I was super
drawn to the sequel to
The Shining because I couldn’t wait to see what became
of little Danny Torrence after the infamous events that took place at the
Overlook Hotel. Dr. Sleep is largely Danny’s story, but we do get some snippets
of information about what became of Wendy, Dick Hallorann, and even some of the
nasty ghosts. We quickly find out that Danny’s life has been far from
spectacular.
Danny has fallen into the footsteps of his father; he is an
alcoholic. He can’t hold down a job and ends up being particularly haunted by
events that took place during a drunken escapade and a one night stand. Luckily
he starts attending AA, lands a job at a nursing home where he uses his shining
abilities to help dying patients cross over, and eventually stays sober. I
expected that Danny’s life would not be picture perfect considering his
nightmarish childhood, but was completely surprised and fascinated about the introduction
of new characters!
Abra is a
young girl who begins showing signs of especially strong shining at a very
young age. The True Knot is a group of ghouls who feed off of shining powers. King’s
ghouls are obsessed with Abra and will do anything to get to her. Once King
adds Danny into the mix as a mentor and protector things become action packed.
Dr. Sleep provides a deeper understanding and back story of the shining power
and has readers scared of a whole new set of creeps! It is definitely worth the
read!
