Cell or The Stand? Small chance of spoilers.

[alinda]

Right on Jean. By the way, I enjoyed both books.
Just one more than the other.
Ryan, Heavy. I'd like to at your house for breakfast.
Interesting topic of conversation to say the least.

[OchrisO]

I prefer The Stand, because the ending of Cell was a big steaming pile of shit. Had the ending not sucked so much, it would have been an amazing book, though, and I probably would have voted for it.

[obscurejude]

Jean, I was mostly using his comments to provide more evidence for my position, which would remain the same regardless of what he said or didn't say. Authorial intent is difficult to ascertain, but I think its important and relevant. I'm not sure I like your distinction between author and artifact. I found it interesting that half of King's treatise On Writing is about him, biographical tidbits about the author, and not just writing as a craft. I'd be remiss not to read what he, himself, has written about his own works in order to understand them better. The compartmentalization that you seem to espouse is distinctly modern, and as a postmodernist, I'm inclined to disagree. I would love to expand on that point, but it would distract from this thread. Suffice it to say, that I argue for unanimity between author and artifact because they arise from the same things and are not mutually exclusive. I am his reader, but I'm also a student of literature and desire to understand the whole process, not just the end result.

Alinda, you're welcome to eat breakfast at my house anytime.

[Ka-tet]

I prefer The Stand, because the ending of Cell was a big steaming pile of shit. Had the ending not sucked so much, it would have been an amazing book, though, and I probably would have voted for it.

I both loved and hated the ending. I also kind of expected it >.<

[Sam]

While I enjoyed Cell and thought it was an excellent story, it falls far short in both depth and scope when compared to The Stand. The Stand is a story that deals with the very nature of Good and Evil. The lives of the people within are fully realized in a way that only a book of such immensity as The Stand can allow. Comparing The Stand to Cell is like comparing a 300 page novel with a 50 page short story. There is just not enough room in the short story for it to compare to the richness of the novel. The story can be good, have no doubt, but it's not long enough to learn as much about the character.

Compare It to The Stand. Compare Pet Semetary to Cell. That Stand and It stand alone and together against the rest of King's work. It is the ultimate boogeyman story, and The Stand is the ultimate Good v. Evil story. There is no comparison against that. Just my thoughts mind you.

[towerguard]

The Stand, by a WIDE margin. The Stand is, in my opinion, the best non-DT book King ever wrote. Cell, in my opinion, is the single worst thing King ever wrote [well, maybe Lisey's Story, but still]. I think there's no real comparison. The Stand is something I re-read at least every five years. Cell I could not even finish I hated it so much. I suspect this poll is going to be a runaway victory for The Stand, we shall see...

Exactly, Cell was the book that ruined SK for me, and The Stand was the book that hooked me.

[Ves'Ka Gan]

The Stand...
I will quote someone from another board... The Cell is like The Stand's annoying little brother.

I think this sums it up for me!

I enjoyed Cell a lot, but I kept feeling like I had been there before, and had a lot more fun the first time!

[Ledzepplinrules]

I like The Stand(still reading it) but, I loved cell.

[MonteGss]

Nearly 83% for The Stand.
No surprise there.

[obscurejude]

Being in the minority has never bothered me before.

[Heather19]

These 2 books aren't even really comparable. It's no surprise The Stand is winning.
I agree with Sam Catoe. Put The Stand up against It and I'm curious which will come out on top.

[obscurejude]

These 2 books aren't even really comparable.

Care to elaborate? I think I've made several comparable points, whether they are the majority opinion or not.

[Heather19]

I pretty much agree with everything Sam Catoe said a few posts up. I think that putting the 2 against each other is like comparing a novel to a short story. Whether or not the short story is good, the novel will in most cases win.

The Stand is about 5 times as long as Cell, so there is so much more room to go into depth about the characters. And after reading a novel of that length, you're most likely by the end of story going to have grown very attached to them. It also has the ability to cover more characters and events because it has the room to. Whereas Cell is almost put at a handicap because it doesn't have the means to go as deeply as it could, as say if it was The Stands length.

Put It up against The Stand and I think you've got a more even playing field. They're both epic long novels, and considered to be some of Kings greatest works.

[obscurejude]

You should read my posts, again, there are comparable points.

[mdcphoto]

I was a bigger fan of the Stand over Cell. With that said Cell to me was still a good book! I couldn't put it down and just got sucked into the world they were involved in at that time.

The Stand though was the the first book of Stephen Kings that I read and I guess that automatically puts it ahead of a lot of books. So much depth to the book which gives it an advantage over other books, including Cell.

[Mordred Deschain]

This movie just came out on DVD I believe, it's called "The Signal" here is the intro: As glasses are raised for a New Year's Eve toast, the denizens of the city of Terminus fall prey to a mysterious transmission that pulses through all electronic devices and transforms rational, sane people into murderous, rampaging psychopaths. All forms of communication have been jammed, and now the airwaves have been saturated with an ominous signal that preys on fear and deep-rooted desire. Though Terminus was once a city defined by conformity, any semblance of order in this concrete jungle has now been replaced with screaming, bloody chaos. Fortunately, Ben has managed to avoid having his brain scrambled by the signal, and now he's determined to make his way through the bedlam that's sweeping the streets and rescue the woman he loves. It's not going to be an easy task, though, and in order to sweep his love to safety, Ben will first have to face off against her rabid husband. In a city where everyone seems to have lost their mind, the only way Ben will be able to determine who he can trust and who has given in to their bloodlust is to find out the true origins of this ominous broadcast.

does this sound somewhat familiar?

The Cell ?

[obscurejude]

obscure: I see what you mean regarding the Stand; I still don't see how whatever King said or didn't say can have any bearing on that. We're not his psychoanalists or therapists, we're his readers. We have to do with the result of his work only, not with anything it occured to him to say about it. Inspiration works differently every time it works at all, and I see no reason why this time it wouldn't have worked through the author's periods of disappointment, sickness or whatever else he saw fit to make known.

Did you see my response to this? I'd be interested in your thoughts.

[Jean]

of course I read it immediately after you posted... it is increasingly hard for me to take part in intelligent discussion; I still hope this condition is temporary, but now I frankly don't know.

[obscurejude]

of course I read it immediately after you posted... it is increasingly hard for me to take part in intelligent discussion; I still hope this condition is temporary, but now I frankly don't know.

Jean, I really don't know how to respond to this. I'm sorry you're having troubles and always feel free to pm me and know that I'll be thinking about you. For the record, your posts are the most astute for me personally that I have come across and I always look forward to reading them.

[Jean]

[kirin]

i voted equal but that is mostly because i dont see how these two books can be compared the only similarity between the two is the author the stories cant be compared there are no similarities

[Matt]

I totally agree Kirin, apples and oranges imo.

I suppose people try and tie them together as post apocalypse type books but that is so very general when considering them.

One is about good and evil the other is about the potential to "reboot" the human brain.

[Heather19]

And I completely agree with both of you guys. I really don't see much of a similarity between the two.

[kirin]

i got lucky hardback longer version of the stand charity shop 10p thats somewhere around 5 cents

[alinda]

GET OUT of here! *starts browsing charity shops*