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)

It's Stephen King at his best.

Will Patton, can't ask for a better narrator. He always makes you want to hear more.

Great sequel to The Shining

If you can get through the very beginning, it’s very scary but in a gross way, the remaining is one of my favorites!

Wow! A Stephen King novel with a satisfying end!

This truly is an exciting and memorable follow up to his masterful classic. Each nuance and note lends closure to the Torrence family in a style that could only be Stephen King's.

Wonderful Addition

Wonderful addition to The Shinning, worth the read! You get a great insight into the aftermath of The Overlook Hotel.

Fantastic!!!

I listened to The Shining and Doctor Sleep, back to back and absolutely loved both books immensely. They inspired me due to the fact that I have felt that anger in me and have struggled with alcohol in my life. Very heartfelt story. I hope to see more some day with the characters when it's time. Thank you, Stephen King.

Nothing less than amazing!

I loved it. Hope there will be a Part 3! Story line very clever & I couldn't put it down.

Classic King!

What did you love best about Doctor Sleep?

I loved exploring the life of Danny Torrance now that he's all grown up. The characters are fully developed, and the story is well told.

Have you listened to any of Will Patton’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Excellent performance! Lots of good voices, and together with King's descriptions of these charactors, Will brought these characters to life.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

If I could have I would have. Took less than a week, I listened more than normal because the story was so good.

Wonderful Sequel

A fantastic follow up to a great story. Characters are flawed and complex, and I can relate to some of their problems. If you enjoyed The Shining, check it out!

Stephen King has done it again

If you could sum up Doctor Sleep in three words, what would they be?

Worth the wait

What did you like best about this story?

The strong characters

Which scene was your favorite?

AA meetings with sponser

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made me do all of the above

Thank you for taking me back to the Overlook!

What did you like best about this story?

As with all of King's books, by favorite part of them all are the characters he creates. They are real, like I know them! Or could them, or have known them! He creates 3D people that have good and bad within each, just like in the real world. This I believe is what makes all of his stories so hard to put down.

I just loved revisiting Danny, now as adult, many years down a very hard road. It is good to see where he went after the tragedy at the Overlook, what fate befell he and his mother after his father perished and how he grew up.

I will not spoil the book but let me say it was surprising but also believable (to me at least) the set of coincidences that led to his profession, the people he meets and the events that brings him back to the Overlook once again.

Any additional comments?

King was my first favorite author growing up and still ranks and one of my all time favorites now in my 40s.