Doctor Sleep

August 12, 2013
Iconic horror author King (Joyland) picks up the narrative threads of The Shining many years on. Young psychic Danny Torrance has become a middle-aged alcoholic (he now goes by “Dan”), bearing his powers and his guilt as equal burdens. A lucky break gets him a job in a hospice in a small New England town. Using his abilities to ease the passing of the terminally ill, he remains blissfully unaware of the actions of the True Knot, a caravan of human parasites crisscrossing the map in their RVs as they search for children with “the shining” (psychic abilities of the kind that Dan possesses), upon whom they feed. When a girl named Abra Stone is born with powers that dwarf Dan’s, she attracts the attention of the True Knot’s leader—the predatory Rose the Hat. Dan is forced to help Abra confront the Knot, and face his own lingering demons. Less terrifying than its famous predecessor, perhaps because of the author’s obvious affection for even the most repellant characters, King’s latest is still a gripping, taut read that provides a satisfying conclusion to Danny Torrance’s story. Agent: Chuck Verrill, Darhansoff & Verrill Literary Agents.

Will Patton's delivery enhances King's prose in ways that make King's work so much more enjoyable in audio than just reading it. This sequel to the THE SHINING finds Danny Torrence, now middle aged, returning to confront the inner demons left when his father came close to killing him one winter decades ago at the snowed-in Overlook Hotel. Now, Torrence must not only conquer his own demons but fight to protect another child who also has the shining, a supernatural power. Patton's narrative voice captures the rhythm of King's words. His character voices, filled with a variety of regional American accents, remain consistent. Most importantly, the sinister aspects that embody characters and moments of this novel are superbly executed and will certainly leave listeners on edge. L.E. (c) AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine

December 1, 2013

As a young boy, Dan Torrance survived the terrifying events at the Overlook Hotel in King's classic The Shining, but he eventually became an alcoholic as he attempted to drown out his psychic abilities, his "shining." He is now on his last chance to climb out of the bottle and build a life for himself. As Dan joins AA and begins using his abilities to ease the suffering of hospice patients, he also meets a young girl, Abra, whose shining is even brighter than his own. She is being hunted by the True Knot, a group of immortal child murderers who feast on the suffering of those with the shining. They need Abra's shine, for they are finally dying--and desperate. Dan must protect her and face these demons and those of his past, in the last place to which he would ever want to return. Will Patton's voice is well suited to the work and even manages to be serviceable as the teen female lead. King uses this adventure to dwell on the inevitability of aging and death. The villains are interesting, appearing as harmless retirees, and are both fleshed out and menacing. VERDICT Highly recommended for King, horror, and urban fantasy fans. ["This is vintage King, a classic good-vs.-evil tale that will keep readers turning the pages late into the night," read the starred review of the Scribner hc, LJ 9/15/13; a Q&A with King's researcher Russell Dorr is on p. 56.]--Tristan M. Boyd, Westbank Community Lib., Austin, TX

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