What did you guys think of "Bag of Bones"?

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William8675309

Well-Known Member
Mar 9, 2018
106
476
56
Just finished BOB and thought it was "Meh". I Liked Duma Key much better in terms of ghost story and setting. On to Heart Shaped Box and then The Girl who Loved Tom Gordon. I seem to be enjoying Joe Hill more than theS. King books I have read recently. Hill starts faster and is holding my interest longer than things like B.O.B and Rode Madder. Maybe its a lack of "Supernatural" in the King stuff I'm reading in order currently, Kind of a mundane patch. I'm just not that excited for Girl who loved Tom and Dreamcatcer after that. The last one I was really excited to finish in order was Needful Things. (I read Duma out of order because I had wanted to read it for so long)
 

Neesy

#1 fan (Annie Wilkes cousin) 1st cousin Mom's side
May 24, 2012
61,289
239,271
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Just finished BOB and thought it was "Meh". I Liked Duma Key much better in terms of ghost story and setting. On to Heart Shaped Box and then The Girl who Loved Tom Gordon. I seem to be enjoying Joe Hill more than theS. King books I have read recently. Hill starts faster and is holding my interest longer than things like B.O.B and Rode Madder. Maybe its a lack of "Supernatural" in the King stuff I'm reading in order currently, Kind of a mundane patch. I'm just not that excited for Girl who loved Tom and Dreamcatcer after that. The last one I was really excited to finish in order was Needful Things. (I read Duma out of order because I had wanted to read it for so long)
Just noticed your user name now

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I enjoyed Bag of Bones but I did not read all the King books in order.
 

Gazman

Well-Known Member
Jun 22, 2018
414
3,075
Dublin, Ireland
Just finished BOB and thought it was "Meh". I Liked Duma Key much better in terms of ghost story and setting. On to Heart Shaped Box and then The Girl who Loved Tom Gordon. I seem to be enjoying Joe Hill more than theS. King books I have read recently. Hill starts faster and is holding my interest longer than things like B.O.B and Rode Madder. Maybe its a lack of "Supernatural" in the King stuff I'm reading in order currently, Kind of a mundane patch. I'm just not that excited for Girl who loved Tom and Dreamcatcer after that. The last one I was really excited to finish in order was Needful Things. (I read Duma out of order because I had wanted to read it for so long)

I really enoyed BOB when I read it first but I was 17 at the time, I reread it a few years back and didn't enjoy it as much. Loved Duma Key myself. The Girl who loved Tom Gordon is good too, try to get your hands on the 'Pop-up' book, its very cool.
 

MikiM

Well-Known Member
May 25, 2016
66
231
58
Houston, Texas
I seem to differ quite a bit from a lot of y'all with regards to this book.
I loved it...my eyes are an issue, so I consume audio books the way I used to consume physical ones. THIS one...omigod, my ears were sore by the end of each day because I couldn't stop listening to it. It got to the point my husband would take my iPhone from me so he could talk to me when I was at home because I was off in King Kountry. Don't get me wrong, I ADORE the physical books...I love the weight of them, the sensation of the pages, the smell of them..the way the spine cracks when you open for the first time. But out of my senses, my sight is the weakest, and genetics isn't on my side as I get older. So I try to spare my eyes when I can...plus it's easier to multitask with an audio book.
I love Stephen King's narrations. Because he created these people, he KNOWS them, he brings a passion and gives life to his characters not even my favorite narrators can...(Bill Patton is close, and Lorelei King has nailed Patricia Briggs' Mercy Thompson to the point that when I do read Mercy's books all I hear is Lorelei's voice in my head) ...but SK's narration of BoB, Needful Things, and omigod, as Normy in Rose Madder...no one could have done it better. (Change my mind..)
The story itself is awesome. The age diff between Mike & Mattie doesn't bother me the way it does a lot of y'all...but then that type of stuff doesn't no matter the couple. (Older man/young woman, Older woman/young man...Older man/younger man, or Older woman/younger woman like Holland Taylor and Sarah Paulson..hey, not my circus, not my monkeys.) The characters are real, the issues are real, and if you do believe in certain aspects of the "supernatural", that seems real to you too. I especially "like" (??for lack of a better word, maybe appreciate would be more accurate) how they show that racism was an issue in the north, and not just a southern thing. And the travesty of child protective services is very accurately portrayed here, especially when it comes to sexism and single dads.
It's not one of my top five..that would be The Stand, It, Rose Madder, Dr Sleep, Mr.Mercedes...but it's definitely one of my top 10.
 

GNTLGNT

The idiot is IN
Jun 15, 2007
87,651
358,754
62
Cambridge, Ohio
I seem to differ quite a bit from a lot of y'all with regards to this book.
I loved it...my eyes are an issue, so I consume audio books the way I used to consume physical ones. THIS one...omigod, my ears were sore by the end of each day because I couldn't stop listening to it. It got to the point my husband would take my iPhone from me so he could talk to me when I was at home because I was off in King Kountry. Don't get me wrong, I ADORE the physical books...I love the weight of them, the sensation of the pages, the smell of them..the way the spine cracks when you open for the first time. But out of my senses, my sight is the weakest, and genetics isn't on my side as I get older. So I try to spare my eyes when I can...plus it's easier to multitask with an audio book.
I love Stephen King's narrations. Because he created these people, he KNOWS them, he brings a passion and gives life to his characters not even my favorite narrators can...(Bill Patton is close, and Lorelei King has nailed Patricia Briggs' Mercy Thompson to the point that when I do read Mercy's books all I hear is Lorelei's voice in my head) ...but SK's narration of BoB, Needful Things, and omigod, as Normy in Rose Madder...no one could have done it better. (Change my mind..)
The story itself is awesome. The age diff between Mike & Mattie doesn't bother me the way it does a lot of y'all...but then that type of stuff doesn't no matter the couple. (Older man/young woman, Older woman/young man...Older man/younger man, or Older woman/younger woman like Holland Taylor and Sarah Paulson..hey, not my circus, not my monkeys.) The characters are real, the issues are real, and if you do believe in certain aspects of the "supernatural", that seems real to you too. I especially "like" (??for lack of a better word, maybe appreciate would be more accurate) how they show that racism was an issue in the north, and not just a southern thing. And the travesty of child protective services is very accurately portrayed here, especially when it comes to sexism and single dads.
It's not one of my top five..that would be The Stand, It, Rose Madder, Dr Sleep, Mr.Mercedes...but it's definitely one of my top 10.
...nicely put......thank you for that.....
 

doowopgirl

very avid fan
Aug 7, 2009
6,946
25,119
65
dublin ireland
I preferred Bag of Bones to Duma Key myself. BoB was just a straight old school ghost story. While a great story Duma Key was a more complicated story. More layers and a lot going on. Girl who Loved Tom Gorden was short but sweet. It blew me away with how much got crammed into that space. If I ever have to pee outside I NEVER go far from the path.
 

Joseph Burdette

Well-Known Member
Jul 26, 2018
95
377
43
West Virginia
I read BOB once and while it was nice to see SK head back to Castle Rock again I wasn't overly impressed with it. It's not a bad book, some of it is memorable, but its not one of his best. It felt like a short story that decided to put on its big boy pants.
 

osnafrank

Well-Known Member
Jan 24, 2017
7,121
50,822
47
Germany
I read BOB once and while it was nice to see SK head back to Castle Rock again I wasn't overly impressed with it. It's not a bad book, some of it is memorable, but its not one of his best. It felt like a short story that decided to put on its big boy pants.


I have never read a short story with characters, complex like they are in BoB.
Mike Noonan, he 's a role model for me.

His attitude to life, his (sarcastic) humor.

I'll always love this Book
Sometimes i read a chapter, sometimes just one or two sites.....and it makes me smile
 

GNTLGNT

The idiot is IN
Jun 15, 2007
87,651
358,754
62
Cambridge, Ohio
....In my underwhelming opinion, it's not so much that Steve attempted to stretch a short story like so much Silly Putty, as it was carefully considered writing-in a style we aren't accustomed to...."literary", not just scares and weirdness......it revealed to me, a previously unknown depth to what he could do, if he so chose....
 

kingricefan

All-being, keeper of Space, Time & Dimension.
Jul 11, 2006
30,011
127,446
Spokane, WA
....In my underwhelming opinion, it's not so much that Steve attempted to stretch a short story like so much Silly Putty, as it was carefully considered writing-in a style we aren't accustomed to...."literary", not just scares and weirdness......it revealed to me, a previously unknown depth to what he could do, if he so chose....
Indeed. BoB is Steve's homage to Rebecca and other Gothic tales.