Doctor Sleep

A Novel

By: Stephen King

Narrated by: Will Patton

Length: 18 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's summary

Audie Award Winner, Fiction, 2014

Audie Award Nominee, Solo Narration - Male, 2014

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 12-year-old girl he must save from a tribe of murderous paranormals.

On highways across America, a tribe of people called The True Knot travel in search of sustenance. They look harmless - mostly old, lots of polyester, and married to their RVs. But as Dan Torrance knows, and spunky 12-year-old Abra Stone learns, The True Knot are quasi-immortal, living off the "steam" that children with the "shining" produce when they are slowly tortured to death.

Haunted by the inhabitants of the Overlook Hotel where he spent one horrific childhood year, Dan has been drifting for decades, desperate to shed his father's legacy of despair, alcoholism, and violence. Finally, he settles in a New Hampshire town, an AA community that sustains him, and a job at a nursing home where his remnant "shining" power provides the crucial final comfort to the dying. Aided by a prescient cat, he becomes "Doctor Sleep."

Then Dan meets the evanescent Abra Stone, and it is her spectacular gift, the brightest shining ever seen, that reignites Dan's own demons and summons him to a battle for Abra's soul and survival. This is an epic war between good and evil, a gory, glorious story that will thrill the millions of hyper-devoted fans of The Shining and wildly satisfy anyone new to the territory of this icon in the King canon.

©2013 Stephen King (P)2013 Simon & Schuster

Critic reviews

"Will Patton's delivery enhances King's prose in ways that make King's work so much more enjoyable in audio than just reading it…Patton's narrative voice captures the rhythm of King's words. His character voices, filled with a variety of regional American accents, remain consistent. Most importantly, the sinister aspects that embody characters and moments of this novel are superbly executed and will certainly leave listeners on edge." ( AudioFile)

"King, not one given to sequels, throws fans a big, bloody bone with this long-drooled-for follow-up to The Shining." ( Booklist)

"…a gripping, taut read that provides a satisfying conclusion to Danny Torrance's story." ( Publisher’s Weekly)

I always wondered what happened to Danny

I enjoyed this book. Excellent story, thank you Mr. King, and Will Patton is perfect for the adult Dan.

Excellent!

There's a time in every America's life where he or she has to face the fact that he or she is in fact a Stephen King fan. You can resist it, maybe like I did well into middle age, but King's work just strikes some chord in the American soul. It is what it is. It can't be helped. This book was the one that made me realize that I too was not immune. A latter day King work, and a sequel to boot, was what finally drew me in. I'm a huge fan of The Shining by Kubrick and I found the movie adaptation of Dr Sleep to be shockingly good. I'd expected derivitive crap but it was original and interesting. I decided to read the book and well, here we are.

Fantastic follow up

The Shining is one of my favorite novels of all time. King really services the original while giving us a whole new story for Danny. The narration is brilliant! As the point of view changes the narrator embodies the character not only in voice but in “thought”. Great story! Great performance!

excellent

Great Rendition thanks to King and Patton!
I am very happy with my purchase

wish more of the book was in the movie

I loved it as someone who has loved the shining since I was a kid and my mother had it on her shelf. I lived the plot of the shine being in the family line getting stronger with each generation.

Good for most part

Hard to match the legendary The Shining but I appreciated this sequel. It felt like the story could have gone in a direction more in keeping with the telepathic phenomenon as opposed to the introduction of the true nots.

Not the best sequel, but still worthwhile King

3.5 stars (rounded up to 4)

I have to admit, ever since I read The Shining, the Torrance family, Dick Halloran, and the Overlook Hotel have stayed with me. Ideally, I would have been more than excited to explore Wendy's and Danny's lives post-Jack. To be fair to Mr. King, he had an impossible task pleasing every reader by answering the question, "so what's next for Wendy and Danny?"

Doctor Sleep finds Danny as a recovering alcoholic working at a hospice. One day, he is contacted by a toddler who also has the gift/curse that is "the shine".

Their story is aimed at a mass market, so enter the predictable villains to stir up trouble for Danny and young Abra, whose powers are even more extraordinary than Danny's. Who are these pesky villains? The True Knot: psychic vampires who feed off of those who "shine". They drive around in RV's, wear "Somebody in (whatever city) loves me t-shirts, and all have cartoon villain names, like Crow Daddy, Grandpa Flick, and Snakebite Andy. Yes, they kill kids as well as adults, but the True Knot is more comical than scary. Their dialogue is cheesy, and they're just one-dimensional villains with no depth. Also, are we really supposed to buy that they have never fed on anyone before with a communicable disease?

As to Abra, I did not really feel anything for her character. The strong part of this novel is Danny. It was fantastic to watch him go through a character arc. There are references to The Shining here, but just a few. I was waiting for a tight throat moment as Danny reflects on his parents and on what happened at the Overlook, but that moment never came.

In the end, the story drags on, the ending is predictable and safe. and I did not really feel anything for the young Mary Sue heroine, but Danny Torrance and the cat who helps him are the reasons to read this book. There are also some beautiful reflections on the human condition in the narrative, particularly at the end.

This is good King, not great, but good King is still a worthwhile and satisfying endeavor.

A wonderful follow up to The Shining

It connects wonderfully to The Shining, while also being its own self contained story. I preferred Campbell Scott as narrator, he did a fantastic job with The Shining, though Will Patton did a great job with Dr. Sleep too. Four stars for performance because his New England accents were tough to listen to. Boston resident here, and he sounds like every tourist trying to imitate it. I loved the empathy he lent to Dan's voice though, it was on par with Scott's.
Dr. Sleep was really fun, I especially enjoyed the villains, and I loved seeing so many ideas and events come full circle from The Shining. King does a great job absolutely immersing you in his worlds, and two weeks after finishing the book I am still thinking about it all the time.

Stephen King never disappoints!!!

This book was so spectacular!!! The narrator totally pulled me in and it was the coolest thing ever to see what happened after the Overlook to both Dan and Wendy. The last half of the book had me so riveted, I couldn't stop listening and during the last confrontations/battles, I couldn't sit down and was literally on my feet yelling for the characters!!!

I cannot say enough positive things about Doctor Sleep! So compelling, so beautifully written, thank you Mr. King for the seemingly endless parade of compelling and unique storytelling that always poors from your incredible imagination!!

Doctor Sleep

I liked this book it was pretty good. It was no where near as dark as the previous book but still has some pretty good moments. I feel like the book has a little bit of a slow start but as it keeps going it keeps making you being interested.