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Now that the storyline has been drawn out by other reviewers and the opinions have been given out copiously I'll add my own. Being someone whose written a book myself I can say that any writing endeavor, no matter how accomplished (or not) you may be, the book will always tell its own tale. Stephen King has always lived up to his capabilities, and in some instances surpassed them. It appears at first glance that what SK has done with Cell is make a mockery and a statement of his disdain for cell phone toting civilians the world over. On a second, more examined glance, you begin to see that his is another potential cautionary tale. It seems that throughout the ages all masterful story tellers have written about topics which they themselves have a certain unease about. I won't say this is because of ignorance because that would be woefully untrue, and unfair. I will say it is because of imagination. Whenever I read a story by anyone I look for the method in which the storyline, the overall path or road if you will, is being conveyed. It looks like Stephen King has once again been capable of not losing me as a reader to his yarn. In the process of reading Cell you get the sense of good old fashioned hokery, as I call it. It just seems like a modernized 80's movie of the mind. What I like best, and perhaps what most die hard fans like best too, is the way in which you begin to feel for the characters. They are far from stagnant beings of his creation. You begin to identify with them because you find yourself thinking, "Hey, that's exactly what I think about this situation". He knows that, which is part of his genius, and that's why people love his work. And I would have to agree that it is (sort of) a second rate "The Stand" because it feels as if the author is losing steam. He's already said the things he's wanted to say in all his other novels. And while admiring him for his truly prolific nature it may not be good enough for some of you people reading this and other reviews. You may not want to indulge that much of your time in a story that doesn't take you much further or give your mind more substance for contemplation. Then again, this book is great while you're on a flight somewhere because everything...oh wait, I was going to say everything happens on land from the reader's perspective. Maybe it's best to just read this one at night, with just enough light to read the book by.Read full review
CELL BY STEPHEN KING: Cell is Stephen King's first horror novel since he completed his epic "Dark Tower" series. In the middle of writing the last two books in the series he was asked what he'd be writing about next and his response had been something to the effect of: "I'm never writing another book again!" That's what happens when you ask a guy about writing when he's drowning in thousands of pages and hundreds of thousands of words. But now some years and much needed rest and recovery later, Cell takes technology and cell phones to a whole new level: zombies! With the opening line, "The event that came to be known as The Pulse began a 3:03 p.m., eastern standard time, on the afternoon of October 1," the reader is immediately dragged into the thrall of the book, which is unusual since King usually takes up to fifty pages to get started with his books. "The Pulse" is an electromagnetic signal sent through cell phones, so anyone using their phone at that point is immediately affected, the result being their mind is completely wiped. What's left? Our primitive, primordial thoughts and reactions, which are little to none; the result: zombies! Clayton Riddell has just landed his first huge lucrative comic book deal and is ready to return home to Kent Pond in Maine to his wife -- who is drifting away from him -- and his son to tell them everything is going to be okay, but then the pulse hits and pandemonium erupts: zombies! Clay has only one goal in mind: to get to his wife, and more importantly his son and make sure he's alive and well. He consoles himself with the terror of knowing his son has a shiny red cellphone, though the last time Clay saw it, it was under his son's bed, forgotten; then again with everything that's happened, his son might have chosen to keep his cell phone handy. With the help of a homosexual middle-aged man and a fifteen year old girl, they make their slow journey north through New Hampshire and on to Maine. Somehow the reader is supposed to just take it for given the fact that the other two have little interest in going anywhere else except to see Clay's son and wife. They soon discover that the zombies are very human in one way: they sleep at night and for some reason like easy listening music while they are in this "resting state," which involves packing together like sardines in a big arena or gym and just lying there, eyes open, doing nothing. Strange zombies! As the novel progresses, through a process of elimination, it is discovered that the zombies are telepathic, work on a "hive mind" system, and also possess some psychic power that allows the "phonies" to talk through "normies" using their mouths. It is also revealed that there is a protected reserve in Maine called Kashwak where there is no cellphone reception (KASHWAK=NO-FO), and therefore a place of refuge for the normies. It is there the group is headed (other members are added), destroying "flocks" of phonies along the way, and are in fact pulled there with the psychic power of the phonies, who's spokesperson is a zombie they call the Raggedy Man. As Clay discovers that his wife and son are already near Kashwak, they all head there, knowing that the reserve will be the final showdown between the normies and the phonies. The question is whether humanity will triumph, or whether homo sapiens sapiens will be reduced to zombies! As Cell got into full swing, I was hoping for something a little more epic, though I kind of figured this wouldn't happenRead full review
Stephen King's newest novel is a violent, brutal, unflinching look at the possibilities of "brainwave interference." Cell follows Clayton Riddell, a comic-book writer, on his journey to find his wife and son in Kent Pond, Maine from Boston. Along the journey, Clay meets up with Tom McCourt, who is the best character in the book. Tom is an intelligent, emotional, thoughtful man who truly bonds with Clay and Alice, the teenager they also find in Boston and take along with them. I wouldn't call this book a "zombie book." The phone crazies are not really zombies, in the general sense of the term, at all. They have some small ability to think and communicate, and have a clear purpose. What starts out as random violence and destruction turns into a specimen of group think, reducing our technologically-advanced society to a vast landscape of rainforest. There are no rules. You aren't safe, and you don't know what you are in danger from and what you aren't. The world that King paints is a scary one. Coming from the viewpoint from a few protagonists, the reader can still get a personal feel from the book, unlike a book that would try and paint a picture of the entire world, and what was happening everywhere. In fact, we don't get an outside viewpoint at all throughout the book, we are just left to assume about what is going on outside of the northeast region of the U.S. The book starts out on an amazing note. When the Pulse goes out, all Hell breaks loose, and King writes with a style of violence that is second to no other. I have never felt as much of a sense of chaos as the opening pages of Cell. However, after about the first 100 pages, the book slows down a great deal. The middle part of the book is definitely the weakest. Filled mostly with the character's musings about what is going on, and thinking about those they have had to leave behind. Not much action takes place in the middle third of the book, and that hurts the breakneck pace that the first part sets. The third part of the book, when the group sets out on the final part of their journey, it returns to the pacing that doesn't let you put the book down even for a second. King is one of the only writers that I know of that can still have the reader completely guessing as to what is going to happen with only 20 pages left to read. This isn't one of King's elite novels, but it definitely was a really fun, interesting read.Read full review
tephen King's newest novel is a violent, brutal, unflinching look at the possibilities of "brainwave interference." Cell follows Clayton Riddell, a comic-book writer, on his journey to find his wife and son in Kent Pond, Maine from Boston. Along the journey, Clay meets up with Tom McCourt, who is the best character in the book. Tom is an intelligent, emotional, thoughtful man who truly bonds with Clay and Alice, the teenager they also find in Boston and take along with them. I wouldn't call this book a "zombie book." The phone crazies are not really zombies, in the general sense of the term, at all. They have some small ability to think and communicate, and have a clear purpose. What starts out as random violence and destruction turns into a specimen of group think, reducing our technologically-advanced society to a vast landscape of rainforest. There are no rules. You aren't safe, and you don't know what you are in danger from and what you aren't. The world that King paints is a scary one. Coming from the viewpoint from a few protagonists, the reader can still get a personal feel from the book, unlike a book that would try and paint a picture of the entire world, and what was happening everywhere. In fact, we don't get an outside viewpoint at all throughout the book, we are just left to assume about what is going on outside of the northeast region of the U.S. The book starts out on an amazing note. When the Pulse goes out, all Hell breaks loose, and King writes with a style of violence that is second to no other. I have never felt as much of a sense of chaos as the opening pages of Cell. However, after about the first 100 pages, the book slows down a great deal. The middle part of the book is definitely the weakest. Filled mostly with the character's musings about what is going on, and thinking about those they have had to leave behind. Not much action takes place in the middle third of the book, and that hurts the breakneck pace that the first part sets. The third part of the book, when the group sets out on the final part of their journey, it returns to the pacing that doesn't let you put the book down even for a second. King is one of the only writers that I know of that can still have the reader completely guessing as to what is going to happen with only 20 pages left to read. This isn't one of King's elite novels, but it definitely was a really fun, interesting read.Read full review
Although I was overjoyed when I heard King was coming out with another novel, I am sorry to say I was slightly disappointed. Being a King fan since my high school years, I've read every piece of fiction that he has published, wheter under his name or that of Richard Bachman. The Stand, in my opinion the best he's ever written, is revisted in Cell. A watered-down, rewritten version of the heart-stopping, page turning original. In The Stand, you fell in love with the characters, in Cell, you'll kinda like them. In The Stand, you couldn't wait to find out what happened next, in Cell, you'll leave the book in the car and read it on your lunch hour or while you're waiting for your kid to get out of school. It's not the worst, I was entertained and felt it was worth reading. I still have to admit I subscribe to the position that any Stephen King is better than none. Worth reading, yeah, but wait for the paperback or buy it used. Don't pay top dollar for a badly reinvented version ot "The Stand"Read full review
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