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)

LOVED IT!

Once again, we see how talented Stephen King is by awakening Daniel Torrence. He certainly didn't disappoint!

great book!

the writing is amazing and I loved being able to catch up with Danny and seeing what his life has become. The narrator of the book was not as impressive..

Can Will Patton narrate every book??

Great to reconnect with Danny Torrence. World make a great movie. Angelina as Rose; Jim Stress as Danny.

Awesome story!!! Definitely would listen to again!

The story was a great one and gave a great feeling of closure for those wondering what ever happened to little Danny Torrence.

Loved every second of it!

Where does Doctor Sleep rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Top of my list.

What other book might you compare Doctor Sleep to and why?

I would have to say The Shining for obvious reasons.

Which character – as performed by Will Patton – was your favorite?

Dan Torrance

Who was the most memorable character of Doctor Sleep and why?

Rose The Hat- Powerful-deceitful and evil beyond my wildest fears.

Any additional comments?

Would love to see it made into a movie-but think it impossible.

It’s exactly what you get from King- predictable b

Where does Doctor Sleep rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Not great, but I enjoyed it as a good story and listened to it quickly.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

It’s almost like he didn’t know where to end it- there were at least three scenes before the actual ending- that could have resolved everything nicely. The actual ending was satisfying.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

Every old man in the story-and there’s a few- sounded like a cartoon character. A little too much on the accents. Still- you can tell all of the other characters apart well, and female voices aren’t bad- not horrible whispers like some narrators.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The chapters moved from character to character well, and there were very few slow spots.

Any additional comments?

It’s not a bad listen, but if you’ve read a lot Steven King, you’ll recognize a lot of rehash. Even some of the dialog. It’s like he tore chunks from Salem’s Lot, The Green Mile and maybe a little of The Stand –and pasted them all together, but it’s not as epic as any of those stories. You expect some repeat because it’s a follow up on Danny from The Shining, but it’s like he keeps telling the same story over and over. Not that you mind if you’re a fan, it’s a story you like- but be honest about and tie it all together instead of putting it out there and pretending it’s new. It's almost like he's too tired to write something really new.

Different from The Shining but a stand alone book

Wondered if I would like this book because of the bad reviews but needn't have put it off so long.

It was refreshing that there weren't 10,000 million dollar words in the book. Some of SK's books feel like he throws them in liberally just so you know how smart he is. This book is written down to earth.

I'd personally like to see the story continue with Abra as an adult, see how the rest of her story plays out.

Was very happy that we got to see that not all the humanity in Danny's dad died with him.

Loved it

I'm not big on sequels and I won't lie, I put this one off for awhile but once I finally decided to give it a shot I was glad I did. Well written and I like the closure it gave the shining while being its own separate story. Worth reading for sure.

Was a decent sequel

It was hard to get into the story. The overall plot is predictable and the most enjoyable parts come in the form of The Shining references. I felt it dragged on a bit and the characters were hard to really like. It wraps up pretty decently but I never really felt like there was any real danger. Our heroes are all powerful. Definitely not my least favorite King or my favorite. Somewhere in between.

Awesome narration!

Any additional comments?

Will Paton's narration was excellent. It added a level of scare that I don't think I would have gotten if I had read the book myself.