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A review by mcyewfly
Bare Bones: Conversations on Terror with Stephen King by Tim Underwood, Chuck Miller, Stephen King
dark
informative
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
4.0
A bit of a lopsided read, given its format. I don’t think King had enough to say at this point in his career to warrant a collection of his interviews, as evident by a lot of questions, anecdotes, and opinions are repeated throughout. This book was effectively reading the transcript to a Stephen King podcast, which actually sounds pretty interesting…
The first chapter and the last two have the most unique and engaging perspectives in them; unfortunately, the other half of the book became a bit of a slog. I was really hoping, based on the first chapter and the title, that I would’ve seen more writing craft or story structuring commentary, a la King’s On Writing. (On Writing is a MUST READ.)
Instead, the interviewers kept asking him the same questions, to the point that King’s answers start with “I wish people would stop asking about The Shining movie.” I like hearing him talk, so I loved the repeated answers and quips.
As an aside, it’s really funny that Storygraph’s algorithm recommended this book for me; on a categorical level, it ticks all of my boxes. Yet, this book has hardly any circulation or reviews attached, and its place in the zeitgeist is clearly minuscule.
The first chapter and the last two have the most unique and engaging perspectives in them; unfortunately, the other half of the book became a bit of a slog. I was really hoping, based on the first chapter and the title, that I would’ve seen more writing craft or story structuring commentary, a la King’s On Writing. (On Writing is a MUST READ.)
Instead, the interviewers kept asking him the same questions, to the point that King’s answers start with “I wish people would stop asking about The Shining movie.” I like hearing him talk, so I loved the repeated answers and quips.
As an aside, it’s really funny that Storygraph’s algorithm recommended this book for me; on a categorical level, it ticks all of my boxes. Yet, this book has hardly any circulation or reviews attached, and its place in the zeitgeist is clearly minuscule.