Book Review: Cell

Cell by Stephen King
Release Date: January 2006
Publisher: Scribner
Audience: Adult/Mature
Pages: 480
Buy the Book: Amazon
Book Rating: 4/5









Alas, we have reached the last day of Stephen King week... If you are wondering why none of the Dark Tower books made an appearance, a couple reasons. 1. I haven't read any of them beyond The Gunslinger and...well...that's about it. The series is fairly well known, and I wanted to share other King offerings. That doesn't mean the series won't appear on this blog. . .

Bit of a shift today as I am looking at a more dystopic book and one of his more recent novels. Cell follows Clayton, an unsuccessful artist, as he tries to find his son during a technology-induced apocalypse. From Clayton's observations, using a cellphone essentially erases the human brain, much like a magnet on a hard drive. This creates a mass of humanity that is wild, unpredictable, violent, and later dangerous as the full potential of the human brain is unlocked and creates a group-mind populace with preternatural abilities. Along the way he ends up grouping together with a number of people and they try to find out how to turn humans back to normal while trying to find loved ones.

This book is a very visceral book, which I think affects the novel negatively. It's almost as if King wanted to write in all the blood and filth that many authors may not include in their 'artistic vision'. Does knowing that humans lost control of their bowels and crap their pants matter? No. Do I need to know the specifics of naked people running by the narrator or details of people bashing their faces in? No. (alas, King-itis affects this book with its cast of many). It may just be a personal beef, but blaring the humanity of humans in novels when it doesn't have direct bearing on the plot smacks of self-superiority. One could make the argument that it is a physical representation of the mind-wipe people experienced, but that is shown in so many other ways this feels extraneous and only serves as shock value.

That being said, King must have done something right because I read it when it came out and the novel, upon recollection, is still vivid in my mind, perhaps because of the realistic and visceral nature of the novel. The nature of the threats the main characters face change throughout the novel, and Clayton's quest to find his child amongst the wreckage of humanity is compelling. Also, the nature of humanity is discussed some as the main characters try to make sense of it all.

Beyond the shock value of the book, it was a vivid and fast read, well put together and is an interesting take on the many apocalypses (apocalypsi?) humankind may face, often from unexpected quarters.

Book Review: The Island of Dr. Moreau

The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells
Release Date: 1896
Publisher: Heinemann, Stone & Kimball
Audience: Everyone
Pages: 209
Read the Book: Project Gutenberg ; Kindle
Buy the Book: Amazon
Book Rating: 4.5/5








I suppose H.G. Wells has done more to incite my interest both in Anthropology and English than any other author to date. The Island of Dr. Moreau was no different, as it explored the possibilities of science and evolution much like his creation of the Morlocs and Eloi in The Time Machine. Relatively straightforward plot, The Island of Dr. Moreau follows Prendick (thank you for a name this time around Wells), a bourgeoisie victim of a shipwreck who lands on, as the title implies, an island run by a man calling himself Dr. Moreau.  The main brunt of the story follows Prendick as he slowly uncovers the truth of the island, dicussions with Dr. Moreau over what makes one 'human' and, eventually his attempts to escape the island as things turn for the worse.

If you have only seen one, or more, of the movie adaptations, I strongly suggest reading the book as the themes presented in the movies and the themes explored in the book are, while similar, more questioning, ambiguous, and deeper than those presented in the movies, especially the 1996 version, which I think went for shock value more than anything else. What is especially interesting to me is the moments where Prendick is in the village of the beast-men and encounters the Sayer of the Law, and Prendicks own thoughts on the blurring of man and beast and his own place within that spectrum.

Now, I don't want to ruin anything, but where the movies end, the book does not, and the book takes the plot in an interesting direction though, in the case of Wells, less is more. Further, we get a bit of an epilogue with Prendick back in England with the now tired claim that 'men are just animals in suits, etc, etc' but, understandably, was fresher in 1896.

The Island of Dr. Moreau is a shorter book for those on the go and a compelling read. If you have only seen the movies, or, more likely, the 1996 version, do yourself a favor and pick up this book. The movies don't do Wells justice.

Book Review: Oryx and Crake

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
Release Date: March 2004
Publisher: Doubleday
Audience: Everyone/Adult
Pages: 378
Buy the Book: Amazon
Book Rating: 4/5









Oryx and Crake is centered around a man called Jimmy from upper society. The story follows two distinct storylines 1. The 'present' where civilization has collapsed years prior and Jimmy (now known only as Snowman) is an old hermit and 2. A series of flashbacks of Jimmy's life from early childhood up to and including the apocalypse.

The story is primarily concerned with the relationship between the three main charcters: Jimmy, his best friend and genius Glenn, and the love interest between the two only known as Oryx. However, it also examines a number of societal issues generally focused around the notion of a immoral and desensitized civilization and what could become of the world should social, moral and ethical restrains become lifted (child pronography, live executions on television, extensive genetic tinkering with plants and animals, etc) Further, both Jimmy and Glenn are from the upper echelons of society (geneticists and their families are protected and given all the luxuries) while Oryx and the rest of the world try to survive, serve the needs to the massive genetic companies, and, to a large extent, consume and buy the products the companies tell them they should.

However, Glenn aka Crake soon becomes dissatisfied and then resentful of the society he lives in and humanity in general and starts genetically engineering a species of human he believes was the intended end result of our evolution, not human beings as we known them today. However, Jimmy is not only in competition with Glenn for Oryx's attentions, but also in a continuing debate between the two over what makes us human, ideas about civilization, and, ultimately, if mankind should survive.

While this book includes a lot of social commentary it is not heavy handed and comes across naturally in the book as the two almost opposites (Jimmy and Glenn) take each side of the argument throughout the book. The book is structured extremely well and keeps the reader wondering as to what happens next both in the books 'present' and in the past. Atwood has engineered an fascinating world in this book that explores the possibilities of science and society without restriction, and the dangers thereof. A good book and I recommend checking it out if you get the chance.

Short Story: The Birthmark

The Birthmark by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Release Date: March 1843
Publisher: The Pioneer
Audience: Everyone
Pages: 19
Read the Story Here: The Birthmark
Story Rating: 3.5/5







What was it with the 19th century and mad scientists bent upon the perfection of the human body? We had perhaps the most famous of all mad scientists-Dr. Frankenstein-create a monster in search of bodily perfection, and now we have Aylmer who, believing that the birthmark upon his wife's face represents the imperfections of nature, sets out to remove it using the technology of man.

Hawthorne, not one to skimp on symbolism in his tales (See "Young Goodman Brown") also packs a lot of symbolism into the three main characters: Aylmer (our resident mad scientist), Georgiana (his wife), and Aminadab (Aylmer's assistant). Further, how these characters are described, what they say, how they play off one another and, ultimately, their fate in the story have lead to multiple modes of interpretation and analysis of this story.

However, that aside, this short story is a good read insofar as watching Aylmer's descent from loving husband to almost brute dictator over his wife in his attempts to remove the birthmark and the extremes he will go to to remove it, proving man's superiority over nature. Much like Dr. Frankenstein, what starts out as an attempt towards perfection soon turns the opposite way and the bright future envisioned by Aylmer becomes dark indeed.

I recommend a read, I mean, its only 19 pages and if you have a little time between stops, this is a good short story to check out. If you are interested in something less digital, Hawthorne did publish this short story in Mosses from an Old Manse in 1846 and the collection also includes "Young Goodman Brown", another excellent short story from Hawthorne. Check it out on Amazon.