Cell: A Novel
by Stephen King
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Book Summary Information
Author: Stephen KingEdition: Hardcover
Format: Bargain Price
Published: 2006-01-24
ISBN: 0340921447
Number of pages: 384
Publisher: Scribner
Book Reviews of Cell: A Novel
Book Review: Huge let down
Summary: 1 Stars
I'm obviously in minority of people who disliked this book, so I'm not writing this review to sway opinion. Rather, I'm writing this to help those who share my tastes make the decision of whether or not to shell out a few of their hard earned dollars on this book.
As a bit of a disclaimer, this is the first Stephen King book I have ever read. My brother, who is a big King fan, warned me that his books all start out as incredibly brilliant and then end abruptly with some glib explanation that the antagonist is an alien or some other thing that conveniently ties of up all of the mysteries the story built up until that point.
As a summary, I'll say that I totally agree with my brother. The first half of this novel is absolutely brilliant. The book is exceptionally well written, and King puts a very unique twist on the zombie horror format (which I'll get into in a minute). However, the plot in the second half of the novel shoots off on a very different tangent that seems more at home in a campy b-movie or comic book.
Let me get into what I'll call Part 1 of the book first. As I'm sure you're already aware, this book is a new take on the classic zombie outbreak scenario. A very unique twist is that this story puts the reader right at ground zero of the incident. There is no methodical unraveling of how the zombies came to be, rather the focus of the story is on the thoughts of the main character and how he tries to hold onto his sanity and humanity while at the same time he hardens himself to adapt to the craziness around him. Another focus of the story is how society (what's left of it) also evolves to survive. Unlike a lot of end-of-the-world zombie movies/novels that just take of the easy path of saying that everything de-evolves into a Mad Max world where everyone kills, rapes, and pillages for no reason; King very intelligently dives into what society would really be like. Just like in real life where there are many levels of existence from mere survival to prosperity and many types of people from total degenerates to everyday people like you and I; King creates a complete world that includes all of those elements. This results in an environment that is much more rich and believable than you would expect in a typical zombie story.
At the risk of spoiling some of the surprise, I'll say that another very unique twist on the zombie story is that the zombies also evolve. Rather than being mindless killing machines, the zombies slowly begin to re-evolve in a bizarre story that will leave you on the edge of your seat. The zombie evolution was so fascinating, that I simply could not put the book down. I read the entire book over a couple of days during the work week due to the fact that I'd run to my car at the start of my lunch break and immediately after work so that I could find out what happened next.
In short, the first half of this book was, without a doubt, one of the best books I'd ever read. Ever.
The problem comes in the second half of the book. Specifically, the plot... the great mystery that King had so brilliantly built up to... fell flat on its face. Rather than being a very deep and intelligent explanation, that left you in awe; it was a very deep and intelligent explanation that resulted in something very cliche and cheesy. I won't tell you exactly what it is, but I will say that it would be on the same level of cheesiness if he had said that the whole thing was simply
a bad dream
aliens
a government conspiracy
mental telepathy
Freddy Krueger
... you get the idea.
Don't get me wrong, the second half was still brilliantly written. In fact, there are a couple of scenes that are so touching they could put a lumberjack in tears. But the plot was just so terrible that I felt like I was cheated. I felt like I wasted my time, excitement, and emotional commitment. I know that these are strong words, but the fact that the first half of the book was so good made the second half that much more disappointing. It was a high pedestal to fall from.
Anyway, I think that you get the idea where I'm going with this, so I'll just some it all up as so:
If you are already a King fan, then you'll probably really enjoy this novel. If you are a fan of excellent writing and you can tolerate some plot stretch, then you'll probably really enjoy this novel. If you're like me and you enjoy the destination as much as the journey, then you'll probably be very let down by the last portion of this book.
On a side note, I saw the movie "I am Legend" last week, and I felt that the ending in that movie was very similar to the ending of this book. In the movie a bunch of zombies who aren't capable of clothing themselves or even opening doors somehow manage to orchestrate a series of well coordinated booby traps and sieges. Hmmm.... they must have gotten help from the aliens... or Freddy Krueger.
Summary of Cell: A Novel
A través de los teléfonos móviles se envía un mensaje que convierte a todos en esclavos asesinos. Pocos se escapan de su fuerza y estos tendrán que sobrevivir en un mundo totalmente transformado.Clayton Riddell no tiene teléfono móvil, su esposa, Sharon, tampoco. Están separados pero en contacto constante por su hijo Johnny Gee. Sus padres le han regalado un móvil para cosas urgentes. Saben que muy a menudo no lo lleva encima y por eso le riñen.
El uno de octubre Clay viaja a Boston por una entrevista de trabajo y de repente cuando pasea por el parque es testigo de escenas espeluznantes, escenas totalmente inexplicables: gente en la calle que hablando por el móvil se convierten repentinamente en monstruos asesinos, atacan y matan a todos los de su alrededor. Los coches chocan entre sí. Es una escena de caos sangriento, incendios, alarmas.. . incomprensible. Ya no hay canales de radio ni televisión, ni servicios de ningún tipo. Nada que pueda poner orden. Clay entiende que todo ha sido causado por un mensaje a través de los móviles. Consigue refugiarse en un hotel junto con otro hombre Tom McCourt y una adolescente, Alice, los dos sin móvil. Deciden abandonar la ciudad para averiguar si la situación es la misma en el resto del país. Para Clay, lo más importante es localizar a su hijo que, espera que hoy no lleve su móvil encima.
Los tres emprenden su viaje a pie hacia la ciudad donde vive Johnny y su madre. Andan de noche cuando los locos no se mueven. De día se esconden en casas abandonadas. En su camino se encuentran con otros que se han salvado pero son pocos y descubren que los locos se han convertido en una especie de zombies telepáticos. Estos se juntan de día en grandes masas, llamados por música transmitida por altavoces, en estadios de deportes. De noche duermen. Están controlados por los sonidos. Andan y andan hacia un solo destino.
La mujer de Clay ha sido víctima de la gran destrucción pero su hijo parece haber sobrevivido y Clay y sus dos compañeros siguen su pista. Van de ciudad en ciudad, entre cadáveres y zombies asesinos, entre el caos y la destrucción, hasta llegar a la ciudad de su destino.
Y allí Clay encontrará a Johnny, no el Johnny de antes, pero quizás algún día aprenderá de nuevo a ser un niño ?normal?. El mensaje de los móviles va perdiendo toda su fuerza pero...el mundo nunca volverá a ser lo mismo.
Witness Stephen King's triumphant, blood-spattered return to the genre that made him famous. Cell, the king of horror's homage to zombie films (the book is dedicated in part to George A. Romero) is his goriest, most horrific novel in years, not to mention the most intensely paced. Casting aside his love of elaborate character and town histories and penchant for delayed gratification, King yanks readers off their feet within the first few pages; dragging them into the fray and offering no chance catch their breath until the very last page.
In Cell King taps into readers fears of technological warfare and terrorism. Mobile phones deliver the apocalypse to millions of unsuspecting humans by wiping their brains of any humanity, leaving only aggressive and destructive impulses behind. Those without cell phones, like illustrator Clayton Riddell and his small band of "normies," must fight for survival, and their journey to find Clayton's estranged wife and young son rockets the book toward resolution.
Fans that have followed King from the beginning will recognize and appreciate Cell as a departure--King's writing has not been so pure of heart and free of hang-ups in years (wrapping up his phenomenal Dark Tower series and receiving a medal from the National Book Foundation doesn't hurt either). "Retirement" clearly suits King, and lucky for us, having nothing left to prove frees him up to write frenzied, juiced-up horror-thrillers like Cell. --Daphne Durham
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