Cell

A Novel

De: Stephen King

Narrado por: Campbell Scott

The next call you take could be your last in this terrifying #1 New York Times bestseller by master storyteller Stephen King!

On October 1, God is in His heaven, the stock market stands at 10,140, most of the planes are on time, and graphic artist Clayton Riddell is visiting Boston, having just landed a deal that might finally enable him to make art instead of teaching it. But all those good feelings about the future change in a hurry thanks to a devastating phenomenon that will come to be known as The Pulse.

The delivery method is a cell phone—everyone’s cell phone. Now 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 relentless human horde that has been reduced to its basest nature...and then begins to evolve.

There’s really no escaping this nightmare. But for Clay, an arrow points the way home to his family in Maine, and as he and his fellow refugees make their harrowing journey north, they begin to see the crude signs confirming their direction. A promise of a safe haven, perhaps, or quite possibly the deadliest trap of all…©2006 Stephen King. All rights reserved.; (P)2006 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved. Audioworks is an imprint of Simon & Schuster Audio Division.

Wow

Campbell Scott did a masterful job of keeping me on the edge of whatever seat I happened to be sitting while listening to King's thriller. It had me from the first word to the last. If Mr. Scott wasn't available for this book, Scott Brick is the only other voice I'd have loved to hear.

King takes one of today's icons, the cell phone, and turns cell phone owners into what many of us sometimes think of them (even if we own one). Methinks that King stuck his tongue into one of his cheeks and had fun with people who have turned the world upside down: the gal who has to blab her latest intimate news in the grocery store; the guy who is so self-important that he feels that he's the only person in the theater or concert...in other word King casts a spell on cell phone users.

I give this highly entertaining piece of King's mind six stars. It's one of the best listens I've had in the last five years.

Compelling Story and Interesting Characters

Any additional comments?

Like all good Stephen King books, the combination of strong storytelling and intriguing characters are the main ingredients that make Cell a must read/listen. Although the premise of the story is quite ridiculous, examining how these characters respond and adapt to their changing environment keeps the reader locked into the story. Unlike many writers, Stephen King truly allows the reader to know his characters. We are feed small portions of character revealing information scattered throughout the book rather than outright biographies. The dynamics of how an initial team of strangers develop a shared and agreed upon mission is my favorite take away from the book. Cell is much more than a pseudo zombie book (although all the killing and survival keeps you engaged) but the development of friendships within the ultimate good versus evil backdrop.
Kudos to Campbell Scott! As the narrator he delivers a even pace and more character voice range than I anticipated.

Deja Vu, but a fun ride nonetheless

Once you've read enough Stephen King, you start to get deja vu with every new novel. The narrative techniques, the characters, the plot twists... everything seems like a rehash of something before. But can you blame the guy? He's written, what, a gazillion novels? Of course you will get some repetition.

But even so, I am amazed at his ability to grab hold of your imagination and keep you enthralled for hours upon hours. Most 12 hour audio books would take me at least a week to get through - I listened to this in about a day! And even though the book reminded me about so much King I've already read (Dreamcatcher and Dark Tower stand out for me, and I'm sure if I thought about it I could find several more), I still couldn't stop listening.

Some of the scientific explanation was a little hokey, but hey, when you're talking about a book from a horror novelist where cell phones create a world of zombies, you can't expect Azimov-level sci-fi.

The ending is fine. King does more than enough foreshadowing in the pages leading up to the end, and if you think about it hard enough you KNOW what happens next even if King doesn't say it.

The narrator was great. There were a few production issues (the tone of the voice changed suddenly on a few occasions) but it was minor. I'd listen to this narrator again.

Ok, not King's best

Pretty straight forward and simple plot that only follows one storyline, this is far from King at his best. The ending was almost as if King got tired and just quit. There was some closure but not much, definitely felt more like one of his short stories than a full length novel.
Interesting to see how many concepts from the book were borrowed from Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson.

I will never use my Cell again!

Loved the book. Fun, scary and interesting. Just a good book that has a interesting plot line.