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Title: Doctor Sleep

Author: Stephen King

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 488

Rating: 5*/5

Stephen King – Doctor Sleep

I’m a little bit confused about this one, because I remember reading the book and I was pretty sure that I’d written a review to go with it. But then when I finally got round to sorting through Goodreads, I realised that I’d never posted it. And then when I looked into it, I discovered that it was missing – I forgot to do it!

Luckily, I found Doctor Sleep to be pretty memorable, and not least because I read a good chunk of it while waiting out in London all night after a radio interview. I had three hours to kill between 3 AM and the first train, so I sat on a bench in the middle of the night and read this book. And let me tell you, it was the perfect book for it.

Basically, the plot of this novel takes place after The Shining and follows the exploits of a grown-up Danny. He still has a touch of the shining about him, which comes in useful at work – he’s earned the nickname ‘Doctor Sleep’ because he helps the old folks to pass over from life into death. Unfortunately, something strange is happening, King’s equivalent of a disturbance in the force, and you’re in for a wild ride along the way.

Stephen King

Now, because I read it so long ago, I can’t remember all of the details. I do, however, remember that there was the equivalent of a ‘dark side‘, and that they were driving around the country in the back of a camper van. In my memory, it was one of those rare stories where you feel some sympathy for the bad guys, which is typical of King. He likes to subvert his readers’ expectations, and in this instance, he’s taken the seeds that were sown in The Shining and used them to create a work of equal artistic merit.

And that brings me on to something that’s always confused me a little. I enjoyed this book much, much more than The Shining, and I’m not really sure why. It could be that it’s simply easier to read, which made it easier for me to become addicted to it, or it could be that The Shining was the first Stephen King book that I read and so I wasn’t quite used to his style. Regardless, I still stand by my opinion, and I really do believe that this is the better of the two books.

Despite that, I’d still recommend reading The Shining first, because it’s one of the ‘big‘ books in King’s repertoire to begin with and because it will bring you into his world. But once you’ve read The Shining, you can move on to this one, and you’ll enjoy it so much more. It’s like having to eat your dinner before you start on dessert.

Stephen King Quote

Click here to buy Doctor Sleep.

Peter James – You Are Dead | Review

Title: You Are Dead

Author: Peter James

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 520

Rating: 4*/5

Peter James – You Are Dead

If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you’ve probably already noticed that I’ve been getting heavily into Peter James of late. Interestingly enough, I didn’t actually start with one of his crime novels – I started with The House On Cold Hill, an excerpt of which is included at the end of this novel to give potential readers a chance to preview it before buying it. Which you should do, of course – it’s a good book, just like all of James’ releases.

This book, though, is one of his Roy Grace detective novels, and it follows the story of the first serial killer to operate in Brighton in several decades. Grace and his team must track down the killer before he strikes again, but with no real leads and a huge pool of suspects – plus a number of known kidnap victims who may or may not still be alive – it’s one hell of a challenge for the Sussex police force. And then there’s the simultaneous story line about Grace’s missing ex-wife, Sandy, who may or may not have turned up alive (just!) in a hospital in Germany.

To some extent, you know exactly what you’re getting when you pick up a Peter James book; like Stephen King, he’s one of the rare breed of writers that maintains a constant high standard throughout everything he works on. This book isn’t my favourite of the Roy Grace books, but it is one of the better ones, mainly because the serial killer gives him a new angle to work with. The media gets involved, there’s widespread panic on the streets, and the killer is even given his own nickname – the Brighton Brander, because each of his victims is found with a brand on their body. A brand that says: U R Dead.

Peter James

That brings me on to one of the few negative aspects that I picked up on – the significance of the brand was never really explained, and that was one of the main things that I was hoping to have resolved by the end of the book. I think more could have been done with that, but then James left it reasonably open ended so it’s entirely possible that this will be referred to again in a future release. I also found that certain elements of this were spoiled by the fact that I read the series out of order – it can be done, and it won’t hamper your overall enjoyment, but while each book in the series is a standalone, there’s also the recurring story line of Grace’s personal life, as well as the lives of his colleagues.

Overall, though, I have a lot of time for You Are Dead. The tension – and the evil – is palpable, and James’ characters are at their best here. I even found myself feeling sorry for DS Norman Potting, which I didn’t think was actually possible. But ultimately, it was the victims that I found to be relatable, which added to the story.