Book Review - Bag of bones by Stephen King

Bag of Bones is only my second Stephen King novel, my first thriller, and I liked it far more than I expected. The only other King novel I have read is On Writing, which is hardly comparable. However, it is because I loved On Writing so much that I dared to give one of his other novels a chance.

I should start by explaining that I have always been a chicken. Since I was young I have had an almost unnatural fear of the dark, and the only horror movie I have been able to watch with my eyes open has been Jaws. So while I have wanted to read a King book for sometime, I have only found the courage recently to actually dive in and give it a shot. And, while the book did not keep me up at night, I did find that I was listening for strange noises in the silence a bit more than before I read the book.

Overall, I really liked this book and found enough mystery, suspense and "things that go bump in the night" to keep me wondering and turning pages until the very end. I also like that in both books I have read by King he treats the reader like an old college friend. I feel as if I know the author and I trust him enough to hang in even though the number of pages seems like more of an investment than a cheap thrill.

Also, while I really like how King includes lots of references to other works of literature and fiction, I can understand why someone who does not read much may not enjoy a King novel as much as the avid reader. These references, while not critical too understanding the story or main plot, add so much flavor to the writing that it would be a real shame to not understand them.

I am anxious now to add other Stephen King novels to my reading list, so if you have any recommendations about where to start please let me know.