Title/Author: The Shining by Stephen King
Publisher/Year: Signet, 1978
How I Got This: One of my own!
Why I Read It: Stephen King is my favorite author, and this is one of his classics!
Rating: 5 Stars!
For those who don't know, here is a quick little summary of the story:
What of the penetrating cold terror of an old hotel, a haunted place of seductive evil with a malevolent will of its own--and a five-year-old boy of innocent beauty whose mind mirrors the nighmarish secrets of its past?
Behind every door of the Overlook's 110 empty rooms there is a chamber of horror. Little Danny knows of these things because he has the terrible power--the shining.
My review:
Oh man was I creeped out reading this book! It got so bad that I had to put the book down from time to time, and I had to pick up another book to lighten the mood. I felt like Joey from Friends. Once again, Stephen King is a genius. My favorite part about this book is that the scare factor doesn't come from any monsters or anything that goes bump in the night (well...kinda), but rather the emotional horror that the characters are put through.
I'm not usually one for scary movies. Anymore, I think they're cheesy and overdone. The Shining is one of very few movies that officially scares the hell out of me. That being said, I think the book scared me worse. In the movie, you can't really delve into the psyches of the characters, whereas in the book, especially with Jack, we get to see how torn he is and then eventually his demise. Speaking of Jack, he is officially one of the creepiest mf-ing characters out there. But that's what was so great about the book. You really get a chance to view his inner demons that ultimately tear him apart.
Comparing the book to the movie even further, I enjoyed Wendy's character much more in the book. Her motherly instincts are right-on. I thought she was just whiny in the movie. And Danny probably ranks as one of my all-time favorite characters.
As I've said before and will probably say many times again, I think the reason why Stephen King rocks at what he does is his characters. Besides probably Harry Potter, I have never read better hashed out characters in my life.
So if you're looking for superb character development along with a good (HUGE) scare, I highly recommend this.
Try Gerald's Game by King if you want more of the same . . . VERY frightening!!
ReplyDeleteCompletely agree! The Shining & Carrie are defintely the scariest books I've ever read. I think Wendy was also much more heroic in the novel than in the movie. But I don't blame Shelley Duvall for that as Kubrick could be downright gruelling. I need to get a review of my own out for this one!
ReplyDeleteI agree 1 billion percent. King isn't a master at horror he's a master at characters!!
ReplyDeleteI had to put The Shinning down too when I read it (a long long time ago) and I still remember the part... in the topiary garden... and in that playground tunnel. EEEk!
I really liked the scenes at the bar. The hotel feels a lot more alive than in the movie. You turn the page and have this sick feeling that the place is inhabited.
ReplyDeleteI saw this movie in high school (over 15 yrs ago) and it still creeps me out to remember scenes from it! It scared the heck out of me. I loved your Joey comment. :)
ReplyDelete:D I wanna read this but the size put me off. I'm usually the one reading the King stories shouting at the book "GET ON WITH IT". But The Shining is a classic and yeah, King's character development is great. SO TEMPTING lol.
ReplyDeleteI found this book really scary too! The film I thought was OK, but the book so much scarier. It was one I couldn't read alone in the dark!
ReplyDeleteI first read this as part of a college course on horror literature and thought it was a brilliant choice. It is definitely a top 10 best horror novel for me. Doing a deep reading of it was a bit spooky, but very useful for understanding what makes a scary story scary.
ReplyDeleteThis was definitely my favourite Stephen KIng. It's probably the only time I've loved the book AND the movie!
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