Come and Play With Us, Danny. Forever. And Ever.
Doctor Sleep: In 1977, The Shining crowned Stephen King as the new master of horror fiction. King's tale of Danny Torrance, a little boy who experiences terrifying psychic episodes is more than a ghost story. To paraphrase Tolstoy, the Torrance family is very, very unhappy in its own way. Demons, both inner and outer, haunt his characters. Addiction, anger, and abuse are as much a force as the supernatural.
It's risky business re-visiting a story and resurrecting a character after 36 years. In his interview with Entertainment Weekly, King reveals his inspiration for the sequel (spoiler: it's a cat!), and shares his thoughts on spinoffs, sequels and prequels in relation to iconic characters.
The reviews for Doctor Sleep are good: The Guardian, Macleans, Toronto Star, Globe, New York Times, Huffington Post and Boston Globe.
For many, The Shining brings to mind Stanley Kubrick's 1980 film. Controversial when it was first released, (it had many fans howling in outrage, particularly over the casting of Jack Nicholson) it is now considered one of the best horror films of all time. King openly hated the film, so much so that he wrote his own version for a 1997 television mini-series (not available at this time). Room 237, a documentary offering a close critical analysis of Kubrick's film opened at Cannes to strong reviews. In the Simpson's Halloween specials, even Homer took a stab at the lead role.
King's The Shining is available in other formats: Audiobook, eBook, eAudiobook, and Talking Book. Doctor Sleep is available on Audiobook and Talking Book.
From Kubrick's The Shining: Danny meets the sinister Grady girls in the winding corridors of the Overlook hotel. (warning: the following most certainly contains frightening scenes).
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2 thoughts on “Come and Play With Us, Danny. Forever. And Ever.”
The link for “Thrillers 2013: We Recommend” was working today but it isn’t anymore. Thanks!
Hi Daniela….very spooky…it seems to be fine now!