The Shinning (1977) - Stephen King - Book Review

[caption id="attachment_415" align="alignright" width="350"] Official Score = 4 Devils[/caption]

You know one of the things that I like about Stephen King and his novels, is that in an of itself, each individual novel has it's own separate and distinct story line separate from the other, but in the end, his novels are set up in such a way as to permit individual story lines to connect together, and when he does so, it makes that story that much better!

With that said, there is a novel that I can't wait to read that recently came out by the master of the macabre that is actually the sequel to one of his earlier novels... This novel is called, 'Doctor Sleep', and the original being, 'The Shinning' (1977)!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="160"] A truly classic novel that rocks![/caption]

Now this book truly rocks! It is one one of those novels that from just about the beginning to the end, your on the edge of your seat, and as Stephen King guides the reader deeper in to the story, you end up getting more and more on the edge of your seat, and as you follow Jack Torrance, and his descent in to madness... Well let's just put it this way... You aren't going to want to read this novel late at night!

As for the story it's this, the story tells of how the Torrance family takes over the, 'Overlook Hotel'  as the caretaker for the off season... Now this Hotel has a supernatural secret about previous caretakers, and when Jack Torrance finds out about it, his slow descent in to madness, will be something that he and his family will never forget!

As a side note that I think you might find interesting if you haven't actually seen it yet, is that in 1980 Stanley Kubrick (Full Metal Jacket) & Jack Nicholson (Little Shop Of Horrors) along with Shelley Duvall (Annie Hall) & Scatman Crothers (Transformers: The Return Of Optimus Prime) would go on to make the first and still most famous big screen adaption of the movie!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="150"] Jack Nicholson as, 'Jack Torrance' in, 'The Shinning' (1980)![/caption]

 

In the end guys, this book is freaking awesome, I mean the movie was good... The book was better, and if you give it a chance, I think you might really like it... I know I did!

Stephen King On The Big Screen

Stephen King… What can I say… I mean this guy can literally be described as a true master of horror! I mean this guy’s novels have been terrifying readers all over the world, with such works as:

1. Carrie
2. The Stand
3. Gerald’s Game
4. Christine

And that is just to name a few!

But there is another side to the work that Stephen King has done that I wanted to talk about today that I thought that you, guys might enjoy, and that is the work that would eventually make its way to the big or small screen!

Starting off as early as 1976 with the release of his novel, ‘Carrie’ to the big screen and continuing on to the modern day with all the remakes that are coming out from this guy’s work. Stephen King has been entertaining and scaring audiences all over the world for literally decades! And the type of talent has been drawn to the films that are based on this man’s work!

[caption id="attachment_1103" align="aligncenter" width="640"] The start of one of the most famous scenes of the movie, 'Carrie' (1976)... One of the most recognizable horror movies all time, and it was adapted from Stephen King's first novel![/caption]

There has been such notables that have worked on movies that were based on Stephen King’s works of fiction which have included:

1. Sissy Spacek (Carrie)

2. Piper Laurie (Carrie)

3. John Travolta (Carrie)

4. P.J. Soles (Carrie)

5. Nancy Allen (Carrie)

6. Drew Barrymore (Firestarter & Cat’s Eye)

7. James Woods (Cat’s Eye)

8. Martin Sheen (Firestarter)

9. George C. Scott (Firestarter)

10. Gary SInise (The Stand)

11. Matt Frewer (The Stand)

12. Molly Ringwald (The Stand)

And that is just a few of the countless notables that have graced the screen in a Stephen King movie… And as for directors , we have such truly legendary directors that have worked on these movies which included:

1. John Carpenter

2. David Cronenberg

3. Brian De Palma

4. Tobe Hooper

5. Stanley Kubrick

That is just to name a few as well!

Now if you haven’t had a chance to read any of his work, he does have some non-horror based work as well, including: The Green Mile (1999), and Stand By Me (1986)… And the truth is, is that the majority of that stuff is fun and all of that, but I am not here to talk about that…

In this case I am here to talk about his work in the horror field… There was a joke at one point that was done on TV about Stephen King having to come up with a new idea that would scare the audience well enough and so he grabs his editors lamp and tries to scare him like that…

Well that is just one facet of his work! What I mean by this is that I have found that Stephen King has been able to take any one thing or circumstance and make it in to a fun, gripping and chilling tale of the macabre! A few examples are as follows:

1. In, ‘The Langoliers’ Stephen King makes an innocent enough plane trip in to a terrifying adventure back through time, where if they don’t make it back quick, they might never be able to do so!

2. Another fun example is how Carrie tells the tale of a girl with telekinetic powers in High School who after being taunted and teased by just about everyone around her decides to get even on one fateful night that will live in infamy forever!

3. Another example is how a classic car turns out to want it’s owner about as much as the owner wants the car and will kill to keep that relationship alive!

These are just a few examples of the truly classic novels that had been turned in to movies!

All in all, the truth is, is that most of his work is better in written form, but the truth is, is that the movies that are based on his work is pretty close to being just as good, and if you haven’t had a chance to enjoy either, then I recommend trying both… You might find that you have a new author to enjoy and a new series of movies as well!

http://youtu.be/1qshFVvbYuw