Reviews for The Shining

The average rating for The Shining based on 2 reviews is 5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2019-11-20 00:00:00 Shane Talbert i- i don't even know what to say that hasn't already been said about this but lemme give it a shot. god DAMN this is king at his best. i know, i know, "kat that is so cliche. couldn't you have picked a less popular king book to stan?" i guess not, but hear me out. 1. first of all, i love a good old fashioned haunted house story and that's exactly what this is. the slow progression of madness that overtook jack and the introduction of new ghosts (or hallucinations, whatever you decide) was INCREDIBLE. not to mention the thing that i think king writes best is the feeling of confinement, and what's more confining than being snowed into a haunted hotel that literally wants you dead?? oh right, nothing. 2. the characterization!!! ah! the way that king wrote these characters was just *chefs kiss* not only did i care about danny, wendy, and (sometimes) jack, but we also got to rip back the layers of their relationships with each other and dynamic as a family which i LOVE. even if you don't think this is a great horror story, don't deny it is a baller family drama. 3. the horror of it all. whether you want to look at it as a family being attacked by ghosts, or a father being overcome by an extreme case of cabin fever, or even if the whole murdering thing doesn't scare you but you can see the fear that comes with having a family member who battles with some kind of addiction, this book is fucking scary. it may not have made me physically jump or scream, but i can tell you that it's a story that is gonna stick in my brain and not let go for a long long time (just like any good horror should) now for the obligatory comparison to the movie: it's common knowledge that king himself hates the Kubrick movie, but i love it. so much. it's one of the first horror movies i ever saw and i've seen it many times since, so while it's a popular opinion to love the book and shit on the movie i just can't bring myself to do it. yes, they're very different in a lot of ways, but honestly i think that Kubrick did the best with what he had to work with. a BIG part of the novel is rooted in internal conflict. we spend so much time inside of jack, danny, and wendy's heads that it would have been impossible (imo) to translate that to the screen without a near constant voiceover (like basically just the audiobook playing over all the scenes) sO, i can't fault the movie for what it lacks in depth of character and explanation...i just can't. however, if for some reason you're reading this and you have seen the movie but haven't read the book YOU BETTER READ THE FCKING BOOK ARE YOU JOKING?? READ IT. anyway, dear mr. stephen king, i'm sorry i ever said that your popular books were overhyped. some of them are *cough* IT *cough* but this one isn't. luv, kat okay that's all read this book i don't have an outro okay byeeeee

Review # 2 was written on 2007-12-21 00:00:00 Nikolas Bubunko This scene from Friends pretty much sums up my feelings about this book: "Rachel: Hmm. (she opens the freezer) Umm, why do you have a copy of The Shining in your freezer? Joey: Oh, I was reading it last night, and I got scared, so. Rachel: But ah, you're safe from it if it's in the freezer? Joey: Well, safer. Y'know, I mean I never start reading The Shining, without making sure we've got plenty of room in the freezer, y'know. Rachel: How often do you read it? Joey: Haven't you ever read the same book over and over again? Rachel: Well, umm, I guess I read Little Women more than once. But I mean that's a classic, what's so great about The Shining? Joey: The question should be Rach, what is not so great about The Shining. Okay? And the answer would be: nothing. All right? This is like the scariest book ever. I bet it's way better than that classic of yours."