"Cell" ensures that I will never own a cell phone
Don’t look at me weird when I say that I’ve never owned a cell phone. I can see how a cell phone would come in handy at times, but I you couldn’t even give me one of the things. This is especially true now that I’ve read "Cell," Stephen King’s latest horror novel.
The 384-page book, published in January by Scribner, begins with Clayton Riddell, a struggling young comic book artist, who has finally caught a break. He’s just landed a major comic book deal with DarkHorse Comics, a deal that promises a nice, money-fat payday for Riddell and his family.
During the walk back to his Boston hotel, fresh from his triumphant meeting with his new publisher, Riddell decides that a little celebration is in order. He has already bought a gift for his wife and decides to treat himself to some ice cream on the city’s famous Boston Common.
As he waits in line at the ice cream truck, Riddell’s life, and the lives of everyone else on Earth, is about to change forever.
Somebody, somewhere, triggers what the survivors will later call "The Pulse," a signal sent out over the global cell phone network. At that moment, anyone using a cell phone has their mind wiped clean by the signal, stripping them of all reason and humanity, locking them into a merciless homicidal frenzy. Their cell phones have turned them into zombies.
In a matter of minutes, civilization crumbles as the masses of "phoner" victims begin attacking each other and any unaltered "normals" in sight.
Riddell and two other survivors escape Boston as it burns to the ground and decide to travel across New England to find Riddell’s wife and son, who are back home in Maine. This journey is only made more difficult when the "phoners" begin to rapidly change, evolving into something even more inhuman and deadly than your run-of-the-mill zombie. As it would turn out, the bloodletting has only just begun.
I liked the book for more than one reason. First, I hadn’t read anything by Stephen King in a couple of years and reading "Cell" was sort of like having a long talk with an old friend. I also enjoyed the book because it offered a fresh, new look at two horror-novel topics that have been written about ad nauseam – zombies and the end of the world.
Will "Cell" be read 100 years from now? Maybe, but I doubt it. Let’s face it. The book is what it is, a book about people who are turned into zombies by their cell phones. Don’t get me wrong, the book was a lot of fun to read, but I don’t think anyone will consider it a classic 100 years from today.
In the end, the book was a lot of fun to read, and if you’re looking for an entertaining book, check out "Cell" when you get a chance. On a scale of 1 to 10, I’d give the book an 8.5.
The 384-page book, published in January by Scribner, begins with Clayton Riddell, a struggling young comic book artist, who has finally caught a break. He’s just landed a major comic book deal with DarkHorse Comics, a deal that promises a nice, money-fat payday for Riddell and his family.
During the walk back to his Boston hotel, fresh from his triumphant meeting with his new publisher, Riddell decides that a little celebration is in order. He has already bought a gift for his wife and decides to treat himself to some ice cream on the city’s famous Boston Common.
As he waits in line at the ice cream truck, Riddell’s life, and the lives of everyone else on Earth, is about to change forever.
Somebody, somewhere, triggers what the survivors will later call "The Pulse," a signal sent out over the global cell phone network. At that moment, anyone using a cell phone has their mind wiped clean by the signal, stripping them of all reason and humanity, locking them into a merciless homicidal frenzy. Their cell phones have turned them into zombies.
In a matter of minutes, civilization crumbles as the masses of "phoner" victims begin attacking each other and any unaltered "normals" in sight.
Riddell and two other survivors escape Boston as it burns to the ground and decide to travel across New England to find Riddell’s wife and son, who are back home in Maine. This journey is only made more difficult when the "phoners" begin to rapidly change, evolving into something even more inhuman and deadly than your run-of-the-mill zombie. As it would turn out, the bloodletting has only just begun.
I liked the book for more than one reason. First, I hadn’t read anything by Stephen King in a couple of years and reading "Cell" was sort of like having a long talk with an old friend. I also enjoyed the book because it offered a fresh, new look at two horror-novel topics that have been written about ad nauseam – zombies and the end of the world.
Will "Cell" be read 100 years from now? Maybe, but I doubt it. Let’s face it. The book is what it is, a book about people who are turned into zombies by their cell phones. Don’t get me wrong, the book was a lot of fun to read, but I don’t think anyone will consider it a classic 100 years from today.
In the end, the book was a lot of fun to read, and if you’re looking for an entertaining book, check out "Cell" when you get a chance. On a scale of 1 to 10, I’d give the book an 8.5.
posted by Lee Peacock at 11:53 AM
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