Review: Doctor Sleep

Doctor Sleep by Stephen King
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Stephen King is getting comfortable, as anyone with an oeuvre of his size has every right to do - but comfortable does not make for good horror. He's got a concept and he's got some mechanics to move his players through, and it's oh so readable, but the characters are too familiar to any SK fan. Our protagonist is King's go-to, the all American middle aged man; he's a sober alcoholic, but it's a token complexity that has little bearing on the story.
I don't think our Constant Writer is surprising himself anymore. The Shining, to which this book is a sequel, is messier, less predictable, and takes a toll on its characters. Doctor Sleep's characters triumph over evil, high five each other, and live happily ever after. When the movie eventually comes out (and surely everything's eventual), it'll be blandly PG-13.
Even though Stephen King has been more miss than hit for me in his last... uh... twenty years (yikes), when he pushes into truly new territory I'll always give it a try. Instead of Doctor Sleep, any of these recent King books show him stretching his muscles more:
Under the Dome: a long, slow burn in the underbelly of a trapped small town. The characters aren't new or surprising, but there's real tension and a thrilling final act;
Everything's Eventual: 14 Dark Tales: some very tightly written short stories, including being awake through an autopsy;
The Wind Through the Keyhole: set in the Dark Tower universe, he deftly plays with fantasy and fable to write something quick, exciting, and fun.

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