brtheshininga

Title: The Shining
(The Shining Series #1)
Author: Stephen King
Genre: Horror, Thriller, Classics, Paranormal
First published: 1977
Finished reading: August 4th 2014
Pages: 512
Rating 5qqq

“Soft and sweet and mellow, the song came back and lingered, following her down into a deeper sleep where thought ceased and the faces that came in dreams went unremembered.”

myrambles1

The Shining has been on my TBR list for ages, but somehow I never came around reading it. And boy do I regret ignoring this book before! Stephen King wrote with The Shining without doubt one of the best and creepiest horror books I’ve read until now. While I was reading I noticed I was both chewing my fingernails and keeping my fingers crossed at the same time (which is quite a hard thing to do simultaneously); hoping nothing would happen to the main characters. Definitely recommended!

shortsummary1

The Overlook Hotel is closing down for winter and the manager hires Jack to take care of the hotel, even though he had a history with alcoholism and violence. Jack has to move into the hotel with his family, and they are facing a cold winter full of snow. But that is not the only trouble they will find during those cold isolated months… Danny is five years old and has a special gift: he has visions and can hear the thoughts of others close to him. He has what the hotel cook calls ‘the shine‘, and during his presence at the Overlook Hotel his powers are growing out of control. What starts as a pleasant change of scenery, grows out into a nightmare…

The hotel is an old building, and as every building with a history it has its own ghosts of the past. But in The Overlook memories start to develop a life of its own and Jack and his family soon realize the ghosts have become way too real. A murdered lady in room 217 leaving physical wounds, animal-shaped hedges coming to life to attack the caretaker and his family… Danny and his mother Wendy want to leave The Overlook as soon as possible. They are afraid of the developing powers of the evil forces residing at the hotel, but they already have Jack under their spell. The last caretaker had been droven to madness and was convinced to murder his family; will the hotel succeed again?

finalthoughtsreview

The Shining was creepy enough for me to freak out while I was trying to read it home alone and with the lights out… Although I admit that was kind of a stupid thing to do while reading a horror book anyway. The scary factor is more psychological than physical, and works perfectly without grossing you out. A definite must read for anyone who enjoys reading the horror genre! And don’t forget to leave the lights on. 😉