The Shining
Ratings1,150
Average rating4.1
Great read, and drastically different tone and ending than the movie. Might read the sequel one day, but i don't mind leaving the story where it is for now.
I looked at that old 3-star rating and wondered how I could have given this such a low one, especially after Pet Sematary (another 3-starrer) blew me away after a reread (review on my blog). Some great characterization, backstory and atmospheric thrills, but it kind of wore me down in the end, when I just didn't care anymore. More thoughts on my blog.
Classic for a reason. Fast paced, and genius.
Wasn't a huge fan of Stephen's writing at first (as with every new author you read), but as the book progressed, plot became way too intense, with cliffhangers on every chapter ends.
Could not keep the book down for the last few chapters.
Since there's a movie based on this book of the same name, it helped in visualizing the hotel, its halls, Danny, Jack and Wendy.
I don't recommend reading this book at night, unless you like nightmares, of course.
This is my first horror book (Completely horror) and I loved it.
This book gave me chills.
Stephen King is freaking fantastic.
I did it!! I finally finished this book. I feel so accomplished lol.
So I was going to initially do a comparison post of the book and movie but I've never done that before and I feel like I wouldn't be good at it so I am just going to do a review of the book. I will say I don't recommend the movie at all. I don't think I have ever disliked a movie so much in my life. Anyways on to my thoughts for the book.
It took me pretty much the entire month of March to finish this book. Yes it's a pretty big book coming in at 683 pages but that's not why it took me so long. It took me all month to read it because I could only read so much of it before I just completely lost focus and had to put it down for a little bit an read something else. That has to do with Kings writing. He is so descriptive and it was all a little much for me. I mean why do I need to read a full chapter explaining all of the food that was in the kitchen for them to eat? It doesn't do anything for the story so it could have been left out in my opinion.
It wasn't creepy to me either. I mean things that are meant to be scary to me usually aren't because they are usually very predictable and I tend to laugh at them but this being Stephen King I had some pretty hefty expectations. This was my first Stephen King book and I definitely want to read more of his work even though I pretty sure he's still going to be very descriptive.
Overall I was into the story enough to want to finish it but it was just an ok read for me.
god, jack's ultimate fate and the ending in general completely wrecked me. i didn't expect to love this one as much as i did.
Most people have heard of The Shining. If you haven't heard of the book, you've heard of (or seen) the film with Jack Nicholson and Shelly Long.
For years I've shied away from Stephen King. Some people would call his work twisted, or insane. Others would call him brilliant. I figured it was time to decide for myself.
First off, Stephen King's writing is not for everyone. I had previously read Under the Dome and parts of A Bizarre of Bad Dreams, so I had a general idea of his style. It is generally blunt and bold. For example: instead of quickly saying there is a dead body in the tub, Mr. King goes into detail about the bloated body. I will admit, it was disturbing, but the novel itself is meant to be disturbing! A great horror novel walks the line between the real and the uncomfortable. The success or failure depending on timing within the novel.
The Shining walks that line perfectly. It plays on the familiarity of a hotel and hope for something better, while playing on the fears of ghosts, isolation and possession. It is an uncomfortable read that I couldn't put down. I don't often re-read novels, but this is one I would certainly revisit when I'm in need of a good fright.
This is a reread from when I was a kid. I got so much more from the story this time β it's the difference between being closer to Danny's age or close to Jack and Wendy's ages.
Going to say better than the movie, because this focused on Jack's struggle, as if it actually is a struggle, as opposed to Nicholson being off-his-rocker from page 1. Wendy is a much stronger character. You get why a child would initially fear his parents divorcing more than he would the scary hotel. So many great moments that didn't make the movie, and made the reader care. And a different ending.
Rating: 4 leaves out of 5
Characters: 4/5
Cover: 3/5
Story: 4.5/5
Writing: 4.5/5
Genre: Horror/Paranormal
Type: Audio
Worth?: Yes
I'm not the biggest of fan of Stephen King. His work is dodgy at best but I'm giving it a four because it actually made me scared. The characters were well written as well as the setting. (His power is also his flaw.)
I've seen the movie before, and don't get me wrong I love the movie but the book was just SO MUCH BETTER, probably because he was giving actual descriptions and the monsters were a bit better. I love the atmosphere as well. It really draws you in.
This is Stephen King at his sheer best! It takes you inside a lavish hotel in Colorado, along with a small kid and his parents. And then, the hideous terror that lies behind the walls of Overlook are slowly unfurled by King, in his classic style of writing. You can feel your heart freeze with terror, as you go on turing the pages of this book. A mystical kid, a psychopath daddy and King's macabre, insane combination! Do not fucking miss this one!
This was my first Stephen King novel and, needless to say, it was rather impressive. King's writing is fantastic and he just knows how to make things scary. I had just watched the film version of The Shining last week and decided I finally needed to get around to reading the novel. I really liked the film, but I think the book was even better. The film was a great movie in its own right, don't get me wrong, but I don't think it was a great adaptation of the book. Kubrick took too many liberties with the character of the Overlook Hotel along with Jack Torrance's character and effectively lost the main points of King's novel in the process. Kubrick essentially ignored the fact that the Overlook was meant to be a character of its own. It grew stronger and wilder with the presence of the Torrance family and Danny's intense ability to shine. The Overlook had clear motives and managed to gain control of Jack's mind and use him for its own gains. But the point was that Jack didn't actually go entirely mad or become a violent psychopath because of the cabin fever of the hotel. No, he just was possessed by the spirit of the hotel and used to go after Danny so that the hotel could absorb his powers, something that Danny stressed multiple times toward the end of the novel. Jack managed to fight back against the Overlook's possession of him by turning the roque mallet on himself in the end in order to save Danny and give him a chance to escape. Kubrick ignored that in his film and instead made Jack this insanely mad psychopath who went crazy from cabin fever and wanted to murder his family. While the film was very good and suspenseful, I just don't think it did justice to King's novel and the characters he created. I prefer King's version because it just was resolved far better and more satisfyingly than the film. While the film was really good on its own, I find it now to be a really disappointing adaptation and I understand why King was so unhappy with it. There is so much more to be said about the difference between the two; I go into that more on my blog (http://ijustneedbooks.blogspot.com/2016/06/the-shining-book-vs-film.html), but overall I really enjoyed this King novel and I definitely want to read more of his works.
This book is the reason why King is considered one of the best horror/thriller writers out there. Unfortunately since I had seen the movie, the finale of the book wasn't so thrilling as I'd like it to be. Even despite the fact that the movie changed quite a few things.
However, the first half of the book was amazing. I've never read something so good and at the same time feared it as much. I suppose that's a very personal thing, though. Danny and I had similar parents... As a whole it's a damn good book and it was hard to stop reading it. It's a modern classic and every fan of horrors should read it.
The first Stephen king Novel I actually read was IT, shocking because I hate clowns. I have decided to sprinkle a few more of his novels into my year. I hated The Cell but am willing to give Dr. Sleep a chance that is My next read!
This is the second time I've read it. I wanted to get it fresh in my head before reading the sequel, Doctor Sleep. Still Love it. So much better than either of the movie attempts.
Although this book is not new it is my favorite I have read this year thus far. It is a good reminder of why King is one of if not the best at his genre.
Here's the deal: I don't like the horror genre, so the story was not my favorite. That said, Stephen King is a brilliant writer and his ability to draw you into the minds of his characters made this book a βwin.β
Even hooked enough to read the Doctor Sleep followup...
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.
I don't often reread books, but with a sequel coming out this month it seemed like a good idea. Just as frightening as I remembered, though all these years later I'd forgotten how loose King was with POV in this early novel. Still a classic in my book, and still just this side of creepy to make me jump a few times :)
