Doctor Sleep

Doctor Sleep is just as much a sequel as it is a standalone novel, and yet, it comes 36 years after the publication of The Shining, the novel from which its protagonist originated. In between these two publication dates, Stephen King wrote dozens of stories, and today, he has sold over 300 million books, making him one of the best-selling authors of all time.

Readers who haven’t read The Shining and are new to Stephen King will still find the book intriguing and accessible. King has perfected his craft over the years; he knows how to tell an engaging story, and he knows how to create fear and suspense. After all, he is known by many as “the Master of Horror.” 

The story begins in the aftermath of the Overlook Hotel’s destruction, which burned down at the end of The Shining. Even though the building is gone, the ghosts remain—and one of them, Mrs. Massey, has found young Danny Torrence and is now haunting his bathroom. Dick Halloran, who also has the telepathic ability he calls “the shining,” offers Danny some advice: He tells him to create a lockbox in his mind and use it to seal away Mrs. Massey and the other ghosts that find him. In this way, young Danny finds temporary relief, but the burden of the shining dooms the older Dan Torrence to repeat the ills of his father.

Now, Dan Torrence is middle-aged and struggling to find peace. No matter how much he drinks, no matter how much he fights, and no matter how many jobs he has and loses, he cannot quiet his inner demons, though he finds alcohol dulls the shining just enough for him to live a relatively normal life. Haunted by the choices he made while under the influence of alcohol, Dan finds himself moving from place to place, but he soon learns he cannot outrun his past. After several jobs and relocations, he settles in Frazier, New Hampshire, where he meets a new friend, Billy Freeman. For a while, he works with him in Teenytown, and he later settles into a long-term job at a local hospice, where he earns the name Doc—as in, “Doctor Sleep”—as he helps dying patients pass on.

Though Dan doesn’t shine as brightly as he did when he was young, he inadvertently finds someone in Frazier who shines brighter than he ever did. Her name is Abra Stone, and she turns out to be Dan’s niece from the half-sister he never knew he had. This young girl communicates with him telepathically, often using the blackboard in his bedroom, until their ability to shine catches the attention of the True Knot. These vampire-like monsters look like regular people, but they aren’t; they inhale the “steam” that comes from those who shine, and in doing so, they prolong their lives and end the lives of their victims.

The main antagonist of the story, Rose the Hat, is a beautiful six-foot-tall woman whose signature top hat is always a little crooked on her head. She is the leader of the True Knot, and she has set her sights on Abra. With Abra in danger, Dan realizes that he and Abra must work together to end the threat once and for all.

Stephen King is known as the Master of Horror, not only because he has sold millions of books in the horror genre but because he knows that while monsters are horrifying, our inner demons are far more terrifying than any monster could ever be. They are real, and we cannot escape them.

Frequently, King hints at this through foreshadowing. Dan Torrence knows that his father’s addiction to alcohol was detrimental to his health and his relationships. As a young boy, after Danny locks up Mrs. Massey and the owner of the Overlook in the lockboxes in his head, he reflects, “He was safe. That was what he thought then. Of course, he also thought that he would never take a drink, not after seeing what it had done to his father. Sometimes we just get it wrong” (Prologue 1 “Lockbox,” 20). The end of this chapter foreshadows Dan’s long-term struggle with alcohol (as well as his ongoing struggle with ghosts). Readers can relate to and sympathize with Dan, because even though he did some bad things in the past—like stealing, getting into fistfights, and drinking on the job—he truly wants to do better and to be a better person.

Dan redeems himself to himself in multiple ways throughout the novel. He keeps his job and settles down in one location, he risks his life to save his niece, and he forgives his father for the abuse he experienced in his childhood. King adds depth and simultaneously offers a ray of hope as he concludes Dan Torrence’s arc: At the end of the story, the character celebrates another year of sobriety. The message conveyed here is simple but powerful: It is not only possible to overcome our struggles, but it is possible to forgive ourselves. In the Epilogue, Dan notes, “[W]e’re only as sick as our secrets” (515). In sharing the secrets that have been haunting him for so long, he effectively releases the sickness that has been holding him back.

The book contains many meaningful messages, and it is beautifully crafted. However, like Stephen King’s other books, there are excessive details that slow down the plot, as well as some potentially unclear scenes. Much of the story is created within the characters’ heads; readers are privy to their telepathic abilities in a way that is intriguing and engaging but sometimes confusing because it is not always clear where the characters physically are in the moment while dramatic scenes occur in their heads. There is also some content in the book that would be considered inappropriate for young readers, but this is common in King’s books and part of his style.

Readers who love supernatural horror and appreciate detailed, layered storytelling will happily sink their teeth into this long read. While the novel is better after reading The Shining—the characters’ past experiences add depth to their character arcs in the present—this book can easily stand alone. It would be a great choice for people who are new to Stephen King’s work and want to see how he has earned the title “Master of Horror.”