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bgmylc's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Child death and Suicide
akira_outofthegravity's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Honestly really good, I’ll have more thoughts later maybe but until then know that I really enjoyed this. I would have loved to see the aftermath of the final act, but I understand why it was left the way it was. Exciting, sad, 4 stars!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, and Cannibalism
Moderate: Gore, Blood, and Grief
ricksilva's review against another edition
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
2.0
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 and Violence
Minor: Child death
aidenenjoysreading's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gore, Suicide, Violence, Blood, and Pandemic/Epidemic
abbeycat83's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
ryebread225's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
beccajay's review against another edition
dark
tense
slow-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? It's complicated
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
alliallialli's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Murder
ripxreads's review against another edition
King is doing his bottom two writing-isms: racist dog whistles and taking his characters on too long of a “journey” that we gain nothing from. We’ve borderline completely lost the point of the book, I’ve been confused for the last 50 pages, and something about the flow of this book is making it illegible to me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Islamophobia
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Animal cruelty
expertbooksmuggler's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Ya know- I get it. This book requires a certain level of suspension of disbelief considering alllll of the things that are going on. And the ending? I really do get why that frustrated other people.
But considering this is SK’s take on zombies of all things and its supposed to be fantastical and horrifying- I’m ok with both of those things. I dare say I even enjoy the ending.
I don’t often find that I consider SK’s characters lovable, but most characters in this book are lovable in their own ways. Some stay with you for a while and some leave a bit early, but each one of them made their impact. The relationships between them were particularly enjoyable.
This take on zombies is particularly interesting due to their abilities and the way they function as a group and interact with people. Not all of it makes complete sense, but I am personally ok with that. It made for a fun read with both heartwarming and heartbreaking moments.
But considering this is SK’s take on zombies of all things and its supposed to be fantastical and horrifying- I’m ok with both of those things. I dare say I even enjoy the ending.
I don’t often find that I consider SK’s characters lovable, but most characters in this book are lovable in their own ways. Some stay with you for a while and some leave a bit early, but each one of them made their impact. The relationships between them were particularly enjoyable.
This take on zombies is particularly interesting due to their abilities and the way they function as a group and interact with people. Not all of it makes complete sense, but I am personally ok with that. It made for a fun read with both heartwarming and heartbreaking moments.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Violence