Book: Cell by Stephen King

As I mentioned before, Cell combines two of my favorite things: Stephen King and zombies. It's not really hordes of the undead, but he dedicates the book to George Romero and Richard Matheson, so I know what's going on.

Premise: at 3 PM on a weekday afternoon, cellphones start ringing. But there's a carrier signal built into cellphone communications that wipes out higher brain function, essentially turning the listeners into pure Id-driven killing machines. So only those not with a cellphone come out OK.

But the "phoners" aren't just zombies - they almost immediately start evolving into something else. Something perhaps even more sinister. So the survivors have to fight for survival against an ever-growing menace.

Cell is short for a King book (450 pages or so, if memory serves), but it's tightly written and edited in a way that reminds me of a first-time break-out novel rather than one by the master. Kudos to King and his editor for putting out a really snappy suspense novel, and for adding his own little mark to the zombie genre.

So in other words, if you like King or zombies or both, do yourself a favor and take a long weekend day or a few nights and read cell.