DeputyDave

I'm about half way through and it is very good. As I mentioned in the movie thread it shows King has mostly returned to his classic form.

As a big fan of his son (Joe Hill) I loved the fact that did King not only continues to reference his previous books he also included Hill's NOS4A2 in his overall universe.

Tom Banjo

That's cool. I noticed Dark Tower references in NOS4A2 also.

collven

Finished this yesterday. Really enjoyed it, my favorite SK book in a long time.

I was surprised by one thing though,

Josh-da-man

Maybe

collven

I guess I could see that.

flair

Just finished myself. Pretty good book from start to finish, although I didn't feel as connected to some of the characters as I do at the end of some King books.

Rob V

I have no knowledge of The Shining... never read the book, never seen the movie. Is this a book you can pickup and understand what's going on or should I read The Shining first?

collven

If it's not too late for an answer, I would definitely read The Shining first. It's not that you won't understand what's going on in the new book if you don't, but there are quite a few references to things that happen in The Shining. Not to mention it's one of Stephen King's best books ever.

DeputyDave

I agree

I finished it and... I liked it. Despite being fairly long it ended up feeling kind of "lite". I just didn't get the deep, serious character studies that come with most of his books. In a way very similar to Joyland. I enjoyed it and was happy with the ending (something somewhat rare with King's books) but wished it had more meat to it.

maxfisher

Just finished this one this week. I enjoyed it, but it really wasn't any more than an extended epilogue to The Shining. The True Knot were one of the least scary villains I recall from a King story.



Anyway, it was a fun read and I'll take whatever King puts out, but I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of people were let down by it. I did like the tie-ins to NOS4A2, which was fantastic.

movieking

I enjoyed the book, probably more than the Shining, which I just finished prior to starting Doctor Sleep. Having seen the movie first, it lessened the impact of the book, although I did prefer the book to the movie.

Some thoughts on Doctor Sleep:

starseed1981

That would be great! That being said I liked the book quite a bit. My only gripe was that the True Knot were a little too humanized imho. I really didn't take them for more than organized rednecks. Other than that it was solid.

DeputyDave

A strange duo of New Member bumps...

Michael Corvin

Just finished this one. Fantastic read. Much better than I expected but I do agree with some of the more recent posts. The True Knot didn't seem like a very formidable villain. The kidnapping was intense(as was the first showdown with the group at the Cloud Gap train) but the final showdown kinda came and went. Rose was a pushover. I guess Dan being related to Abra made sense but it felt more like a Return of the Jedi moment... i.e. "let's just throw this out there" kinda thing. Maybe if the reveal was made sooner it wouldn't have felt as cheap.

I also think King dropped the ball in a couple areas, especially in regards to it being a sequel. Sure it's Danny all grown up but other than that and, "let's set the finale on the Overlook grounds" it really could have been a standalone novel with no relation to the Shining. Kinda like how Kubrick's film has little in common with the novel.

Other reveals/tie-ins I was expecting: I kept waiting for Dan to unleash all his lock boxes on Rose. IIRC I think he only opened one. Tying into that I expected the True Knot to be former Overlook residents that lived off the boiler steam. Once the Overlook was gone they were left to roam free and fend for themselves. Having them be centuries old 'vampires' was pretty by-the-numbers.