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3.43 AVERAGE
3.43 AVERAGE
Неплохая книга, хотя и очень несерьезного для Кинга объема.
Возможно из-за этого, из истории явно не все извлечено, что можно было бы.
С другой стороны, по сути все возможные побочные ветки обозначены. Например про неоднозначность "зла" того, что получилось в результате Pulse, и так ли уж геройски выглядит то, что сделали главные герои.
И хорошо, что это не превратилось в очередной эпос, которые порой страшно начинать читать.
История рассказана профессионально, так что лихорадочно листаешь страницы, не теряя интереса до конца книги.
Физика описанного мира, конечно, не слишком убедительна.
Но книги Кинга никогда и не претендовали на SciFi, это больше эмоции.
Одно из положительных качеств книги - она не оставляет противного послевкусия, как другие книги Кинга, которые я читал до этого. Раньше - читаешь, не можешь остановиться, интересно, но после прочтения как-то мерзко становится. Именно из-за эмоций, не из-за каких-то натуралистичных сцен, не так примитивно.
Хотя, может, просто это я огрубел.
То что в книге открытый финал - для меня безусловное достоинство, хотя понятно что каждый первый американский рецензент пишет об этом как о недостатке.
Ну и смешно конечно сейчас, читать про столь большое число людей без сотовых телефонов, про время, когда еще это было позой - не иметь сотового телефона.
А ведь прошло всего 10 лет с тех пор..
Сейчас поза - не иметь аккаунта в facebook или вконтакте ;)
Английский у Кинга, конечно, совсем как у Эллочки Людоедки, активный словарь очень бедный и из односложных слов.
Возможно из-за этого, из истории явно не все извлечено, что можно было бы.
С другой стороны, по сути все возможные побочные ветки обозначены. Например про неоднозначность "зла" того, что получилось в результате Pulse, и так ли уж геройски выглядит то, что сделали главные герои.
И хорошо, что это не превратилось в очередной эпос, которые порой страшно начинать читать.
История рассказана профессионально, так что лихорадочно листаешь страницы, не теряя интереса до конца книги.
Физика описанного мира, конечно, не слишком убедительна.
Но книги Кинга никогда и не претендовали на SciFi, это больше эмоции.
Одно из положительных качеств книги - она не оставляет противного послевкусия, как другие книги Кинга, которые я читал до этого. Раньше - читаешь, не можешь остановиться, интересно, но после прочтения как-то мерзко становится. Именно из-за эмоций, не из-за каких-то натуралистичных сцен, не так примитивно.
Хотя, может, просто это я огрубел.
То что в книге открытый финал - для меня безусловное достоинство, хотя понятно что каждый первый американский рецензент пишет об этом как о недостатке.
Ну и смешно конечно сейчас, читать про столь большое число людей без сотовых телефонов, про время, когда еще это было позой - не иметь сотового телефона.
А ведь прошло всего 10 лет с тех пор..
Сейчас поза - не иметь аккаунта в facebook или вконтакте ;)
Английский у Кинга, конечно, совсем как у Эллочки Людоедки, активный словарь очень бедный и из односложных слов.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Going to put this whole review in spoiler tags because I have things to say. This had King's usual great characters and some strong world building. The threat was interesting, if a bit out of date because of technology. I know some people hate the ending because they can't handle ambiguity or "bad" endings, but I actually really liked it. My main criticisms are some of the common foibles of King at this time in his career: magical negro trope, fridging the only somewhat developed female character, some strange classism and such. in short, I didn't love it, but it's pretty good.
Got distracted by other things (lotr)
didn’t capture my attention, bad audio
didn’t capture my attention, bad audio
It feels very wrong picking up my phone to write this review!
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Written at a fairly distinctive moment in time when there was a significant distinction between people who owned a cell phone and people who didn't. A "pulse" wipes the brains of everyone with a cell phone back to humanity's prime directive, which turns out to be... wait for it... murder.
This was King's zombie apocalypse, The Stand cut down to a fourth the size and with much less appealing characters and a less conclusive ending.
Comic book artist Clayton Riddell is caught in the mayhem and sets off to make the trek from Boston to his home in Maine in the hope of discovering the fate of his son. He is joined by a small group of survivors, each having their own traumatic reaction to the sudden collapse of civilization.
Riddell himself was not all that appealing a character; flat in a lot of places, and at times unlikeable. His companions are generally better, although the brutal death of one of them at about 2/3 through the story felt like the author had just run out of ideas for that character's arc.
The zombie-like "phoners" become a bit more interesting as the book progresses, but a lot of their potential is lost in the ambiguous ending.
The cellphones turning people into zombies was clearly a bit of symbolism here, but it's a bluntly made point, and I was left wondering for how long after the publication of this, the note in the author's biography that he didn't own a cell phone remained true.
This was King's zombie apocalypse, The Stand cut down to a fourth the size and with much less appealing characters and a less conclusive ending.
Comic book artist Clayton Riddell is caught in the mayhem and sets off to make the trek from Boston to his home in Maine in the hope of discovering the fate of his son. He is joined by a small group of survivors, each having their own traumatic reaction to the sudden collapse of civilization.
Riddell himself was not all that appealing a character; flat in a lot of places, and at times unlikeable. His companions are generally better, although the brutal death of one of them at about 2/3 through the story felt like the author had just run out of ideas for that character's arc.
The zombie-like "phoners" become a bit more interesting as the book progresses, but a lot of their potential is lost in the ambiguous ending.
The cellphones turning people into zombies was clearly a bit of symbolism here, but it's a bluntly made point, and I was left wondering for how long after the publication of this, the note in the author's biography that he didn't own a cell phone remained true.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence
Minor: Child death
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I really wanted to like this, and towards the end I really started to. It took me a while to get into the groove of the storytelling. The long descriptions intercutting dialogue and thoughts was very confusing. However, once I found my footing in King’s writing, I started to enjoy it a bit more. There’s nothing really amazing about this book but it also wasn’t horrible. I would just say, with it being King, I expected something much better. I learned from my Dad, a King aficionado, that his works are kind of hit or miss, though.
So… I guess this was just one of his misses
So… I guess this was just one of his misses
Although this book has a really powerful first half, it then slowly fades out, as if [a:Stephen King|3389|Stephen King|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1362814142p2/3389.jpg] couldn't be bothered finishing it properly.
It starts with strength, in one of these what-if apocalyptic scenarios that break civilisation as we know it, and get people struggling to survive. From that point on, we get another take of King's view of how a post-apocalyptic society would be (see [b:The Stand|149267|The Stand|Stephen King|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1213131305s/149267.jpg|1742269] - much better, IMHO - for an earlier view). Later on, though, Cell diverges from these premises and goes into a disappointing ending that already feels familiar.
If the perspective of a weak ending doesn't scare you, or even better, you are not afraid to leave a book unfinished, then check this one, and get through it for as long as it keeps you entertained.
It starts with strength, in one of these what-if apocalyptic scenarios that break civilisation as we know it, and get people struggling to survive. From that point on, we get another take of King's view of how a post-apocalyptic society would be (see [b:The Stand|149267|The Stand|Stephen King|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1213131305s/149267.jpg|1742269] - much better, IMHO - for an earlier view). Later on, though, Cell diverges from these premises and goes into a disappointing ending that already feels familiar.
If the perspective of a weak ending doesn't scare you, or even better, you are not afraid to leave a book unfinished, then check this one, and get through it for as long as it keeps you entertained.
Un libro que te quita el sueño con tal de terminarlo, ¡se te pega como chicle!