Nick

In 2016 I picked up [b:Finders Keepers 23492589 Finders Keepers (Bill Hodges Trilogy, #2) Stephen King https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1469092087l/23492589.SY75.jpg 41884478] at an airport bookstore. It wasn't until after paying for it that I realized that that book was actually part two in a new series.Fast forward several years. I'm staring at my shelf and spot Finders Keepers again. I'm running out of new books to read so I finally order Mr Mercedes and begin to read it during the pandemic.Now I know that Stephen King likes to be a genre chameleon from time to time, but he often finds himself using familiar tropes for comfort. This particular book does start in true King fashion but then goes into a pretty tense cat-and-mouse game. A man runs over and kills several people at a job fair in a Mercedes; thus, he is given the nickname Mr Mercedes. Bill Hodges, a retired detective, starts getting taunted by the very same Mr M. This quickly escalates in a game of wits with Bill trying to stop the killer from striking again.Also notable in this book is the first appearance of Holly Gibney, a new fan favorite from this point on who now even has her own spinoff book [b:Holly 65916344 Holly Stephen King https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1674418461l/65916344.SY75.jpg 106237905].

I rather enjoyed this book. Gaiman has a way of writing characters like no one else. My biggest gripe is the portrayal of the New Gods. I think they were a good idea, but things like making Technology a spoiled brat kid just makes Neil seem like a grumpy old man yelling “Get off my lawn!” There were a couple other things I could nitpick, but overall I thought it was a fun ride from start to finish.

This may be my least favorite SK book I've read. Where to start? OK, the premise is decent. Although the Japanese horror film Pulse had already been out for some time and the American adaptation came out the same year, this one expands on the idea of technology and humanity warring with one another but swaps computers for cell phones. The key difference in Cell is that King comes off as a bitter technophobe. The book begins with a guy who just absolutely hates cell phones. In proper King fashion, a bunch of horrible stuff happens to those connected to the cell grid. I won't spoil anything, but he does a great job of setting the scenery for the rest of the book. From there, the story becomes flimsy nonsense and we're treated to one of the most head-scratching endings in the King-verse.

Quick rundown of the plot:
- Everybody is on their cell phone all the time
- Are zombies still cool?
- Antagonist named The __ Man (quite the SK trope there)
- ?
- Botched ending

One final thought: As with most any book about technology, the reader is treated with an outside-looking-in view of obsolescence 2 years after publishing. It's funny looking back knowing that King was writing about brick phones and not the smart phones of today. It makes me wonder what would happen in the story if everyone was on iPhones and Galaxys. Does the cell network include the Internet, too, or has the signal in Cell become obsolete as well?