“Modern technology gets an old-fashioned Stephen King bitchslap in this horror about the human race falling victim to its own creation. In one single moment, all those connected via cell phone are "pulsed" and forever altered. Those that remain clear of the mobiles after that point are safe from whatever happened to their friends, coworkers, and loved ones, but now have to try and stay clear of the violence that erupts as a result.
Clay and Tom, two "normies" that band together in order to escape the initial outbreak, become the center of a small group of travelers seeking answers and survival in their sudden new world. The challenge is difficult enough when confronted with the sheer craziness of the "pulsed", but when it seems those converted are starting to organize, however crudely it may be, the travelers have to start putting together solutions before they get herded to their own deaths.
It's gross, it's bloody, it's violent, it's occasionally humorous, sometimes philosophical, and totally Stephen King. It starts off scary and gruesome, and doesn't let off the throttle at any point. There are no qualms about making the survivors miserable, and there are no guarantees that anyone you like lives long enough for you to love them.
I've never read a Stephen King that I didn't at least "like"...there is something very captivating about his storytelling, for me, even when it's balls-to-the-wall terrifying and I have to put it away for the night for fear I'll never get to sleep. But he also makes me think about things, the things in our society and the things in my own brain that are the true monsters that go bump in the night. I always seem to finish a King novel a bit breathless, thrilled with the ride, and really really happy it's fiction. And yet...I may never listen to Debby Boone quite the same way again.”
Jen M wrote this review Sunday, January 29, 2012.
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