KH

or Willy Wonka for the 21st Century!

I was a little apprehensive downloading this book, since so many people wrote they loved this book for the 80's pop culture references and/or tapping into their inner geek. I'm not particularly interested in either one of those topics. I used my precious credit anyway, because I LOVE Will Wheaton and I didn't regret it for a second. While some of the references - both to 80's trivia and gamer topics - went over my head, this in no way detracted from the overall appeal of the story.

It's fantastically written and read, and I intend to harass everyone I know into reading or listening to this book. Right after I get done listening to it again. Definitely in my top five favorite audiobooks of all time. Behind only The Help & 11/22/63.

Last thing, I was giving my mother a ride one day (she is 72 and an avid reader, though mostly romance novels) and listened to this on the trip with her for about 30 minutes. She made me write down the book's name and author so she could check it out on her next library run. So, like I say, not just for geeks.

I put off listening to this, figuring I had read all there was to read about the Dark Tower, what more could be said? And the reviews about King's narration didn't stoke my interest any.

But I did finally listen, and am so glad I did. As King said in the intro, turns out there was a story or two left, and I'm glad there was! It's been years since I read the Dark Tower books, and now intend to go back and start from the beginning. I expect it to be a welcome reprieve from the usual love-sick vampires and zombies in my current library. I love the Dark Tower world and it's many characters. I can't wait to dive back in.

As for King's narration: he's not a professional, and doesn't claim to be. But I find it endearing that yes, he likes to write stories, but he actually likes to TELL stories too. And since this was a short one, what's the harm? He's good enough, a better reader than I for sure, and even better than some "professional narrators" I've heard.

I love Stephen King, but we can all agree his writing has changed over the years (to be expected and not necessarily a bad thing) but it sure was good to hear a classic King story again.
The Shining is a chilling psychological thriller, edge of your seat, keep you up at night terror that got into my brain so deep I could still hear Campbell Scott speaking when I closed my and *tried* to sleep. The Shining doesn't contain any of the political or religious opinions that so many complain about in King's more recent stories; it's just a deliciously scary story.
Campbell Scott is perfect for this, his timing and inflection are spot on. King loves to insert the character's subconscious thoughts into his writing, it was a real habit in his early works and The Shining is no exception. That can be hard on narrator, but Mr. Scott handled the quirky writing style easily.