Cell
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Review
'Very clever and brilliantly written . . . you won't use your mobile for days.' (Guardian )
'Storytelling - the ability to make the listenener or the reader need to know, deamd to know, what happens next - is a gift . . . Stephen King has this gift in spades.' (The Times )
'Storytelling - the ability to make the listenener or the reader need to know, deamd to know, what happens next - is a gift . . . Stephen King has this gift in spades.' (The Times )
Review
'Very clever and brilliantly written ... you won't use your mobile for days.' -- Guardian 'Storytelling - the ability to make the listenener or the reader need to know, deamd to know, what happens next - is a gift ... Stephen King has this gift in spades.' -- The Times
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
After the conclusion to the Dark Tower series, Stephen King said he might think about retiring. He lasted all of about eighteen months before The Colorado Kid appeared, swiftly followed by Cell. And thank God he couldn't keep away.
Cell starts fast and then keeps coming, twisting from bizarre to even more bizarre and finally bordering on the ridiculous at its climax. As with all of King's work, it's beautifully crafted, with believable characters (even the cameos are sculpted in great detail), good locations and a thumping plotline that holds your attention.
Cell has a lot of the qualities that made King's earlier work stand out; unpredictability, suspense and graphic violence all combine with the human elements and the interactions between the characters to create something which is simply a pleasure to read.
The premise (cell phone pulse drives all cell phone users into murderous frenzy - only old people, young children and the technically inept survive - cue struggle for survival a la 28 Days Later) seems a bit silly at first, but it's executed so well that by the time you're 20 pages in, you don't care.
If you're new to King, this would be a pretty good place to start, as it has a trademark blend of tongue in cheek humour and horror, but without stretching to thousands of pages like some of the earlier epics (though if you like this, It, The Shining and, in particular, The Stand are all must-reads).
A stand out point in this book is that King seems to have found a way to get around his notable difficulty in reaching an ending. The technique employed will either leave you desperate for more (as it did me) or perhaps feeling a little cheated. I liked it, others clearly haven't. Why don't you read the book and decide for yourselves?
Hat's off, Mr King, you've done it again. Hopefully, the recently released Lisey's Story offers yet more of the same!
Cell starts fast and then keeps coming, twisting from bizarre to even more bizarre and finally bordering on the ridiculous at its climax. As with all of King's work, it's beautifully crafted, with believable characters (even the cameos are sculpted in great detail), good locations and a thumping plotline that holds your attention.
Cell has a lot of the qualities that made King's earlier work stand out; unpredictability, suspense and graphic violence all combine with the human elements and the interactions between the characters to create something which is simply a pleasure to read.
The premise (cell phone pulse drives all cell phone users into murderous frenzy - only old people, young children and the technically inept survive - cue struggle for survival a la 28 Days Later) seems a bit silly at first, but it's executed so well that by the time you're 20 pages in, you don't care.
If you're new to King, this would be a pretty good place to start, as it has a trademark blend of tongue in cheek humour and horror, but without stretching to thousands of pages like some of the earlier epics (though if you like this, It, The Shining and, in particular, The Stand are all must-reads).
A stand out point in this book is that King seems to have found a way to get around his notable difficulty in reaching an ending. The technique employed will either leave you desperate for more (as it did me) or perhaps feeling a little cheated. I liked it, others clearly haven't. Why don't you read the book and decide for yourselves?
Hat's off, Mr King, you've done it again. Hopefully, the recently released Lisey's Story offers yet more of the same!
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I bought Cell simply because it was written by Stephen King and without prior knowledge of the jist of the plot. The description and reviews on the back don't give very much away. The first half of the book is classic zombie-apocalyptica, and this came as a very welcome surprise. A pulse which is sent via every mobile/cell phone in the world scrambles the phones' owners' brains and reduces them to psychotic killers.
Of course, simply re-treading the walking dead path wouldn't do. The phone plot-device grants scope to take the zombie theme in a new direction. It's only a few days after the pulse that the phone zombies begin to develop a hive mind and other, more fantastic capabilities.
Things begin to unravel around halfway point. I've heard from quite a few of Stephen King's readers that any of his books that you care to mention "start out great but get a bit silly towards the end," and I tend to agree. There are shades of his less credible evil-circus metaphysics as the phoners continue to develop. However, the book's ending tied things up quite nicely for me, whilst leaving us on an interesting cliffhanger involving Cell's leading protagonist and his son.
I've been a fan of Stephen King's books since my early teens. Having recently been sorely disappointed by the over-written self-indulgence of the Dark Tower series, I was hoping for a return to a more focused, effective form of writing for Cell. By and large, I think I got it. Although some of the characters' one-liners are a little too glib and wordy given the scenario, the dialogue and narrative is much tighter and restrained.
However, this isn't King's best book; if you want his finest post-apoc work, then look no further than The Stand. In many ways, Cell smacked of The Stand Lite. If it's zombies you want, then I can also recommend Max Brooks' recent World War Z.
Cell is a perfectly okay addition to Stephen King's repertoire, but I am deliberately damning it with faint praise.
Of course, simply re-treading the walking dead path wouldn't do. The phone plot-device grants scope to take the zombie theme in a new direction. It's only a few days after the pulse that the phone zombies begin to develop a hive mind and other, more fantastic capabilities.
Things begin to unravel around halfway point. I've heard from quite a few of Stephen King's readers that any of his books that you care to mention "start out great but get a bit silly towards the end," and I tend to agree. There are shades of his less credible evil-circus metaphysics as the phoners continue to develop. However, the book's ending tied things up quite nicely for me, whilst leaving us on an interesting cliffhanger involving Cell's leading protagonist and his son.
I've been a fan of Stephen King's books since my early teens. Having recently been sorely disappointed by the over-written self-indulgence of the Dark Tower series, I was hoping for a return to a more focused, effective form of writing for Cell. By and large, I think I got it. Although some of the characters' one-liners are a little too glib and wordy given the scenario, the dialogue and narrative is much tighter and restrained.
However, this isn't King's best book; if you want his finest post-apoc work, then look no further than The Stand. In many ways, Cell smacked of The Stand Lite. If it's zombies you want, then I can also recommend Max Brooks' recent World War Z.
Cell is a perfectly okay addition to Stephen King's repertoire, but I am deliberately damning it with faint praise.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I am a big Stephen King fine and having read positive vibes about this book - King fans would find him back to his best said a few people - I was excited to get my hands on a copy of this book. The fact that many shops are selling this at half price at the moment did slightly put me off - if it was worth reading surely people would pay full price?
The book is typical King. There are a group of normal people struggling against an evil of some kind. This time around it's a dead phone virus sweeping through the World that turns people into zombie-esque creatures. Our heroes find themselves struggling to escape the virus and the book follows them as they travel across country.
The book is good for a quick read, but is nothing special. All of the characters seemed a bit flat and I didn't find I could really connected with them in any way. The story itself had kept me reading, wanting to know what happened - but like so many similar books it tailed off at the end for want of an ending that truly fitted the story.
All in all, it is a good read and many people will enjoy it. However, if you expect a bit more from your books then it probably isn't for you. King fans will appreciate the book, but it does not hit the highs of some of his other works.
The book is typical King. There are a group of normal people struggling against an evil of some kind. This time around it's a dead phone virus sweeping through the World that turns people into zombie-esque creatures. Our heroes find themselves struggling to escape the virus and the book follows them as they travel across country.
The book is good for a quick read, but is nothing special. All of the characters seemed a bit flat and I didn't find I could really connected with them in any way. The story itself had kept me reading, wanting to know what happened - but like so many similar books it tailed off at the end for want of an ending that truly fitted the story.
All in all, it is a good read and many people will enjoy it. However, if you expect a bit more from your books then it probably isn't for you. King fans will appreciate the book, but it does not hit the highs of some of his other works.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
King by Numbers
This book is very easy to get into,has some sympathetic characters and as is somewhat standard for King a rather dubious ending. However there is no warmth here,no soul. Read more
Published 1 month ago by FluffyBONNET
Good start, average middle, worse ending
I feel like I have been tricked by the blurb on the back of the book. The beginning of the book is great, and as described, but the middle and final thirds of the story get... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Dr. Andrew Phillips
My first Stephen King, and very likely my last
Had never read a Stephen King novel before, but thought I'd give this a go as I have quite a thing for "post-apocalyptic" fiction. Wish I hadn't done. Read more
Published 4 months ago by simon condywust
A Half-Charged Read
I bought this eBook after having read the blurb of the book some months ago. The blurb made the book sound much more exciting than it actually was. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Karen
Great flesh eating fare...
I'm not a huge SK fan, but have read many of his novels and stumbled across this in my local library. Read more
Published 7 months ago by AJ Rowls
GREAT!
I'm far from a bookworm, and I'm not exactly versed in what it takes to make a great novel, but as someone who has just peaked an interest in reading, this book is just... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Craig
Really Good
I dont understand why people have given this such bad reviews. I was gripped from the start and it makes you think of life without a mobile. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Wood
excessive violence
I expected much more from this renown author. The language of the book is chaotic and simplistic.
The plot is just violence and gore, unnecessarily on and on - I couldn't read... Read more
The plot is just violence and gore, unnecessarily on and on - I couldn't read... Read more
Published 10 months ago by S. E. Zabowska
Very enjoyable
An enjoyable take on a dystopian apocalyptic future where a virus signal spread through cell phones messes up with our brains and turns humanity into zombie-like aggressive madmen... Read more
Published 10 months ago by velissaria
Hits the ground and keeps on running
I'm in the midst of a SK renaissance, having left off reading his books in my adolescence. Cell is one of the most compelling works that I have read from his past decade in writing... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Miss L J Powderham
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