The Shining

Executive Summary: As usual, the movie is not as good as the book. But it's not as different for me as many seem to say. The characters have a lot more depth, and it's certainly fantastical, but the core of the story is the same. If you like the movie, but haven't read the book, it's worth your time to check out.Audio book: So how do you rate an audiobook that was adapted into a movie staring Jack Nicholson? Surprisingly well actually. This was the first book I've listened to by Campbell Scott. He's pretty good. He's no Jack Nicholson, but he doesn't try to be.Full ReviewI might have read this before, but I wasn't sure. With [b:Doctor Sleep 16130549 Doctor Sleep (The Shining, #2) Stephen King http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1362415596s/16130549.jpg 17851499] coming out, I wanted to refresh myself either way.I've only read about 1/3 of Mr. King's 60+ books. Most of what I've read have ties to The Dark Tower. This book is mentioned somewhere in the series. It seems like the Overlook Hotel might be competing with The Crimson King's Low Men for Danny. He'd probably be a hell of a breaker.I'm not much of a horror fan, but Mr. King is one of my favorite authors. Why? Well most of what I've read by him tends to overlap into the fantastical. This one is no different. The book centers around the evil Overlook Hotel, which is very much so a character in it's own right (or more accurately, several characters). I'm intrigued by the history of the hotel. There have been a series of dark events that have been mostly covered up by the ownership and the management. Are the owners purposefully helping the hotel to continue to claim new victims? It kind of seems that way.The other reason I love Mr. King's books is his characters. I didn't really like any of the Torrance family. Jack is an alcoholic with anger issues, Wendy is neurotic, and Danny is kind of creepy. If you watch the movie, you might think that's all there is to the characters.The book goes deeper. Jack's father was also an angry drunk. Wendy's mom gives her cause to be neurotic and that's before she married Jack. Danny is still a little creepy, but all of the characters are a bit more sympathetic and certainly more three dimensional.Jack's decent into madness is more tragic. Wendy's craziness is more understandable.3.5 Stars rounded up, because: fanboy.