Dead Men Tell No Tales vs Kingdom of Bones: Which Should You Read?

Both live on shelves: Mystery

Dead Men Tell No Tales E. W. Hornung · 1899 ★★★☆☆ 3.2 217 pages · ≈ 4 h 01 m · Challenging

“Nothing is so easy as falling in love on a long sea voyage, except falling out of love.”

The classic story ties together themes of adventure and romance. Hornung's traditional writing style is incredibly descriptive and can be often relaxing to read. The story of Dead Men Tell No Tales doesn't rush but…

Fiction

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Kingdom of Bones James Rollins · 2021 ★★★★☆ 4.2 448 pages · ≈ 8 h 18 m · Moderate

From #1 New York Times bestselling author James Rollins, the latest riveting, deeply imaginative thriller in the Sigma Force series, told with his trademark blend of cutting-edge science, historical mystery, and…

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Side by side

The verdict

Readers rate Kingdom of Bones highest: Kingdom of Bones 4.2 · Dead Men Tell No Tales 3.2.
Dead Men Tell No Tales is the quickest read — about 4 hours vs 8 for Kingdom of Bones.
Kingdom of Bones has the widest readership — 9951 ratings behind its score.

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How to choose

Want a one-evening read? Dead Men Tell No Tales ≈ 4h vs 8h for Kingdom of Bones Just want the better-reviewed one? Kingdom of Bones 4.2 vs 3.2 from readers New to the genre? Kingdom of Bones Moderate vs Challenging for Dead Men Tell No Tales

Scores by source

	Dead Men Tell No Tales	Kingdom of Bones
Goodreads	3.1 (157)	4.2 (9951)
Hardcover	—	4.1 (24)
Apple Books	—	4.5 (966)
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Reception

	Dead Men Tell No Tales	Kingdom of Bones
Ratings	157	9951
Editions	128	1
Film adaptations	1	—
Want to read	151	11094
Reading it now	18	1841
Written reviews	26	760
Wikipedia attention	109	4935
Pages	217	448
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Questions readers ask

Which is rated higher: Dead Men Tell No Tales or Kingdom of Bones?

Kingdom of Bones has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Kingdom of Bones 4.2/5, Dead Men Tell No Tales 3.2/5).

Which is shorter to read: Dead Men Tell No Tales or Kingdom of Bones?

Dead Men Tell No Tales is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Dead Men Tell No Tales (217 pages, ≈ 4 h 01 m); Kingdom of Bones (448 pages, ≈ 8 h 18 m).

Which is harder to read: Dead Men Tell No Tales or Kingdom of Bones?

Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Dead Men Tell No Tales: Challenging; Kingdom of Bones: Moderate.