Cell phone zombies? Really? These were my thoughts on picking up this book, but being a more or less confirmed King fan, I felt obliged to read it anyways. That's what good fans do; they stick with you through the bad and the good.
To be fair, it wasn't *awful*... it was just missing something. There were plenty of places to go with this premise, and you see King approaching them, and then scuttling away, repeatedly. About halfway through the book, the zombies themselves become really interesting, and more horrifying. I felt there was a lot more ground to be covered and lots more scares to be gotten out of them, but the author simply didn't want to take the time.
SPOILER ALERT: (I usually try really hard to keep any spoilers out of these reviews but this was so bad, I really can't let it pass without comment.)The ending was a crappy Lady or Tiger thing, but by then I just didn't care enough to even begin to speculate. Quite frankly, after the crushing disappointment that a certain other King book has brought me, my reaction may be more about that other book than this one. /SPOILER
This is a good light read, but doesn't stack up at all against his great horror epics. This same book by another author would have been acceptable, but we know that Mr. King is capable of so much more.
I liked it alright. I have to admit, I had a reaction to the premise. It's a scary thought to have in your head every time the celly rings.
ReplyDeleteI think it was possibly my own reaction to the premise that engendered such a strong response in me. First I thought it was stupid, and then he started to develop it into something interesting, and then he says "screw it" and chucks the whole thing down a hole. With Stephen King, when I dislike something of his, it's more about the face that I'm usually disappointed because I know he's capable of more.
ReplyDeleteThis was one of those times.