Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

The Shining by Stephen King

104 reviews

holu_b's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Blood, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

maysiebe's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Blood, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

eoghangc96's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

5.0

I was really looking forward to reading this book and I was not disappointed. This was the first novel with a supernatural aspect that I read, so while it was tense and scary, I found there was a lot of (albeit, necessary) anxious build up before events really ramped up in the latter half of the book. I appreciate character building in the novel: Danny Torrence's innocence which made me worry for him and also Jack Torrence's arrogance  and anger issues which the Overlook Hotel took advantage of in dragging Jack slowly and steadily into madness.  I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will be reading more of Stephen King's work in the future. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction and Alcohol

Minor: Racial slurs and Sexual content

martestbr's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

alvinsjoo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful 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

4.5

A very fun and interesting read. Stephen King really shows his creativity and talent for writing suspenseful stories and loveable characters in this book. Some parts felt long and unnecessary but it didn’t bother me that much because the rest was amazing!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

Moderate: Violence

Minor: Racial slurs, Self harm, and Car accident

hurrikane's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.75

I love how King describe all the process of Jack going crazy and that this book is not only about murdering, killing, dyong etc. but what is more important about inner state  of characters and I love it because I don't find it in many horrors.

I would like to know what happen to Dick's jaw after all

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Blood, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Car accident, and Death of parent

Minor: Child death and Car accident

witchnova's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Alcohol

_marycappiello3's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

mainereading's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

5.0

A family isolated from everyone in a haunted hotel during the winter sounds like the perfect book and it is. I loved it. I watched the movie after I read the book because everyone seemed to love it and I hated it. The movie was literally awful. They really dropped the ball. I would love to see a better book to film adaptation someday. The book is way better than the movie. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Alcohol

hellococo927's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

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

2.25

 While I acknowledge The Shining's reputation as a horror classic, the experience fell flat for me. The plot itself is decent, with the potential for a chilling family-in-peril scenario. However, the excessive exposition throughout the book bogged down the pacing significantly. I found myself frequently distracted and struggling to maintain momentum.

Going in fresh, without prior knowledge of the story, I believe the slow build could have been more effective. Unfortunately, the sheer volume of detail and background information often overshadowed the actual suspense, making it a slog to get through. While I can appreciate the attempt at character development, it often felt unnecessary and detracted from the central narrative.

Overall, while the core story holds promise, the overwhelming amount of exposition ultimately hindered my enjoyment of this classic. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Violence, and Alcohol