'Cell', as far as I'm concerned, is a perfect blend of what Stephen King's work should be like. He had left his horror days behind and followed a kinder, gentler path. The human condition seemed to interest him more than the things that went bump in the night. Well, those 'things' made him famous. I didn't want to read about a kindly old psychic man who apparently bears a striking resemblance to Anthony Hopkins. Nor did I want to have to purchase six seperate novelettes just to find out what's going to happen next.
'Cell' takes that human condition and throws it into a savagely brutal situation.
When a signal known only as 'The Pulse' is transmitted through every mobile phone on the planet, it sends the listener into a rage, leaving them little more than mindless psychotics. The story is told through Clay Riddell, a comic artist and the hero of the story. He makes friends and enemies along the deserted highways as he tries to return to his home, his estranged wife and his son.
The book pays homage to George A Romero's zombie films on more than one occasion but don't for one second think this is some kind of rip-off.
'Cell' makes you want to pluck the characters from the book, give them a hug and tell them it will be alright.
It will also make you think twice about answering you cell phone the next time it rings.