The Shining

Stephen King

Jun 2008 · The Shining Book 1 · Sold by Vintage

About this eBook

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE'S 100 BEST MYSTERY AND THRILLER BOOKS OF ALL TIME • Before Doctor Sleep, there was The Shining, a classic of modern American horror. Jack Torrance takes a job as the caretaker of the remote Overlook Hotel. As the brutal winter sets in, the hotel's dark secrets begin to unravel.

“An undisputed master of suspense and terror.” —The Washington Post

Jack Torrance’s new job at the Overlook Hotel is the perfect chance for a fresh start. As the off-season caretaker at the atmospheric old hotel, he’ll have plenty of time to spend reconnecting with his family and working on his writing. But as the harsh winter weather sets in, the idyllic location feels ever more remote . . . and more sinister. And the only one to notice the strange and terrible forces gathering around the Overlook is Danny Torrance, a uniquely gifted five-year-old.

Ratings and reviews

Really good book, particularly the second half. King uses the first half for almost strictly character development, and not a lot of excitement happens. The second half moves pretty quickly, so stick with it. The book is quite a bit different than the movie, of course, with overall similar core elements. The only downside of King's writing for me in this one is that he tends to be a little too detailed and lengthy on his descriptions. If you cut out some unnecessary things, you could probably shorten the book by a couple hundred pages, honestly. Overall, it is a classic, I highly recommend it, and I am so glad I read it. I'd give it 8 out of 10 stars.

This is the story of a man who wrestles with his inner demons and loses. It is the story of what happens when you let those demons win. The devastation of what it does to your family, your career, and your life. If I remember correctly, King wrote this around the time he had an intervention with his alcoholism and, if I'm right, he probably wrote this as a warning letter to himself and others what could happen if you let those demons win. It's painful to read yet it's so good. On a side note, I do not recommend reading this during quarantine (which is what I did....real bad timing) but, if you want to get a feel for what isolation is like with the characters, go right on ahead. Surprisingly, I related a lot to Jack Torrance. I'm not an alcoholic, but I have had anger issues in the past and I understand how hard it is to fight that is. All in all a good read.

This is one of King's most sucessful novels he has ever written. It has a slow beginning that goes into deep description of just about every character (mostly around Jack, Wendy and Danny) but that's to only give the reader an idea of that individual's life lead up to the present. This book is a perfect example of why one should always keep a leveled head, or you may just try to kill your entire family with a croque mallet! The movie has a few add-ons and modifications that you won't find in the novel, but it still retains the same thrills that you would get from reading the novel. Nicely done Mr. king.

About the author

STEPHEN KING is the author of more than sixty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. His recent work includes 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 an AT&T Audience Network original television series). 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, and Doctor Sleep are the basis for major motion pictures, with It now the highest grossing horror film of all time. He is the recipient of 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.