Hello once more bibliophiles!
If you’ve read any of my previous blog posts, you’ll realize that I really do jump around in all different genres of novels. From Mindy Kaling to Harry Potter to Outlander and now to Stephen King. I just love ’em all!
I just finished listening to Cell by Stephen King. I’m definitely a fan of Stephen King’s work, especially Dreamcatcher and the ever-popular It. When I was younger I used to read WAY more horror. As I’ve grown older, I’ve become more of a baby I guess. What’s that all about?
Anyways, the premise of Cell is that one tragic day, a “pulse” is sent out through all cell phones, instantly driving anyone on them crazy and murderous. The “normies” (normal people) struggle to survive in a drastically deteriorating world. Narrated from the point of view of Clay, a middle-aged man who collects a rag-tag bunch of sidekicks, the story unfolds at a rather abrupt pace as you uncover the secrets behind the “pulse”. Essentially, the “phone-crazies” begin to reboot into some semblance of humanity, minus guilt, reasoning, love … basically without any of the good feelings. On the positive side (well, positive for them, not the “normies”), they get telepathy, mind control, and levitation. I don’t know, sounds like a pretty good deal to me.
If you like King’s work, then of course you’ll probably love Cell. If you’ve never tried King, this is as good a place as any to start. In fact, it may be a bit easier to swallow than some of his crazier stuff. But be warned, this book is not for the faint-hearted. While I love King’s unique style of description and narration, the visuals can sometimes be a little TOO visual. Don’t get me wrong, I usually enjoy works that contain violence. (Be careful reading here: I don’t enjoy the violence, usually just the story.) I mean I’m a hard-core Game of Thrones fan. BUT this book starts off fast and before I knew what was happening, I was picturing a guy tearing a dog’s ear off with his teeth! (I wouldn’t consider that much of a spoiler.) (By the way, am I using a lot of parentheses today? I am, aren’t I?)
(Well, my brain-eyes anyways. I’m not making sense here. Let’s move on.)
So final recommendations: if you enjoy psychological thrillers, horror stories, or King’s work in general, go grab Cell!
Until next time (which should be soon because I’m almost done with Voyager), bibliophiles! (Damn, there are the parentheses again!)
The Bibliophile Struggle 
I too used to be able to handle horror so much better when I was young. Now I’m a wuss. What is up with that?
I’m with you on the genre-hopping, too. Spice of life, right? I read The Cell and, as with all Stephen King books, it was well-written, with excellent characters, but the ending was weak.
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How could I have forgot to mention the ending in my post *face palm*. Such a cliffhanger. I literally finished just a few hours ago so I’m still processing…. Can’t believe he didn’t leave us with a resolution!
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He does that a lot! Fortunately, Stephen King is such an imaginative writer that I’m willing to just enjoy the ride, even if the final destination is sometimes disappointing.
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