Cell King, Stephen

From the Publisher:
Civilization doesn't end with a bang or a whimper. It ends with a call on your cell phone.

What happens on the afternoon of October 1 came to be known as the Pulse, a signal sent though every operating cell phone that turns its user into something...well, something less than human. Savage, murderous, unthinking-and on a wanton rampage. Terrorist act? Cyber prank gone haywire? It really doesn't matter, not to the people who avoided the technological attack. What matters to them is surviving the aftermath. Before long a band of them-"normies" is how they think of themselves-have gathered on the grounds of Gaiten Academy, where the headmaster and one remaining student have something awesome and terrifying to show them on the school's moonlit soccer field. Clearly there can be no escape. The only option is to take them on.

CELL is classic Stephen King, a story of gory horror and white-knuckling suspense that makes the unimaginable entirely plausible and totally fascinating.

Annotation:
Master of horror Stephen King preys upon our fears of technology with the plot hook driving this chiller: a mysterious signal known as "The Pulse," sent via cell phone, turns everyone talking on one into a mindless, murderous beast. The "normies"--those fortunate enough to be away from their phones--must band together in order to defend themselves from the afflicted and highly dangerous "phoners." The book's protagonist is non-cellphone-owning, comic-book artist Clayton Riddell, who watches a Boston street turn into a scene of bloody chaos as he waits on line at an ice-cream truck. Desperately, Clay fights his way through a newly insane New England back home to his estranged wife and young son in Maine, not knowing whether they are alive, dead, or affected by The Pulse themselves.

Author Bio

Stephen King

Born in 1947, Stephen King has become a household name all over the world. His mother raised him and his brother after their father deserted the family in 1950. In high school, King began to write short stories, his first published work appearing in 1968. He attended the University of Maine, graduating with a B.S. in 1970. Up until his first novel appeared, King had worked in an industrial laundry, as a janitor, as well as an English teacher. CARRIE, his debut, was met by a largely indifferent public in 1974. It wasn't until two years later, after King's second novel 'SALEM'S LOT and the filmed version of CARRIE, that King became a major player in the horror field. THE SHINING, his 1977 haunted hotel novel, began a litany of bestsellers, including THE STAND, THE DEAD ZONE, PET SEMETARY, DOLORES CLAIBORNE, and many others. King's work is regarded as instrumental in bringing about a resurgence of interest in horror fiction in the 1970s and '80s. An extremely high percentage of King's voluminous literary output has been filmed, with varying degrees of success, but all serving to carry the name of Stephen King far and wide. He has written nonfiction, given lectures, acted in films, and continues to produce huge novels nearly every year, all of which become instant bestsellers. As an bizarre sidenote, during the summer of 1999 while walking along a back road in Maine, King was struck and seriously injured by a minivan whose driver apparently lost control of the vehicle while being distracted by his dog--thus creating exactly the kind of news item that might have inspired several of King's own novels.

Praise

Publishers Weekly
"[C]ompelling....King's imagining of what is more or less post-Armageddon Boston is rich, and the sociological asides made by his characters along the way...jaunty and witty....[T]he book holds together in signature King style. Fans will be satisfied." 01/02/2006

New York Times
"[A] traditional King narrative studded with alarming signs of the times." - Janet Maslin 01/23/2006

Newsweek
"The King of Horror returns to top form." 01/30/2006

"King's apocalyptic cautionary tale suggests that cellular communication could be as pernicious as it is pervasive." (starred review) 02/01/2006

Product Attributes

Book Format:		Hardcover
Number of Pages:		0384
Publisher:		Scribner Book Company

BloomReach Content

Cell (Hardcover)

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Praise

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