Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Doctor Sleep by Stephen King

55 reviews

catriona176's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, and Death

Moderate: Vomit, Torture, Car accident, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

bites_of_books's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

I did not love The Shining but I was still curious to know more about Dan Torrance and what happened to him when he grew up. Dan ends up struggling with alcoholism like his father and eventually starts finding ways to manage his alcoholism. His shine is then put to use at a hospice where he helps people pass on and gives them some relief in their last moments. Throughout all this he is being contacted by someone via telepathic messages as well as writing on a chalkboard where he keeps track of patients. At first the messages are innocent but eventually they start talking about murder and danger so Dan has to find out more. 
There are still aspects of King's writing that are still sexist, racist, and ableist, so I can't give it the 5 stars it might have had without these inclusions. Compared to The Shining, this book does better in a lot of ways since I couldn't stop reading this 500+pg book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Violence, Vomit, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Cancer, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Car accident, Death of parent, Drug use, Medical content, Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexual harassment, Terminal illness, Bullying, Ableism, Alcohol, Gore, Grief, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Addiction, Blood, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Infidelity, and Murder

jess2obsess's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Alcohol, Child abuse, Alcoholism, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Violence, Terminal illness, and Torture

finn_vibing's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Death of parent, Cancer, Drug abuse, and Death

caspian's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Drug abuse, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Racial slurs

kreglow's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Cursing, Drug use, Terminal illness, Addiction, Grief, Incest, Blood, Child death, Confinement, Dementia, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Medical content, Racial slurs, Genocide, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Racism, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Drug abuse, Murder, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, and Vomit

jurdek's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use and Alcoholism

bittie_bee's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism

ajay_101's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A very good follow up to The Shining, but it doesn't quite live up to the original.

I definitely feel like the sequel wasn't necessarily needed but it did tell an interesting albeit very different story. Dan and Abra are fantastic protagonists and the True Knot do genuinely chill the bones!!

I very much enjoyed this read and it won't be long until I'm onto my next King book!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Child death, and Alcoholism

jenniferbbookdragon's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I read this as King wrote it, as a sequel to The Shining, but it would still be a great stand alone read. 
Dan Torrence is an incredibly complex character,  at times loveable and at other times frightening and out of control. His journey is rich and painful,  and his connections to the terrible events of his childhood haunt him in ways that he can't explain to people without being hospitalized for psychosis. 
Abra is well written,  a young woman of 13 dealing with gifts and threats to her self and family that others teens can't even imagine. King does an outstanding job capturing the voice of an adolescent girl without making her too childish or adult.
The bad guys are constructed in a spine chilling way, but it never goes over the top. I highly recommend this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Death

Moderate: Cancer, Grief, Murder, Cursing, Stalking, Terminal illness, and Violence