by Jay Wilburn
The plan is to reread all of Stephen King’s works in the order that they were published. Richard Chizmar of Cemetery Dance had the vision. I’m doing it because I am a writer and I want to improve my fiction. And I love Stephen King’s stories. I think there is something to be learned through this process.
You can also go back to the beginning and read Before Carrie or any of my other posts up through this one and beyond by checking out this link to the Master List of all my #StephenKingRevisited posts.
I had high hopes for Cell when it came out. My favorite zombie short story of all time is “Home Delivery” by Stephen King found in the collection Nightmares and Dreamscapes. Surely an entire Stephen King zombie novel had to be a masterpiece. Well, yes and no.
Putting aside people’s feelings on the film adaptation, the novel has some real high points. We find ourselves in a near instant apocalypse. The delivery of the “virus” is unique. There is no magical explanation for everything that wraps the story up in a bow. The ending is beautifully ambiguous. The zombies are unique. The threat is unique. The evolving danger in the story is good.
There are some storytelling flaws that any reader or critic could pick out, but when is there ever not? I went in with my own notions of what I wanted from a zombie story. I wasn’t getting enough of what I wanted at the time. Can you imagine an age where there weren’t enough zombie stories? Of course not. I’m clearly insane.
I imagine revisiting this story will give me an opportunity to revisit it with fresh eyes. I may come away loving it even more. I almost always appreciate King’s work more after a revisit, I have found along this journey.
Let’s dig back into Cell and explore the dangers of cellphone use.
My next post in this series will be After Cell which will be linked on the Master List of all my Stephen King Revisited posts.
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