• Bag of Bones

  • By: Stephen King
  • Narrated by: Stephen King
  • Length: 21 hrs and 21 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (9,121 ratings)

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Bag of Bones  By  cover art

Bag of Bones

By: Stephen King
Narrated by: Stephen King
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Publisher's summary

Even four years after the sudden death of his wife, best selling novelist Mike Noonan can't stop grieving, nor can he return to his writing. Now his nights are plagued by vivid nightmares of the house by the lake. Despite these dreams, or perhaps because of them, he decides to return to Sara Laughs, the Noonans' isolated summer home. In his beloved Yankee town, he finds himself falling in love with a widowed young mother, who struggles to keep custody of her 3-year-old daughter. He is also drawn into the mystery of Sara Laughs, now the site of ghostly visitations, ever-escalating nightmares, and the sudden recovery of his writing ability. What are the forces that have been unleashed here - and what do they want of Mike Noonan?
©1998 Stephen King, All Rights Reserved (P)1998 Simon & Schuster, Inc., All Rights Reserved

Critic reviews

"The witty and obsessive voice of King's powerful imagination." (Amy Tan)
"What King lacks in professional polish he makes up for with an infectious enthusiasm that will lock in listeners for the long haul." (Publishers Weekly)

Featured Article: We're Your #1 Fans—A Stephen King Character Guide


With a mind-boggling portfolio of 62 novels and more than 200 short stories (and counting!), Stephen King undeniably reigns supreme over literary horror. From Danny Torrance to the dreaded Pennywise, check out some of his most iconic characters with this comprehensive look. (But beware: there are spoilers ahead! So, much like when you press play on a Stephen King audiobook, you should proceed with caution.)

What listeners say about Bag of Bones

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    5,878
  • 4 Stars
    2,073
  • 3 Stars
    776
  • 2 Stars
    262
  • 1 Stars
    132
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    5,047
  • 4 Stars
    1,338
  • 3 Stars
    462
  • 2 Stars
    141
  • 1 Stars
    114
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    4,800
  • 4 Stars
    1,459
  • 3 Stars
    526
  • 2 Stars
    198
  • 1 Stars
    108

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

a bit disappointing

I thought the first half of this audiobook was pretty good. King was doing a great job with the reading and the story was strong. Then about half way through things started going down hill. I had to force myself to sit through the last six hours. The descriptions seem to drag on and on way too long in some areas, particularly the dream sequences. Bag of Bones needs to be trimmed quite a bit. Eventually the story finally comes together in a disappointing ending and King ties up all the loose ends, but by then I'd stopped caring. Many others seem to really love this book but I wish I'd never bothered. I did enjoy the first half and moments in the second half were pretty good, plus King is probably my favorite author so I'm giving 3 out of 5 stars. I recommend "Odd Thomas" by Dean Koontz, it's half as long and twice as enjoyable.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

EXCELLENT

This was my first Stephen King book ever. I had always been afraid to read his books but this one just looked interesting. I was VERY glad I listened to it, it had just the right amount of scare and no gore. The fact that he reads the story himself is great. It had me interested from the start and kept me interested the entire way through. I found myself wishing my commute was longer some days. I thouroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it. If you've never listed to (or read) Stephen King before this is the one to try. I recommended it to a friend and she is enjoying it now just as much as I did. Oh, and the bonus interview with him at the end is interesting too.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

King Speaks

No one writes as well as King in his genre. His early works still shine above all the others. This stands out as a critique of the business. Of course it is a well written story. However, I just cannot stand King as the narrator. If I would have caught that, I would have stuck to the book format. Very few authors can pull it off and I never though King could.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Dreadful audiobook presentation ruins good story

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

The superb bonus interview with King at the end might make it worth it.

What did you like best about this story?

King's vivid moral universe is in full stride in Bag of Bones, as his trademark deep character development.

Would you be willing to try another one of Stephen King’s performances?

It pains me to say this, but King is not a great narrator, at least insofar as fiction is concerned. (Nonfiction, different story, pardon the pun.) By contrast, listen to Steven Weber's crazy fantastic narration of King's IT, and it becomes clear who should and should not be reading King's stories aloud.

Do you think Bag of Bones needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No. It concludes with finality.

Any additional comments?

The "feature" which unalterably ruins this particular audiobook presentation is the utterly abysmal musical interludes that occur in between and sometimes in the middle of different chapters. Just a stunningly bad decision on the part of the producers. During some of what should be the creepiest moments, a dreadful bluesy bottleneck guitar kicks in, meant to add atmosphere because one of the pivotal characters is a blues singer. Instead, it saps every ounce of supernatural creepiness from these scenes. At times it is so loud that I had to strain to hear the narration. Other times, a mediocre singer representing the same character actually sings parts of blues songs, with the same awful effect of yanking the listener right out of the story. Even worse, a couple of times, during some more intense "scenes" toward the end, an electric guitar is overdubbed, again simply destroying the moment. All of this noise is meant to lend atmosphere, and create a sort of "deluxe" audiobook experience, but simply ruins it. Not an audiobook I'm likley to listen to again.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

BAG OF CRAP

I can't believe how many positive reviews this book has. It's one thing for a book to drag.. but this was criminal! How can this get by an editor? All I could do is fantasize on having king in front of me listening as I read through the endless, interminable "top of the driveway segment- watching his face turn red with shame and embarrassment as the hours rolled by. I wonder what was going on with him when he was writing this, drugs?, booze?, I've read alot of king and enjoyed much of his stuff immensely, but this book makes me wary of blindly putting down time and credits for his work. Now kings writing scares the hell out of me for a different reason. He is a remarkably talented writer but he's inconsistent and I often wonder how much he really cares about the end product beyond sales. 11/22/63 was a revelation and I hoped it signaled a new matured era for his writing (not to imply he goes all falkonery) but it seems quantity over quality is still his focus. Joyland was a big disappointment for me. The same old (very old) done to death storyline- like something thrown out there to fulfill his contract... Doctor sleep on the other hand at least seemed to be a book he put his back into, even so I don't think he has yet to exercise all his powers/ talent and I know there are alot of readers like me who wait and wonder when or if he will ever really strive to write something that utilizes his untapped full potential.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

BEAUTIFUL STORY!! GREAT NARRATION!!

I LOVE Stephen King. This book went above and way beyond my expectations. I don't have too much to say, other than I'm a huge fan of King, and this is one of my top favorites from him. It scared the *@#! out of me! i drive for my job, out in the middle of nowhere, and in the middle of the night, to boot. i often listen to Mr.King while driving, and "give me back my dust cover!" gave me the CREEPS so bad it nearly made me quit my job. don't take this wrong, as with most of his books, this isn't really just a ghost story; and the story behind the story stole my mind and heart, and i gladly fell in love with it. this book definately gets a RARE five stars!

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Excellent

I have always loved Stephen KIng, and yes it is a treat when he reads his own material.This book is one of my very favorites, and it's wonderful to be able to listen to it read to me while I drive to my jobs on the road. Excellent story and excellent humor as well...love it. Recommend to all.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Classic Stephen King

I am a fan of Stephen King and this book did not disappoint! It kept me on the edge of my seat trying to figure out how the story would unfold. I always enjoy a book that keeps me guessing and "Bag of Bones" did just that. I also thought that Stephen did a great job on the narration! Classic Stephen King!

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

One of my favorite King stories, but Narration...

Bag of Bones is one of my most favorite King books outside of the Dark Tower series(it like many others ties in to it). I think, however, the book would be much better served being read by someone other than Stephen King....as noted in many other reviews of his narration, his voice is hard to listen to, especially for an extended period of time. This was my 1st download & I was very excited...until I started listening. It actually got put on the back burner to finish all because of his voice, which is a shame because I love this story so much. In fact I have read the book at least 3 or 4 times. As a boook, I cant recommend enough, as an audiobook...listener beware, try it to see if you can endure his voice, which is monotone, pinchy & whiny(Sorry Stephen!)

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

King

I do not usually write reviews because of time restraints, lack of vanity etc. BUT Thank God for King writing this one (and reading it,bonus)Spellbinding, gripping, thought provoking;easily one of his best works! GREAT!

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