Cell

A Novel

By: Stephen King

Narrated by: Campbell Scott

Length: 12 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

On October 1st, God is in His heaven, the stock market stands at 10,140, most of the planes are on time, and Clayton Riddell, an artist from Maine, is almost bouncing up Boylston Street in Boston. He's just landed a comic book deal that might finally enable him to support his family by making art instead of teaching it. He's already picked up a gift for his long-suffering wife, and he knows just what he'll get for his boy Johnny. Why not a little treat for himself? 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 desperate survivors who join him suddenly find themselves in the pitch-black night of civilization's darkest age, surrounded by chaos, carnage, and a human horde that has been reduced to its basest nature...and then begins to evolve.

There are 193 million cell phones in the United States alone. Who doesn't have one? Stephen King's utterly gripping, gory, and fascinating novel doesn't just ask the question "Can you hear me now?" It answers it with a vengeance.

©2006 Stephen King (P)2006 Simon & Schuster

Critic reviews

"King's imagining of what is more or less post-Armageddon Boston is rich, and the sociological asides made by his characters along the way...are jaunty and witty." (Publishers Weekly)

cell

Good King fare, a good spin on zombie fare, definitely different one anyway. With zombies actually being alive. Short, fast, and furious. I wish it would have ended little happier instead of the make ur own judgement on his son end. Also with me a new father the ending had alot of emotion to me as I kno that I would have done same as clay. well worth the time and $.

Excellent listening...

Very good audiobook. The storyline kept me coming back for more, although I was a bit disappointed in the ending. I enjoyed knowing the characters and felt almost a sense of knowing and/or loss in their circumstances.

Recommend this book for zombie lovers!

I wasn't crazy about the ending... but that aside.... it exceeded my expectations and I really enjoyed (not the right word?) was glad I read this book. I recommend it. Very Walking Dead-ish and really made me think.

Cell by Stephen King

Wow......exciting listen.....had trouble putting it down. A bit gorey but like I am finding out, Stephen keeps you on the edge of your seat, brings in some twists and turns, then brings you back to the main story line.....hard to guess where he is taking you next. I highly recommend this to everyone, unless you are squimish....but hey, it is after all Stephen King, right. :-) Careful of that cell phone ring.....are you sure you want to answer it?

Compelling, but ultimately unsatisfying

Great concept, but similar in concept to Neal Stephenson's "Snow Crash". Even more ubiquitous than a computer screen, cell phones are the perfect vector for the signal that turns people into mindless zombies. The story is typical King road trip fare, with the standard stereotypical characters, but with a few twists along the way.

Maybe its just me, but the ending left me unsatisfied. Ultimately, there is no resolution, no clue as to what can possibly happen, or even WHY things happened in the first place. Probably more realistic, but whats the point of reading a story where the loose ends aren't tied up? Looks like he's leaving his options open for a sequel.

The ending was a joke.

that's about it. it was good until the end and that just ruined it. sad

Classic Stephen King

I had been a Stephen King fan for many years. After his accident his writing seemed to change,(Stephen King v2.0), a little to far out for my taste.
Cell is what I will call classic Stephen King. To me this ranks right up there with "The Stand". I think this would make a better read than listen; although it did make my 100 mile daily commute much better.
While the narrator was good, they still need a female voice for those parts. If you like the old Stephen King, buy this book, you will not be disappointed.

Above Average King

I had to try this book to see if King was up to the task lately and found it satisfying. I was always on edge and found the story to flow very well. The narrator did a great job to get across the morbid thoughts and armageddon-type mythos going on here. This was a good one to listen to while not ground-breaking.

Gory end of the world yarn.

If you don't mind a little bit of gore with your end of the world scenario, then this is a good book to listen to. The narrator does a good job at distinguishing subtley between characters with just his voice and keeps it lively. King does reach Alot for this plot but is still interesting if you don't study his science too closely. The action keeps moving through the story and has a couple tie ins to his dark tower series. Enjoy, but keep your airsick bag near.

I love the premise ...

And am therefore giving this a 4. I love the idea of this pervasive and invasive bit of technology being the instrument of such destruction and chaos. I haven't read a Stephen King book in a long time, but felt like this was worth a listen to. There are moments that it drags on and seems a bit repetetive as to the themes being examined, as well as not examining thoroughly enough other themes ... but interesting enough to hold my attention, although I felt somehwhat ... cheated at the end. Many questions go unanswered. Perhaps that is part of SK's appeal?