Ghost Circles (Bone, Book 7) (Paperback)

by Jeff Smith (Author, Artist)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
A long-dormant volcano explodes, blacking out the sun, mowing down trees, and filling the land with soot and ash. The Lord of the Locusts is released with the eruption. Against this apocolyptic backdrop, the Bone cousins along with Thorn and Gran'ma Ben struggle to reach safe haven in the city of Atheia.

Meanwhile, Lucius Downs lies severely wounded and trapped with the villagers in the camp at Old Man's Cave.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author
JEFF SMITH was born and raised in the American Midwest and learned about cartooning from comic strips, comic books, and TV animation. He launched the comic book BONE in 1991. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: Cartoon Books; 1 edition (August 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1888963093
• ISBN-13: 978-1888963090
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 6.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,042,118 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great series takes a turn into the grim, May 11, 2004

By	Eric San Juan (Brick, NJ USA) - See all my reviews

With "Ghost Circles," the seventh of nine volumes, the "Bone" saga gets very, very serious. While still appropriate for all ages (there is nothing here you wouldn't let your eight-year-old read), this is hardly kiddy fare. It's dark, grim and rarely funny.

"Bone" is an epic story about three "bone creatures" and their adventures in a valley peopled with an assortment of crazy and interesting characters. Looming over it all is the menace of a great evil, revealed slowly over the course of nine volumes, intent on unleashing itself over the world. The series starts off lighthearted, but grows less so as the story unravels itself, as is evident with "Ghost Circles."

In "Ghost Circles," despair rules over all. It begins with the death of a supporting character, leads into suffering for all, and sees the main characters trudge through hopelessness before leaving the reader lingering with the hope that maybe, just maybe, a good end will come for the good guys.

Here, several story threads move ahead independent of each other, the characters separated by a great calamity in the valley. Throughout the volume, the threads appear to be drawing together - even as evil grows. When finishing this, you'll reach for the next volume right away.

Smith combines the kind of classic storytelling perfected by the likes of the legendary Carl Barks (Donald Duck, Uncle Scrooge) and Bill Watterson (Calvin & Hobbes) - pure cartooning with outrageous and expressive faces and gestures - with the epic and engaging plotting of a sweeping fairy tale. "Bone" manages to balance the two well enough to be something fans of both Donald Duck and Frodo Baggins can enjoy.

Jeff Smith's "Bone" series may be critically acclaimed, but it is also criminally overlooked. And that's too bad, because this deserves to be read.

And in the long run, it will be.

There is no doubt people will still be reading "Bone" 50 years from now. Broad and epic in scope yet personal and quaint, this is a charming story in every way that will surely outlast most other comic works on the shelf.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the pivotal volume, February 19, 2008

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Bone Volume 7: Ghost Circles (v. 7) (Paperback)

BONE volume seven is one of the greatest stories of BONE. Even though the first five are less grim, this graphic novel is an addition to the BONE series that the other books could not do without.

I tried reading volume eight: Treasure Hunters before this, mainly because my hold on Ghost Circles arrived after volume eight. I couldn't wait for volume seven, so I dove right into Treasure Hunters. To make a long story short, it was awful. After my hold arrived, I decided to reread them in order. Sure enough, volume eight made much more sense after having read volume seven, and now both have been added to my favorites list, along with The Great Cow Race and The Dragonslayer.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great just plain fun, March 21, 2009

By	Brigadier Victor - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bone Volume 7: Ghost Circles (v. 7) (Paperback)

I haven't enjoyed comics so much in over 60 years. The whole Bone series is a great fun read. Actually, I didn't, but someone thinking of starting this series might find that reading the prequel first, Rose, can add to your understanding of the Bone Series 1-9. Rose was drawn by Vess instead of Smith, but Vess is top notch as well. I thought I was through with "comics" 50 years ago, then Smith drops "Bone" on me and my second childhood has commenced. Highly recomended.