- Cell by Stephen King
- Available from Scribner
- 449 Pages, Hardcover
- Originally Published January, 2006
- ISBN 0-7432-9233-2
The Plot
According to the blurb on the official website:
What happens on the afternoon of October 1 came to be known as the Pulse, a signal sent though every operating cell phone that turns its user into something...well, something less than human. Savage, murderous, unthinking – and on a wanton rampage. Terrorist act? Cyber prank gone haywire?
It really doesn't matter, not to the people who avoided the technological attack. What matters to them is surviving the aftermath. Before long, a band of them – "normies" is how they think of themselves – have gathered on the grounds of Gaiten Academy, where the headmaster and one remaining student have something awesome and terrifying to show them on the school's moonlit soccer field. Clearly there can be no escape. The only option is to take them on.
CELL is classic Stephen King, a story of gory horror and white-knuckling suspense that makes the unimaginable entirely plausible and totally fascinating.
The Pulse is Here
After the 'Pulse', as described above, is unleashed on the world, society as we know it unravels completely, man turning against man and acting more like animals than civilized beings. It's almost like a zombie outbreak in that the 'infected' have no higher brain function and are only concerned with survival. The story that we follow through the narrative is that of a small band of survivors, struggling to deal with the end of the world.
It's an interesting idea, inspired, certainly, but still a little bit preachy, Cell is probably one of the better books by King that has come out in recent years--which is somewhat sad in itself. By no means is the idea of an apocalypse such as this a new one, but this one is executed in such a way that it feels like a public service announcement:
"Don't use cell phones, they rot your brain!"
However, King deserves praise for introducing some pretty fresh characters in comparison to the hundreds of identical ones he's seemingly produced over the past few decades. Though the Stephen King staple of The Writer Main Character is still around (as it was also in It, The Tommyknockers, The Shining, Misery--one gets the sense that a pattern is making itself known here), the supporting cast feels new and different, making the tired cliche a little bit less so.
Also, the novel serves as thinly veiled social commentary, which is glib, amusing and sometimes downright cutting--but never maliciously so. Cell pokes fun--granted, horrific fun--at our dependence as a society on cell phones.
Certain scenes are composed beautifully, showing why King has been considered a master at his craft for so long, but others--some which should be very emotionally potent--fall flat or didn't get the attention that they deserved, blending in with others.
It's a quick read, and though it loses a little steam towards the end, it will keep you interested and entertained; but despite its underlying tone of commenting on our society, it's not going to change your life or offer any deep, philosophical messages that will prove thought provoking.
All in all, Cell is fun, fast paced and a great story to breeze through, plain and simple
Lydia Ballard - A writer who got her start in the perilous world of fan fiction, Lydia Ballard is an aspiring comic book writer and self proclaimed lover ...
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