Finally Finished Doctor Sleep

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carrie's younger brother

Well-Known Member
Mar 8, 2012
5,428
25,651
NJ
And I have to say, I did not love it as much as I thought I would. Having just reread The Shining, I was primed to read Doctor Sleep. It started out well, gained some momentum for a while, lost steam and then the ending was rushed and I feel too "tidy." Yes, I have read others' opinions of the good guys all staying alive and how that was "refreshing" for a change, but I just do not feel that way. Of course, this is all personal opinion and I realize I will not love every book SK writes, but having absolutely loved Joyland, I thought Doctor Sleep would do the same for me.
 

skimom2

Just moseyin' through...
Oct 9, 2013
15,683
92,168
USA
Doctor Sleep was a very different, in style and tone, than The Shining. I liked what Mr. King said--something about realizing that he can't scare someone now like he could when The Shining was written, so he decided to go for more depth of story (sad, sad paraphrase--he's far more well-spoken than that). Nice that you realize that you don't have to love every written word to respect the author's work, though :)

I really didn't love that
Abra was Dan's blood relative
--that approached Annie Wilkes 'That's a dirty cheat' territory for me--but all in all I liked it.
 

carrie's younger brother

Well-Known Member
Mar 8, 2012
5,428
25,651
NJ
Doctor Sleep was a very different, in style and tone, than The Shining. I liked what Mr. King said--something about realizing that he can't scare someone now like he could when The Shining was written, so he decided to go for more depth of story (sad, sad paraphrase--he's far more well-spoken than that). Nice that you realize that you don't have to love every written word to respect the author's work, though :)

I really didn't love that
Abra was Dan's blood relative
--that approached Annie Wilkes 'That's a dirty cheat' territory for me--but all in all I liked it.

May I ask how you did the spoiler wrap? I can't for the life of me figure it out on this new board! Thanks.
 

MadamMack

M e m b e r
Apr 11, 2006
17,958
45,138
UnParked, UnParked U.S.A.
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shookme

Obscure Member
Mar 19, 2013
608
1,243
Michigan
And I have to say, I did not love it as much as I thought I would. Having just reread The Shining, I was primed to read Doctor Sleep. It started out well, gained some momentum for a while, lost steam and then the ending was rushed and I feel too "tidy." Yes, I have read others' opinions of the good guys all staying alive and how that was "refreshing" for a change, but I just do not feel that way. Of course, this is all personal opinion and I realize I will not love every book SK writes, but having absolutely loved Joyland, I thought Doctor Sleep would do the same for me.

Yes, "tidy" is a very good way to put it.
 

fljoe0

Cantre Member
Apr 5, 2008
15,859
71,642
62
120 miles S of the Pancake/Waffle line
I loved the book. I like that it was a very different book in style and tone than The Shining. That way, you get a sequel that doesn't feel like a retread. I think SK did an amazing job with the Danny character. I agree that the ending was a little too tidy for SK but hey, he was due for a tidy ending. :) This post is kind of generic because I haven't found the spoiler button yet.
 

jchanic

Well-Known Member
Jul 11, 2006
3,164
6,097
79
Cleveland Ohio
And I have to say, I did not love it as much as I thought I would. Having just reread The Shining, I was primed to read Doctor Sleep. It started out well, gained some momentum for a while, lost steam and then the ending was rushed and I feel too "tidy." Yes, I have read others' opinions of the good guys all staying alive and how that was "refreshing" for a change, but I just do not feel that way. Of course, this is all personal opinion and I realize I will not love every book SK writes, but having absolutely loved Joyland, I thought Doctor Sleep would do the same for me.

I like that--"lost steam" reference!

John
 

Autumnlyn

BOOYA!
Feb 12, 2009
1,125
1,157
Far Nor Cal
I really liked Dr. Sleep. A glimpse into a character as an adult that we all knew as a kid was a rare treat from Sai King. Giggled a bit when Carries Younger Brother said it lost "Steam" (get it? steam? LOL)

Dug the whole True Knot aspect. Once again Uncle Stevie turns the mundane into macabre; I shall NEVER look at RV'ers the same again. :)

You have a point that Dr. Sleep was a LOT different than The Shining; I would compare the "feel" or "tempo" of the book to Joyland or a Joe Hill book.
 

carrie's younger brother

Well-Known Member
Mar 8, 2012
5,428
25,651
NJ
I really liked Dr. Sleep. A glimpse into a character as an adult that we all knew as a kid was a rare treat from Sai King. Giggled a bit when Carries Younger Brother said it lost "Steam" (get it? steam? LOL)

Dug the whole True Knot aspect. Once again Uncle Stevie turns the mundane into macabre; I shall NEVER look at RV'ers the same again. :)

You have a point that Dr. Sleep was a LOT different than The Shining; I would compare the "feel" or "tempo" of the book to Joyland or a Joe Hill book.
I have no problem that is was different than The Shining, in fact I am glad it was not a retread. As for Joyland, I enjoyed that book twice as much as Doctor Sleep. To each his own. :D
 

notebookgirl

Well-Known Member
Oct 8, 2013
858
4,940
Somewhere over the Rainbow
I finished too! Yay! Oh my. OK, I can finally talk about it so if you haven't finished. Don't read this.
Ok, here it goes, Loved it! Totally cried at the end when his father appeared. I was waiting for one thing at the end and I didn't get it. The baseball boy, Brad. It was never told if his family was notified about his body or he died. Maybe I missed it? I know they said the book in about another month they would tell the family. It just was never mentioned if they did. Oh well, it was earth-shattering it wasn't in there. i guess having a boy of the similar age and he plays baseball and the Jim Thome reference, it connected with me. If King was to continue this, I would love to hear more about the baseball boy. He would make another good side story. We all know how he ended,it would be even a good short story about his ability. However, the story is likely done. I know some people said he wrapped it up tight, but there is still the True Knot out there and did Sarah really die or did she just run away. Of course, its only a book, ha! [/spoiler ]
 

luciusfunk

Well-Known Member
Jul 6, 2013
245
25
Texas
I started reading it a few nights ago at work. I was extremely surprised at how good the book started! I'm at the part where Dan got the job in the small town near the beginning. I can't remember the name of the town. :p

I was told that although it starts off great, toward the middle and end it dips into anti-alcohol propaganda. I'm not saying that's true as I haven't read the entire thing, it's just what I was told.