Doctor Sleep Journal #7: I'm Scared

Went running alone for the first time in quite a while.  It's hard to make myself run with no one accompanying me.  On the good side, I did have Doctor Sleep.  It's been a few days since I listened to Doctor Sleep, so  here are my thoughts:

This book is really scary at moments.  Out running as a dead body was uncovered was just down right creepy.  I was running past desert fields, no lights out here, just the moon and a King novel in my ears.  As that body was dug up I was actually pretty excited.  "Wow this is scary," I thought, looking out toward a dark field. 

Slow
Second observation is that the book moves slow at points.  So slow that characters  I thought were dead are still on their deathbed!  However, I accept that as part of reading a Stephen King novel.  I'm not sure I want him to write fast paced thrillers.  King takes his time telling a story, relishes the scenes and the careful build up.  It's worth the journey, even if there are moments I wish he'd drive a little faster.

NOOOO!
Grover Gardner, who read both audio versions of The Stand once noted that it seemed every character in the book had at least one time when they cried out, "noooooooo!"  When reading Doctor Sleep, I had a personal "noooooo!" moment.

There is a point when Danny tells what happened to him at the overlook.  I was totally excited to get a first person account of the terrors in that hotel from Dan's perspective.  The Shining was written thrid person, so to get to see it through Danny's eyes -- even for a few pages -- would be awesome.  But as soon as Dan begins telling his story, King cuts away then drops back in as Dan wraps things up.   It seems like it would have been an opportunity to add another layer to a story we already dearly love.