I have avoided reading many of Stephen King’ s recent novels since King seems to have taken to writing books with such weird and far flung stories that I have lost interest. His heyday was with his early novels: Christine, Cujo, Firestarter, Carrie, and The Stand. Many of his later novels have just been excruciating for me to read: The Tommyknockers and Needful Things being two which seemed to have been about 500 pages too long! So it was with a bit of lack lustre that I started reading Cell.
Cell starts out quite well, with the introduction of Clay Riddell, a struggling artist, who has just managed to sell his novel to a Boston firm. His joy is soon destroyed when the “pulse” occurs. While walking through the park, Clay hears screams and than notices that several people are going “crazy”. People who were acting perfectly normal a few minutes ago are all going insane.
The cause comes from the cell phones they were using. The “pulse” has caused them to revert to violence. They seem to turn into zombies; killing, fighting and breaking out into mass violence throughout the city.
Clay meets up with Tom McCourt and they seek refuge in Tom’s hotel, where they meet up with Alice Maxwell. Soon these 3 normal people head out of Boston, trying to avoid meeting any of the “phone crazies” and meet up with other normal people.
Clay is determined to make it home to Maine and find his son. Tom and Alice, with no better plan, decide to tag along. Along the journey they meet up with Jordan and Charles at a boys academy, where they learn an interesting secret about the “phone crazies”.
As the story progresses, they discover that the “phone crazies” are led by a hooded man in a sweatshirt that they name “The Raggedy Man”. They are all soon drawn to him and his flock of “phone crazies”, where the story has its dramatic climax.
The story ends with some sort of minor victory, but like in his short story “The Mist”, the reader is left wondering what is going to happen next. There is no clear ending to the book and you are left with lots of questions.
“What was the pulse?” “Who caused the pulse?” “Why?” “What will happen to the survivors?” “What will happen to the “phone crazies”?” “What about Clay’s son?” and many more questions. This just feels like an incomplete story.
This is not a new storyline for King. Armageddon has been a theme in many of his novels, most notably in “The Stand”. However, this is a new premise, when modern technology like a cell phone can turn a normal human being into a raving lunatic.
I did enjoy the story and did not feel overwhelmed with King’s sometimes incessant self-analysing that has become typical in his last few novels. The Stand is a much better story and better written, but Cell does make one think about what will become of man when the end happens. The story is well written, keeps the reader glued to the pages and will send a chill of terror down the backs of most readers.
It is quite frightening to think that something like this could happen, but it is much more likely than the things that he has written about in previous novels and that is what makes this novel so scary. I am glad I picked this book up to read, since it ranks up there with his earlier successes like The Stand, The Shining and Christine!
Cell is a bit horrifying to think about if it became reality, but it is an excellent story.
The Cell by Stephen King Book Review - Armageddon Again?
No comments:
Post a Comment