It’s impossible to close the cover on Stephen King’s “Doctor Sleep” and not immediately yearn for a sequel to this sequel to “The Shining.”
“The Shining,” published in 1977, is among the most revered of King’s novels. The Stanley Kubrick movie in 1980 has its many fans, too, but King isn’t among them. King makes a point in an author’s note that “Doctor Sleep” follows not the movie, but the novel and that it stands as “the true history of the Torrance Family.”
The Overlook Hotel. Room 217. Redrum. All are signifiers of one of the scariest books ever in which 5-year-old Danny Torrance does bloody battle with spectral evil as well as his all too corporal father, the possessed and murderous alcoholic Jack.
In “Doctor Sleep,” little Danny is all grown up, a hospice worker in a small New England town who has a special ability to help patients face their death. Like the author himself, Dan is an alcoholic who attends recovery meetings.
He also still has his psychic abilities, though they are somewhat weakened by age. The contrast is obvious when Dan is contacted by Abra Stone, a girl whose abilities are hugely powerful and still not fully tapped at the age of 12. She’s also in both mortal and immortal danger.
Abra’s existence has been sussed out by True Knot, a malignant collective of human parasites who feed off those with psychic powers, particularly children like Abra. They’re kidnapped, kept alive in agony, and then sucked dry for their “steam,” a life force that keeps the Knot running.
The horror that follows is King at his best, perhaps not as shrill as in “The Shining,” but thoroughly terrifying. There’s also the extra satisfaction of finally knowing what ever became of little Danny. Best of all, is the introduction of Abra, she of the unparalleled powers and, presumably, a long future.
Nice job, Mr. King. More, please.
FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION
“Dissident Gardens” by Jonathan Lethem
After “Motherless Brooklyn” and the Manhattan-set “Chronic City,” Lethem now shifts to Queens in “Dissident Gardens.” Fittingly, it’s a novel of “identity, destiny and family” that intertwines the stories of a mother and daughter, Rose and Miriam. In 1955, Rose is ousted from her cell of the American Communist Party for sleeping with a black cop. Her daughter, Miriam, is a teenager about to dive into bohemia on the streets of Greenwich Village. The novel spans decades and cultural eras in comic and wrenching detail.
“Help for the Haunted” by John Searles
The author has a distinct talent for fashioning chilling, thrilling novels. In this, 14-year-old Sylvie is in the car when her parents are murdered in a graveyard, where they planned to meet their oldest daughter, Rose. Rose assumes care of Sylvie, though she isn’t very caring. Facing tough circumstances, Sylvie becomes aware of her parents’ career as “demonologists,” caring for the haunted. The suspected killer is about to come to trial, and Sylvie possesses knowledge that could radically affect the outcome. She also has her own scary dealings with the paranormal and many family secrets to uncover.
“Still Foolin’ ‘Em: Where I’ve Been, Where I’m Going, and Where the Hell Are My Keys?” by Billy Crystal
In this comic remembrance of so many things past — hosting the Oscars nine times; starring in classic movies like “When Harry Met Sally . . .” — Crystal is, as always, charming and wry. One day his mirror told him he was no longer a “hip, cool baby boomer,” but he promises that since he works out, “I’m still a great piece of a—.” Crystal tells backstories on the television shows, “Saturday Night Live” included, and movies that comprise his career. Funny stuff from the 65-year-old who will revive his one-man show, “700 Sundays,” on Broadway this fall.
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