Doctor Sleep - Check In #1

Here are my responses to the Doctor Sleep check in #1 for the prologue and first section of the book.  There is still time to join! You can sign up at TifTalksBooks and Cheap Thrills.

WARNING: There may be spoilers if you have not finished Part 1 of Doctor Sleep or read The Shining.

Doctor Sleep picks up not long after the closing of The Shining.  For those who have recently read The Shining, do you think it proves to be helpful in diving into the sequel?  If you have not recently read The Shining, do you feel you are missing out on some of the details?

I think King did a good job at recapping some of the major points of The Shining in the prologue of Doctor Sleep for any new readers, but having the previous experience of diving into Jack and Danny's psyche adds an additional layer of depth and understanding to the book.  Has anyone noticed the similarities to Jack wiping his lips before going off the deep end and Abra wiping her mouth when she is nervous? I am sure that King wrote the two behavior tics intentionally and I am excited to see how deep the connection between the two characters goes.

Danny has now become Dan.  In Part One, we watch his transformations from learning to live with the horrors of The Overlook to succumbing to the drink (like his father) to his road to sobriety and earning the title of Doctor Sleep.  What do you think about the journey King has taken Dan on thus far?

I think there are parallels between Dan and King's life; I am not very well read on his background but I do know that he was using drugs and alcohol during the time frame that he wrote The Shining, and now with Doctor Sleep he has the chance to revisit the same characters in his sobriety much the same way that Dan is. 

For character development, I much prefer Dan as an adult to a child.  I had a hard time relating to a five year old boy with extraordinary abilities, but now that Dan's talent has been limited with his age he is easier to relate to than he was before.

We are also introduced to the True Knot in this first section.  What do you think about this group?

The True Knot is a fantastic villain, in my opinion.  The way King has written the characters individually and as a whole make me sympathetic toward their situation (doesn't everyone want to thrive and survive?) while being horrific at the same time.  I can enjoy the thought of Abra and Dan defeating them because of their actions while at the same time mourning the deaths of their members. Their origins and true identity are full of mystery and I hope there is more exposition on their history. 

Overall, what do you think so far?  Have you completely fallen into the story?  Or, has it taken a bit longer to get back into the life of little Danny Torrance?

I am all in, head over heels in for this book! It will easily be in my top 10 books of the year. It's been a really pleasurable read so far with just enough creeping horror to keep me on the edge of my seat.