Sunday, October 6, 2013

Doctor Sleep by Stephen King

DOCTOR SLEEP, Stephen King, Scribner’s, $30, 532 pages, ISBN: 9781476727653, reviewed by Barry Hunter.

Even after all of the books he has written, don’t let it be said that he can’t still amaze and pull a rabbit out of a hat and to throw his constant readers a wtf moment. I and others have been waiting for this a long time and I am definitely satisfied with the finished product.

DOCTOR SLEEP is the follow-up to THE SHINING; I don’t want to call it a sequel. It is the continued story of Danny and Wendy Torrence and Dick Hallorann in the years following the burning of The Overlook Hotel. Shortly after the events, Danny is still haunted by the lady in Room 2217 and others. Dick comes to his aid and teaches him how to handle them.

Later on Danny follows in his fathers footsteps by becoming an alcoholic and only when he reaches dead bottom and ends up in a small Vermont town does he find a place to settle and goes to work in a hospice. Here he earns the nickname of DOCTOR SLEEP as he is able to help the patients pass over without pain.

Abra Stone is a young girl who is extremely strong in the shine and although she knows little of the power she holds but she is so powerful that she comes to the attention of the True Knot, a group of psychic vampires who feed on “steam” or the power released by the ones they torture and kill in order to gain their essence.

King gives us one hell of a ride as the True Knot seeks ou Abra in order to obtain her team”; Abra becomes friends with Dan and together they must come up with a way to save her life and help Dan get rid of the final demons that haunt him and clean up the evil that remains at the site of the Overlook.

To me, his may be the best book he has written thus far. I still am hoping for sequels to THE STAND and ‘SALEMS LOT. Thank you Stephen, for a wonderful read and an exciting trip down memory lane. I’m one happy “constant reader”.

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