The end of the world as we know it New tales of Stephen King's The Stand

Stephen King's iconic postapocalyptic dark fantasy The Stand, originally published in 1978, has entertained readers and influenced a generation of writers. In this weighty volume, 34 of them offer their takes on the characters and themes of the novel. The stories, divided into four sections, are organized loosely within the time line of the novel, ending with a possible future in David J. Schow's "Walk on Gilded Splinters," which in itself is reminiscent of Walter M. Miller Jr.'s classic A Canticle for Leibowitz. The stories vary from visceral and violent to philosophical, and the breadth and diversity of the included authors add depth to King's world. Gabino Iglasias takes readers on a melancholy journey through virus-ravaged Puerto Rico in "The Hope Boat" and Usman T. Malik imagines Mother Abagail's visions in Pakistan in "The Mosque at the End of the World." With a star-studded list of authors, including some outside the realm of the horror genre, this highly anticipated collection will garner a wide audience. Ardent fans, or as co-editor Brian Keene calls them, "constant readers," will relish the captivating and sometimes repulsive individuals that populate this homage to the battle of good versus evil and the effects of catastrophe that is human nature.

For this chilling postapocalyptic anthology, 36 authors--including big-name horror writers like Tananarive Due and Chuck Wendig, and those best known for their work in other genres, such as S.A. Cosby--explore and expand the world of Stephen King's The Stand, in which 99.8% of humanity has been killed by the Captain Trips super flu. The contributors approach this eerie setting with creativity and curiosity, perhaps none more so than Catriona Ward, whose "The African Painted Dog" explores how the pandemic affects animals in a zoo. C. Robert Cargill's "Wrong Fucking Place, Wrong Fucking Time" follows two horror-film-loving survivors in Roosevelt, Tex., who'd always believed that it "would be a great town if it weren't for all the people," and whose taste in videotapes ends up being life-saving. In "Kovach's Last Case," Michael Koryta imagines a dedicated homicide cop who's search for a suspected serial killer in the midst of the apocalypse places him in an ethical dilemma. Even readers unfamiliar with The Stand will find much to enjoy here, while fans will be pleased by the attention to detail. Every entry hits the mark, a tribute both to the editors' selection process and King's original worldbuilding. (Aug.)