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Cell

Cell

A Novel
DystopianHorror
Pages
480
Published
2006
Language
English

Synopsis

A mysterious signal broadcast over cell phones turns most of humanity into ravenous creatures. An artist named Clayton Riddell must navigate the chaos of New England to find his young son. He joins forces with other survivors in a desperate bid to stay alive and protect what little humanity remains.

Prose complexity
3/10

Vibe

DarkTenseGrittyEmotional
SurvivalQuestRoad TripSacrifice

Genres

Dystopian Horror Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction Literary Fiction Thriller Fantasy Zombie

About the author

S
Stephen King

Stephen King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author whose work has defined popular horror fiction for more than half a century. Born in Portland, Maine, he grew up in poverty after his father abandoned the family, and credits his mother's resilience and a voracious reading habit as the foundations of his imagination. He began selling short stories to men's magazines while working as a high school English teacher, and published his first novel, Carrie, in 1974—his wife Tabitha retrieved...

Characters

Clayton RiddellProtagonist
All characters in Cell

Frequently asked questions

  • What triggers the mass violence in Cell?

    A signal broadcast through cell phone networks—called 'the Pulse'—instantly turns everyone receiving a call into a mindless, violent primitive. The transformed 'phone crazies' attack anyone around them and each other before settling into a disturbing collective intelligence. The novel is set in the immediate aftermath of the Pulse in Boston.

  • Is Cell King's zombie novel?

    King has resisted the 'zombie novel' label, but Cell (2006) operates within that genre's conventions: a pandemic-like event turns the population into mindless attackers, and a small group of survivors must navigate across a transformed America to find their families. The phone-crazy crowd's evolution away from simple zombies into something more organized is the novel's main horror development.

  • What social commentary does Cell offer?

    Published in 2006, the novel is a pointed satire of cell phone dependency. King has said he was disturbed by how completely phones had become extensions of people's identities and consciousness—the novel literalizes the fear that the device in your pocket could be used to destroy everything that makes you human.

  • Was Cell adapted for film?

    Yes. A 2016 film starring John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson was produced from a King screenplay. It received very poor reviews and is generally considered one of the weakest King film adaptations.

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