Doctor Sleep: A Novel

Stephen King

Sept 2013 · The Shining Book 2 · Sold by Simon and Schuster

About this eBook

Now a major motion picture starring Ewan McGregor!

From master storyteller Stephen King, his unforgettable and terrifying sequel to The Shining—an instant #1 New York Times bestseller that is “[a] vivid frightscape” (The New York Times).

Years ago, the haunting of the Overlook Hotel nearly broke young Dan Torrance’s sanity, as his paranormal gift known as “the shining” opened a door straight into hell. And even though Dan is all grown up, the ghosts of the Overlook—and his father’s legacy of alcoholism and violence—kept him drifting aimlessly for most of his life. Now, Dan has finally found some order in the chaos by working in a local hospice, earning the nickname “Doctor Sleep” by secretly using his special abilities to comfort the dying and prepare them for the afterlife. But when he unexpectedly meets twelve-year-old Abra Stone—who possesses an even more powerful manifestation of the shining—the two find their lives in sudden jeopardy at the hands of the ageless and murderous nomadic tribe known as the True Knot, reigniting Dan’s own demons and summoning him to battle for this young girl’s soul and survival...

Ratings and reviews

It will have its work cut out for it's self. The Shining is my favorite King book. How he can make the written word so scary that your heart races, and you're afraid to read by yourself, is beyond me. I hated the movie. Jack overacted; he was crazy from the first frame. Shelly Duvall was the wrong choice for his wife; too mousy.

Mostly a disappointment, Doctor Sleep does have its moments, but they are buried between a too-long and depressing opening and a lackluster ending. As well, the basic structure is flawed, our heroine too powerful and our villain a tad comical (even SK can't make RV people creepy). Doctor Sleep comes off as a weird and weak mash up of his other novels - drunken main character needing redemption, supernatural girl, and both well drawn. But despite the name, nothing of the evil True Knot rings true at all.

Although I was glad to see a sequel to "The Shining", and where Dan ended up after all these years, I felt it went on a ride much too long and twisting to be one of King's treasures. If you're not a creative mind and need a picture to help you see King's vision, I think you would be sorely disappointed. I enjoyed the adventure the shining (the talent in this case) took me, but I wish the rif-raf would have been eliminated for a cleaner story. Over all, I think its a one time read.

About the author

Stephen King is the author of more than sixty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. His recent work includes the short story collection You Like It Darker, Holly (a New York Times Notable Book of 2023), Fairy Tale, Billy Summers, If It Bleeds, The Institute, Elevation, The Outsider, Sleeping Beauties (cowritten with his son Owen King), and the Bill Hodges trilogy: End of Watch, Finders Keepers, and Mr. Mercedes (an Edgar Award winner for Best Novel and a television series streaming on Peacock). His novel 11/22/63 was named a top ten book of 2011 by The New York Times Book Review and won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller. His epic works The Dark Tower, It, Pet Sematary, Doctor Sleep, and Firestarter are the basis for major motion pictures, with It now the highest-grossing horror film of all time. He is the recipient of the 2020 Audio Publishers Association Lifetime Achievement Award, the 2018 PEN America Literary Service Award, the 2014 National Medal of Arts, and the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. He lives in Bangor, Maine, with his wife, novelist Tabitha King.