At the Mason Award Event that took place last night, Stephen King read a chapter from the soon to be completed sequel to The Shining called Dr. Sleep. The future novel will be about an adult Danny Torrence and “psychic vampires called The Tribe that drive cross country in RV’s and feed on psychic energy. In the book, Danny is a hospice worker who uses his powers to help ill patients to pass away without pain.
“I’ve always wondered what happened to that kid in The Shining,” King said of his book published in 1977. Dr. Sleep will tell.
Some of what King shared in his reading:
“They don’t like dogs and dogs don’t like them. You might say dogs see through them — to the sharp and watchful eyes behind the cut-rate sunglasses, to the strong and long muscled hunters’ legs beneath the polyester slacks from Wal-Mart, to the sharp teeth beneath the dentures waiting to come out. They don’t like dogs, but they like sick children. Yes, they like sick children very much.”
You can watch the video of the acceptance speech and reading below and I will post more information about the novel when it becomes available.