zyzah's review against another edition
4.0
I intended to rate this book a 3 star but the last chapters made up for the middle chapters which lacked the vibe the story started with. For this reason, I got bored halfway, had to drop it a few times, almost dnfed it but the last chapters, oh God, they grabbed all of my attention. I still don’t understand how he makes his descriptions so vivid, so vivid.
Also, Stephen King really takes his writing advice about “killing his darlings” seriously and I hate it
Also, Stephen King really takes his writing advice about “killing his darlings” seriously and I hate it
jnikolova's review against another edition
3.0
Also available on the WondrousBooks blog.
Stephen King is like an ex-boyfriend that I sometimes miss. The first books of his that I read were amazing, so much so that I think The Green Mile will always be one of my favourite books. After that, however, we started going into this phase where I would get tired of Steve's bullshit and get annoyed by things that didn't use to annoy me before. We totally broke up a couple of years ago when I gave up on his books, and then I decided to give him another shot, mainly out of nostalgia.
Well... Bag of Bones was just as bittersweet as was to be expected. Everyone that I've discussed this book with really likes it. I can guess why, because it carries some of the Stephen King that I used to like, as well. But alongside those bits, there was also an avalanche of unnecessary background noise.
Bag of Bones feels like a book about alternate-universe Stephen King writing books. Also, for some reason, it feels like a culmination of something in King's career as an author. I really couldn't guess what exactly made me feel that way, and why, for that matter, but the entire book had this atmosphere of an ending of sorts.
Story-wise I enjoyed it, for the most part, but I still felt that there was a gap between the reader getting to know the situation/characters and the ending. It felt like there was so much happening there, and yet, nothing much at all. A couple of weeks after finishing the book, there is one part in the middle that I can't even recall, unless I think really hard. To me, that means that while the backbone, pardon the expression, was solid, King did his usual thing and added a lot of unnecessary, and usually repetitive, moments, for the sake of suspense/page count/something...
While I would like to say that I will completely break it off with Steve, because it doesn't seem to be working out very well, my best guess is that I will probably get nostalgic again after a couple of years, and start longing for the good ol' times.
Stephen King is like an ex-boyfriend that I sometimes miss. The first books of his that I read were amazing, so much so that I think The Green Mile will always be one of my favourite books. After that, however, we started going into this phase where I would get tired of Steve's bullshit and get annoyed by things that didn't use to annoy me before. We totally broke up a couple of years ago when I gave up on his books, and then I decided to give him another shot, mainly out of nostalgia.
Well... Bag of Bones was just as bittersweet as was to be expected. Everyone that I've discussed this book with really likes it. I can guess why, because it carries some of the Stephen King that I used to like, as well. But alongside those bits, there was also an avalanche of unnecessary background noise.
Bag of Bones feels like a book about alternate-universe Stephen King writing books. Also, for some reason, it feels like a culmination of something in King's career as an author. I really couldn't guess what exactly made me feel that way, and why, for that matter, but the entire book had this atmosphere of an ending of sorts.
Story-wise I enjoyed it, for the most part, but I still felt that there was a gap between the reader getting to know the situation/characters and the ending. It felt like there was so much happening there, and yet, nothing much at all. A couple of weeks after finishing the book, there is one part in the middle that I can't even recall, unless I think really hard. To me, that means that while the backbone, pardon the expression, was solid, King did his usual thing and added a lot of unnecessary, and usually repetitive, moments, for the sake of suspense/page count/something...
While I would like to say that I will completely break it off with Steve, because it doesn't seem to be working out very well, my best guess is that I will probably get nostalgic again after a couple of years, and start longing for the good ol' times.
dylanperry's review against another edition
3.0
3/5
My thoughts on Bag of Bones are the same as most Stephen King novels I've read lately:
1. There's a great book in here.
2. It needs to be about 25% shorter.
My thoughts on Bag of Bones are the same as most Stephen King novels I've read lately:
1. There's a great book in here.
2. It needs to be about 25% shorter.
kristinaray717's review against another edition
4.0
I liked it a lot. Not really scary, but a good story. Some of it was kind of weird, but that is Stephen King for you.
shawnwhy's review against another edition
4.0
i like the main character, the ghost stuff might be a bit less scary as I had hoped.
jenna_cross's review against another edition
4.0
I just love getting sucked into a King novel, especially the longer ones. His stories, like this one, are so full of life with all the good and bad intentions, longing, regrets, accidents, elation, lust, jealousy, horror, and greed that comes with it. Even though I have read more Stephen King than any other author, I always find something unexpected and new in every story. I can still see some of the scenes in my mind’s eye when I think about this book and it’s a testament to his vividly detailed storytelling skills.
shahrun's review against another edition
4.0
I found this first half of this book rather slow. I thought to myself, I'm gonna be very unhappy if there's no point to this, time I finish the other half. I needn't have worried. Because when the pace picked up, I was got so caught up in the moment, I found it really hard to put the book down. By the time things got real nasty, I was at home alone, during a bad storm and it was well past my bed time. Needless to say I didn't sleep to good lol.
grayceeemae's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
soursock's review against another edition
4.0
Damn good book. As expected of King. Nice pacing and the ending was better than most.
stefan_mursic's review against another edition
5.0
There's nothing about Bag of Bones that I'll forget in a hurry.
Sara Laughs, The TR (TR90), four year old Kyra Devore and all of the cute things she says wrong, The evil, vulgar Max Devore and his assistant Rogette Whitmore, Bunter The Moose and his bell, Sara Tidwell and the history of the town, the IBM Selectric, the fridge magnets, plastic owls, tough stuff crossword book. The thrilling maelstrom that was the story's climax.
It's a captivating paranormal epic,
It's a slow burning ghost story,
It's a suspenseful mystery,
There is so much spooky serendipity in this book it felt very satisfying to see all of the pieces of the puzzle align over time.
I was constantly wondering where this story would go. I couldnt predict it, despite how much foreshadowing there is. I was worried that I'd miss something or that too much would be left unexplained but really it was perfectly balanced.
There are some disturbingly detailed sexual and violent scenes which are uncomfortable and horrifying but they add to justify the potency of the supernatural energy surrounding Darkscore Lake. Another strong theme that gets explored in this book is the ugliness of male lust.
King takes playful jabs at his own writing via the author protagonist Mike Noonan, but really just goes to demonstrate how he's a master of his craft. In many ways, the entire book is about writing.
It has to be my new favourite.
Sara Laughs, The TR (TR90), four year old Kyra Devore and all of the cute things she says wrong, The evil, vulgar Max Devore and his assistant Rogette Whitmore, Bunter The Moose and his bell, Sara Tidwell and the history of the town, the IBM Selectric, the fridge magnets, plastic owls, tough stuff crossword book. The thrilling maelstrom that was the story's climax.
It's a captivating paranormal epic,
It's a slow burning ghost story,
It's a suspenseful mystery,
There is so much spooky serendipity in this book it felt very satisfying to see all of the pieces of the puzzle align over time.
I was constantly wondering where this story would go. I couldnt predict it, despite how much foreshadowing there is. I was worried that I'd miss something or that too much would be left unexplained but really it was perfectly balanced.
There are some disturbingly detailed sexual and violent scenes which are uncomfortable and horrifying but they add to justify the potency of the supernatural energy surrounding Darkscore Lake. Another strong theme that gets explored in this book is the ugliness of male lust.
King takes playful jabs at his own writing via the author protagonist Mike Noonan, but really just goes to demonstrate how he's a master of his craft. In many ways, the entire book is about writing.
It has to be my new favourite.