Page Count:  353

Author:  Stephen King

Publisher:  Scribner

ISBN-10:  0-7432-9233-2

Category:  Fiction

Genre:  Horror/Sci-Fi/Drama

Dove's (Personal) Review:  My faith in Stephen King's work has been restored!!! "Cell" is awesome!!! ...although, the next time I have to make a call on my cell phone, I'm sure I'll think twice about it before I dial and hit "send." This is a great book! Fabulous characters, kick-ass horror scenes, and a very intriguing plot!
     Clayton Riddell (an artist) is in Boston for a business meeting. He's just sold some of his artwork for a ton of money, and he's in very good spirits. As he walks down the street - carrying his portfolio of drawings, and a gift for his estranged wife - he decides to stop for some icecream. While he's standing in line waiting to place his order, he happens to notice everyone around him is either talking on - or carrying - their cell phones. He, on the other hand, doesn't own one.
     All of a sudden, all hell breaks loose. People all around him instantly go insane. Some folks are screaming; some folks are running around - at full speed - slamming their bodies into street signs, and the sides of buildings; cars, trucks, and buses crash into each other causing major pile-ups in the streets; and a lot of people have begun killing others - in cold blood - right on the sidewalks. Clay even witnesses one guy in the park attacking a dog. Clay stands there, in shock, as he watches the man clasp the dog's ear in his teeth, and rips it clean off the dog's head.
     Clay saves the life of another guy, named Tom. After witnessing enough of this chaos, they run for their lives, heading for Clay's hotel. Once there, they save fifteen-year-old Alice as she's being chased by one of the lunatics. After sharing their stories with one another, they come to the conclusion that it was the cell phones that made everyone crazy.
     From the hotel, they travel to Tom's house to stock up on supplies for their trip. Clay's son, Johnny, has a cell phone, and Clay fears the worst. He has to get back home to Kent Pond, Maine to make sure his son is OK. He's concerned about his wife too, but since their marriage is falling apart, his priority is to save Johnny. Tom and Alice decide to go with him, since there's safety in numbers. Once stocked up, they set out - on foot - to Maine. During their travels, they start referring to the crazy people as "phoners," and themselves as "normies." The phoners - they realize - severely outnumber the normies. The majority of their trip is spent hiding from the phoners. Since the phoners are only out during the day, Clay, Tom, and Alice are forced to sleep during the day, and walk all through the night...
     When they get to Gaiten Academy, they meet two new friends, Jordan (a twelve-year-old student) and Charles Ardai (the Head of the Academy). Jordan and Charles share their knowledge about the phoners with Clay, Tom and Alice, and soon after the five of them are plotting to kill thousands of phoners with trucks filled with petrol. Their plan works - thousands are destroyed - but this obviously pisses off the phoners' leader, The Raggedy Man. The Raggedy Man starts invading their dreams with bizarre images from the future.
     Only four of them leave the Academy to head to Maine, because one is now dead (but I won't say who). The four stumble upon a weird message on the sidewalk: KASHWAK=NO-FO. This strange message is seen over and over, on the ground, on trees, on billboards, on windows, and on the sides of buildings. Jordan, the twelve-year-old, figures out what the message means. There's a lake in northern Maine called Kashwakamak, located in the TR-90 section of the state. It's unincorporated - nothing but trees, moose, and dear - and there's no cell phone service in that area. The phoners are trying to send all normies to that region, but the four aren't exactly sure why.
     Clay is still determined to get to Kent Pond to find his son. The three travelling with him agree to come with him. Another is struck down (again, I won't say who it is) before they get there. The three remaining carry on, and upon reaching Clay's old house, they find a note from Johnny that says all the normies are gathering at the Town Hall. They head to Town Hall and find it totally deserted. Clay finds a second note from his son saying that they've all continued on to the TR-90 where they believe they'll be safe.
     Clay and his friends split up. His friends are positive that Johnny is either already dead, or has been changed into a phoner, and they don't want to bother making the trip. Clay sets off alone to Kashwakamak Lake, while his friends head west into Vermont. The phoners don't like this though. The phoners have other plans for this little group. The Raggedy Man haunts their dreams, and forces them together again; pushing all three of them to make the trip to the TR-90 region. Once they arrive, LOL, all hell breaks loose again, but - this time - it's in the normies favor!
     "Cell" is classic King! It's got the horror, the terror, AND the "gross out" that many of the early King novels have (i.e. Carrie, Salem's Lot, The Stand), but it also has the more mature elements found in King's later works (i.e. Dolores Claiborne, Rose Madder, and Bag of Bones). Even though it's 353 pages, I read it in a day and a half. I could NOT put it down! This is GREAT STUFF!!!
     TWO-THUMBS-UP, GOLD-STAR!!!!!