Rate: 4/5
Medium: Audiobook
Overview (No Spoilers):
Having finished the Dark Tower series a couple of weeks ago I found myself in a bit of Stephen King hangover. Craving my next King novel, I checked his audiobook novels at my local library and was happy to find Bag of Bones . While I hadn’t heard of this particular title before, I was confident that I would enjoy it as I have every other book I’d read by King. Having grown accustom to the narrator from the Dark Tower series, I was initially thrown a loop when the author varied from the familiar voice I was used to. Eventually the voice eventually grew to fit the author that was narrating the tale, and I was indeed surprised when it turned out to be King himself doing the talking. That being said, Bag of Bones was creepy, borderline scary! Multiple times throughout this read, I got visible goosebumps as unexplained events happened around our grieving narrator. I probably rank this read up there with The Shining for sheer level of spine-chilling induced. The first three fourths of this book were relatively tame for being a novel by King, with the beginning of the book, while still interesting, practically crawled. King more than made up for the subdue start with the action packed, delirium of an ending. I’m unabashed to admit that I’m still confused on several key plot twists. Overall, this was a read that lacked King’s typical depth but was a unique with regard to the narrator style and prose. While still highly enjoyable, Bag of Bones was not at the same caliber as his many other works I’ve read.
Additional Insight (Spoilers Abound):
- Mattie’s death was one of the most heartbreaking literary ones I’ve read about recently. It was at this point that King really took off his gloves in this novel.
- I’m still confused why Max Devore killed himself?
- Why was Max’s daughter pretending to be his secretary?
- It was kind of sad that Mike had to end the curse by destroying Sara’s bones? The poor woman had been through enough already? How did Sara have power over the people and their descendants that killed her? How was her disappearance not noted? Why did she not seem hostile all along to Mike?
- Did Sara somehow kill Jo?
- The moving magnets were so very unnerving. If my refrigerator had contained any magnets then they would have promply been disposed of in the trash!
- Does King have a lock box full of old manuscripts?
The Critiquing Chemist 
Hearing that its up there with The Shining makes me want to check it out!
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Hey Chris! I don’t want to mislead you! The scare factor was on par with The Shining. The story as a whole can’t compare to how great The Shining is.
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Stephen King has referenced ‘trunk books’ in at least one of his other stories. I think he really does have a trunk of old manuscripts that he wrote, when he was a nobody. If he were an an up-and-coming author, they’d never sell, but, because he’s Stephen King, they get published and read by millions. I also enjoyed this one, and it did give me chills, though, like you, the whole Devore posing as a woman thing seemed a bit OTT and, quite frankly, unnecessary.
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Hello Tasha! I’m glad you agreed with me about the Devore woman. I know I’d likely read one of his trunk books. Likely we already have without knowing it! : )
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My favorite Stephen King book is The Stand. It’s a little out there, with the incarnation of Evil, Randall Flag, but he’s such a jolly villain, and King is at the absolute top of his game with the characters in that one. It’s been probably ten years since I read it the last time, but I can remember almost all of the characters’ names, as if they were real people I once knew. The way different personalities reacted to the ending of the world was just so well done, that I stopped reading several times, and just sat there with my eyes closed, feeling the ‘rightness’ of it, the ‘truth’ of the writing.
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I love Stephen king!!
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Oh I do too! His writing style is just so unique.
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I had to stop reading this when my exams started up but I’m planning on finishing it at some point. Other books have just found their way into my life for a while. It was my first experience of King so it’ll always be special to me. The way he writes is so captivating and magical and I am very glad that I made the decision to adventure into his work.
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I hope your exams went well! I agree, King’s writing style is so unique. He truly captures how a character is thinking and the decision making behind their actions. I hope you get a chance to finish this one.
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Usually I don’t read Stephen King as I’ve grown away from liking his books. But Bag of Bones was one of two of his novels that I was able to easily finish. Unfortunately I don’t remember much about it as I read it when it was released about twenty years ago but I do remember I really enjoyed it. And I’ve never forgotten that cover.
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I agree Dustin! That cover is quite eye catching. I definitely go through King phases. I read him a lot when I was younger and am now phasing out of a second a go at his books. Perhaps you’ll find yourself reading him soon in the future.
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I haven’t read him in years. But, how I loved the “Shining.”
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I just recently reread The Shining! So so good. One of my favorites by King.
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We are in total agreement Martie! The Shining is definitely one of his best works!
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