Doctor Sleep
By Stephen King
Publisher: Scribner
Pub. Date: September 24, 2013
Retail: $30.00
ISBN: 978-1476727653
Pages: 544

Review:

In 1977, author Stephen King scared millions of readers with the horror novel The Shining, which was about a recovering alcoholic Jack Torrance becoming the caretaker of the Overlook Hotel during the isolated winter months. He lived in the hotel his wife Wendy and their five-year-old son Danny. Of course the hotel was haunted and chaos stirs about. The book was made into a feature film in 1980 directed by Stanley Kubrick and was made into a television mini-series in 1997.

Now, Stephen King has written the long awaited sequel called Doctor Sleep with the opening pages picking up where the 1977 original left off, showing the physical and emotional trauma left upon Wendy, Danny and Dick Hallorann (the chef of the Overlook Hotel). Starting their life over isn't easy as the ghosts of the Overlook Hotel won't leave poor Danny alone. After a frightening encounter with woman from Room 217, Dick teaches young Danny how to put those unwanted spirits into a "locked box" and store it away forever.

After the death of his mother, Danny (known to most as Dan) has become an alcoholic just like his father, but for him the alcohol is the only thing that can numb his shining (telepathic abilities, including seeing the dead). Things get worse for Dan after a one nightstand with a junkie and an odd encounter with her son. He moves every little bit, not wanting to stay in one place for very long, taking any job he can get.

Luckily, things do turn around for Dan, as he finally quits drinking and enters AA. His years of drifting is over and he take a steady job at a nursing home in Teenytown, New Hampshire, where he quickly earns the nickname "Doctor Sleep", as he helps the dying find comfort before their passing.

If you want schedule next week's post, click here to find the next prompt question. To submit a question, fill out this form.

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Halloween Edition: 

What book gave you goose bumps?  

 

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The first book to give me goose bumps was probably the Fear Street: Cheerleader series by R.L. Stine. Then it was The Shining by Stephen King, followed by Ghost Story by Peter Straub, The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson and Rosemary's Baby (the movie creeps me out too) by Ira Levin.

Linky List:

Tranformers Prime: Beast Hunters: Predacons Rising
Director: David Hartman
Voice Cast: Peter Cullen, Frank Welker
Studio: Shout! Factory
Release Date: October 8, 2013
Retail: $24.97
ASIN: B00DOZNI6G
Running Time: 66 minutes
Rating: TV-Y7

Review:

After three exciting seasons, the award-winning computer-animated series Transformers Prime ends its run with the movie Beast Hunters - Predacons Rising airing tonight on the Hub Network and landing on DVD and Blu-ray this Tuesday, October 8, 2013 with a behind-the-scenes bonus feature.

Thought to have been dead, Megatron is resurrected by Unicron (a source of Dark Energon) and is ordered to kill the Autobots and destroy their home world Cybertron, but there is one little problem - Megatron doesn't like taking orders.


Meanwhile, Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Wheeljack, Knockout, Arcee, Ultra Magnus, Ratchet, and Smokescreen are continuing their quest to rebuild Cyberton, but there are constantly fighting Starscream’s army of Cybertronian dragons called Predacons, which were cloned from fossilized remains in Shockwave’s laboratory.

The battle lines have been drawn and the fate of Cyberton lies in the hands of one single sacrifice, forever changing the war between the Autobots and Decepticons.

Does anyone else remember this song? Back in 1998, the Barenaked Ladies released it as the follow up to their wildly popular hit One Week. Sometimes, when I’m trying to think up an original idea for a plot or a character or even a little bit of description, this song starts running through my head. And when I think about coming up with new ways to depict haunting and horror in my novels, this song seems even more apropos. Has it really all been done? Truly, coming up with creepy new things for my ghosts and spirits to do is a serious struggle. I’m sure the rest of you horror-type writers will agree.

One of the things my editor charged me with during edits on EVER NEAR was creating some unique things for my ghosts to do. She wanted me to push myself to make my ghost characters one-of-a-kind and horrid in their own very special ghostly ways. After all, ghosts are one of those things that may in fact have all been done before.

So what was a ghost writer like me to do? (ha, did you catch that play on words) Well, I took to my e-reader and downloaded a boatload of books—ones with ghosts that were currently chilling the hearts of readers everywhere. Of course, this wasn’t so I could copy them; I was looking for original ideas after all. No, this was to get my own creative juices flowing, and I am happy to say it worked. I was able to imagine some gloriously new effects for the ghosts in my novel.

On Tuesday, October 8, 2013, BBC Home Entertainment will release last year's creep mini-series The Secret of Crickley Hall on a single-disc DVD, which is based on the novel of the same name by author James Herbert. The ghostly mini-series is coming out just in time for Halloween and stars Maisie Williams from HBO's Game of Thrones and Olivia Cooke from A&E's Bates Motel.

The mini-series aired in three one-hour parts last fall on BBC America and on UK's BBC One. It switches back and forth from the year 2006 and 1943. It begins in London, where Gabe and Eve Caleigh's young son, Cameron (or as they call "Cam"), vanishes without a trace. Eleven months go by and there is still no sign of the boy. Wanting to get away from the one-year anniversary of Cam's disappearance, Gabe, Eve and their two daughters, Loren (played by Maisie Williams) and Cally, move to the north part of England, aka Crickley Hall - a former orphanage.

Flip back in time to 1943, Nancy Linnet (played by Olivia Cooke) begins teaching school at the Crickley Hall, which is owned by the strange Augustus Cribben. A young Jewish German student named Stefan refuses to speak English and Nancy notices unusual markings on Stefan's hands, markings that match the size of the cane that belongs to Mr. Cribben. To make matters worse, she begins to believe Mr. Cribben's sister, Magda, is a little to close to a teenager student, Maurice Stafford. Nancy tries to get others to believe the children are in danger, but no one believes her, except for the ground keeper, Percy Judd. The children are in danger and Nancy will give her life to save them.

Unearth even more thrills from “Bones” Season Eight with all-new content! Finally cleared of wrongdoing, Bones reunites with Booth (David Boreanaz) and the squints. Although the team solves some of their most challenging cases yet, madman Christopher Pelant continues his murderous rampage – inching closer to Bones and Booth daily. From solving the mystery of a roller derby darling’s demise to uncovering a previously unrecognized 9/11 hero to stopping a pandemic, Bones and the team make one remarkable discovery after another. Meanwhile, as if the challenges Booth faces with parenthood and his unique relationship with Bones aren’t enough, his mother shows up after a 24-year absence, and there is shocking news about some of his colleagues. Relive all 26 killer episodes!

Special Features 

• Commentary on “The Future in the Past” 
• Deleted Scene from “The Patriot in Purgatory” 
• Deleted Scene from “The Survivor in the Soap” 
• Deleted Scene from “The Party in the Pants” 
• Dying to Know: Bones Answers Your Questions! 
• Bare Bones: Total Fandom-onium 
• Gag Reel 

Giveaway Details