The Shining

Rating:
Summary: WONDERFUL WONDERFUL WONDERFUL
Review: I'm only 10 years old and I love this book. I read almost every chapter I still have 2 or 3 that I thought were boring so I skipped them. But they weren't the chapters that introduce the characters (sp?) Here is my anylysis (sp? of the characters

Jack: He is a natural father figure besides accidentally breaking his sons arm.

Wendy: I don't think she's whiny at all she seems like a good mom

Danny: The boy who is able to see the future and past and read minds through his "imaginary" friend Tony and the shining

Hallorann: The kind cook at the Overlook Hotel

The Woman Who Wanted To Get In A Hotel Man's Pants: Read The Book

Anyway it's a must read even for a 10 year old.

Rating:
Summary: "Here's Johnny!"
Review: How can anyone ever forget that line from the movie! Although the movie was good, the book was better. I never pictured Jack Nicholson as the main character although he did a supurb job. The book, I believe, is a classic already. It's a heartstopper as you turn each page especially near the end when father and son are running through the hotel maze. Well worth reading.

Rating:
Summary: A Shining Novel
Review: This one is from the days when King was still king. Without needless romanticism and foreplay, the story takes a rollercoasting pace that can only infrequently be found in isolated scenarios like this. The child's character is nicely detailed, but not overdone; and though the concept of psychic children is too cliché, his talents stay nicely in the background, becoming not the end itself but a means to an end. This one, according to my point of view, is among the "golden three" of king, which are: "Pet Sematary", "It" and this. If you look for a starter, then you should definetely start from this one, move on to "Sematary" then proceed to it, which requires a lot more concentration. Still, more observant readers will find a lot of (perhaps too much) inspiration from Jackson's "Haunting of the Hill House"

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Summary: this book is great!
Review: There is so many good parts in this book, this book is so scary, with all the things that happened in the hotel, like that moffia, and the mystery of what is inside room 217.

Rating:
Summary: Good King Novel
Review: I had been putting off reading this novel along with The Dead Zone and Carrie mainly because I've seen the movies, but also because I realize King was at his peak during the 70's and early 80's, and I was in essence rationing them the same way a man in a desert might save the last few drops of water in his canteen.

Last year was The Dead Zone, and now I just finished The Shining. As familiar as I was with the story -- from the two filmed versions -- the book was still entertaining, as I knew it would be. However, as a lifelong King fan (having read Salem's Lot twenty years ago at age 13), I have to finally admit that King is definitely a racist, at least when he writes. A black person in his books is constantly referred to as N----, you know the word. This would be fine if the story were about prejudice or something, but he seems to merely use it as characterization. Admittedly, the black cook Halloran is the most likeable character in this book, and I realize King created that character, but he's likable in spite of the n-word references not because of them. As for the Wendy character....god, was I the only one who wanted to see Jack get her with the mallet? A constant whiner.

It took the book about 200 pages to finally get moving (I shouldn't complain; if he wrote this book today it would be well over 800 pages), but the last 250 pages zipped along and there were several spooky scenes, many involving the hedge creatures featured in the TV miniseries, but not the movie. Speaking of the miniseries, I was hoping -- expecting, actually -- that since it was reportedly a much closer adaption to the book than Kubrick's film, it would have Jack fighting off the force that was controlling him and making sure the boiler blew up. But Jack was already gone by then, possessed by the hotel, and I felt kind of cheated by this. I liked the miniseries ending much more, since the Jack Torrance character didn't simply disappear as he did in the book.

This books seems to be not as well written as King's others in the sense of grammar, etc. although not storytelling. One clunker sentence really caught my attention: "A nightmare flood of thoughts flooding through his mind in a split second." Still, this was King during his heyday, and now I have only one drop of water left -- Carrie. And when I eventually swallow it, what then...?

Rating:
Summary: A thriller, not a horror story.
Review: I'd just like to preface my remarks by saying that, unlike the majority of the reviewers, I am not really a Stephen King fan, or even a fan of horror (in fact, I hate it). Honestly, though, The Shining is not a horror story- it's a psychological thriller, and an insight into a very vivid and warped imagination.

For those of you who have seen the movie, this book is a must-read. Having read the book several times and seen the movie countless times (how's about some ice cream, doc? ), I can say that the book not only fills you in on details which the movie only has time to briefly gloss over (for instance, what's with the guy in the dog suit near the end of the movie?), but it also portrays the goings-on in a much different light. For instance, having only seen the movie, a viewer may very rightly be under the impression that Jack has simply gone insane from a severe case of isolation, and that the boy is simply deranged or possessed. By outlining the family's story in Vermont, however, and by giving details of the hotel's history, the novel enables the reader to understand that the hotel itself is a tangible character with a personality of its own, and that it is using the father's weaknesses to get to the boy's remarkable powers. No insanity, just pure evil capitalizing on weakness.

It's interesting to note that King disowned the movie. He did not feel that it accurately expressed the ideas in the book. While this is true, let's also agree that The Shining is a very difficult work to adapt for the screen, and that the Kubrick film is very good in its own right. Five or so years ago, a 6 hour miniseries was made- I believe Rebecca DeMornay was in it... this was fabulous, a terrifying adaptation of the book.

Enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: The Best from the Best
Review: Here's the deal with The Shining: It's Mr. King's best. I've read all his novels from Carrie to Pet Sematary (The Talisman is next on the list), and The Shining beats them all.

I don't usually get a very overwhelming, sustained scare from any novel, even from "the Master of Horror." With The Shining, however, I literally could not read more than a few chapters at a time without some sort of break, and several deep breaths.

Rating:
Summary: the shining
Review: this is a great book! if you are into horror books, this is the ultimite one! you cannot put the book down once you start to read it your so scared! it has a great storry plot.

Rating:
Summary: The Best
Review: Stephen King's "The Shining" is a perfect novel. It's not only the best SK book EVER, but the best horror novel EVER. I've always been a huge fan of his work ever since I read this book, so if you read this one, you'll be highly tempted to read more which I also highly advise.

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Summary: Horor Fan Or Not Must read this book !
Review: I'VE ALWAYS BEEN A STEPHEN KING FAN. BUT I THINK PEOPLE WHO NEVER LIKED HIS BOOKS WILL LIKE THIS ONE. ONSE I PICKED THE BOOK UP I COULDN'T PUT IT DOWN. THIS BOOK ISN'T DISGUSTINGLY BLOODY OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT. THIS BOOK IS CLEVER - AND BELIVE ME AFTER THE PAGE 150 OR SO IT'LL GET DEAD SCARY. ANOTHER THING THE BOOK IS NOT SLOW GOING, IN FACT IT'S VERY ACTION PACKED AND FAST GOING ! IF YOU LIKE A GOOD GHOST STORY - THIS IS IT ! Have a good scare