A Halloween book thriller
The second book I recommend for my Book Worm Chronicles is “The Shining” by Stephen King,
One of my favorite books for the Halloween season, it leads you down a dark and confusing path. “The Shining” is a well-written novel, with hints and details that come together at the end.
Jack Torrance is one of three main characters who travels to the Overlook Hotel in Colorado to get a job as the off-season caretaker.
Wendy, his wife, and Danny, his son, travel with him to the resort. The manager gives the Torrance family a tour of the hotel, showing where they will stay and covering the responsibilities of a caretaker. As they look around, the head chef Dick Halloran takes Danny away, explaining he knows he has “the shine.”
Halloran and Danny have a conversation without using their voices, they use “the shine.” “The shine” lets Danny and Halloran talk to each other without using their mouths. It lets them see things others cannot normally see, including dangerous and scary events, people and things.
When everyone leaves the hotel, the Torrance family is on their own. Danny starts to explore the massive building. Throughout the book, Danny is taunted by supernatural beings and taken to different places in the hotel where he sees paranormal events.
His father is a recovering alcoholic and struggling with withdrawals from alcohol now that he’s in isolation. He has hallucinations where he travels in time to a party hosted at the hotel and starts ordering drinks and having a blast. Danny’s mother is playing catch up and peace maker with Jack, plus keeping Danny safe from the hotel and his father.
The paranormal activities paired with Jack’s inability to separate reality from fantasy sets up for disaster. Toward the end of the book, Jack’s irritability leaves the Overlook Hotel a burning wreck while trying to murder his family.
The depth of the characters King creates and the way he sees their story to the conclusion isn’t often written in books. Normally, the conclusions feel rushed, as though the author forgot to seal all the holes of the story line, but not with King, he found the sweet spot in writing.
“The Shining” will always one of my very favorites to read during October or throughout the year. If you get the chance to read the book, I hope you enjoy all of its spooky wonders. I would highly recommend it for anyone looking for a classic thriller novel.
