How come Daghain?
The Stand
Cell
Both equally
Neither
How come Daghain?
2:45 am- 11th February 2008- I Finished The Dark Tower
It's a far superior book. Good plot, great character studies, just all around better. It's like comparing Poe to a Marvel Comic.
"People, especially children, aren't measured by their IQ. What's important about them is whether they're good or bad, and these children are bad." ~ Alan Bernard
"You needn't die happy when your day comes, but you must die satisfied, for you have lived your life from beginning to end and ka is always served." ~ Roland Deschain
I have not read Cell yet. It is the next King book for me to read. However, I will vote because there is absolutely, not even the remotest possible chance that it comes even close to The Stand. Ever. No chance.
Was I clear on my opinion?
Totally, and I believe that can be comfortably said. But read Cell, its actually quite good imo.
The kindness of close friends is like a warm blanket
Honestly Matt, there aren't many King books I don't enjoy so I'm sure I will like it. But, honestly, like R_of_G said, this poll will not even be close. I can't believe somebody even said they are equal.
The Stand hands down.
I have truly worn out 5 copies of the stand already... I should have saved one to send to SK to sign but it's okay... I'll wear out another one for him to sign...
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The Stand, hands down. I love that book. You are right, there is not to many books that could win against The Stand. I love the plot of the stand, most of the characters and of course the connections to the dark tower. Cell was a good book and I enjoyed it. But cannot stand against The Stand.
Boy, that's something you don't hear often about a Stephen King book.Originally Posted by NeedfulKings
The Stand, no question. For all the reasons listed thus far and a certain je ne sais quois.
It'll take a lot more than words and guns,
A whole lot more than riches and muscle.
The hands of the many must join as one.
And together we'll cross the river.
Puscifer, "The Humbling River"
don't get me wrong. I did like the cell. But it was just another take on the whole "end of days" thing.
Matter of fact, I don't think I ever answered my cell phone while reading it or for hours after words.
The Tardis (Time And Relative Dimension(s) In Space) duh!
Before I get into my post, I understand that everyone will disagree with me.
I voted for Cell because I think it demonstrates King's reservations about technology much more clearer than the Stand. The characterizations are not as strong as the Stand, but part of that is only do to its brevity. One of the common critiques about the Stand unabridged is that the added parts really don't supplement the text in any substantive way. I think this is due to the fact that the text contains far too many unnecessary passages to begin with. A lot of the Stand is disjointed for me, sub plots within subplots, and upon my fairly recent re-read, I decided I didn't like it very much. Cell had a defined plot (action via Aristotle) and everything else at his disposal in terms of writing was subservient to a defined moral impression that he was trying to get across. While I appreciate spontaneous whimsical writing, sometimes it becomes self defeating when perspective is lost. I found Cell much more cogent in terms of ideology, and that is the sign of a mature writer in my opinion.
i won't/can't debate the subjective opinions of which book is "better" bc we are each to our own there, but the critique of the unabridged is way off as i see it. in the abridged version the voyage of the Trashcan man is disjointed and makes no sense. In the unabridged it is cohesive and he makes a MUCH better character. I think this is very important to the overall cohesiveness the story.
I liked the added trashcan man stuff Jayson. Maybe my favorite part, but an exception to what I was saying, in my opinion.
They are hard to compare. The Stand is a tale of epic proportions in all categories. Cell, while I liked it a lot, is more of a very entertaining and well produced zombie movie (but in book format).
It's like comparing the movie version of The Lord of the Rings with Dawn of the living dead (the original). Both are extremely good for what it's set out to be. But if you have to choose which of the two that is the very best, The Lord of the Rings win by far.
Banned. Don't come back.
Just kidding jude...you're still awesome!
After all, CK likes that monstrosity Insomnia and I still like him.
:hangs head in shame:
Its strange, the critique that I gave the Stand above could easily be applied to the gunslinger as well, but I love it despite disjointed feel.
Folks, I love the Stand, but I stand by my critique (no pun intended). I read somewhere that King himself was pretty sick of it and put it down for a number of months before picking it back up again, not sure how to keep the story flowing (this is when he wrote the scene where the bomb takes out a number of the good guys- he needed something to keep the plot going). King was also very surprised that so many people embraced it. I think Cell hits a very similar thematic nerve in the collective conscience of modern America, but it doesn't have the same novelty of the Stand.
I'm sure I'll like Cell when I read it.
I agree that Cell hits a similar nerve, but I disagree that it was novelty that made The Stand better.
In The Stand, we meet and come to care about characters who are experiencing the event from many perspectives-most especially geographically. Cell seemed a more isolated event (to me, anyhow) because the characters were all in one general area of the after-effects. I guess I'm trying to say The Stand felt more "grand" or "epic" to me due to there being so many characters in so many places going through the same disaster.
Ladysai, I meant novelty in the sense that apocalyptic fiction wasn't as popular in the early eighties. The Stand is one of the reasons that the genre is over done today. If it was written today, I'm not sure that it would have the same impact.
Love the Blake quote.
I wasnt sure this was even a serious question(poll).
The Stand wins for certain in my opinion.
The answer is within
all matter is energy, all energy is GOD
Hm. Maybe so. I wasnt really thinking in terms of when it was published.
Thankee.Love the Blake quote.
how is that relevant to the result we have (the book)?
Ask not what bears can do for you, but what you can do for bears. (razz)
When one is in agreement with bears one is always correct. (mae)
bears are back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Its relevant in at least 2 ways:
1) I was indelibly aware that King had lost his way and so it was hard for me to be captive by a story that was struggling itself to remain alive.
2) King was surprised and after some discussion last night with my roomate I think I know why. Due to the weakness of the plot (in terms of linear dynamic) the characters of the story are exceptionally strong because so much information is given about them. Perhaps King recognized (due in part to reader response) that this was one of his exceptional gifts. I think IT is a much better example of a combination of strong characters and a strong plot. So many parts of the Stand are anti-climactic because nothing could really stop the momentum of the characters (it took an ex deus machina in the form of the hand of God to end the novel). I'm glad the Stand happened, because I think it taught him a lot about writing. I often think of the Stand when I read the opening essay to the revised Gunslinger and King talks about the original having a lot of the problems associated with young writers. I see a lot of the problems (I use this word loosely, King's not mine) magnified with the Stand because it is so much longer. The Stand is a book by a young writer, that's really all I'm saying. For that reason its stronger and weaker, full of brave pretension but also naive brashness. The same disparity between the Gunslinger and the rest of the DT books is analogous to the Stand and Cell (at least in regards to my aforementioned posts).
Hope this explains it Jean.
Good morning everyone.
Okay first of all i sugested to mark it was pointless to even think about posting this. I knew the poll would turn out like this.
But Cell regardless, i just really enjoyed reading it i finshed it in like a week.
With the stand, well it bored me to put it simply, i didnt even finish the book.
So ill ask another question, ive never really looked that deaply but i notice that a lot of you guys HATE Cell with a passion.
I would like to ask why?
If you love me, then love me-Susan of mejis
See the turtle, aint he keen? All things serve the fucking beam-Eddie of NewYork
You burn prettily-Corwin of Amber
I don't hate Cell at all. I think it's a fantastic book. Hell, Tom McCourt is one of the best non-DT characters I've seen King pump out in a while.
But The Stand is simply greater, more epic, and better all around.
"I aim to misbehave."
-- Malcolm Reynolds
"I am a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar."
-- Hoban Washburne
"What does that make us?"
"Big damn heroes, sir."
"Ain't we just."
-- Malcolm Reynolds and Zoe Washburne
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.
Ask not what bears can do for you, but what you can do for bears. (razz)
When one is in agreement with bears one is always correct. (mae)
bears are back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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