Stephen King is probably my favorite writer. I'm not sure why, and it feels a bit cliché and predictable for me to proclaim my undying love for him (he is, after all, one of the most successful writers ever). Despite feeling like a bandwagon troll, the fact remains that I adore his grip on the English language. His prose is masterful, if sometimes long winded (Wizards and Glass feels like one of the most needlessly padded novels he's ever written, even more so than The Stand Extended Edition) and his ability to give me the gooseflesh is unmatched.
So when I heard that his self-imposed retirement had evaporated and that he would be releasing two new novels (I can't wait to read Lisey's Story) I was extremely happy. Never mind that I haven't finished The Dark Tower saga yet, I was eager to read King's latest jaunt into the horror genre, especially after hearing that it hearkens back to his work of old.
Cell is the story of graphic novel artist Clay Riddell and his quest to find his son (Johnny) and estranged wife (Sharon) after a mysterious Pulse, delivered via that little Pandora's Box know as a cell phone, drives most of the world's (?) population totally bonkers.
Early publicity for the book would have you believe that it was a spin on the zombie sub genre, but it's really more than that. King has created a monster within the mythology of Cell that is unlike any other spin we've seen on the zombie archetype (the opening chapter is really the only part of the book that in any way resembles its inspiration, such as Night of the Living Dead or 28 Days Later).
The book in and of itself is a very enjoyable read, but I did notice more grammar errors and at least one repeated sentence ("Clay sat down next to them," is repeated twice in one paragraph, for example) than is usual for Stephen King, but those errors are down to the editor not catching them. It happens to the best of authors.
The story itself is very lean. The reasons for the Pulse are only speculated by the characters, the story never leaves Clay Riddell's hip (unlike books like The Stand or The Dark Tower series, in which it tends to jump from character to character) and, because of this, it feels like a very personal journey in which we see what might happen to a man who loses everything, gains something else, and is forced to abandon it as well. The subtext isn't near as elaborate here as it has been in some of his previous work, but there's plenty of it there if you're willing to dig deep enough.
The characters are all truly enjoyable - Tom, Alice, Jordan, the Head, Dan, Ray, Denise, Gunner, Harold - even if they do feel a bit underdeveloped at times, which I put down to the book's short length and unwillingness to spend time with anyone but Clay.
The concept of "technology gone crazy" is beaten over the reader's head ever so slightly, but that's no surprise; King displays the same lack of trust for technology in Cell that he displayed for the government in The Stand. I'm actually a bit surprised that it's never insinuated that the government were at the heart of the problem, but I put that down to the current attitude of the country in general - most of the characters are very quick to blame terrorists, though this never pans out to be more than a sort of embodiment of our country's fear of attack from outside (which I would suggest is the over all theme of the book).
As always, King is rife with pop culture references and callbacks to recent events - Hurricane Katrina, the September 11th attacks, the bombings in London that occurred late last year, et cetera. I'm not sure why, but it made me feel uneasy each time he name-dropped each of these events, not because it felt tacky, but because it reminded me of the world we live in, which isn't as prevalent in some of his past works (possibly because they were written before I was born, or while I was still too young to realize that he's writing about our world).
The book does feature a couple of heart wrenching moments in which I did have to put it down, one of which involved the death of a character; fellow readers will know the moment I speak of, I'm sure. It felt cruel and nihilistic, but I understand the purpose for which it was done. I must say that I haven't been so moved by the demise of a character since The Gunslinger (Go, then. There are other worlds than this.) and I commend King for that. I've been reading his work for a long time, and it never fails to impress me when he manages to yank my heartstrings so thoroughly.
The ending is a bit open, but I don't view it to be a nihilistic wreck like some fellow online fans. I think it's more hopeful than some choose to believe, and I feel good about the future of our hero, whether or not his final attempt to right the wrong done to him is ultimately unsuccessful.
If you don't know anything about the Dark Tower saga, feel free to skip the next paragraph:
I also wanted to address some of T. Baron's issues, and it ties in with something I had planned on commenting about anyway - this book obviously ties into the Dark Tower saga (as do all of his books, according to Stephen King). He admits in the author's notes to taking liberties with geography, which is no surprise considering each individual level of the tower differs in various ways. It's not beyond the realm of believability that Clay Riddell's word is different form our own in certain ways (it is established in Wizards and Glass that even the world of The Stand is a different world from our own). A safety on a revolver (I don't recall this, myself), the way the roads run, et cetera ... can all be put down to the differing nature of each level of the tower (it's a great way to explain author laziness, if indeed that's what it was). The inclusion of Charlie the Choo Choo was a nice touch as well, and it sent more than a few goosebumps down my arms.
Cell is one of those books that certainly does recall King's older work, is a love-letter to fans of his horror work, and it is one of the most enjoyable reads I've had in a while, simply because I enjoyed the cast of characters so much. It does seem to be tailor made for the big screen, it's just a shame that Eli Roth is the one chomping at the bit to adapt it (Alice is bound to be an annoying teenybopper and the subtleness of Tom's sexuality will go into full on pantomime characterization, but one can hope against hope that something good comes from the project).
If you're a fan of Stephen King's earlier work and don't expect him to write the next great opus every time he puts ink to paper, then I wholeheartedly suggest reading Cell. It's a fun, depressing, and creative spin on the zombie sub genre, and you might never look at your cell phone or boom box the same way again.
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