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  • Doctor Sleep

  • A Novel
  • Written by: Stephen King
  • Narrated by: Will Patton
  • Length: 18 hrs and 34 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (939 ratings)

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Doctor Sleep

Written by: Stephen King
Narrated by: Will Patton
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Publisher's Summary

Audie Award Winner, Fiction, 2014

Audie Award Nominee, Solo Narration - Male, 2014

Stephen King returns to the characters and territory of one of his most popular novels ever, The Shining, in this instantly riveting novel about the now middle-aged Dan Torrance (the boy protagonist of The Shining) and the very special 12-year-old girl he must save from a tribe of murderous paranormals.

On highways across America, a tribe of people called The True Knot travel in search of sustenance. They look harmless - mostly old, lots of polyester, and married to their RVs. But as Dan Torrance knows, and spunky 12-year-old Abra Stone learns, The True Knot are quasi-immortal, living off the "steam" that children with the "shining" produce when they are slowly tortured to death.

Haunted by the inhabitants of the Overlook Hotel where he spent one horrific childhood year, Dan has been drifting for decades, desperate to shed his father's legacy of despair, alcoholism, and violence. Finally, he settles in a New Hampshire town, an AA community that sustains him, and a job at a nursing home where his remnant "shining" power provides the crucial final comfort to the dying. Aided by a prescient cat, he becomes "Doctor Sleep."

Then Dan meets the evanescent Abra Stone, and it is her spectacular gift, the brightest shining ever seen, that reignites Dan's own demons and summons him to a battle for Abra's soul and survival. This is an epic war between good and evil, a gory, glorious story that will thrill the millions of hyper-devoted fans of The Shining and wildly satisfy anyone new to the territory of this icon in the King canon.

©2013 Stephen King (P)2013 Simon & Schuster

What the critics say

"Will Patton's delivery enhances King's prose in ways that make King's work so much more enjoyable in audio than just reading it…Patton's narrative voice captures the rhythm of King's words. His character voices, filled with a variety of regional American accents, remain consistent. Most importantly, the sinister aspects that embody characters and moments of this novel are superbly executed and will certainly leave listeners on edge." ( AudioFile)
"King, not one given to sequels, throws fans a big, bloody bone with this long-drooled-for follow-up to The Shining." ( Booklist)
"…a gripping, taut read that provides a satisfying conclusion to Danny Torrance's story." ( Publisher’s Weekly)

What listeners say about Doctor Sleep

Average Customer Ratings
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Great book

It was a great follow up to the shining. Yet, it didn't leave me with the same sense of dread. If the shining was a 9/10 then this is a 7.5/10.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Won't put you to sleep

Thoroughly enjoyable sequel to The Shinning. Moves along a little quicker than some of King's other stories. I was also happy to side step the utterly boring romances that I'm never looking for in a horror novel. Danny Torrence has grown up and he's brought all the demons you'd expect him to have along with him - but, for better or for worse, he still has The Shine and a young girl needs his help to battle vampire like creatures call the True Knot.
Will Patton does a fine job of reading the piece, even if his women are little breathy, his Maine characters sound like the King himself.
No problem at all recommending this one.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Very good. Great follow up to The Shining

I loved the shining and this was a great follow up. I'm glad we got to know what happened to Danny and Wendy.

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • S&T
  • 2019-04-28

Best sequel I've heard!

Interesting and well developed characters and plot. Narrator nails the necessary voice inflections to do justice to a King novel. I highly recommend, even if you haven't read The Shining. (If you haven't though, it's a work of art, so go get that one too).

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent ( Haven't even read the Shinning)

Excellent and enjoyable book. I have not read the Shinning and still found the book to be superb (likely should of read the Shinning first to better understand a few of the references). Great narration as always by Will Patton

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Hated the narrators voice

The narrator either sounded like an old man or Donald trump at all times. Took me out of the story to the point of genuinely debating stopping. I would’ve much preferred the person who narrated the shining

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Pulled in from the very start

What ever happened to little Danny?

After his stay at the Overlook Hotel did he join Little League, Scouts, Saturday morning tv? Probably not. We wonder what future awaits a child of horror and Stephen King satisfies that curiosity to the fullest.

The story is rich with villains, twists, history, heroes, and redemption.

A wonderful novel!

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Awesome!

I feel like I have said that before about Stephen King!
This book made me laugh, pissed off and cry.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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Such a bgreat book!

I used to read Stephen king years ago but recently started reading his books again, the newer ones and I am thrilled with them, they keep my interest always, I love his character development and his stories are so full of detail you almost feel like you are there experiencing it too.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Never have I ever

I ne er gave a complete 5 stars before but the story was amazing. Hard to follow up on the Shinning but Mr King did it. And the narration! Excellent!

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