Bare Bones: Conversations on Terror With Stephen King [Hardcover]

Stephen King (Author), Tim Underwood (Author), Chuck Miller (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1988

In this revealing and varied collection of interviews, Stephen King talks about his life, family, films and in particular about his macabre novels of the unknown that have made him so well known.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"My soul must be very black, indeed," observes King, virtuoso of horror fiction, but these 30-odd interviews do not lay bare his soul. They do, however, reveal some interesting things about his insomnia and persistent fears (he hates darkness), his literary sources, work habits (he writes two hours a day, seven days a week) and how his scary novels are linked to his childhood insecurities and feelings of inadequacy. The interviews, conducted by various journalists over the past decade, originally ran in media ranging from Penthouse to the Baltimore Sun. Shrugging off critics who dismiss his work as derivative, King explains his fascination with the horrific and calls himself a good writer, not a great one. His comments on his novels and their movie adaptations are often astute, as when he interprets Carrie as a parable of women's consciousness or pans Stanley Kubrick's frigid direction of The Shining.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 211 pages
• Publisher: Mcgraw-Hill (May 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0070657599
• ISBN-13: 978-0070657595
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,399,867 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #16 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( K ) > King, Stephen

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars So Good I Bought The TP, TC, & Limited Numbered Copies, February 11, 2000

By 

"noffkido" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bare Bones: Conversations on Terror With Stephen King (Paperback)

In this collection of essays, both new Stephen King fans, and SK'ers alike can enjoy a unique, indepth and personal view into the mind of the world's greatest horror writer. In Bare Bones King does just that -- he Bares his Bones, showing us the reader what really goes on inside his head. You are taken down into a dark cavern that few men have traveled into and survived. (Well, at least literarily -- not literally). As stated above, I was so impressed and intrigued by these works that I bought all three copies available: the 1st edition paperback, the first edition hardcover, and number 588 of 1152 limited handnumbered copies. Truly a "missing link" in any King collection. If nothing else, Bare Bones is a "must-read".

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars For King-Fans a must, October 28, 2000

By 

David Theis - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bare Bones: Conversations on Terror With Stephen King (Paperback)

This is maybe the most interesting book about Stephen King available. If you want to know something about him, you have to read it, because you won't learn more anywhere else. Not even in his own 'On Writing' by the way.

Maybe it would be interesting too to read more actual interviews, but these one help a lot. Okay, it's not always that interesting, like in the conversation about his radio station and sometimes weird, like in the one about 'Maximum Overdrive' if you have seen it. And of course a lot of things are repeated.

But it's really a must for King-fans.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Insights from the King, August 20, 2000

By 

[e-mail] "[e-mail]" (Beaumont, tx USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Bare Bones: Conversations on Terror With Stephen King (Paperback)

this was a wonderful collection of interviews of Stephen King. It would be interesting to see another collection done, with some of the more recent interviews and thoughts from him.