King tends to be hit or miss for me, as well. I'm not a diehard fan, but I do believe that he rips a great yarn now and then, and I will continue to check out his book. For example, I am very much interested in the Dark Tower Series.

Maybe you're right about the distance between the books, and I'm sure I did myself a disservice by re-reading it so recently. But that just again proves my theory that Doctor Sleep is a better stand-alone novel than to be attached to anything else.

I'm a huge fan of The Dark Tower books, and I actually haven't even finished reading the series. I have all the books, but got halfway through the second to last book years ago before life got in the way. So I'm slowly making my way back through the series, starting over, so I can get back to where I was and then finish the last book and a half.

He's very hit or miss for me - I will always come back, no doubt. He's a great storyteller, normally. I think when he's on, he's on. But when he's not... he's definitely not.

I am glad that you (and so many others) enjoyed this, even if I don't agree with you guys. I just get sad when I think about how incredible it could have been.

Ah, bummer.

Good to know though. :(

Yeah, I'd say if you weren't digging NOS4A2, then you probably won't like this either. I thought that was much, much better.

Yeah, that was the first thing that came to mind reading your review. It's especially disappointing considering just how good 11/22/63 was. Oh well, one less book to read.

Ronald wrote: "It's especially disappointing considering just how good 11/22/63 was."

Err, um...

Jason wrote: "Ronald wrote: "It's especially disappointing considering just how good 11/22/63 was."

Err, um..."

Well, I liked it a great deal.

I'm going to read The Long Walk next.

(In case any of you cares.)

I have not read 11/22/63 yet, it keeps staring at me from my shelf at home. I need to make it a priority. Who will be right? Ronald or Jason?

We'll make a game of it.

Jason wrote: "I'm going to read The Long Walk next.

(In case any of you cares.)"

I care! I really liked that one when I read it years ago. Might not like it as much now, but I consider it one of his better stories.

That's what my friend told me! (A real-live friend.) I'm reading it on account of her recommendation. I was supposed to have read it in October, because spooky, but I was not as good as you about reading books this month. I think I only read two.

(I average three, I think. Which is pathetic, but better than the average American, at least.)

You should read it, anyway! (11/22/63.) Just to prove Ronald wrong.

=)

Just kidding, Ronald. We're semi-friends now, because Bolaño.

Also, I didn't DISLIKE 11/22/63, for the record. I just didn't love it.

I will stop posting now.

What's the last King book you loved, Jason? Just out of curiosity.

The Stand.

I mean I liked It and The Shining, too. But The Stand is where it's AT.

I was disappointed with Under the Dome.

I need to get back to The Stand. I think I was like 15 when I was trying to read that, and it didn't make a real impression on me.

Blech on Under the Dome. That was the second biggest disappointment in King's recent years. (Doctor Sleep being [in my opinion] the other one.)

I'm planning a re-read of Misery soon. That's one that Alex really liked when he read it recently.

I've actually never read Misery. Mostly because I've seen the movie, which was brilliant, and I'm afraid it won't measure up.

It's still on my to-read list, though.

I agree that The Shining was a better book, and it was probably King's mistake treating this as a sequel. It's not. It's well-written and well-crafted, and the storytelling is excellent. It's fresh and organic. So, I think your two-star rating is a little harsh, but that's what makes horse races.

Thanks for the comment, Michael; though to be honest, I'm not sure I understand how a two-star rating - which, according to Goodreads, is "it was ok" - is harsh, per se.

Authors interpret it as "it was garbage."

Well, that's not the intention of the rating, so if authors take it that way, then that's on the authors.

I completely agree :( :) :(

I don't understand... where you expecting a Part II of The Shining? Because that's not what sequels are...

Of course we weren't going to see the same sort of story we saw in The Shining... the evil that controlled the hotel went up in flames. This book is set decades later... why would it repeat the same story? Yes, we now see Jack and Danny's rock-bottom state, but why would you expect them to be the same? Their traumas are way different. And honestly, would you have liked to see the same flaws in Danny that we saw in Jack? They are different characters...

I think you were expecting to revisit the Overlook Hotel and its evil... but that's hardly possible since, again, the hotel exploded and Dick saw the evil die with it.

Basically this is a rating based on what you THOUGHT the book was going to be, or what you HOPED it was going to be. Nothing wrong with that, I guess. Just keep in mind this was a sequel... a continuation... not The Shining Revisited or The Shining II. Heck, even the title makes NO reference to The Shining... it's called Doctor Sleep... because it's Danny's story... not Jacks and not a continuation of the horrors in The Overlook Hotel.

Actually, it is The Shining #2. It says it right there on the Goodreads book page. But that doesn't matter - a sequel, as you say, is a continuation, yes, but there can and should be similarities in tone and atmosphere and even writing style. I did not feel any of those were continued here.

All of your concerns would be valid if they in any way related to anything I wrote in my review. My complaints fall more in line with King's writing not being as strong or as solid in this book as in The Shining. Take away The Shining, if that part is tripping you up. His writing today is not as strong or as solid as his older writing. I'm not the first to point that out, and I won't be the last.

My feelings are if you're going to continue a previous story, there should be similarities in the way the stories are written. You disagree, and that's fine. I'm glad you enjoyed Doctor Sleep so much. I, on the other hand, saw a greater potential that could have been met.

El wrote: "Actually, it is The Shining #2. It says it right there on the Goodreads book page. But that doesn't matter - a sequel, as you say, is a continuation, yes, but there can and should be similarities i..."

I'm still reading through Doctor Sleep. My points are valid because that's what I got from your reviews and the comments following. Maybe that's not how you meant it, but that's what I got from it. See how that works? Same with King. Everyone understands whatever they want from his works lol. I don't understand what you mean as far as your "the writing should be similar" statement because every King books has King written all over it (pun intended). His style is unmistakable and present in all of his stories. What exactly did you want from Doctor Sleep? Maybe if you explain exactly how these stories aren't similar in style, or exactly how this isn't suitable to be a sequel to The Shining, I could understand your point of view better.

Not trying to be a jerk or anything, just trying to understand. Maybe I'll understand better once I'm through with the book, but so far, I think he's doing a great job.

I don't have the book with me and it's almost a year later, so if all I want to say is it "felt" different to me, that is a valid enough argument. I read a lot of books, and I read a lot of books by the same authors - if you can't feel a difference between certain books by your favorite authors, I don't feel you're doing a good enough job as a reader. If you read just for the sake of reading or because the things you read are popular, and you give five stars to everything, you might not be a very discerning reader. That's fine. I tend to be a critical reader, and that's fine too. But I don't owe anyone any explanations. If a book didn't inspire me, I'm not likely to do a very thorough review of it.

King is one of my favorite authors but I don't love him just for the sake of loving him. For one thing, I love him for his treatment of his characters, many of whom have been very real to me over the years, though less so in recent years (like here or in Mr. Mercedes). In The Shining, we get to know Danny, Jack, Wendy, and Dick inside and out, and I do not feel Danny was given the same treatment here, nor do I feel any of the characters in Doctor Sleep were given that same treatment. They are cardboard in comparison to the original characters.

The good news is there are a lot of reviews of this book on Goodreads, so you can certainly read others that might be more to your liking. Your points are valid, just as mine were originally.

But, again, I am glad the book is working so well for you and so many other readers. It didn't work for me the same way, period.

You don't have to justify your opinion, I just wanted to understand in what ways you found the book lacking. There's no need for you to get offensive or defensive... after all, I thought this site was to discuss books and why we liked/didn't like them.

Don't make assumptions about me without knowing me. Thanks.

Discussion is one thing. Your very first comments in this thread did not feel to me like you were inviting conversation so much as you wanted to disagree with my review or change my opinion based on what you thought I expected the book to be.

I also wasn't making assumptions about you as a person. I meant "you" in a grander scheme of things, as in "people". I'm sorry you took that personally. It's difficult to have quality discussions around here sometimes because so much is lost when there's no way to gauge tone or intention.

Hey, I know it's been a hot minute since this review, but I just wanted say thank you, it's nice seeing this perspective because I very much agree, and sometimes I feel I'm in the minority. One thing I think would have been VERY interesting to see in a follow up to The Shining, which is a book that is very much about cycles of abuse, is a more detailed look at Danny's struggle with alcoholism, which was taken care of in like a page and half if I recall correctly. It's been a few years though so I could be wrong.

Also, I don't know what a hot minute actually is, so it might not have been used appropriate, I dunno.