What's so special about Stephen King's "Cell".

Yesterday, as I was down with a fever, I spent most of my day lying in bed. However, I wasn't quite able to sleep. So, I decided to do a little light reading instead, while letting my body get some much needed rest. I decided to read one of the many cheap books that I'd picked up from Galloway & Porter [my favourite bookstore in Cambridge]. The cost of my hardback copy was 1 quid.

The basic premise is, from wikipedia: "It is October 1, and a struggling young artist named Clayton Riddell has finally caught a break, which is good news for him, his estranged wife and their young son Johnny. He has come to Boston on this pleasant afternoon and landed a major comic book deal with Dark Horse Comics that comes with a hefty paycheck and the likelihood that he can go from teaching art to making it. With a celebratory gift for his wife already in hand, Clay decides to treat himself to some ice cream in the Boston Common. As he waits in line at a Mr. Softee ice cream truck, Clay's life, and the life of every human on Earth, changes forever. Somebody, somewhere, triggers "The Pulse", a signal sent out over the global cell-phone network which instantly strips any cell-phone user of their reason and humanity, locking them into a merciless homicidal frenzy. In minutes, civilization crumbles as the masses of "phoner" victims attack each other and any unaltered "normals" in view."

Sounds like a cheesy zombie horror plot to me. However, I gave it the benefit of the doubt, seeing that it is a King novel. What finally made it special was that it mentioned the name of my favourite SciFi author, Neal Stephenson. The exact line used was: "Neal Stephenson is god!". Haha, I am too easy to satisfy. However, for 1 quid, I cannot really complain much.

That one line placed this book on the right side of the fence. I've not finised reading it yet. So, I don't really know how good the rest of the novel is. As for my fever, it has subsided. The last time I took my paracetamol was at 5am this morning and I've yet to have a relapse. Now, I'm just feeling a little weak and will just need some more rest to fully recover into my cheery little self.

I'd like to say thank you to all my friends who extended their well wishes, wanted to give me food and drinks [and a full body massage]!

*** image from wikipedia ***