wilderthan: ((Fujin) Won't understand)
[personal profile] wilderthan
Cell is a little like The Stand. There's the same big apocalyptic event wiping out parts of humanity, and the us against them mentality, similar problems of survival. However, there are quite a few differences, too.

For starters, the first thing I noticed was the much quicker beginning to the action. By page eight, in my copy, things were going to hell. No big build-up introducing us to a ton of characters. I actually quite liked it. It sucked me in pretty fast, and it didn't cost much in terms of characterisation -- I still got to know and love the characters.

It's also not as... explained as The Stand. In that, we knew what was happening. With Cell, we're in the dark and we have no idea what is really going on, or why. We have the same journey of discovery as the characters. The pseudo-science is also on much shakier grounds. I was able to suspend my disbelief enough to read it, but your mileage may well vary. Particularly as, be warned, this book does not come with explanations as to why, which definitely did irritate me.

This reminds me of From A Buick 8, which is the same deal, but even that has more closure than Cell. I quite liked the uncertainty, and the last line, but I wasn't ready to leave the story, really.

Not my favourite King novel, but definitely okay for a quick, immersive read, I think.

(no subject)

Date: 2009-03-12 09:15 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] wilderthan.livejournal.com
Mmm, I've read a whole bunch and I'm not sure where to tell you to start, either. I mean, there are his really famous ones like The Stand and The Dark Tower and It, but they're not the easiest ways to get into his writing because they involve a huge chunk of exposition first. From A Buick 8 is just practically all exposition and very little plot, so I definitely wouldn't recommend that to start with. Cell is, well, you just read my review. Firestarter, the one I'm reading now, starts off pretty good. Similar jump straight into what I assume is the main action, but much more is explained. Carrie is short, but it's also King's first novel, so it's maybe not as developed as the others...

Me, I started on the extended version of The Stand. There's a lot there, but I got drawn into it and loved it a lot.

Profile

wilderthan: (Default)
Eden

October 2013

S M T W T F S
  12345
6789 1011 12
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031  

Most Popular Tags

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags