The Shining Book Review 

"She didn't like the book, so I corrected her...."

You didn't mention Dick Hallorann at all. Did you like his character? I've always felt he was the unheralded hero of the story.

A couple of notes: The Shining, Pet Semetary and Misery occur, as do most of King's books, in the same universe. The main character's accident in Misery occurs as he's passing the burned out remains of the Overlook and Salem's Lot, his vampire novel is mentioned in passing in Pet Semetary. Jack in The Shining had a lot in common with King. Both former teachers, both struggling alcoholics (King got better eventually) and while King was never outright abusive of his kids he admits to coming close a couple of times.

I literally LOL'd at your commercial! I think this is the first time you've ever "acted" in one of your videos.

I just finished the book yesterday, for me it was a all win kind of a book. I thoroughly enjoyed the backstories of the three main characters. The Hotel was like an evil entity playing through their minds . . . King portrayed it wonderfully. There wasn't much of a dull moment for me in the book, only except for the minute history of Oveelook's brutal past. I absolutely loved Danny and Wendy's characters. Jack, well I felt quite a sympathy for him, tbh. It's my first King book. I am looking forward to read some of his other books as well.

Come play with us Merphy.... *FOREVER AND EVER AND EVER*

I, personally, didn't think there was any dull moments at all. I think all the "duller" seeming moments are the ones where you get the best insight to Jack's ever evolving insanity! at least that's what I got from them in my opinion. I also managed to get extremely attached to all the characters, esp danny and dick, I'm surprised you didn't mention him or their relationship at all.

Can't read this book without thinking about Joey putting it in the freezer 😂

As a Stephen King fan, I no longer read his books in order to scare myself, I don't even consider him as the horror novelist that those who haven't read his stuff see him as, he writes more than just horror. It's his parallel universe that he created throughout his 60+ books that are all connected, and the tower is what keeps them from falling, that's the actual reason why I still read his stuff. Long days and pleasant nights. 🌹

try reading 11/22/63 for a non- scary version of King. One of my King faves and one of my favorite groundhog day trope books.

While I totally respect the fact that you didn’t love the book I can’t understand how you found it so “downtiming” and yet you loved pet sematary where nothing happens until the last 50 pages of the book

My absolute favourite was the shrubbery moving back and forth taking on the traits of the animals they were cut in the shape off...that I think was the most terrifying part.

Now you should read Doctor Sleep. It’s a kind of sort of sequel to the Shining. And as someone who also didn’t love the Shining, I ended up LOVING Doctor Sleep

As a man with a wife and a little kid, I gotta say I really love this book. I’m about to finish it for the second time and this time around I really enjoyed the segments you call “downtime”. Maybe cause it was easy for me to relate to the characters, having passed that stage in life and having the same family structure.

I loved what you did with the squarespace ad lol. The amount of times I’ve seen that site brought up, I always skip through it, but I actually watched this time!!😂😂

Pet Semetary is by far the scariest book I've ever read...

Wow. I've read almost all of his work and this novel was top 5 for me for sure

Hahaha you’re commercial was brilliant Merphy! Best sponsor ad ever! You do creepy well lol.

I love Stephen King, but his short stories are MUCH better than his novels. I know most people are much more into novels, but I think King's works, ideas, and writing style are more effective in the short story format. Much more punch and suspense to them.... As far as the novels, I think they work better for him when he focuses more on the human aspect, rather than the horror. That's probably why you liked Pet Semetary and Misery so much (2 fan favorites). They aren't about the horror or fantasy, not really. Pet Semetary has so little horror in it. But I agree about the Shining. It is definitely not my fav.

"Heressssss Merphy!" Oh that was bad... So original..

I am a King fan and have read several of his books. I didn’t dislike this book, but didn’t love it as much as most people do. Like you, I think the movie ruined it for me a little bit. He has said and interviews that this book was meant to explore alcoholism and the destruction of the family. And his character work is the ass is the absolute best. He makes you really get to know them and care about them which is what makes the horrible things happening to them that much more powerful. He does that well here, especially seeing the downward spiral of the father. But I expected more from the book and more to happen in it and for it just to be a little scarier and have some more action involved in it.

Wow.. 2 stars? - This is a very good book, well written, and great characters. Even if you didn't dig the plot, its surely higher than a 2? - But yes, we all like different things. - Although, they way you reviewed the book, sounded like you did enjoy it :)

Love how you smiled when you said the ending was a lot more explosive. You played that off really well lol

Check out The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, King was obviously inspired by the book when writing Carrie and The Shining, and since it's shorter it will probably hit the things that you like while minimizing the stuff you don't.

Pet Cemetery was my favorite SKing novel. It’s been a loooong time since I’ve read his books, but that one still stands out as a favorite.

As others have said, please please read The Stand. It's a book that has stayed with me for decades. A phenomenal read. Shout outs also to: 11.22.63, Salem's Lot, The Dead Zone and The Talisman (with Peter Straub).

My dad is a King fan, but he will not read the book because he loves the movie so much. I liked The Shining, but 'Salem's Lot, The Stand, Pet Cemetary, Duma Key, and The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (my absolute favorite King novel) are also amazing.

My favorite Stephen King novel is Needful Things. It is very metaphorical and the plot is interesting. I highly recommend it.

Brava. Well-stated reasons and a solid assessment. You do such a great job at this tightrope walk kind of thing.

Yay! My favorite Stephen King book, and one of my favorite books of all time! My other favorite books are Misery, Gerald's Game, and Salem's Lot. I thought Cujo, It, and Carrie were okay (unpopular opinion, I know). I appreciate your honest opinion on the book and I hope you review other King books, including Pet Cemetery!

This is not my favorite Stephen King book by any means (that position goes to 11/22/63 and Doctor Sleep), but I'd never say that that bastardization of an adaptation was better. It was a good horror film, but I personally feel that it doesn't do justice to the characters, which is the reason I do enjoy this book.

I loved it. But my bookshelf holds a lot of his work, being he's my favorite and he has SO many. But, I think what made it fun for me was, I was traveling at the time I read it. Purposely started it while in a hotel. It's definitely scary to read in that setting. It's not my all time favorite of his. But it's up there. I get your feelings on it though.

I’m in the camp of this being my favorite King novel. I just read it again a couple of months ago. I found your thoughts on the down time interesting as I thought a lot of that time was devoted to the downward spiral. I look forward to more of your reviews on him as he’s one of my favorite authors

The downtime was the point. They were isolated in a hotel for months and that's enough to drive anyone crazy. It was basicly the Covid 19 isolation crisis but in 1977. With non of the modern streaming services.

Oh Merphy...I thought I came across a goldmine with your channel, but I know we can't agree on everything... I recently re-read "The Shining" and it's still one of my favorite SK novels. The movie is really nothing like the book, it is its own story with the very basic foundation. The Shining is a tragedy of a family trying to get itself back together, and "the hotel" wears Jack down so he'll murder Danny to add to its power. Yes, the ending is really cool. If you're disgruntled with the "down time", that is a Stephen King trademark. He is an acquired taste. I highly recommend you try "It". That is my favorite Stephen King novel. They have made two adaptations of it, and it's just not the same story. The problem with a TV/movie "It" is that actors play a part, and although It often appears as a clown, he is a shape-shifter and you now take the actor out of it and narrow the whole scope of the story. Give it a shot, it's a long book, but it's awesome. But SK does get very weird at times, goes into very negative-thought places, creepy side characters, and lots of "down time" as you call it. Pet Semetary had the same stuff. Some may call it developing the story and characters, but there are definitely down times. I thought "The Shining" was a pretty short novel for SK; I have the hardcover and it's 450 pages. Not sure how you have so many pages.

I resonate with you so much. I'd picked up this one with so much hopes, but within the first few pages I knew the story. That the dad would go back to alcohol, and try to kill his family the same way the previous caretaker had done. It was all told in the interview, then the boy's dreams. Not much left for imagination. Individual scenes all along were great but yes a lot of downtime, as you said.

There is definitely a lot of downtime in the Shining but I think this is one of King’s more personal books because Jack Torrance’s alcoholism was a reflection of King’s. The things Jack does are things King reported wanting to do while drinking. So I think this book was really used as a psychological exploration for King into his own demons. At this point, King was deep into addiction: alcohol, cocaine, cough medicine, etc. he wrote the monster book “It” while using cocaine, doesn’t even remember writing the Tommyknockers. His family eventually staged an intervention for him and the first book he wrote sober was Needful Things. So, while I’d agree this isn’t King’s best work, it might be his most insightful.

your part about square space was amazing and i actually watched the whole part. usually when people have sponsored parts i skip through it but not this one

The downtime is what I too disliked a lot. But honestly I felt almost the same way with pet semitary. The fact that King fills 10 pages of nothing but the description of a fence or a house is what made me say alright I'll give one more book a shot and if it dissapoints me again I'll drop him alltogether. The themes and character work is amazing but it really is just too much (imo) unncessary stuff in between. I'm sure those two books could have been at least 200 pages shorter. I'm reading The Stand right now and I feel like it's moving forward pretty damn fast, love it so far.

Nooo I’m so sad you didn’t love The Shining 😭 I’ve read many of his books and this one is my favorite! I was hooked on every page and while the movie is made well, so much of the backstory and the relationship between Danny and his father was left out. Oh well... hope you get to the Bill Hodges Trilogy. Another fave of mine. The novel I liked the least of his is Salem’s Lot. Found it to be predictable and the end was very unsatisfying.

i also JUST read the shining and you put my thoughts into words! i was truly expecting more considering the hype around it, but i could just never bring myself to connect to the characters. i was also reading It by Stephen King, in tandem to The Shining which i’ve been enjoying LEAGUES more. i know your tbr must be ever growing but if you ever get around to it i’d love to hear your thoughts on It

Agreed about the downtime here.. although 2 stars slightly harsh. I still rate this as one of King's best work.. alot of similarities to what King went through with his own demons with alcoholism.

Crazy how opinnions can verify, I love Stephen King, and specially the shining, both the movie by Kubrick and the book are in my opinnion masterpieces

I love the fact that he is character driven and the slower structure just reminds me of Agatha Christie's style. It's more old school.

I'm really curious what you're gonna think about Mr. Mercedes, because that did not feel like a King novel to me at all.

Really impressed by the fact that you actually still have a voice for making videos - considering your job!!! Can't be easy...

i just bought the book, haven't read yet, waiting for festive holidays to start

I've noticed that King's earlier novels such as Carrie (first novel published as Stephen King), The Shining, etc., lack the character development. Getting invested in his earlier characters is difficult - I think Carrie is the only one I ever really connected with. Probably because I was a teenager when I first read Carrie and Carrie is a teenager.

Agreed, so tired of reading books that only have a few good parts. I couldn't finish it the first time I tried, because NOTHING. HAPPENS. in the first half, and I NEED a plot to get through most books. I do need to try Salem's Lot again, I think I'd like it more physically than as a audio, because it had waaay too many characters for me as an audio. However, I think he copies way too much of Dracula for me to truly enjoy it. I did love Needful Things though, and think you might get a lot out of that book!

I’m totally with you. I read Pet Semetary years ago, and I read Misery right before I read the Shining. I loved both of them so much! And going into the Shining, I was enjoying it, but the second half really started to drag. I feel like King does a fantastic job of building tension, but the Shining was primed and ready to go long before King was ready for the finale, so it went on too long. When the finale finally happened, though, I loved it.

I've been reading King a lot this year and I've loved everyone that I read. I just finished The Shining and to be honest, it was a struggle. I enjoyed it and appreciated the story overall but it took me way longer to read it than I expected because I just sometimes didn't feel excited to read it. The build up was great but I gotta be honest the tension of the end was constantly cut by cutting back to Dick trying to get to the Overlook. Like I'd just get engrossed again and suddenly we're back to Dick. A character trying to get back to the main events of the story was done a lot better in Pet Sematary. It's not my least favourite King book but I'd pick up the other ones I've read this year again faster.

I didn't like The Shining the first time I read it either, there was such a hype around it. But for some reason years later I reread it and I loved it. I'm very much of a mood-reader. :) Since I like almost all genres, it really depends on my mood what I will like. Misery is amazing though!

Such a shame you didn’t like this one, but I hope you won’t give up on Stephen King. Not only because he has so many good books but also because I love your reviews and I’d love to see what you think of them.

finally! someone who agrees with me about this book🔦💀 i've only read 6/7 King books so far, but his short story "elevation" has been my fave (which seems to be quite the unpopular opinion); i think it was because the length forced King to GET TO THE POINT👁👄👁

THAT COMMERCIAL LMAOOO I loved it! I think this is the first review I’ve watched of yours. You do a very good job at cohesively talking about a book without spoiling it :)

Personally, I think The Shining's greatest strengths are in micro-horror elements, the little spooks here and there throughout, slowly getting under your skin. For example, the time when Danny sees the hedge animals and Jack goes to the playgrounds and the time Jack slowly chases Wendy up the stairs etc. Also, there's this part about Jack you kinda might've missed, King talks about in the Introduction, stating that Jack becoming who he became wasn't meant to be solely the works of the Hotel itself. His own abusive father and the isolation and frustration with his writing played their parts on his psyche. Anyways it was cool getting to know your perspective on this classic book and I hope you keep reading more and more King's.

Yeah sometimes Steven King books are brilliant and sometimes they are just really really bad! But I guess when you put out several novels a year instead of spending a year or more on one novel the quality is going to vary and suffer in most of them. 'Salems Lot and The girl who loved Tom Gordon (this is one is really a novella) are the BEST of all his books I've read (13) Pet Semetary is next under those two in my opinion. And I love to hear your honest opinion! Even if you don't like the book I still like to hear your thoughts and point of view

Finally a review of The Shining that gets real. I'm a huge King fan, myself. I've read everything he's ever published, including his magazine stuff. The Shining is the worst of his early work, hands down. From the hedge animals to the cartoonish mallet, it made me roll my eyes so many times. King says he hates Kubrick's version, but really he should be on his knees thanking Kubrick for the millions and the unwarranted reputation for scares the novel gained.

I think it was a good book, pretty scary for a book. there is a lot of build-ups and silent action but when it comes to horror its scary.

About 150 pages from the end of The Institute and am really enjoying it. My favorite King book is Joyland. It doesn't get nearly the recognition it deserves and I strongly recommend adding it to your shortlist. It's a short, easy read, but still with the excellent King character writing.

I totally understand how you could feel that it could get really slow at times. I think I might even agree, though I was so into the story I didn't really care. I plowed through the last chunk (40% ish) of the book on a rainy Sunday. Since I have finally finished WoT (it was so so good), I'm ready to dive into another novel, and I've decided it's gonna be Salem's Lot, King's second published book. I wanna try and (eventually) read most of his books in publication order, working up until The Dark Tower.

The Shining is a stunning book though of course, personal taste is personal taste. For me The Girl on the Train was that book for me. I'm a guy who presumed that TGotT is not for me, it would be more of a ladies read. I remember it was very popular upon release and a lot of people were speaking about it. About six months after it's release, I so happened to be passing my local book store. This was long before there was even any talk of there being a movie, and as I passed the book store I saw that The Girl on the Train was half price so I thought ... what the hell? All the way through I though it was a decent read, nothing special but it was half price so I couldn't really complain but ... but ... the last fifty of sixty pages really brought the story together making an alright story into a really good story. Many stories need time to build so I don't lower an opinion on any book for that. I'm glad I gave that book a go and I'd never put a book down without finishing it. If a book starts slow and stays that way then that is unfortunate, but if it comes good in the end then I am more than happy with that. Anyhow, it is always interesting to see what different people make of different books. We are all free to like or dislike whatever we choose.

My personal favorite Stephen King novel is Salem’s Lot. I would love to hear your thoughts if you ever read it.

King is one of those authors where you either love his stuff or just simply don't. He has such a unique style that I can 1000% see why some people may not enjoy his works even though this book is my favorite and his writing is my all time favorite. As far as the movie goes, they both have great points in their own regard. I will leave it at that because I can go on for days and days about why that is lol.

The style of his writing is absolutely phenomenal, especially in The Shining. The characters, the claustrophobic setting, the constant sense of impending doom and slow descent into madness… what’s not to like? Everyone’s got their own opinions, for sure. But I respectfully disagree with your take on this novel. For me, it was 5 stars. Not because of the hype, but because of how truly engaging it is. You care about these characters and what may happen to them. And the slow decent is so evident in his technique and word choices. The ending was indeed excellent as well. It’s truly a masterpiece in my opinion. Thanks for making the video.

Shining was and is my first and only King book I've read. I enjoyed the book. I thought Jack was a funny character and there was a lot of funny moments in the book. I read the book because The Shining was one of my favourite movies. The book was much better than the movie, I even re-watched the movie recently. This is one of the reasons why I think the book was excellent. I personally don't have any expectations when I read a book, usually my expectation for a book is that it's going to be stupid and bad and boring, but I'll read it anyway because I'm a grinder and I do things because I feel a duty to do something I set my mind to doing. And I never judge a book as I'm reading it, because most books are absolutely horrendously boring as u read them (for me), but afterwards having read the book I get the enjoyment out of it as I can judge the book as a whole. So I judge the book like couple of weeks after having read the book, do I feel good about having read the book. And good books always give me a good feeling afterwards, and I don't mind the process of reading the book having been painful. Then there are books that I feel good while reading but feel awful awful awful after having read the book - I absolutely hate these books. Mostly the reading experience is awful afterwards because there are logical inconsistancies or there is something stupid that happens in the book (like literally stupid, like the author contradicts himself with the story), or the story as a whole doesn't have a message or a lesson - or the lesson or the message is stupid.

I've never really been able to get into Kings books. The only one that I've loved was Shawshank Redemption but theres just something about how he writes that I can't get into, which as a horror lover sucks cuz everyone recommends his stuff. I've had to turn to independently published horror novels cuz theres nothing I can get behind, which was a great decision but it still sucks that King isn't for me.

The Shining is one of my favorite books. I read it in 2 days after not reading for a very, very long time. I thought the scare/horror just compounded over time, so interesting to hear the complaints about pacing.

PLEASE read 11/22/63 or The Dead Zone. They are my 2 favorites of King. Talk about amazing characters.......love them.

Danny Halloran had telephatic abilities, also his abilities allowed him to see supernatural entities, the book describes how the powerfull and evil force in the hotel manipulates Jack into madness... so it was a great book. Stephen King is a great autor.

For me personally I find King's early work a little hard to get into. I know this was written a long time ago and that his style has flourished and continued to improve over the years but I found some of the exposition a little long winded. Having watched the movie before reading the book I wondered if I'd end up judging the latter over the former. I was happy to find that I managed to treat the two as very different pieces of fiction and the only time I thought about the movie was to be happy about how much more I liked the characters of Wendy and Danny. The plot itself was fairly decent. Discovering what the actual antagonist of the story was came as a nice discovery as I'd either got it completely wrong while watching the movie or it didn't portray it very well. Also I was happy to see the characters of Danny and the head chef (who's name completely escapes me right now) developed a great deal. Also, as much as I've never found a book to be scary I know I'll never look at a hedge animal the same way and if I lived somewhere that had them I'd let them grow out to no longer resemble animals then chop the things down because my God did this book creep me out with them. I think the reason I found this book a slow burner was the isolation aspect and the fact that the three main characters were the only characters for a large portion of the story. I wanted a larger cast to get to know and while I'm aware that's the whole point of the book it was a sour point for me. Now Dr Sleep on the other hand I absolutely loved and couldn't put it down. BTW I gave the book 3 stars.

I BEGAN READING THE SHINING WHEN I WAS 11. I COULD EMPATHIZE. I THEN READ IT EVERY WEEKEND FOE A TIME OF ABOUT 9 MONTHS. EVEN NOW IN MY MID 40S I CAN STILL QUOTE MOST OF THE 1ST CHAPTER.

I think you’d really like doctor sleep, the sequel to the shining

Correct me if I'm wrong, but you said he becomes abusive again when he starts drinking at the hotel. But I've read the shining twice and I thought that there was no alcohol left at the hotel. It was all taken when they closed for the winter. I got the impression it was all imaginary when he was in the ballroom "drinking" and that the ghosts actually drove him to be abusive and mad.

I agree with you from what I can remember of it. Read it on holiday in a caravan and never really felt scared by it. I ended up disappointed by it, part of that was all the hype. I found the movie way scarier.

7:52 so that's a thing that just happened. Legend has it that is Merphy's off camera voice.

The shining was my first Stephen King book and has for me a special place, i was more spooked to be inside Jacks mind that Dannys ghosts and that's art! I love his books but i feel you, they are not for everyone and is good so😂

I'm also against the grain. I think King should've stuck to short stories because his endings are always great, but beginnings are always slow. He does great with atmosphere and character, but plot is often lacking until close to the end.

Omg your sponsor clip has me cracking up 😂😂 I couldn’t decide if I wanted to read the shining or pet sematary this fall and went with pet sematary! I still plan to read the shining, maybe in the winter cus if the wintery setting!

"You want me to become a Squarespace customer?" "You are a Squarespace customer, sir. You've always been a Squarespace customer." (jazz music plays)

Definitely check out 11/22/63. The character focus in that book was phenomenal.

I struggled with The Shining. I would skip a ton because it felt like it was just going on and on about stuff that honestly I felt had no point in the actual story. On that note try reading Sleep Doctor, it is the sequel to The Shining. It kept me sucked in the whole time and I loved the continued story of Danny. King is hit and miss with me. I am so happy to hear you had basically the same feelings I did with this book!

Good review! I remember there being quite a bit of slog as well. The book really could have been shorter.

I always felt deeply sorry for Wendy. To be the second favorite parent when the other parent is Jack.

I 100% agree with this review! I had to put the book down half way through and searched if anyone felt the same way I felt about this book! I’m a little discouraged because this is my first King book - but we’ll see!

I just got Doctor Sleep today for 50 cents and I'm excited🤓

Omg i’m currently reading all of King’s books in the order they were published after first reading It and figured it was time for me to take a break bc of this one. I’m a little more than half way through The Shining and I find myself having to make myself pick it up. Figured I was getting burnt out bc I’m really not getting into the characters or the plot.

Aw, sorry to hear you didn't enjoy it! I am one of those people who holds this one up as one of their favorites King novels (surpassed only by IT and the 4th book in the Dark Tower Series: Wizard and Glass). I personally loved the characters in this book and couldn't put it down. It was one of those rare books that I'm able to finish in less than a week (I'm usually a very slow reader). However, I could see how this one could be a difficult read if you didn't feel that way about them, its a definite slow burn. Any plans on checking out The Dark Tower?

I totally agree with your thoughts on pacing. One of my favorite King books is The Stand. It's really long (over 1000 pages), but the character work, like you mentioned, is great and it is a slow burn horror that creeps you out the whole way leading up to the climax. Might be a nice response to the problems you found in The Shining.

Books are so subjective. In a way I'm always happy when someone doesn't like one of my favoruites, because it goes to show how much variety we have to choose from. 😄 I don't quite agree with your read on Jack, though. The alcoholism kind of becomes irrelevant at the Overlook. It's his own weakness that he's struggling against -- the same character flaws that pushed him to drinking are making him vulnerable to the hotel. The problem isn't that he starts drinking again, but that he stops resisting the influence of the hotel and gives in to his own petty insecurities and anger. Of course the hotel does force him to do awful things, but the tragedy is that he's helping it along. I do agree that the book isn't necessarily scary, though. For me that has always been part of the appeal with King, it's primarily character stories in spooky settings.

Best sponsorship ever. I never really expected to want to read his books but hearing you more talk because I love the intentionality and character work That's how my rating works, 3 stars are books I like but don't absolutely love. But I give 2 stars to middle of road books.

This is 110% how I felt about this book the ending amazing compared to the rest of it Like you said you’ve read other King books and they were 5 to 4 stars. Glad I’m not the only one who thought this way.

I agree. Pet Sematary and Misery are my favorite Stephen King books. So far he is at a 50/50. Read four, hated half, loved half.

One of the first King books I read, not one of his very best but I liked it

You thought the Long walk was really bad? I loved that book. A slow burn but really good in my opinion

I have the same copy you have and I thought the ending was actually pretty good. Heck as soon as I finish reading the shining I read the sequel novel doctor sleep and it wasn't that bad.

I absolutely LOVED this book.

I agree with most of what you say. I am currently reading the book, right now on page 288. But the book is quite boring. After 2 weeks trying to read it, I almost returned the book to the library today, just to decide at the the last minute to continue reading for 2 more weeks. Hopefully, as you say, the end is better. Most of the book revolves around the husband and his alcoholism. Unfortunately he is a very unlikable character, agressive to his wife and son, disrespectful to his boss and even his friends. I am much more interested right now in the son and his super-powers, but the book does not seem to focus on him. If the hotel is haunted, why is it that only the husband is affected, but not the son and wife? The film definitely seems to be better than the book. Stephen King has written better books. I haven't read many of his books, but my favorite is "The Dead Zone".

I have a larger paper back and with the epilogue it’s 659 pages 🙃 the ending was worth it.

I just finished the book and tbh it's like the Stanley Kubrick movie version cut out the downtime and jacks real decent into madness for actual horror aspects like the fact jack carries an Axe now, the blood pouring from the evelator, the pop up of the dead Grady girls, etc. In the book its like there was a lot of build up and set up for 600 pages for the last 50 to be so so