Cell

by Stephen King

Hardcover, 709 pages

English language

Published Nov. 12, 2006 by Thorndike Press.

ISBN:: 978-0-7862-8568-6
OCLC Number:: 769474595

Clayton Riddell, an artist from Maine, has just landed a deal that might finally enable him to support his family by making art instead of teaching it. He's already picked up a small (but expensive!) gift for his wife, and he knows just what he'll get for his boy, Johnny. Clay's feeling good about the future. That changes in a hurry...The cause of the devastation is a phenomenon that will come to be known as The Pulse, and the delivery method is a cell phone. Everyone's cell phone. Clay and the few despearate survivors who join him suddenly find themselves in the pitc-black night of civilization's darkest age, surrounded by chaos, carnage, and a human horde that has been reduced to its basest nature. There's really no escaping this nightmare. Stephen King's utterly gripping, gory, and fascinating novel doesn't just ask the question "Can you hear me now?" It answers …

31 editions

TomeAlone reviewed Cell: A Novel by Stephen King

None

3 stars

Overall, the characters weren’t as strong as Uncle Steve’s usual cast. Nobody really popped, with the exception of the three main characters and their friendship. That was solid. It is a sort of zombie apocalypse tale, but if you’re looking for carnage and sieges and battles against the living dead, this won’t satisfy. Very little of that.

It does have one of the most difficult death scenes I’ve read in a while, and the final few pages are particularly emotionally wrenching. So, no real complaints, …

I liked it, though, I suspect if you’re not a fan of Uncle Steve, it won’t convert you. And, yes, it does retread some of the material of The Stand, though not much. The Stand is a reading journey, and it covers a lot of ground. In contrast, Cell is much more brief. It’s not shallow, but it’s considerably less hefty.

Overall, the characters weren’t as strong as Uncle Steve’s usual cast. Nobody really popped, with the exception of the three main characters and their friendship. That was solid. It is a sort of zombie apocalypse tale, but if you’re looking for carnage and sieges and battles against the living dead, this won’t satisfy. Very little of that.

It does have one of the most difficult death scenes I’ve read in a while, and the final few pages are particularly emotionally wrenching. So, no real complaints, and it’s a swift, easy read. I ripped through it in about a day and a half.