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The Shining Stephen King 9780450040184 Books

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The Shining Stephen King 9780450040184 Books

I don't typically write reviews about books. I've read close to 20 SK books in the last year and a half and over more in my life...this is so unlike his normal character as a writer that it's unnerving. I've read IT, the Stand, 'Salem's Lot, Carrie, Dark Tower series 1-7.5(?) - everything chronologically before this book and tons of newer stuff (I'm working back through his catalogue from start to finish). Nothing compares to this. Prepare for the darkest form of horror. I can't with good conscience recommend anyone to read this book. It gave me nightmares every night that I read it. I woke up thinking about it, and couldn't get it out of my head. I'm reading something else as fast as I can...can't wait to get back to the basic SK. Nothing else holds a candle to this.


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The Shining Stephen King 9780450040184 Books Reviews

I have to hand it to King- there's a reason this guy sells billions of books. He can really tell a story, flesh it out and pace it very well. He's also great at creating a believable, ordinary setting and then infusing the supernatural in a fairly believable way. Like others, I found the beginning of the book a bit too slow of a buildup; it could've been tightened up quite a bit. However this is probably the fastest I've ever read a long book. So the flow is generally very effective.

I don't want to spoil too much, but it's hard to describe without doing that. Sometimes his zombie thing works and sometimes it doesn't. It's most effective when describing his cat. I would say the highlight was the old man Jud's tale of Timmy Baterman; that was truly effective and eerie. By the final climax, it's predictable and off-and-on effective. He's most effective when he's using small details to set an ominous tone. The climax is over the top; it might have been more effective if the son had just been an eerie zombie and not a murderous one. Like others said, it almost becomes a "Chucky bloodbath".

His use of pop culture references is effective, if over used. He's used that device before and generally it somehow grounds the atmosphere of supernatural into an everyday setting which is what King excels at. Also, he refers to death as "Oz, the Great and Terrible", based on a child's view of Death as a force. It's overused, but very effective; it fits in with his meditation on death as an ever-present unavoidable danger that we all fight but ultimately surrender to. This is a tale of not accepting death; someone said he could've put more profound thoughts into this but I think he does a pretty good job for a popular novel. I don't expect serious existentiality in a horror tale; he makes his points in a believable way through the eyes of his characters. One of his strong points is in illustrating a character's inner thoughts to really show the true horror. He's much better at this than a typical bloodbath ending.

Speaking of characters, his two most effective are Jud the old man (even if it seems cliche of Wise Country Old Timer, it works) and the undead cat. They set the tone of dread and demonstrate compelling force that lurks in the Indian burial ground. I also liked his invocation of the classic monster, the Wendigo, even if its purpose was a little vague. He could've elaborated more on why it was there. There are some vague allusions to cannibalism that don't quite fit, even though he talks about cannibalizing one's grief and sanity. I guess it works but...

Like others, I thought the scene of the funeral fight was over the top and unnecesary and lent an unintended slapstick to an otherwise serious story in which death was an everpresent malevolent force.

King and some of his readers have said this was his scariest book; i haven't read much King so I can't say, but The Stand was much better at creating a very creepy tone of dread. Also, apparently he did this fairly early in his career-he shelved it for a long while- so it does showcase his talent pretty well. His pacing is impeccable and his skills for creating tension are tight. The grave digging and night scenes are pretty brilliant, as his wife and Jud's futile efforts to stop a morbid escapade.

I also enjoyed the historical devices of Jud's tales of setting the history of the burial ground; it's such a cliche to say "Indian burial ground' in horror. So it helps to create a believable back story there. He actually gets away with using a well-worn device.

Overall, it has very strong points and a somewhat predictable and disappointing end. As I said before, I would've preferred less of a blood bath and more of an eerie zombie ending. His creation of eerie zombies (as opposed to the brain-eating, Night of the LIving Dead kind) was very effective and chilling. It felt much more real than the movie stereotype.
I had seen the movie before I read the book so going in I thought I knew what to expect. But I was actually caught off guard and found myself loving the book more then I loved the movie. I still think the movie is good but this book is just... more.

The characters in this book are just so complex. Each one of them feels real. One moment I am sympathetic with Jack a man who just can't seem to get a break. But the next moment I am scared of him and what he might do to his family. Wendy is also so much more complex. I found myself really interested in her and absolutely scared for her life.

Danny though is my favorite. He's such a bright and sweet boy and it was interesting to get into his head. I loved to read how conflicted he got between protecting his family but also not wanting to upset them. I also really love his interactions with Dick Hallorann who is also very interesting.

Overall this is an excellent creepy read.
I finished this book about a half hour until midnight tonight. I had always loved the movie growing up so my brain conjured up the idea of reading the book. Seemed innocent enough and my sweet little naive mind thought, "how bad can it possibly be?" I read some of the other reviews just to see what I was getting myself into. After some peer research, I felt adequately prepared for the task at hand. As I sit here with all the lights on in my house, Boy Was I Wrong! I have been a little more jumpy and experiencing some pretty bizarre dreams since I began reading but nothing prepared me for the sheer terror I was in store for as I read the last 100 pages or so. By the time I reached the final pages, my hands and feet were ice cold and clammy. I am almost 30 years old and I was terrified to leave my bed to go to the bathroom. I worked up the courage (or my bladder couldn't take it any more) and embarked on the trek to the bathroom. As I passed my children's bedroom, my two year old started screaming and crying in her sleep. I am about 99.9% sure that I lost a little piece of my soul (and possibly gained a touch of PTSD) from fright! Overall, this book is great and by far the scariest thing I have ever read. If you have never read it, I highly recommend it!
I don't typically write reviews about books. I've read close to 20 SK books in the last year and a half and over more in my life...this is so unlike his normal character as a writer that it's unnerving. I've read IT, the Stand, 'Salem's Lot, Carrie, Dark Tower series 1-7.5(?) - everything chronologically before this book and tons of newer stuff (I'm working back through his catalogue from start to finish). Nothing compares to this. Prepare for the darkest form of horror. I can't with good conscience recommend anyone to read this book. It gave me nightmares every night that I read it. I woke up thinking about it, and couldn't get it out of my head. I'm reading something else as fast as I can...can't wait to get back to the basic SK. Nothing else holds a candle to this.