Book Review | Doctor Sleep by Stephen King

Whatever happened to the boy from The Shining? This is, according to his author's note, what prompted Stephen King to write Doctor Sleep. He even goes on to say it would be difficult to top a novel like The Shining, that seem to have left such a strong impression in reader's minds. That's why he decided to just try to write "a kickass story." Well, did he? My biased fangirl's mind thinks he did.

Dan Torrance is now a sort of a caretaker who's dealing with other things other than his shining, including mentoring a girl, Abra, with special abilities similar to his and helping dying old people get on to the other side. On the evil side of things, a group of beings, different to place in the monster spectrum, takes a special interest in the girl.

As Stephen King always does, the plot unravels in two different spins, each with that peculiar character development that makes us understand both sides and even choose one to root for. When those spins cross paths, a climax explodes into a cinematographic experience, much like what happened (for me) with the previous book that follows Dan's childhood on an eerie hotel, that ends with what I thought was a lukewarm finale for a great plot. It was satisfying, but not entirely.

I was happy with the path Dan took after surviving the first book, with all the characters that surrounded him there that followed him to this new book, and with all the little indulging moments in which what I, as a fangirl, wanted to see happen did happen. The dialogs were as fun as usual, with some comedic remarks even in tough situations, and also some special pearls that stuck with me.

It was very, very easy to imagine all that was happening in my mind with such vivid descriptions and development of characters. I enjoyed the arc Dan and Abra followed, as well as all the small details that flew from The Shining into Doctor Sleep. It seems that nothing was forgotten, and all doubts and curiosity I had were explained. I wish there were even more and that this book had 5000 pages.

There were some choices I did not like, but nothing that a fangirl like myself would not forgive from a writer like Stephen King. I would still keep on reading his books even if I did not like this one.

8/10

Vanessa