Cell by Stephen King
I picked up Cell by Stephen King in the free bus stop library in our village. I check it most days, although most of the time I feel like someone has just been having a clear-out of their house and dumped their rubbish in there. But I’ve found a few gems too (like And Away… and The Mystery Guest). When I spotted Cell, I found a couple of other reasonable books too. As Cell looked the least interesting of the three, I decided to read it first.
Published in 2006, it is definitely not one of Stephen King’s better known works. I really like Stephen King as a writer, but I haven’t read a huge number of his books because I don’t like horror. Cell is horror. I don’t think it’s normal/ traditional horror. But I don’t actually know as I’ve never actually read any horror before! I started reading it and I found it entertaining, but very trashy. As I hadn’t actually paid for it, I was tempted just to stop reading and take it back to the bus stop. (I have literally never given up on a book in my life.) But I kept going and started to enjoy it, although it definitely remained trashy.
Cell is very much of its time. It is set in a era when the majority of people had mobile phones, but before smart phones. At 3:03pm on 1st October, The Pulse happened – a wave through all the mobile phones which sent everyone using them mad. On the streets of Boston, Clayton Riddell (Clay) witnesses it happening. Suddenly people are attacking each other.
It’s not long before Clay realises this is a widespread problem and he needs to get off the streets. Along with a couple of other survivors – Tom and Alice – he gets himself to some temporary safety. But he needs to get to his son…
Clay separated from his wife, Sharon, four months previously, which means he no longer gets to spend all his time with his son. At 12 years old, Johnny has his own mobile phone (cell phone as the Americans call them – hence the name of the book). Clay hopes Johnny had left it at home on the day of The Pulse. He needs to get to his old home in Kent Pond. But with no transport running and phone people on the streets, it’s going to be a long and dangerous journey.
Cell is essentially a zombie novel. The phone people aren’t the undead, but they are very similar. Clay, Tom and Alice observe their behaviour and work out how to outwit them, so they can travel to Kent Pond and Johnny. Will Clay be reunited with his son?
Cell is unlike anything I’ve ever read before. It is entertaining, but it’s definitely not my usual cup of tea. Although I was surprised at how invested I got in this story and how desperate I was for everyone to survive and stay together. I will keep reading Stephen King – I’ve got the sequel to Holly to read soon – but I’ll probably steer clear of the horror books again.
