In need of some cool new tunes? Check Saltillo out! Kind of a techno classical mix I found very enjoyable.
I just got back from Grandpa's birthday shindig. These are always fun because I get to hear about insane relatives that I've never met and are likely dead, but nonetheless lead colorful lives. Like my dad's cousin who apparently de-railed a train. That's right, I'm related to a guy who de-railed a train. How cool is that?
So, book review. Right-o.
Stephen King's "Cell". I read this a while back, decided I wanted to tell you about it. Book reviews are always problematic because if they weren't already interested enough to read the book, whatever you have to say isn't likely to change their mind. Not that this differes a tremendous amount from other forms of reviewing, only that books suffer from genre-mania (that is, a fanbase that is rabidly devoted to a single genre and rarely if ever partakes of anything outside) and there are a tremendous amount of them, all of which can be read for free from your local library. Anyway...
"Cell" deals with the idea of a computer-style virus, only this one isn't targetting your hard drive, it's going after your brain. The title extends from the opening scene where the virus is transmitted to the world via cell phone. Everyone who hears it, initially, goes bonkers and later on those affected develop a kind of hive-mind. Anyway, it's the end of the world and those few survivors must band together to try to defeat this new-age zombie horde and attempt to reclaim their lives.
The end of the world via virus isn't new territory for King, which is likely the greatest flaw in the book. As opposed to a bio-engineered flu that decimates the world's population in "The Stand" it's now a geek-engineered virus that treats your brain like the hard drive of your computer. Had King not written "The Stand" I believe this work would've gotten a far better reception as opposed to being seen as an updated, future-paranoid (and justifiably so, I think) version of what is regarded as his greatest work.
There is little in the way of character development, though one doesn't expect much given that you're only dealing with a few weeks in the lives of the characters. The characters themselves seem real enough, given the situation they're in, although dealing with characters who are always half a step and a quarter-second away from a panic high can be exhausting.
The plot moves at a good clip. I think King was going for a so-called "Tour de force" here, but he didn't realize that his topic mater was "The Stand" meets "Resident Evil" and that his current story lacked the marvelous and meticolously developed characters of the former and the pulse-pounding action of the latter.
Final verdict: It's worth checking out... literally, from your library. I wouldn't recommend buying this unless you're a hardcore King fan and even then I would wait (well I wouldn't, I own the bleeding hardcover) for the paperback, which should be released on June 5th of this year.
Interesting thought for the day: Most people keep things. Why? Because these things belong to them, not because they are worth keeping.
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