# Stephen King's The Cell--Has anyone read it?



## Carrie Rubin (Nov 19, 2012)

I'm thinking of making this my next read. I haven't read any of King's works in a while, and I'm in the mood for one of his books. This is one of the few I haven't read. Is it worth my time? I also haven't read Insomnia. How's that one rate? Thanks!


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## That Weird Guy.... (Apr 16, 2012)

This is one of my favorite King books. It starts off with a punch and does not let go until the end. I highly recommend it. It is classic Gory/Horror King at his best. 

As for Insomnia, that is also a really good book, but it can take a little while to fully get into. There can be quite a lot of exposition but the end result is worth it. This one also has ties to the Dark Tower Series, so if you have read that, you should read this.


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## That Weird Guy.... (Apr 16, 2012)

Oh, and if you want to have a more in depth discussion on the books, Message me and we can chat away.


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## Sam Kates (Aug 28, 2012)

Agree with TWG. They're both among his better works


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## Carrie Rubin (Nov 19, 2012)

So glad to hear that. Thanks to both of you. I think I'll go with The Cell unless anyone convinces me otherwise in the next couple days.


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## Carrie Rubin (Nov 19, 2012)

Tensejim said:


> OK, many may hate me but I really don't care for Steven King too much. He can be way too descriptive. I know this is a big thing that has made him so famous. His ability to bring you into the story by painting an in depth description is nearly unmatched in his field.


The only one of his books I felt this way about was "Under the Dome." Thought there was more there than needed to be. Maybe a bit with "Bag of Bones" too. But I agree--he's a master at sucking you into his world.


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## EC Richard (May 20, 2011)

It didn't pass my "one read" test. I give a book a fair shake. I read it until I lose interest, which isn't very easy for me and if I pick it up again then I usually finish it very quickly but I found this book to be really strong at the start but not as good as his other books. Cool concept but it didn't grab me like his work usually does.


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## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

Spoilers follow but you can tell that by the black bar
I went as un spoiler as I could so as not to ruin it but what I DO say CAN be read by some AS spoiler material so take it as you wish



Spoiler



I enjoyed both Cell and Under the Dome except for the endings. For me- he didn't go into ( even a few short pages worth) detail on how what just happened CHANGED ( at least a few of) the characters in some way. And that's the point of the reader making the several hour journey by reading a book isnt it? Seeing the large or small changes in a character from the way they were when we first met them at the start of the story. I mean, for me, King really didn't show any of the characters either discussing what happened with anyone else or even thinking in their own head "what the heck just happened to me?" So I felt like I got cheated out of an ending from both books even though they were good reads UP TO THE ENDING
BUt then- thats just me and my small opinion but I wanted to warn you just the same.



Insomnia, while good, is one of those doorstops KIng does that could have used the thoughtful skills of a good editor- my opinion


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## Sam Kates (Aug 28, 2012)

Carrie Rubin said:


> The only one of his books I felt this way about was "Under the Dome." Thought there was more there than needed to be. Maybe a bit with "Bag of Bones" too. But I agree--he's a master at sucking you into his world.


I thought Under the Dome was one of his worst. A shame because I liked the idea and thought if anyone could pull it off it would be him. I just thought it disappointed on so many levels. But it hasn't stopped me being a huge fan


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## StephenBrennan (Dec 21, 2012)

Tensejim said:


> OK, many may hate me but I really don't care for Steven King too much. He can be way too descriptive. I know this is a big thing that has made him so famous. His ability to bring you into the story by painting an in depth description is nearly unmatched in his field. However, I tried reading The Tommyknockers once and after a few pages of describing a woman's period, I lost interest and never picked up another book! I know I know, I am sure there are other books but that did it for me. I will, however, highly recommend The Talisman by Steven King and Peter Straub. Their combined efforts on that book created one of the best books I have ever read!! Peter seemed to tone down Steven's style by introducing his own, it was a match made in heaven.


Think I heard somewhere that he was stoned or drunk when he wrote Tommyknockers lol. But back to the original question, Cell is a pretty cool take on the classic zombie story. There's one or two scenes that are genuinely heartbreaking but overall it's a great read. You gotta love Stephen King


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## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

I recall him saying he didnt remember writing Cujo and I also remember him saying he was pretty wasted when he did Tommyknockers as well as Misery ( which can be seen as a metaphor about drugs and how drugs can trap you)

Still....despite that.... I think while Tommyknockers kind of rambles on and on, Misery holds together very nicely
Its one of my favorites ( not for the drug theme but how its a nice tightly edited package)

And yes, King, thankfully for us, still loves to write day in and day out
Two projects due out this year and he's working on two more for 2014

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_King_bibliography
Here's a complete list of what he has done to date
( and take note of the link to his short stories also- which he does in between the novels- amazing output)


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## Low Kay Hwa (Jun 15, 2012)

I've read it. It's fast-paced and one of Stephen King's better works (IMO).

I was crazy with _The Walking Dead _then.


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## hamerfan (Apr 24, 2011)

I read it when it first came out. 
I agree with Bleekness. It was a good story and well written, but there was something that kept it from being great. Something about the ending. But it started out wild!


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## Casper Parks (May 1, 2011)

I enjoyed Cell, read the hardcover. 
At the time of this posting, Kindle edition is listed at $7.99

Click bookcover for link to Amazon​


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## wiccanhot (Aug 19, 2011)

I read Insomnia and I enjoyed it a lot.  I started reading Cell and enjoyed it but I didnt finish it.  I put it in a plastic bag to bring it somewhere.  On the way home I lost the book because the bag had a hole in it.  I didnt get another copy tho I do want to finish it eventually.

Sent from my MOTWX435KT using Tapatalk 2


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## Lynn McNamee (Jan 8, 2009)

Stephen King has written books I truly adored and rank as some of my all-time favorites: It, The Stand, The Gunslinger series, etc.

Stephen King has written one or two books I truly hated, like From a Buick 8. (I was so angry after reading that one that I actually threw it in the garbage. I didn't want it in my collection, and I didn't want to subject anyone else to it.   )

Cell was one of those in-between books. I certainly didn't hate it. I didn't completely love it. I wouldn't mind reading it again, and now that it's been brought up, I think I will do that. 

Just from memory, I'd guess it as a solid 4 stars. 

I'll read it again and see if my memory has served me correctly.


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## StephenBrennan (Dec 21, 2012)

Lynn McNamee said:


> Stephen King has written one or two books I truly hated, like From a Buick 8. (I was so angry after reading that one that I actually threw it in the garbage. I didn't want it in my collection, and I didn't want to subject anyone else to it.


Careful. There are Buicks everywhere


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## J. W. Rolfe (Oct 21, 2012)

I said it before and I'll say it again. Nothing beats The Stand!


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## James Everington (Dec 25, 2010)

I'm a big Stephen King fan, but _Cell_ didn't quite do it for me. The build up was very good as I remember; he's a master at that just-before-it-all-goes-to-shit atmosphere. But the final third and the ending wasn't one of his best ones. In my opinion anyway.

Anyone read the new Dark Tower one yet?


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## StephenBrennan (Dec 21, 2012)

James Everington said:


> I'm a big Stephen King fan, but _Cell_ didn't quite do it for me. The build up was very good as I remember; he's a master at that just-before-it-all-goes-to-[crap] atmosphere. But the final third and the ending wasn't one of his best ones. In my opinion anyway.
> 
> Anyone read the new Dark Tower one yet?


Wind Through The Keyhole? I really enjoyed it. 3 stories in 1 lol.


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## SidneyW (Aug 6, 2010)

I listened to "Cell" as an audiobook a while back and thought it was pretty good. It definitely has King's deft touch on display with characters and situations.


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## B.A. Spangler (Jan 25, 2012)

FrankZubek said:


> Spoilers follow but you can tell that by the black bar
> I went as un spoiler as I could so as not to ruin it but what I DO say CAN be read by some AS spoiler material so take it as you wish
> 
> 
> ...


This.

While I liked Cell more than Dome, both had typical **_AWWWW, It's Over!!_** SK endings.


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## balaspa (Dec 27, 2009)

It's good, but not one of his best. He has visited the whole "end of the world" thing better in The Stand - and this felt a bit similar to me.  However, it was not quite as long as The Stand, so it felt a bit rushed to me.


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## Klip (Mar 7, 2011)

I've come to the conclusion that I don't really like Steven King's_ horror _books that much. I enjoyed The Green Mile and The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, and some that I guess are horror like Fire starter and Christine. But I really did not like Under the Dome and I could not read more than a few chapters of Cell.

It felt a bit like he did not know what to do with the idea. Somebody on here (can't remember who!) said that Steven King proves how unimportant a book's ending is because he is so bad at endings, and still so popular! He does this great big buildup and then seems not to know what to do with it in the end.


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## Carrie Rubin (Nov 19, 2012)

I'm going to start this book today. I'll be curious to see whether I like it or not based on all the great comments. But I can't stand endings that phone it in, so I hope I'm not too let down...


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## Sam Kates (Aug 28, 2012)

I think that with the great SK books, it's not so much the ending but the journey that counts. For instance, one of my favourites of his is IT. One particular scene towards the end, when Pennywise's true form is revealed, is a massive let-down, but that in no way detracts from the rest of the novel and I still revisit the book every few years. Maybe the same is true of Cell - I'm suspecting so since I can't even remember the ending, but I can recall the journey and that was worthwhile. 

Carrie - don't forget to come back on once you've read it and let us know what you think.


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## Carrie Rubin (Nov 19, 2012)

Sam Kates said:


> Carrie - don't forget to come back on once you've read it and let us know what you think.


Will do. Thanks!


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## James Everington (Dec 25, 2010)

Sam Kates said:


> ...when Pennywise's true form is revealed, is a massive let-down...


In his non-fiction book _Danse Macabre_ there's an interesting section by King on how the hardest part of horror is revealing what's behind all the earlier thrills and chills... Interesting reading for all us horror readers/writers, as is the whole book really.

Back on topic, I can't really remember much about the ending of _Cell_ actually. The fact that so many of us can't must mean it was pretty mediocre...


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## Debbie Bennett (Mar 25, 2011)

Cell - started well, great build up, fizzled out disappointingly.
Insomnia - proved a great cure for the condition. Couldn't get past the first few pages without falling asleep.

And yet I loved Green Mile, It, almost all the Bachman stuff. Even Under the Dome was OK, though it could have been edited to half its length and been a better book, IMO. But what do I know?


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## Carrie Rubin (Nov 19, 2012)

I just finished "Cell." As always, King's characters were great and his settings vivid, and the storytelling kept me eagerly turning the pages. But it wasn't my favorite of his. I prefer the scarier ones, and this one was more end-of-the world stuff but not really scary. And I wasn't pleased the end left me hanging. So I had to do what I always do when that happens with a book--just pretend it was a happy ending.


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## Sam Kates (Aug 28, 2012)

Carrie - I really enjoyed the beginning of Cell. It was enough to drag me through to the end (that I still can't recall). Think I may revisit it one day soon.


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## Carrie Rubin (Nov 19, 2012)

Sam Kates said:


> Carrie - I really enjoyed the beginning of Cell. It was enough to drag me through to the end (that I still can't recall). Think I may revisit it one day soon.


I want to go back and read 'The Shining' again, both to see if it would scare me now that I'm older and because the 'sequel' will be coming out this year. Pretty cool.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Carrie Rubin said:


> Stephen King's The Cell--Has anyone read it?


Even though I know (from the original post) you aren't really asking just that, every time I see that title in the topics list, I want to answer, "Of course someone has read it. If Stephen King published his grocery lists for the past year as a $5.00 e-book, he'd probably sell a million of them." 

And since I'm a bit under the weather today, I could no longer resist.


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## Carrie Rubin (Nov 19, 2012)

NogDog said:


> Even though I know (from the original post) you aren't really asking just that, every time I see that title in the topics list, I want to answer, "Of course someone has read it. If Stephen King published his grocery lists for the past year as a $5.00 e-book, he'd probably sell a million of them."
> 
> And since I'm a bit under the weather today, I could no longer resist.


Yes, I guess the thread's title could be interpreted a bit literally.  Plus I said, "THE Cell" and it's just "Cell." My bad.


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## TWD Glasgow (Jan 10, 2013)

I did enjoy Cell but wouldn't say it was one of his best. I loved The Stand and Insomnia.


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## thedavebright (Sep 8, 2012)

I've been considering picking this book up for a long time. Based on what I'm hearing here I'm going to give it a go. I'm a huge fan of IT and The Stand, I won't go into this thinking it will be as good, but it def sounds worthwhile


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## MoniqueReads (Dec 31, 2011)

James Everington said:


> But the final third and the ending wasn't one of his best ones. In my opinion anyway.


I really enjoyed The Cell until the end which I thought was pretty weak, but I normally have a bit of a problem with King's endings in general. I do recommend it, I was completely drawn in and time just seemed to slip away from me while I was reading it.


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