''Doctor Sleep'' is a 2013
horror novel by American writer
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...
and the sequel to his 1977 novel ''
The Shining''. The book reached the first position on
''The New York Times'' Best Seller list for print and ebook fiction (combined), hardcover fiction, and ebook fiction. ''Doctor Sleep'' won the
2013 Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel.
The novel was adapted into
a film of the same name, which was released on November 8, 2019 in the United States.
Plot
Following the events of ''The Shining'', after receiving a settlement from the owners of the Overlook Hotel,
Danny Torrance
Daniel Anthony Torrance, also known as Doc, Danny, Dan, and later Doctor Sleep, is a fictional character who first appears in the 1977 novel '' The Shining'' by Stephen King as a child with psychic powers called "the shining". His parents are fathe ...
remains psychologically traumatized as his mother
Wendy
Wendy is a given name now generally given to girls in English-speaking countries.
In Britain, Wendy appeared as a masculine name in a parish record in 1615. It was also used as a surname in Britain from at least the 17th century. Its popularity ...
slowly recovers from her injuries. The two are living in
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
, but angry
ghosts from the Overlook, including Mrs. Massey, the woman from Room 217, still want to find Danny and eventually consume his phenomenal "shining" power.
Dick Hallorann
Richard Hallorann is a fictional character created by Stephen King from his 1977 novel '' The Shining''. He has telepathic abilities he called "the shining" and is the head chef at the Overlook Hotel. He meets Danny Torrance, a young boy who is ...
, the Overlook's former chef, teaches Danny to create mental lockboxes to contain the ghosts, including that of former Overlook owner Horace Derwent.
As an adult, Danny (now going by Dan) takes up his father's legacy of anger and alcoholism. Dan spends years drifting across the United States, but he eventually makes his way to
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
and decides to give up drinking. He settles in the small town of Frazier on a psychic hunch, working first for the Frazier municipal department and then at the local
hospice
Hospice care is a type of health care that focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's pain and symptoms and attending to their emotional and spiritual needs at the end of life. Hospice care prioritizes comfort and quality of life by ...
, and attending
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is an international mutual aid fellowship of alcoholics dedicated to abstinence-based recovery from alcoholism through its spiritually-inclined Twelve Step program. Following its Twelve Traditions, AA is non-professi ...
meetings. His psychic abilities, long suppressed by his drinking, re-emerge and allow him to provide comfort to dying patients. Aided by a cat, "Azzie", that can sense when someone is about to die, Dan acquires the nickname "Doctor Sleep".
In the meantime, Abra Stone, a baby girl born in 2001, begins to manifest psychic powers of her own when she seemingly predicts the
9/11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerci ...
. She slowly and unintentionally establishes a telepathic bond with Dan through Tony, Dan's childhood "imaginary friend". As she grows, the contact becomes more conscious and voluntary, and her shining grows stronger than even his. One night, Abra psychically witnesses the ritual torture and murder of a young boy, Bradley Trevor, by the True Knot, a group of quasi-immortal
nomad
A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the popu ...
s who possess their own psychic abilities. The True Knot members wander across the United States and periodically
feed on "steam", a psychic essence produced when people who possess the shining die in pain. They refer to their victims as
Rubes. The True Knot's leader, Rose the Hat, becomes aware of Abra's existence and formulates a plan to kidnap Abra and keep her alive, making her produce a limitless supply of steam.
The True Knot begin to die off from
measles contracted from Bradley Trevor; they believe that Abra's steam can cure them. Abra asks for Dan's help, and he reveals his connection with Abra to her father David and their family doctor, John Dalton. Though angry and skeptical, David agrees to go along with Dan's plan to save Abra. With the help of Billy Freeman, a friend of Dan, they foil and kill a raiding party led by Crow Daddy, Rose's second-in-command. However, Dan realizes that Rose will relentlessly hunt Abra for revenge. He visits Abra's great-grandmother Concetta, who is dying of cancer at the Frazier hospice, and telepathically learns from her that he and Abra's mother, Lucy, are half-siblings with the same father:
Jack Torrance
John Daniel Edward "Jack" Torrance is the main antagonist in Stephen King's horror novel '' The Shining'' (1977). He was portrayed by Jack Nicholson in the novel's 1980 film adaptation, by Steven Weber in the 1997 miniseries, by Brian Mu ...
. As Concetta dies, Dan takes her diseased steam into himself. Meanwhile, dissension among the True Knot, along with Rose's obsession with Abra, leads to the group splitting up, leaving Rose with even fewer followers.
Following another kidnapping attempt that Abra foils with Dan's telepathic help, she baits Rose into confronting her at the location where the Overlook Hotel once stood in the
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...
in Colorado, now home to a campsite owned by the True Knot. Dan and Billy travel to the site while Abra helps them by using her
astral projection. Lying in wait, Dan releases the steam collected from Concetta to the remaining group of True Knot members, killing all of them. He also frees the ghost of Horace Derwent to kill the last member, Silent Sarey, waiting to ambush him and Abra, and the two fight Rose in a long psychic struggle. With help from Billy and the ghost of Dan's father, Jack Torrance, they push Rose off an observation platform so she falls to the ground, breaking her neck and dying. Before leaving the campsite, Dan sees his father wave goodbye, having finally found peace.
In the epilogue, Dan celebrates 15 years of sobriety and attends Abra's 15th birthday party. He tells her about the patterns of alcoholism and violent behavior that run in his family and warns her not to repeat them by starting to drink or submitting to rage. Abra agrees that she will behave, but before they can finish the conversation, Dan is called back to his hospice, where he comforts a dying colleague who had antagonized him in the past.
Background
King described the idea for a sequel to his 1977 novel ''The Shining'' on November 19, 2009, during a promotional tour for his novel ''
Under the Dome''. During a reading moderated by filmmaker
David Cronenberg
David Paul Cronenberg (born March 15, 1943) is a Canadian film director, screenwriter, and actor. He is one of the principal originators of what is commonly known as the body horror genre, with his films exploring visceral bodily transformation ...
at the
Canon Theatre
The Ed Mirvish Theatre, also currently known by naming rights sponsorship as CAA Ed Mirvish Theatre, is a historic film and play theatre in the downtown core of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was initially known as the Pantages Theatre, then becam ...
, King said the sequel would follow a character from the original, Danny Torrance, now in his 40s, living in
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
where he works as an orderly at a
hospice
Hospice care is a type of health care that focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's pain and symptoms and attending to their emotional and spiritual needs at the end of life. Hospice care prioritizes comfort and quality of life by ...
and helps
terminally ill
Terminal illness or end-stage disease is a disease that cannot be cured or adequately treated and is expected to result in the death of the patient. This term is more commonly used for progressive diseases such as cancer, dementia or advanced h ...
patients die with the aid of extraordinary powers. Later, on December 1, 2009, King posted a poll on his official website, asking visitors to vote for which book he should write next, ''Doctor Sleep'' or
the next ''Dark Tower'' novel:
Voting ended on December 31, 2009. ''Doctor Sleep'' won the poll with 5,861 votes to ''The Wind Through the Keyhole''s 5,812.
On September 23, 2011, Stephen King received the Mason Award at the Fall for the Book event at the
George Mason University in
Fairfax, Virginia
The City of Fairfax ( ), colloquially known as Fairfax City, Downtown Fairfax, Old Town Fairfax, Fairfax Courthouse, FFX, or simply Fairfax, is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth ...
, during which he read an excerpt from ''Doctor Sleep''. King finished work on the first draft in early November 2011. On February 19, 2012, King read the beginning section of ''Doctor Sleep'' at the
Savannah Book Festival
The Savannah Book Festival is a literary festival held each February in Savannah, Georgia, and features authors as well as educational events. In the past, the festival has hosted best-selling authors Stephen King, James Patterson and David Baldacc ...
, in
Savannah
A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the Canopy (forest), canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to rea ...
,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
. The
audiobook
An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements.
Spoken audio has been available in sc ...
edition of King's 2012 novel ''
The Dark Tower: The Wind Through the Keyhole'', released on April 24, 2012, contains the novel's prologue read by the author.
In an interview with ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'', King revealed that he had hired researcher
Rocky Wood
Rocky Wood (19 October 1959 – 1 December 2014) was a New Zealand-born Australian writer and researcher best known for his books about horror author Stephen King. He was the first author from outside North America or Europe to hold the po ...
to work on the continuity between ''The Shining'' and ''Doctor Sleep''.
The story was partly inspired by
Oscar
Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to:
People
* Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms.
* Oscar (Irish mythology) ...
, a therapy cat who allegedly predicts the deaths of terminally ill patients. King said, "I thought to myself: 'I want to write a story about that.' And then I made the connection with Danny Torrance as an adult, working in a hospice. I thought: 'That's it. I'm gonna write this book.' The cat had to be there. It always takes two things for me to get going. It's like the cat was the transmission and Danny was the motor."
Publication
On May 8, 2012, Stephen King's official website announced a tentative publication date of January 15, 2013, for ''Doctor Sleep''. The book was available for pre-order that same day, with the page count of 544 and . However, the exact date was removed the next day with the statement that a new release date was forthcoming, and the pre-order items were removed. Stephen King was not happy with the present draft of the novel and felt it needed a lot of editing. On September 18, 2012, a publication date of September 24, 2013 was announced.
Cemetery Dance also published ''Doctor Sleep'' as a limited edition in three versions: Gift edition (limited to 1,750 copies), Limited edition (limited to 700 copies), and Lettered edition (limited to 52 copies), the latter two signed by Stephen King and the illustrators. On March 1, 2013, Stephen King's official site unveiled the book's cover.
A collector's edition was announced in August 2013 by
Hodder & Stoughton for publication in the United Kingdom, limited to 200 numbered copies, signed by Stephen King.
An excerpt was published in the September 13, 2013 issue of ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'' magazine.
Critical reception
The novel was extensively screened by critics. Steven Poole of ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' stated "...''Doctor Sleep'' does not actually deliver the "good scare" of yore... What the novel lacks in brute fright, though, it makes up for with more subtle pleasures". Alan Cheuse of
NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
wrote "A rather neatly designed plot has kicked in even before the book opens.... Stephen King is still scaring the hell out of me."
Margaret Atwood in ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' commented "''Doctor Sleep'' is Stephen King's latest novel, and it's a very good specimen of the quintessential King blend... King's inventiveness and skill show no signs of slacking: ''Doctor Sleep'' has all the virtues of his best work." Kathryn Schulz of
Vulture
A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...
stated, "Much as ''The Shining'' was fundamentally about family violence, ''Doctor Sleep'' is fundamentally about alcoholism. King, a recovering addict himself, is excellent on addiction and its attendant dysfunctions: deception, self-justification, disregard of others, new-leaf fantasies and their near-instant collapse, the next fix as the North Star. And, conversely, he is excellent on deliberate sobriety. Some of the best parts of ''Doctor Sleep'' draw on the culture of Alcoholics Anonymous, which also provides this book's ethical core." James Kidd of ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' stated "The novel's well-intentioned tale of redemption through sobriety, work and family seems to have profound personal significance for King, himself a recovering alcoholic. Perhaps it is too personal. ''The Shining'' had terrified by marrying a recognisable young family to claustrophobia and an unflinching portrayal of a loved one becoming a monster. ''Doctor Sleep''s soupy, supernatural atmosphere reads like horror inspired by fantasy and salvation drawn from therapy. In this, the story doesn't escape its own contrivances." A reviewer of ''
Publishers Weekly
''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...
'' added "Less terrifying than its famous predecessor, perhaps because of the author's obvious affection for even the most repellant characters, King's latest is still a gripping, taut read that provides a satisfying conclusion to Danny Torrance's story."
''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
''s Keith Donohue wrote, "King is a master of the paranormal thriller, cross-cutting among these three plotlines in short cinematic scenes that give ''Doctor Sleep'' its relentless narrative drive. His characters, particularly the baddies, are drawn with an economy that brings them briskly to life. Like some twisted bastard son of the Houses of Lovecraft and Dickens, he is as macabre and entertaining as ever... Despite its many horrors, ''Doctor Sleep'' is more assuredly a novel of redemption, well-earned in the end. It won't make you forget Jack Nicholson and his ax, but ''Doctor Sleep'' will give you a fresh case of the creeps." Roger Luckhurst of ''
Los Angeles Review of Books
The ''Los Angeles Review of Books'' (''LARB'' is a literary review magazine covering the national and international book scenes. A preview version launched on Tumblr in April 2011, and the official website followed one year later in April 2012. ...
'' stated, "Above all, ''Doctor Sleep'' is a novel about addiction and the fight to overcome it... King's vision of the supernatural is something that hovers numinously on the edges of the awareness, something that needs a cautious and respectful watching at all times. There will be skirmishes, minor battles, victories and losses, but no end to the long term war. Exactly like a recovering alcoholic thinks of booze." Colette Bancroft of ''
Tampa Bay Times
The ''Tampa Bay Times'', previously named the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It has won fourteen Pulitzer Prizes since 1964, and in 2009, won two in a single y ...
'' noted "At just over 500 pages, ''Doctor Sleep'' is a bit slimmer than most of King's recent novels, and it barrels along at an accelerating pace. Is it as bone-chillingly scary as ''The Shining''? No, and few books are. But it's plenty creepy, and it's richer in the themes that have come to occupy King more, especially family relationships." A reviewer of ''
Kirkus Reviews
''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...
'' called it "satisfying at every level. King even leaves room for a follow-up, should he choose to write one—and with luck, sooner than three decades hence." Joshua Rothman of ''
The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'' stated, "''The Shining'' is introspective, austere, and unsettlingly plausible, which is why it comes to mind whenever you visit a creepy hotel, play croquet, or see an angry dad with his kid. But ''Doctor Sleep'', which feels less like a sequel and more like a spinoff, is unapologetically fun, free-wheeling, and bizarre."
Film adaptation
A film adaptation of the novel directed by
Mike Flanagan and starring
Ewan McGregor
Ewan Gordon McGregor ( ; born 31 March 1971) is a Scottish actor. His accolades include a Golden Globe Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and the BAFTA Britannia Humanitarian Award. In 2013, he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British ...
as
Danny Torrance
Daniel Anthony Torrance, also known as Doc, Danny, Dan, and later Doctor Sleep, is a fictional character who first appears in the 1977 novel '' The Shining'' by Stephen King as a child with psychic powers called "the shining". His parents are fathe ...
was released on November 8, 2019. The film is both an adaptation of the novel, and a sequel to the
1980 film adaptation of the first book. It therefore makes significant changes to the plot in order to preserve
continuity with Kubrick's popular film.
References
External links
Official UK siteGoodreads Page
{{Bram Stoker Award Best Novel
2013 American novels
American novels adapted into films
American horror novels
American vampire novels
Astral projection in popular culture
Ghost novels
Novels about alcoholism
Novels by Stephen King
Novels set in hospitals
Novels set in New Hampshire
Novels about psychic powers
Sequel novels
The Shining (franchise)
Third-person narrative novels
Bram Stoker Award for Novel winners
Charles Scribner's Sons books