Cell

Campbell Scott's measured pace leads the listener through this updating of King's 1978 bestseller, THE STAND, with the earlier novel's apocalyptic super-flu replaced by a cell phone pulse that renders anyone with Motorola to the ear a vicious zombie with indiscriminate eating habits. As a band of ragtag survivors staggers north from Boston to Maine, Scott does a smooth, subtle job with the challenging Yankee accent in all its urban and rural permutations. Poorly adjusted editing does pitch Scott's voice eerily deep at times, but the story is entertaining overall. And if you're a cell phone user, you're guaranteed to hesitate the next time you prepare to punch "Send." A.M.D. (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine