Cell (novel)
novel by Stephen King
Cell is a 2006 apocalyptic horror novel by American author Stephen King. The story follows a New England artist struggling to reunite with his young son after a mysterious signal broadcast over the global cell phone network turns the majority of his fellow humans into mindless vicious animals.
Plot
Clayton Riddell, a struggling artist from Maine, lands a graphic novel deal in Boston when "The Pulse", a signal sent over the global cell phone network, turns cell phone users into zombie-like killers. Civilization crumbles as the "phoners" attack anyone in view.
Amidst the chaos, Clay is thrown together with middle-aged Thomas McCourt and fifteen-year-old Alice Maxwell; the trio escapes to Tom's suburban home as Boston burns. The next day, they forage for food and band together. Clay is determined to return to Maine and reunite with his son, Johnny. Tom and Alice reluctantly come with him. They trek north across a devastated New England, having fleeting encounters with other survivors and catching hints about the activities of the phoners, who attack non-phoners on sight.
Crossing into New Hampshire, they arrive at the Gaiten Academy, a prep school where only Headmaster Charles Ardai and pupil Jordan are unaffected.
The public source identifies “Cell (novel)” as novel by Stephen King. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Cell, novel and Stephen.
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Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q469889. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2006.
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This entry incorporates text from “Cell (novel)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.