The Shining

Wow! That was really excellent. I read it in preparation to read Doctor Sleep for the movie in a few months, and was really only mildly interested, but it quickly became my favorite King novel so far (out of ‘Salem's Lot, It, and this). The sense of dread and terror really built up in an effective way and wasn't bogged down by the physical presence of it (at least until the end), a factor I think kept the rest of his books from being truly SCARY to me so far.

Besides that it's a much more manageable length than some of his others, with a smaller cast to dig deep into, and I appreciated that. Still felt insanely like him, still had the seemingly requisite Hill House reference (which this also felt the closest to!)

On to Doctor Sleep!