Product Description

Danny is only five years old, but he is a 'shiner', aglow with psychic voltage. When his father becomes caretaker of an old hotel, his visions grow out of control. Cut off by blizzards, the hotel seems to develop an evil force, and who are the mysterious guests in the supposedly empty hotel?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #14044 in Books
• Published on: 2007-05-31
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 512 pages

Review
‘A writer of excellence…King is one of the most fertile storytellers of the modern novel’ (Sunday Times )

‘One of the great storytellers of our time’ (Guardian )

Synopsis
Danny is only five years old, but he is a 'shiner', aglow with psychic voltage. When his father becomes caretaker of an old hotel, his visions grow out of control. Cut off by blizzards, the hotel seems to develop an evil force, and who are the mysterious guests in the supposedly empty hotel?

About the Author
Stephen King has written some 40 books and novellas, including CARRIE, THE STAND and THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION (from the collection DIFFERENT SEASONS), BAG OF BONES, ON WRITING and most recently CELL. He wrote several novels under the pseudonym of Richard Bachman, including BLAZE (June 2007). He won America’s prestigious National Book Award. He lives with his wife, novelist Tabitha King, in Maine, USA.

Customer Reviews

Thunderous Horror Held Back By Lagging Structure
First of all, as a casual read this will keep you hooked until the end. I find that King drives most of his hooks from the characters. In this novel, Jack Torrance is the really interesting one. The backtracking into a life filled with sex, drugs and rock n' roll provides a realistic insight into a loving father that is persuaded and eventually consumed by the hotel. Danny's premonitions are also uniquely handled in the form of a psychokinetic ability known as "the shining." However Wendy is a mere tag along, an archetype that "just loves her son" - we don't really have much character development and we, as an audience become annoyed with her presence really.

The usual flaw with a King novel is 90% development and 10% action at the end. The Shining is no exception, there is a huge build up to a fairly obvious conclusion, sometimes the novel feels saggy and weighty - sometimes King uses three pages where one would suffice. However this part of King's work is like marmite, we fans love it whereas some people absolutely loathe it. I like the backstory but I can understand it as a floor in what should be a super-gripping horror story.

Great book and a must read for any horror fan.

Brilliant haunted house story
One fantastic book. Simply brilliant. This must be Stephen King's masterpiece. The story grips you from the beginning and doesn't let go. It just keeps building momentum until you notice that you haven't taken a breath for several pages. A truly scary story about a hotel and its past and dead guests and a family trying to escape their lure to join them. I couldn't stop reading.

The Shining
Its hard for me to write a review without at some point comparing it to the film so I'll get it out of the way with now. The film only takes the basics of the story and then adds a touch of hollywood clamour inlcuding the famous line "here's Jonny" and removes some darker and harder points to convey on film to make it appeal a larger audience. I was lucky to have read the book before seeing the film and I'm glad because whilst it wouldn't have ruined the story (it is a brillant film, well acted and directed) I was approaching it knowing nothing so increasing the suspense factor. It also meant that when watching the film with friends I could bore them all by constantly mentioning differences between the 2, we dont speak much anymore!

The basic plot is that the Jack Torrance has signed on to be the custodian of the Overlook Hotel in Colorado and takes his family (wife and child) to live there over the winter when it is cut off from civilisation. He is a recovered alcoholic carrying many deamons including breaking his son's (Danny) arm after losing a job. Going there, he believes, will allow him to recover and also to work on the play he has been writing. However Danny has a powerful gift "the Shine" allowing him to see things that he should not be able to including grim visions of the previous caretaker and family. The Overlook craves for this power for itself and through various ways attempts to influence Jack into killing his family so it can take the power for itself.

This was only the second Stephen King book I had read (1st being Desperation also good!) so I was taken a back by how far he works to develop characters and how he will not shy away from ugly scenes and plots that he feels important to a story. I think the most striking thing I felt from reading this is just how terrifying the book is! I was unable to go upstairs on my own for days, going to friends houses if left on my own because I was sure that someone had just stepped out of the bath tub, and paranoid about hedge animals that I swear had just started to move!

It is well worth reading however I would not recommend listening to the same album whilst reading it because it has ruined one of my favorite records because even now track 1 sends my pulse racing as I wonder if anything is coming up behind me! Once you start reading this you won't be able to put it down until the final page. Now to start reading the Stand...