There is nothing like a good end of the world yarn - and you will not
find it in this novel, which reads more like
a draft, by the master of
horror, Stephen King. The novel is a cautionary tale about the dangers
of a society where technology has replaced human connections. the
novels protagonist, a young graphic novel artist and author, Clayton
Riddell, is about to enjoy the fruits of his newly sold
creation when
creation itself begins to unravel. A malign cell phone pulse turns
everyone who is tured in into sociopathic zombies who begin to rapidly
mutate into a cohesive group that seeks to change all of humanity into
a replica of itself. The ctach is that the human mind, a computer, has
been hacked by an outside agency. Certain individuals did not receive a
complete re-programing, and fail to mutate into the higher level
organisimes. While the story intself is interesting, the broadly drawn
characters, hurried plot lines, and emotion ennui that persist
throughout the novel make this one of King's weakest offers to date. It
reminds a dedicated reader of Dolores Claiborn or Gerald's Game. In
addition, the novel's
ending, which, I think, was supposed to be one of
suprresed optimism, becomes more of a non-ending.