vaughanreads's reviews
138 reviews

Jack, Wendy and little Danny Torrence wipe the slate clean and begin a new chapter of their lives, working at a hotel in the unforgiving mountains of Colorado. Jack is the new caretaker of the famous Overlook Hotel. He will take care of it during the offseason where there are no guests. The family dynamic has been unstable of late and the three of them seek a bonding experience to repair the household…but the hotel has other intentions.
 
Stephen King’s 1977 horror novel ‘The Shining’ is, and always will be, amazing. This is a timeless piece of literature that will continue to draw in future generations to King’s playground of horror and thriller.

King plays with a lot of emotions, thoughts, and fears that you experience as a young person and learn to ignore as an adult. For sure, there were times this month where I drew the shower curtain back to check for danger, looking over my shoulder walking down my hallway and other silly things you do when you're alone.

The only con I can assign this book is that sometimes I struggled to interpret who was narrating the book. It reminded me of M. Night Shyamalan’s movie ‘Split’ where the multiple personalities keep grabbing ‘the light’ and take over James McAvoy’s host body. Often times the narration in ‘The Shining would flit between Wendy, Jack, Danny, and Dick Hallorann in the same chapter. I acclimated after the first third of the novel, but I honestly had trouble understanding who is speaking sometimes. I had to look out for things like “Daddy” which would show Danny’s narration or angry and violent thoughts which was Jack’s narration.

If it wasn’t clear already, this book is an easy five-stars. It really scratches the itch for horror, isolation, insanity, a strong female character, the supernatural and more. ‘The Shining’ is a novel I will continue to pick up for many years to come.

Luke Ellis, a boy of brilliant intelligence, is preparing to go to move to college with his family. Sure, most move on their own, but most don't get accepted to colleges at 12 years old.
As well as his oceanic depth of knowledge, Luke can also move things with his mind. Nothing fancy and nothing on command, all the same he is partially telekinetic. 
One thing Luke doesn't know is that there is an organisation that are searching for him, and others with his secret abilities. They are abruptly collected and brought to the ominous, dank, violent doors of The Institute.

The Institute is yet another home-run from Stephen King, for me. The concept of this book is incrediblely interesting. The fact that Luke is learning about absolutely everything as he goes along makes for a very relatable reading experience.
Interestingly, this book doesn't have plot twists. Instead, it feels like every now and again you gain much greater understanding to the scale of what is happening with revelations - like watching an image increase in resolution to see smaller details.

I would 100% recommend for anyone that enjoyed Carrie, The Shining, Doctor Sleep, Firestarter!