Cell
by Stephen King
★ Top 25 book of 2006 · #14 on Best Books of 2006
A mysterious signal sent over the global cell phone network turns most people into mindless, vicious animals. A New England artist struggles to reunite with his young son in this apocalyptic horror novel by Stephen King.
Best for: Horror fans who like apocalyptic stories driven by a man's struggle to reach his son
Cell is #14 on BookWard's Best Books of 2006, out of 46 2006 books that cleared our data bar.
What Cell is about
Clayton Riddell is a struggling artist from Maine who has just landed a graphic novel deal in Boston when a signal called the Pulse travels across the cell phone network. Anyone using a phone is turned into a zombie-like killer, and the city begins to burn around him. Clay escapes with Thomas McCourt and fifteen-year-old Alice Maxwell, and his one aim is to get home to his son, Johnny.
Their journey north takes them across a ruined New England, where the infected are changing into something stranger and more organized than mindless attackers. Along the way the group begins to share unsettling visions. Stephen King mixes a fast, grim pace with a father's fear of losing his child. It will appeal to readers who like apocalypse stories where survival and family matter as much as the danger.
Cell on the Best Books of 2006
Cell came out in 2006. Of the 46 books first published in 2006 that met BookWard's data bar, it ranks #14 on our Best Books of 2006 list.
Why it made the list: 830 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 3.6 out of 5 (123 ratings); 33 are reading it right now. The list ranks each year’s books on how many readers have picked them up, how highly readers rate them, and how many are reading them right now.
Nearby on the 2006 list
- World War Z Max Brooks, #12
- Horus Rising Dan Abnett, #13
- Sharp Objects Gillian Flynn, #15
- Fablehaven Brandon Mull, #16
See all Best Books of 2006 Best books by year
More years: Best Books of 2005 Best Books of 2007.
The numbers behind it
- Readers: 646 want to read it, 33 are reading it now and 151 have read it, according to Open Library.
- Ratings: 3.6 out of 5 from 123 Open Library ratings.
| Signal | This book (0 to 100) | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Reach | 85 | 55% |
| Reader love | 9 | 25% |
| Being read right now | 80 | 20% |
Questions about Cell
When was Cell published?
Cell by Stephen King was first published in 2006.
Was Cell one of the best books of 2006?
Cell is #14 on BookWard's Best Books of 2006, out of 46 2006 books that cleared our data bar. 830 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 3.6 out of 5 (123 ratings); 33 are reading it right now.
Why is Cell on the Best Books of 2006 list?
830 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 3.6 out of 5 (123 ratings); 33 are reading it right now.
More of the best books of 2006
- The Sea of Monsters Rick Riordan, #1
- The Book Thief Markus Zusak, #2
- Half of a Yellow Sun Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, #3
- The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas John Boyne, #4
- The Secret Rhonda Byrne, #5
- Mindset Carol S. Dweck, #6
See the full Best Books of 2006, the Top 100, or new books on Rising.
How we know
This page uses public data: Open Library reader counts and ratings, and Wikipedia page views for recent years. The description is paraphrased from real source text. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Lists update monthly.
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