That's right, kids. I finally finished Stephen King's Cell. Consensus? It was good! Not great, but good. I would rank it right around the level of From a Buick 8, with which I found similarly simultaneous praise and fault. In short, is the read worth the time and money? Definitely. But go into it with your expectations tempered, because The Stand, it ain't.
Weighing in on the side of the positive, the entire first half (maybe even first 2/3; I wasn't counting pages, you know?) was outstanding. I absolutely could not put it down. His triumvirate of main characters are, I think, among some of his finest, each of them both flawed and brave in their own ways. The first half of the book follows them on a dark, gory road trip as they seek to reunite Clay with his estranged wife and sun, and gives the reader that same sense of dread felt in his epic works like The Stand, or The Dark Tower series.
But then... something happens. (Spoilers ahead! Click through at your own peril!)
The ending is completely unsatisfying.
This is a problem I have with a lot of books and movies, particularly in the horror genre. The build-up is always the most effective part of these stories, and the resolution is never going to be as great as that terror of the unknown. Cell is no exception. Midway through, it just takes this hard turn into explanation land and stops being scary all together. Murderous cell phone zombies? Scary! That they move as flocks? Scary! That they're evolving into levitating telepaths that are moving towards a better, more evolved race of humans? Not so much. That they mostly start just kind of keeling over on their own, a la War of the Worlds? Not so much.
If the explanation had been more full-fledged, if there'd been some sort of Randall Flagg pulling the strings towards some greater, ominous end, the introduction of those notions might not have been so problematic for me. However, they're just introduction, with no real payoff. I think I almost prefer the complete lack of explanation in From a Buick 8. While also unsatisfying, that at least leaves you with a twitchy sense of unease, as opposed to the dreary anticlimax of Cell.
Please note, if you care to comment on this section of the review, please email me to do so! I won't publish any that will inadvertently spoil for other readers in the Comments.
I have to agree. I'm not even done (about 30 pages left) and I feel let-down. This is one of the few times I hope they do some heavy lifting with the screenplay.
The first 100 pages, on the other hand, were edge-of-your-seat stuff.
I too agree. I have been reading Stephen King since the early 1980's and I even went to U Maine Orono and lived a block from the Master.
I thought that the book took off like a missile. No big wait and no buildup... just bam... all of a sudden... phone zombies.
However, I too would have prefered a total lack of explanation. I have to say though that the ending of the book still leaves plenty of room for imagination. What are the consequences of Clay's final actions?
I also must give King a nod for the obvious adoration of graphic novels and how he captures some of the nuances of graphic novels, allowing you to see in some detail what Clay is drawing. A word is worth a thousand pictures.
Finally, I would heartily agree that this is a script that would do well with a truly malevolent and diabolical screen writer.
P.S.: I had the oddest set of dreams reading this book. Usually I don't incorporate books into my dreams but this one really did it to me. Perhaps there is some mutating code encrypted in the pages?? RAAST.
I have to agree with MZ on the first 100 pages. I couldn't put the book down! I'm done with it, but the ending 'supposed' supense wasn't really all that great.... I mean, sure, it got you thinking about what happened, but come-ON! What was the point?
Maybe there is a hidden code of some sort....Hmmmm.. MYNUCK.
weird. when I red the book I dreamt about it, too.
I think authors hav a reason why they let a book end like King did in Cell (the German titl is Pulse by the way)
but true - the ending was unsatisfying and there was a lack of explanation.
still a good book.
I am disappointed in the book. I expected so much more out of Mr.King. THis book had a lot of hype but the ending was just not what i expected and the ending just killed me