Product Description

Danny is only five years old, but he is a 'shiner', aglow with psychic voltage. When his father becomes caretaker of an old hotel, his visions grow out of control. Cut off by blizzards, the hotel seems to develop an evil force, and who are the mysterious guests in the supposedly empty hotel?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #253581 in Books
• Published on: 1982-07-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 512 pages

Review
'Obviously a masterpiece, probably the best supernatural novel in a hundred years' -- Peter Straub 'You had better not read it alone' -- Mirror 'As a storyteller, he is up there in the Dickens class' -- The Times

About the Author
Stephen King is the bestselling author of more than thirty books of which the most recent are THE GIRL WHO LOVED TOM GORDON, HEARTS IN ATLANTIS and his non-fiction book ON WRITING. He lives with his wife, the novelist Tabitha King, in Bangor, Maine.

Customer Reviews

A Stephen King classic!
From the beginnings of the story, arriving at the hotel, assuring his wife of his stability and then, once the doors are locked and winter encroaches, things start to happen. King uses that element of the unknown to gradually work the environment on you and gradually bring in all sorts of fascinating apparitions. He leaves everything to the imagination, drawing in the reader further and further into the abyss, until you're so locked up in the King world that the only escape is to finish the book. It's this twist of reality that clenches it, that delivers a vague feeling of mistrust. You begin to wonder what the protagonist is up to. He is writing a book.... you expect details and then you're horrified at the repetitions it reveals, making you gasp at what's next. He is led into the ballroom where the 1930's atmosphere is re-established so that the protagonist can blend in, a prelude to the conclusion. There, he is given advise, advise that would change his nature and violate the newly formed relationship with his unsuspecting wife.

The cook knows what's wrong...just as the boy does--for they have the shine! And when he comes to investigate the situation to satisfy his curiosity, the gruesome welcoming takes him by surprise. And you sit there, reading, led deeper and deeper into the creepy world of King's tremendous imagination, only limited by the pages you turn.... but you keep turning, driven further in.... until you reach an angry point...which I won't spoil for you. Read it!

I liked it
The book was in good condition. It took a while to get to my house in Dallas, TX. I would have liked to be informed that it was shipping from ENGLAND!!! I would not have ordered it if I had known it was going to take so long to get here because it was coming from overseas. Please let the buyer know where you are shipping it from.

A Psychological Thriller
This is the best book I have read by Stephen King and it should be considered as a modern masterpiece. As I said in the title, it is not so much a "horror story" as it is a psychological drama. King takes his time to set the mood and introduce us to the world Jack lives in. At the same time, strange things start happening in the hotel. As these bizarre events begin to unfold, Jack's mental state deteriorates. It doesn't have a lot of chainsaws and screaming women, but King convincingly pulls you into this vortex of madness that is absolutely chilling.