Reviews tagging 'Cancer'

Doctor Sleep by Stephen King

13 reviews

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

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

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

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

elisabethkatee's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

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

4.5

i think i liked this even more than the shining omg :’) so good

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Terminal illness, and Cancer

Minor: Vomit, Blood, and Gore

bomenvernietiger's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Murder, Drug use, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Stalking, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Child abuse, Child death, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Addiction, Alcohol, Violence, and Torture

Moderate: Sexual assault, Racial slurs, Pedophilia, Misogyny, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Body horror, Cancer, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Car accident, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Terminal illness, Blood, Sexism, Rape, and Gore

Minor: Pedophilia and Adult/minor relationship

_masha_'s review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Sexual content, Gore, Medical trauma, Terminal illness, Violence, Death, Grief, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Murder, Sexual violence, Drug use, Medical content, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Cancer, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Cursing, Domestic abuse, and Car accident

taliatalksbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.0

 Doctor Sleep by Stephen King couldn’t hold a flame to its predecessor, The Shining, but was entertaining all the same. I loved getting to see a grown up Danny Torrence, and King’s approach was certainly meant to push some buttons. In King fashion, Doctor Sleep deals with tough topics in addition to its plot, such as addiction, which I think he handles extremely well. With that being said though, even though I genuinely loved The Shining, King’s sequel fell short in a lot of key areas. First off, the characters. I genuinely didn’t feel an attachment to any character, so things happening to them felt weightless and inconsequential. Not to mention that the villain (the True Knot and Rose the Hat) was one of the worst villains I’ve seen to date. Evil for evil’s sake, the True Knot is certainly bad, there’s no doubt, but WHY. Why them? Why now? There were a lot of unanswered questions and so many factors trying to break them that it felt chaotic and convenient. Second, the book lacked a reliance on the events of the Overlook in my opinion. Yes, there were mentions and a few characters, but I was largely disappointed in how the final battle ends, due to the potential of the location and host of characters that once wandered the halls of the Overlook. Third, the plot. The plot was so simple and predictable, which is typically not something I’d attribute to King and his writing. You pretty much knew where the story was going, even if you weren’t sure how you were going to get there, whether it be an Earth cruiser or The Helen Rivington, someway somehow, you knew where the book would end. I think this book had potential, but it tried to separate itself from the original while holding on to minor aspects (instead of using the major callbacks from The Shining: the roque mallet, Jack Torrence, the hornets nest, the hedge animals, the boiler). Obviously some of these couldn’t make a return, but, then again, it’s a Stephen King novel. Anything is possible. If you’re a fan of the Shining and want more Doc, then I’d say it’s worth the read, but try not to compare it to the Shining too heavily, or you may be disappointed. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Violence, Terminal illness, Alcoholism, Drug use, and Cancer

unboxedjack's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Child death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

Minor: Kidnapping, Racial slurs, Cancer, Car accident, Rape, and Sexism

katenovah's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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: Blood, Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Murder, and Addiction

Moderate: Drug use, Cancer, and Car accident