(Originally published 1998, Paperback edition 732 pages)
Mr. King has a talent for gradually pulling the reader into believing the
implausible is plausible. And it's never a given that the protagonist will live
or win in the end. The author certainly has proven through past works that he's
twisted enough to kill off a sympathetic character in the most gruesome fashion.
The book is written in the first-person narrative. The protagonist Mike Noonan
is still an emotional wreck and suffering from writer's block four years after
the death of his beloved wife, Jo. Eventually, he feels compelled to settle into
their summer camp called Sarah Laughs that is tucked up in western Maine near a
lake. I grew up in northern Maine and can certainly vouch for the accuracy of
the author's descriptions of the area. Heck, many a time while reading this
baby, I felt I was reliving my childhood.
Also, "Bag of Bones" (1998) was written before Mr. King penned "On Writing" (2000) and the thoughts Mike Noonan has about being a writer are, I'm assuming, also the same as the horror master's creative process. This I found very informative and will likely interest the reader if you are slightly curious about the creative struggles of being a writer. If you want a deeper understanding of Mr. King's work process, I highly recommend his highly entertaining "On Writing."
I've read about half of Mr. King's works and they've varied in appeal to me. "Bag of Bones" like his book "Insomnia" was a pleasant surprise. He serves up plenty of mysteries and gives the reader just enough of a taste to pull you deeper into the tale. The villians are a mixture of standard evil characters such as Max Devore and Rogette Whitmore as well as others who do evil things because they feel they have no recourse. As usual, it's the mystery of what is going bump in the night that scares the bejesus out of the reader compared to actually seeing the monster. The story moves along with Mr. King's usual solid character development into a horror/mystery and finally culminates in more an action adventure than horrorfest. This is a great tale and a perfect summer read.
Also, "Bag of Bones" (1998) was written before Mr. King penned "On Writing" (2000) and the thoughts Mike Noonan has about being a writer are, I'm assuming, also the same as the horror master's creative process. This I found very informative and will likely interest the reader if you are slightly curious about the creative struggles of being a writer. If you want a deeper understanding of Mr. King's work process, I highly recommend his highly entertaining "On Writing."
I've read about half of Mr. King's works and they've varied in appeal to me. "Bag of Bones" like his book "Insomnia" was a pleasant surprise. He serves up plenty of mysteries and gives the reader just enough of a taste to pull you deeper into the tale. The villians are a mixture of standard evil characters such as Max Devore and Rogette Whitmore as well as others who do evil things because they feel they have no recourse. As usual, it's the mystery of what is going bump in the night that scares the bejesus out of the reader compared to actually seeing the monster. The story moves along with Mr. King's usual solid character development into a horror/mystery and finally culminates in more an action adventure than horrorfest. This is a great tale and a perfect summer read.
(Meyers - A few years ago, I
started writing, under the pseudonym Franklin the Mouse, short
reviews at Amazon's web site. This is my most recent review #307)
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