Name: The Shining
Rating: 4.185148514851485 (1010 reviews)
ISBN: 9780450040184

Stephen King

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?

The Shining

Cara Stegemann

** need to add quotes to Notebook. ** (Please note that my reviews are intended to be notes to myself - my memory is failing, and I need reminders about books I want to reread and books I didn’t finish. My reviews are not intended to be particularly useful for other readers.)

Greg Brewer

Stephen King's "The Shining" is a haunting and captivating tale of a family's descent into madness as they spend the winter caretaking a remote mountain resort. King's vivid descriptions of the settings throughout the novel help to create a sense of isolation, claustrophobia, and unease that permeates the story. One of the settings that I particularly enjoyed was the Overlook Hotel itself. King masterfully describes the grandeur and opulence of the hotel, juxtaposed with its stark emptiness during the winter months. The vast and labyrinthine corridors, the dark and foreboding ballroom, and the ghostly presence of the hotel's former guests all contribute to an overwhelming sense of dread. Another setting that I found particularly effective was the hedge maze outside of the hotel. King's descriptions of the maze's twisting, turning paths and ominous topiary figures bring to life the maze as a living, breathing entity, and add to the overall sense of unease and foreboding that permeates the novel. Throughout the novel, King uses the setting to great effect, imbuing the story with a sense of creeping horror and dread that keeps the reader on edge throughout. The settings are both beautiful and terrifying, and help to create a palpable sense of atmosphere that is both immersive and unsettling. Overall, "The Shining" is a masterful work of horror fiction that will leave readers spellbound and haunted long after they have finished reading. The settings are just one of the many elements that make this novel so unforgettable, and fans of horror and suspense will not be disappointed.

Scott Wilson

Wow, wow, WOW! If you haven't read this book because of the crappy movie (all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy) then do not wait any longer and read it TODAY. Either the book differed from the movie considerably or my memory of the movie was dramatically different... the book expanded so much more on Danny's (and others) shining ability and the hotel played a much bigger role (especially the hedges ;) ) This book to me was as good as or better than Misery which to me was one of Stephen King's best books that I have read. I had a hard time to put this down. Can't say enough good about this book - don't delay give it a try and I'm sure you'll not be disappointed!

Pixar asks what if something (cars, toys, etc) had feelings. Stephen King asks what if something (hotel) was evil

Zachary Roberts

As always the writing style is incredible - so so much description I could picture everything as if I was there (which I absolutely love in a novel). Maybe I slightly felt like I could relate to Jack some times. 

Rose

Justin Staack

Before Doctor Sleep, there was The Shining, a classic of modern American horror from the undisputed master, Stephen King. Danny is only five years old, but in the words of old Mr Hallorann he is a 'shiner', aglow with psychic voltage. When his father becomes caretaker of the Overlook Hotel, Danny's visions grow out of control. As winter closes in and blizzards cut them off, the hotel seems to develop a life of its own. It is meant to be empty. So who is the lady in Room 217 and who are the masked guests going up and down in the elevator? And why do the hedges shaped like animals seem so alive? Somewhere, somehow, there is an evil force in the hotel - and that, too, is beginning to shine . . .

Patrick Book

This was good! Really good. Better than the movie, even!

Sarah Sammis

Got this copy as a Christmas give in 1996.

The Shining was my first introduction to Stephen King. It was the film, actually just the scene of chase through the maze, that I saw first. The clip was part of a group math project in high school.

Anyone who has read the book knows that the hedge maze isn't in the book. Instead, the garden is filled with topiaries that work much like the angels in the "Blink" episode of Doctor Who. But that hedge maze was a foot in the door which lead me to watch the film in its entirety with my grandmother. It would be another eight years or so though before I got around to reading the book.

I was newly wed and Ian and I would spend our free time together discussing movies and books. I was taking a horror genre film class at UCLA and The Shining wasn't part of the course. Being though in the mind set to think of horror novels and film adaptations, I decided to finally read King's novel.

Stephen King's novel goes deeper into Jack's history and his own abilities. Danny isn't the only one with "the Shining." For Jack, the ability to see the dead combined with an abusive childhood has lead him alcoholism.

Like most of my favorite horror stories, The Shining is grounded in a physical location. Here it is the Overlook Hotel, a remotely located hotel that was once popular with the rich and famous and is now in its last days. To add to the feeling of dread the family is sent in winter to serve as caretakers while it is closed for the season. Left alone in the harsh winter storms, Jack and Danny start seeing things as the hotel begins to reveal its secrets.

Like the manor in The Thirteenth Tale, the Overlook Hotel is a central character. All those years of excesses have piled up to give life to a very angry structure. Who is the greater threat to the Torrance family, the ghosts or the hotel? That's what Danny and his mother must figure out if they are to survive.

The Shining remains one of my favorite Stephen King novels. I love a good ghost story.

Daniel Spruill

4.5

Jack Torrance is my favorite King character as of now. King paints a perfect portrait of an alcoholic wrestling with his demons that ultimately get the better of him (not entirely of his own choosing) and his family in the process.

This was King’s first foray into really exploring what addiction looks like. Jack is complex and incredibly wounded by his own father and childhood that I can’t see him as only a villain. He spent much of his early years in fear of what his father might do— to him and his siblings and his mother, so much so that he becomes his father. It speaks to how we carry everything from our parents if we don’t heal it.

The hotel uses every bit of this to its own advantage. It wants Danny’s power to become fully sentient and Jack is used as a means to an end to achieve it.

It’s hard to not compare this to the Kubrick film because of how seeped in popular culture it’s become. Kubrick’s film is perfect on its own, but it’s a piss-poor adaption of this novel.

Early King is my favorite. I really, really loved this.

He rubbed his hand harshly across his lips and followed Watson into the boiler room. It was humid in here, but it was more than the humidity that brought the sick and slimy sweat onto his brow and stomach and legs. The remembering did that, it was a total thing that made that night two years ago seem like two hours ago. There was no lag. It brought the shame and revulsion back, the sense of having no worth at all, and that feeling always made him want to have a drink, and the wanting of a drink brought still blacker despair—would he ever have an hour, not a week or even a day, mind you, but just one waking hour when the craving for a drink wouldn't surprise him like this?

esme villanueva

It's one of my favorites, I read it often and it never fails to amaze me. It's the perfect mix between a spooky and a sad story. LOVE IT.

Aamna

Could not put it down. The most engaging, terrifying novel I've read so far.

Jaden Nelson

First real Stephen King read! I really like The Shining. This is supposedly one of King's scariest books, but there were only maybe one or two times when I got a little scared and even then it was just like getting chills or something. The plot was very well developed and interesting, King somehow making a man and his family staying at a hotel into a thrilling story of insanity, trust, and demonic forces (and so much more). The ending was definitely not what I expected, but I liked it. Sometimes, things got a little confusing, but I managed to figure everything out eventually. Also, I of course liked the whole actual "shining" element of it (referring to the ability) and how it played into the story. I would recommend this book possibly as a starter to Stephen King (although as a beginner, I can't really say much else) and to anyone who is looking for a good little thrilling scare, who can handle some gore and can stick with a longer book like this.

My first Stephen King book, and what a one to pick!

This was nothing like I was expecting at all, but it was incredible! The whole haunted house (hotel) aspect, while spine tingling in its descriptions, was not the winner here. Rather the psychological aspect of facing your inner demons was so thought provokingly well written that I found it difficult to put this book down!

I'm definitely reading more King books ASAP!

Victoria Justice

My first Stephen King book, and what a one to pick!

This was nothing like I was expecting at all, but it was incredible! The whole haunted house (hotel) aspect, while spine tingling in its descriptions, was not the winner here. Rather the psychological aspect of facing your inner demons was so thought provokingly well written that I found it difficult to put this book down!

I'm definitely reading more King books ASAP!

The Shining

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