The Shining

Stephen King

Jun 2008 · The Shining Book 1 · Sold by Vintage

About this eBook

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • ONE OF TIME'S 100 BEST MYSTERY AND THRILLER BOOKS OF ALL TIME • In this masterpiece of modern American horror that inspired Stanley Kubrick’s classic film, 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.

The greatest flaw of the Shining and Steven King is the pacing. The characters are all well developed and have relatable psychological issues. The atmosphere is well built and the hotel is an engrossing setting. But the story drags in its first half,spending way too much time telling you things instead of showing.

The writing is bipolar - part cheeky genious, part sincere rambling. The character portraits are well beyond what you get from the movie, but the plot is annoyingly dragged out with stretches of content that you can really only appreciate for the imagination of the author, if that. This is an unpopular opinion, but I prefer the movie as an experience and as a piece of horror fiction.

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.