Authors: William Sleator
ISBN-13: 9780810993600, ISBN-10: 0810993600
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Harry N Abrams Inc
Date Published: September 2007
Edition: Reprint
William Sleator is considered a master of science fiction and thrillers for middle-grade readers and young adults. Publishers Weekly says his work is "the best that science fiction can offer." He divides his time between homes in Boston and rural Thailand.
A modern murder story with a devilish twist
Master of horror William Sleator has created another creepy, heart-pumping classic in Hell Phone. Nick wants a cell phone so he can talk to his girlfriend, Jen, after school, and the used phone he buys seems like a bargain. That is, until the phone calls begindemanding, disturbed strangers calling night and day. At first Nick wants to get rid of the phone, but the creepy callers and the phone's ghoulish games pull him into a web of crime, pushing him to steal, con. . . and kill.
Fans of Sleator's The Boy Who Couldn't Die will enjoy this equally diabolical thriller.
Praise for Hell Phone
"An entertaining and unquestionably dark diversion . . ." Publishers Weekly
"Sleator, the author of Interstellar Pig, The Boy Who Couldn't Die, and many other SF thrillers for YAs, excels at this genre, and horror fans will enjoy every nasty detail." Kliatt
"A suspense-filled plot and touches of macabre humor will appeal to both horror fans and reluctant readers." Kirkus
"The rapid pace and vivid, unsettling conception of the Inferno will grab horror readers." School Library Journal
Sleator's (The Boy Who Couldn't Die) lean, fast-paced horror tale moves from fascinating to far-fetched, all under a palpable blanket of darkness. Nick, a high-school junior, decides to get a cell phone so he can make calls to his girlfriend, Jen. But the only one he can afford comes from a discount store and has no caller ID. Soon after acquiring it, the 17-year-old gets a sinister phone call from someone demanding to know his name and location. He gets another from a tearful woman, begging to know what happened to someone named Trang. The phone is loaded with "Games from Hell" (e.g., "Torture Master" and "Joyful Sins to Get You In") and at least some of the inbound calls come from Hell itself. Sleator makes some interesting commentary on cell phone use and its ability to both aid in and thwart communication (when Nick and Jen go to dinner and his phone rings, she says, "I thought we came here to be together"). The sinister caller threatens to hurt Jen, then escapes into the real world with Nick's unwitting help. From here the story becomes less interesting and a bit silly as it circles around a dark family secret (not Nick's family) and takes a predictable turn. An entertaining and unquestionably dark diversion, the tale unfortunately does not live up to the tantalizing promise of its first few chapters. Ages 13-up. (Sept.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.