Cell is a novel published by American Author Stephen King in January 2006. The book serves as King’s first novel-length entry in the zombie genre, and was met with generally favorable reviews upon its release. According to the book sleeve, the synopsis goes as follows:
“On October 1, God is in His heaven, the stock market stands at 10,140, most of the planes are on time, and graphic artist Clayton Riddell is visiting Boston, having just landed a deal that might finally enable him to make art instead of teaching it. But all those good feelings about the future change in a hurry thanks to a devastating phenomenon that will come to be known as The Pulse. The delivery method is a cell phone—everyone’s cell phone. Now Clay and the few desperate survivors who join him suddenly find themselves in the pitch-black night of civilization’s darkest age, surrounded by chaos, carnage, and a relentless human horde that has been reduced to its basest nature…and then begins to evolve. There’s really no escaping this nightmare. But for Clay, an arrow points the way home to his family in Maine, and as he and his fellow refugees make their harrowing journey north, they begin to see the crude signs confirming their direction. A promise of a safe haven, perhaps, or quite possibly the deadliest trap of all….” (King, Stephen. Cell. Charles Scribner’s Sons, 2006.)
“Book” by Sergei Vavinov is licensed under Creative Commons 2.0
The Highlights
Some important aspects of the story to consider are the initial “Pulse,” which is delivered through all cell phones and turns all those affected into what the book refers to as “phoners”(King, 26.), Later in the story, those affected by The Pulse begin to change, and develop what the book refers to as a “hive mind.” Through this, they are able to communicate telepathically, and to think as one. Eventually, they begin to appear in the dreams of those not initially affected, and to act as a singular force rather than multiple. The book ends on a very ambiguous note, leaving it entirely unclear whether the effects of The Pulse can be reversed.