Doctor Sleep is a sequel to The Shining, but it has many parallels with Stephen King’s life. It also serves as fan service, with its insistence on connecting more of the worlds from King’s literary universe, in addition to giving readers easter eggs from the story that King began decades prior. For instance, the world of Doctor Sleep exists in the same universe as the novel NOS4A2, written by King’s son, Joe Hill. King nods at his son’s work when someone in Doctor Sleep name drops the villain of Hill’s novel.

Fan service aside, the Torrance family, Tony, Dick Hallorann, Mrs. Massey, and the Overlook Hotel are some of King’s most enduring creations. The Shining was made into an acclaimed film by Stanley Kubrick, although King hated the film adaptation. He stated that the movie removed the family drama and Jack’s slow descent into alcoholism in favor of watching Jack Nicholson act like a maniac as Danny’s father set against the eerie, cold backdrop of Kubrick’s set staging.

Although Danny and his mother escaped the Overlook, readers were never able to see how a child who had gone through such an ordeal might respond to the trauma. Despite his desire to avoid his father’s path,

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