The Shining
Horror
By: Stephen King
Reviewed by Dylan Camp
5 out of 5 stars
Jack Torrance had thought he had finally figured it out. The Overlook Hotel, just being a custodian for the winter? A quiet place to work on his failed career as a novelist, getting paid to lounge about and check on everything in this elegant hotel seems like a dream come true. But like everyone, Jack has a demon inside him. He is an alcoholic. The days go by and they seem to blur into weeks and the weeks seem to blur into months. Things get repetitive and dreadful. The ominous, eerie hotel slowly unravels its hidden horrors and unfortunately, not only onto Jack, but also his family, his wife Wendy and his young son Danny. When Jack gets alcohol into him things take a turn for the worse. A snowstorm comes to the hotel and they lose contact with the only thing keeping them sane, communication with others. The hotel becomes a death trap as Jack has it with the hotel and the only obvious thing happens, he tries to kill his family. With death on the inside and outside of the hellish prison of a hotel, it seems impossible for Wendy and Danny to survive. But with Danny’s power to “shine” hope just might slightly fade back and help them make it out of this hotel turned prison.
The Shining is a horrific novel that touches upon a fear that no other person can like Stephen King. This book really outputs the setting amazingly. The way King turns this one way ticket to the start of a better life to a absolute nightmare is amazing. The hotel itself should be classified as a character itself for the haunting image it leaves you with throughout. King did what nobody had done before and he perfected it. The chills that you get with this book match perfectly with the freezing storm outside. The way he guides you through the hotel is like you are actually there and you are shifting between the people and are figuring out each persons response to the hotel. This book is terrific in many ways, so many its hard to explain unless you read it for yourself.
The Shining is a classic but yet powerful horror read that will leave the hair standing on your neck and goose bumps for weeks to come. Out of all of his this is my all time favorite Stephen King book and if you are a fan of his this is a must read. The book is not really particularly lengthy but to me the book (at parts) did seem to carry on a bit and was a little boring. When I had first tried this book (7th grade) it was pretty challenging to me but now when I read it I fly through it. Not only is the book good but it also has a movie that goes with it that is really good that gives you imagery of the characters and the setting. To me this book is an outstanding read and I would highly recommend it to any King fans or horror junkies. “All work and no play makes Johnny a dull boy.” -The mind of Stephen King.
