Dan Torrence has been dealt a hard hand. His father died tragically when he was 5, his mother passed away when he was 20, and all that's been left to him is debilitating alcoholism. Danny has done some bad things in his past, because of the drink. But he's trying to do better now. Getting it together, moving to Sidewinder. Here he's found an AA sponsor, an orderly job at the Hospice, and a very unlikely friend. This friend shines, shines BRIGHT. Brighter than Dan ever knew possible. Dan knows he has to protect his new friend, especially since someone is coming. Abra saw her: Rose the Hat. Her and her crew eat up steam, the souls of children who shine, so that they can retain immortality. Rose knows just how bright Abra's shine is because she's determined. Motivated. Nothing will stop her from collecting the girl, and eating up all her steam. Danny and Abra feel her coming, but will they be ready?


As someone who loves The Shining, Dr. Sleep made me nervous. Even though this is a King duology, (so I prob shouldn't have doubted it lol) I was skeptical that the sequel wouldn't live up to its predecessor since there's more than 30 years between the two. As soon as I reached the 25 page mark, I knew it would deliver. The parallels between Danny and Jack were evident, and it was bittersweet to compare the different ways in which the two men handled their addictions. Where The Shining only has a few main characters, Dr. Sleep has a full cast of characters, all of which are well developed and unique. The True Knot and its fairly large group of members were especially fun to learn about, even if their intentions weren't. The plot is never stagnant, and I loved that within each chapter the viewpoints changed while the characters were experiencing the same events. Characters with a vast range of Shining talents, jumping into others bodies to "see what they see", and locking ghosts up in your head are plot points that could easily become murky/hard to understand, simply because it is a LOT. King describes every one of these events perfectly; these add clarity to the big picture rather than taking away from it. Dr. Sleep contained more dark fantasy/nostalgic supernatural elements rather than horror. It fully felt like an ode to Constant Readers, consistently dropping clues/information that originated from The Shining. I loved this so, so much. If you read and enjoyed The Shining, get on Dr. Sleep STAT.