Bag of Bones: A Novel

This book started off strong, kept going strong in the middle, then (like many SK books) took a nose dive towards the end. Some of the points leading up to the end was cool... getting the puzzle pieces together. But there was a whole lot of details thrown about towards the end that it makes you wring your brain for the references to them from the beginning of the book. The relationship between Matt, Mattie and Kyra was beautiful. That's really what makes up the bulk of the 4 stars for me. Matt's genuine love for them shines through and makes it heartwarming. The story is awesome, until it gets to drag. The supernatural aspects are really well written and tells a very nice and chilling story. The drop of massive details in the last 75 pages is what floored me. And, of course, the horrific Stephen King endings is present here too. This man does not know how to end a book to save his life! An amazing, chilling, addicting story... then a lackluster ending. It's to be expected w/SK. 3.5/5

This book takes over 600 pages to go nowhere. Hardly any story thread amounts to anything, and all the "horror" has the weighty basis of "just cuz." I was very bored. I finished only because surely all those threads would come together in a big a-ha! climax. They didn't. It too an overlong epilogue to only kind of explain what happened in the story, and that, too, was rife with "just cuz."

I'm an avid Stephen King reader and I consistently and frustrated by how long and boring his intros are. Instead of getting to know all of the characters you zone out and forget what you've read. Not the case in this book! It grabs my attention right away and hold it until the very end. This is the only Stephen King book that I did not want to read alone at night. It's my favorite novel he's ever written and it tugs at so many emotions that just keep coming at you so you feel like you're a nervous wreck but can't stop turning those pages! Very well written, in true King fashion no main character is safe from being terrorized mutilated and killed and the horror aspect of this Supernatural masterpiece is actually frightening. I highly recommend you try this book but don't watch the movie! There is no comparison between the two.