Cell (edition 2006)

Much like "The Stand" and the "Dark Tower" cycle, "The Cell" takes what could have been just another of Kings' amusingly creepy horror stories and expanded it into what I prefer to interpret as a rather interesting bit of symbolism.

It has long been known that human brains operate on electrical signals, and functions much like an organic computer. Though it may not be possible at this time for some supposedly "terrorist" group to 'short out' human brains via cell phones and satellite "signals, it is certainly not out of scientific possiblility.

And who is to say it wasn't some branch of our own government, a'la the Tuskegee experiments, biological, chemical, and radiation experimentation on American citizens, all carried out by the American government, (or, of course, "The Stand") who, through monkeying around with a program they are neither intelligent enough, or responsible enough to control, inflicted the signal through sheer carelessness?

Further, it is far from impossible that, given a total 'disk wipe' of the human brain, humans would revert to the most base, vicious animal behavior. Humans began as the most vicious of animals, using the intellect they developed in lieu of teeth and claws in order to slaughter themselves to the top of the genetic heap. Civilization has laid a veneer of gentility over the basic nature of humanity, but the very fact that true sociopaths and psychopaths exist in society tend to prove the base nature of humans as displayed in "The Cell".

There has been scientific iniquiry into the psi capabilities of early humans, which gives weight to the book's concept of a wiped, reverted human mind being able to utilize strong psi capabilities. It is certainly not totally out of the question that the psi capability could be there - humans are pack animals, and any pack animal with psi communication capabilities would be well served by the ability to send signals among pack members, especially when surrounding herds of animals for hunting purposes or to communicate with other pack members over distance, especially before language was developed as a human communication tool.

Overall, I like to think that, though King excels in the horror genre, he has a much firmer grasp on the scientific literature, and of human development and politics, that he likes to admit. While "The Stand" was more deeply entrenched in pure religious symbolism, "The Cell" seems to me to explore the darker side of the human belief systems than even pure 'good and evil'. Instead, I interpret the 'mentality' of the Phone Crazies very much as I interpret the terrorist mentality. Pull out the cruelest, most base portion of a belief, wether it be religious or, in the Phone Crazies case, the basest portions of the humans brain, and use that as an excuse for 'justice' - degenerate the belief system to its base component and force every other person to believe in that component or die. Religious fanatics (terrorists), whatever their denomination, never seem to find the purest, kindest, most generous portions of their religions to put forward, but rather the darkest and most violent. Could this go back to the base, cruel nature of the human brain? Or is it simply that, by reverting humanity to cave dwellers, fearing the dark and the vengeful 'god' figure, that it gives a semblence of control to those who are so mindless and fearful themselves?

"The Cell" is a gripping read, with characters you care about. It does, in inimitable King style, refer to characters, and of course, locations, we came to know and love in previous King novels. Who can ever forget the loveable, and frightening, Charlie the Choo-Choo? Classic.

As for those who are so unhappy because the book wasn't "Finished", I must disagree most stringently with their complaints. No, the book isn't all wrapped up and tied with a big red bow of an ending. But novels, good novels, are designed to make you _think_. To go beyond the imagination of the author to expand the imagination of the reader. King pointed this out in the ending to "The Dark Tower", at least on the CD version. He didn't want to write a 'big red bow' ending to the book - and I would have been deeply disappointed if he had done so without warning me that it was coming. On the CD he gives the thoughtful reader a chance to stop the disk before you got to the bow - to use your own imagination to end the book. Bless him! For those without the wit or imagination to carry forward on their own, he wrote (at his publisher's insistence, I believe) a 'closure' for the book, which described what happened when Roland actually did "To the Dark Tower c(a)me". I never read it, and I never will. What is life without imagination?

The four stars instead of five? I would give it 4.5 if I could, it was indeed a good book. I liked The Dark Tower cycle better for its depth of characterizations and the heart that went into it. I do think that King could have done a deeper bit of work on The Cell, but given that it seems the whole thing started from a bout of frustration over the rudeness of cell phone users - well, I suppose he deserves a five for not simply biting out the offending cell user's throat.... ;-) ( )

Rating: 4 of 5

Cell did not disappoint. Okay, maybe the ending, just a smidgen, but not enough to dock the rating. King offers an interesting take on the zombie sub-genre, one that I'm still thinking about. These "zombies" scared me more and, as any good horror story should, spoke directly to the current state of humans and what they fear.

As usual King's characters were at once alive and real; the world equally relevant and believable. The opening rivaled that of any end-of-the-world type book I've read to date: I could only put it down once and only did so to work. Being emotionally invested in the characters and their survival was the main reason the ending didn't completely satisfy me.

Disclaimer: If you're a diehard zombie purist, this book will be another example of a writer, page or screen, applying the "zombie" label to what you would not classify as such.

~WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILER BELOW~

King's "zombies" and the cause of their, um, condition won't be a totally foreign one to movie geeks. Films like The Signal and Pontypool featured the same type of "zombie." ( )

Cell is a little like The Stand. There's the same big apocalyptic event wiping out parts of humanity, and the us against them mentality, similar problems of survival. However, there are quite a few differences, too.

For starters, the first thing I noticed was the much quicker beginning to the action. By page eight, in my copy, things were going to hell. No big build-up introducing us to a ton of characters. I actually quite liked it. It sucked me in pretty fast, and it didn't cost much in terms of characterisation -- I still got to know and love the characters.

It's also not as... explained as The Stand. In that, we knew what was happening. With Cell, we're in the dark and we have no idea what is really going on, or why. We have the same journey of discovery as the characters. The pseudo-science is also on much shakier grounds. I was able to suspend my disbelief enough to read it, but your mileage may well vary. Particularly as, be warned, this book does not come with explanations as to why, which definitely did irritate me.

This reminds me of From A Buick 8, which is the same deal, but even that has more closure than Cell. I quite liked the uncertainty, and the last line, but I wasn't ready to leave the story, really.

Not my favourite King novel, but definitely okay for a quick, immersive read, I think. ( )

While perhaps not one of King's most noteworthy, this was a fun & fast read. I'd highly recommend it to Stephen King fans or anyone that likes apocalyptic horror novels. ( )

My original rating was three stars, but overnight it dropped to a mere two stars. Why? Well, I figure that during the last 50 pages of a Stephen King book I should be turning pages like a crazy man, but I was bored! Plus, I didn't feel emotionally invested in these characters, even the father/son relationship that is a theme throughout, and ends on the strength of this relationship. If you cannot get me emotionally involved with the characters after 450 pages, then that is a fault in the writing. Oh well...at least it was quick, and fairly painless. ( )