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<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nTHE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT<\/strong> Edited by<\/strong> With an Introduction by<\/strong> Hodder & Stoughton (<\/strong>hodder.co.uk<\/a>)<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a325<\/strong><\/p>\n Buy a copy from your favourite independent bookshop<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Almost 50 years after its first publication (and 35 since its re-release in a much more complete form), Stephen King\u2019s epic novel\u00a0The Stand<\/em>\u00a0remains one of the finest examples of post-apocalyptic fiction that literature has to offer. Often emulated, but never bettered, it tells the story of an America in the aftermath of a super-flu (nicknamed Captain Trips) that wipes out the vast majority of the population, leaving little more than a handful of survivors who split down the lines of good and evil, following centenarian Mother Abigail to Boulder, Colorado, or Randall Flagg \u2013 the Dark Man; the Walkin\u2019 Dude \u2013 to his base in Las Vegas, Nevada.\u00a0The Stand<\/em>\u00a0has spawned two television miniseries (to varying degrees of success) and a comic-book adaptation that, while excellent, misses a lot of the detail that makes King\u2019s novel so special. To celebrate this epic novel horror giants Christopher Golden and Brian Keene have joined forces and compiled an anthology of stories that take place in the world of\u00a0The Stand<\/em>, by some of the biggest authors working today, and a veritable Who\u2019s Who of modern horror.<\/p>\n The book is split into four sections, with titles coming from across the breadth of King\u2019s works (\u201cThe Long Walk\u201d, or \u201cOther Worlds Than These\u201d), splitting the stories into a rough timeline within King\u2019s universe: during the outbreak \u2013 around the time when King\u2019s characters would have been losing their loved ones and coming to terms with the new world; after the outbreak \u2013 which happens while King\u2019s characters are making the long trek across America to Boulder or Las Vegas; after the \u201cevent\u201d in Vegas \u2013 sometime after the end of\u00a0The Stand.<\/em>\u00a0The final section contains two stories which defy easy categorisation. Topped and tailed by a foreword and afterword by Golden and Keene, the book is given the official stamp of approval in the form of an introduction by Stephen King himself.<\/p>\n The End of the World As We Know It<\/em>\u00a0is a very strong anthology, and each author places his or her story somewhere on the timeline of the novel. Some (such as Chizmar\u2019s story) interact directly with the events of\u00a0The Stand<\/em>, while others show what was going on off-stage, as it were. The majority of the stories are set in America, which is understandable, given the authors involved, but we also catch glimpses of England and Pakistan, amongst others, and one memorable entry that takes place on a space shuttle. There are a few notable names missing from the content list for whatever reason (Golden and Keene are called out specifically by King in his introduction, which feels like a massive missed opportunity, while it might have been nice to have King revisit the universe after almost fifty years), but overall there\u2019s a lot to love about\u00a0The End of the World As We Know It<\/em>, and very little to be disappointed about (besides the fact that it had to end!). As I read, I found myself wondering how different this book might have been in a world where COVID-19 never existed. Much of what we see \u2013 especially in the earlier stories while people are still trying to work out how to fight the outbreak \u2013 talk about things like lockdowns and toilet roll shortages, stories that come from our experience of having lived through what we all thought at the time might just be\u00a0The Stand<\/em>, and so there\u2019s a sense of reality here because these authors are talking about shared experiences, something that their readers have lived through. King didn\u2019t have that \u201cluxury\u201d back in the late seventies, and so we accept much of his theories because they seem reasonable. There\u2019s a part of me that wants to see how\u00a0The End of the World As We Know It<\/em>\u00a0might have turned out in a world without COVID\u2026or, for that matter, how different\u00a0The Stand<\/em>\u00a0might have been if it was written today.<\/p>\n It might have been nice to see a bit more of the world as we journey through the timeline \u2013 less focus on America which, let\u2019s face it, King pretty much covers in the source material. There\u2019s a bevy of international horror authors who could have brought that \u201coutside\u201d view, but maybe that\u2019s just the Irishman in me! There are a good number of the stories that feature children or teens in a central role, which is less of a criticism and more of an observation \u2013 it\u2019s interesting to see how many authors used these characters as a way into this post-apocalyptic world, and how it contrasts with King\u2019s approach, which takes a much more adult-centric view of the world. But these are minor niggles in the grand scheme of things.<\/p>\n Brian Keene talks in his afterword about re-reading\u00a0The Stand\u00a0<\/em>on an annual basis. For me, it\u2019s not quite as often, but it is a book I return to on a regular basis. And it\u2019s clear that many King fans are similarly disposed.\u00a0The End of the World As We Know It<\/em>\u00a0is likely to become a companion piece for that regular re-read, and the stories told within its pages will become as familiar to Constant Reader as the stories of Frannie and Stu, Larry and Nick and all of the other beloved characters (and, let\u2019s be honest here, all of the hated characters too!) from King\u2019s novel (many might even say \u201cmasterpiece\u201d). If you\u2019re a fan of\u00a0The Stand<\/em>\u00a0and you\u2019re waiting for confirmation that this is worth the read, I\u2019m here to tell you that you should stop what you\u2019re doing, and get reading as soon as you can. Not every story will be for every reader \u2013 with such a wide variety of authors, even some from without the horror genre \u2013 but there\u2019s more than enough variety here to capture the imagination of every reader, and remind us of why we find ourselves returning to\u00a0The Stand<\/em>\u00a0again and again. The rest of this review takes a quick (spoiler-free!) run through the thirty-four stories contained within, but if you take one thing away from reading this piece, it should be this: read\u00a0The End of the World As We Know It<\/em>! You won\u2019t regret it, and you\u2019ll find gems scattered throughout that will bring this universe back to life in ways you could never imagine.<\/p>\n Caroline Kepnes, best known for her novel\u00a0You<\/em>\u00a0and its successful Netflix adaptation, opens the anthology by sticking very close to her comfort zone. In \u201cRoom 24<\/strong>\u201d, a policeman is called to a domestic disturbance to find a wife making excuses for her abusive husband. He becomes obsessed with her, and when Captain Trips hits, finds himself in the perfect position to rescue her from her situation. But this is a story as old as time, the type of story that Jim Thompson might have written in his heyday, and there is no happily ever after. Wrath James White introduces us to 10-year-old Talik in his story, \u201cThe Tripps<\/strong>\u201d, set in the Philadelphia ghetto. It\u2019s a look at good versus evil in microcosm: Talik has the same dreams as King\u2019s characters, and so we find a young boy who needs to be with Mother Abigail, while Flagg uses his family members as puppets to try and kill him and prevent him from becoming part of the Boulder Free Zone, knowing that the more people who join Abigail Freemantle\u2019s ragtag group, the harder it will be to complete his own mission. White also shows us the dark side of humanity, as Talik thinks<\/p>\n The whole world is dying, and niggas is still tryin\u2019 to kill each other.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n A flight attendant is the unlikely heroine of the next story as thriller writer Meg Gardiner takes us to Las Vegas several weeks before it becomes Flagg\u2019s stronghold. In \u201cBright Light City<\/strong>\u201d, taken from the lyrics of Elvis Presley\u2019s\u00a0Viva Las Vegas<\/em>, Dani Cooper\u2019s flight is forced off the runway at Vegas airport as it attempts to leave the city during the outbreak\u2019s apex. Grabbing unaccompanied minor, Mollie, Dani flees the airport into the city where she goes into hiding. But Vegas is already changed from its pre-Captain Trips guise, and is now run by the sadistic Amber and her gang. Amber seems to have a direct link to Flagg, and is the main obstacle that stands between Dani and freedom.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery Dog Has Its Day<\/strong>\u201d by Bryan Smith introduces us to 17-year-old Corey Adams. Corey lives in Nashville and finds himself alone: his parents have both succumbed to Captain Trips, while his sister has left without him and his dog has disappeared. Out for a walk Corey goes to investigate a barking dog in the distance and ends up having a close encounter with someone you\u2019d rather not meet in a dark alley:<\/p>\n This is what he was thinking when he heard the sound that finally roused him from the worst depths of misery and self-pity. Not the resumption of barking he might have hoped for, but another sound, one that stirred instant unease and prickled the hairs at the back of his neck. Boot heels clocking on asphalt. Not too close yet, but not far away, either. And there was another sound, that of someone \u2013 a man \u2013 humming a vaguely recognizable tune, a pop song that had been popular in recent weeks, prior to the onset of the plague.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n And so, we encounter our first reference to another mainstay of King\u2019s universe that will crop up in story after story: Larry Underwood\u2019s hit record,\u00a0Baby, Can You Dig Your Man?\u00a0<\/em>Walking King encyclopaedia, Bev Vincent is up next with his story \u201cLockdown<\/strong>\u201d. Set on Seacliff Island, Maine, the 13 residents decide to isolate themselves from the rest of the world. They will stay on the island, and prevent anyone from outside getting too close. The problem is the 2 honeymooners who are trapped on the island with them. There is no surprise that Bev\u2019s tale, despite its isolation, contains the most King detail, and feels like an aside to\u00a0The Stand<\/em>.<\/p>\n Horror legend Joe R. Lansdale gives us a gory redneck tale about Ricky from Mud Creek, East Texas in \u201cIn A Pig\u2019s Eye<\/strong>\u201c. Ricky flees into the woods when Captain Trips hits, and rescues a girl who is on the run from Gene West, one-time bully and now the town\u2019s chief of police. Gene wants to rape and then eat the girl, and Ricky is standing in his way. Add in a wild boar, and you have the ingredients for a gory but very fun story. Jonathan Janz\u2019s tale, \u201cLenora<\/strong>\u201d, also involves an animal. 66-year-old Baker Ludlow lives alone having lost his wife and daughters to a house-fire many years before the plague. When a dying pastor delivers him a baby dik-dik from a nearby farm, Baker is dubious \u2013 he can\u2019t care for this poor animal. Unfortunately for them both, one of the only other survivors from the local town is psychopath \u201cDead Ed\u201d Dedaker, who is working his way through the rest of the survivors in the area, and who will force the pair to bond when he attacks Baker\u2019s house.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Hope Boat<\/strong>\u201d by Gabino Iglesias takes us to Puerto Rico, where we find Sandra and her neighbour Mercedes. When Mercedes succumbs to the flu she sends Sandra on a mission to find a boat that, she claims, is taking people to a refuge full of survivors. It\u2019s a 10- or 12-mile hike, and it\u2019s the hope of what waits at the end of it that keeps Sandra going. Iglesias\u2019 story takes place in a reality where Stephen King exists as an author, as Sandra packs his novel\u00a0The Dark Half<\/em> into her backpack to read on the journey. It also brings news from afar, in a throwaway line:<\/p>\n She said whole families survived in the Dominican Republic.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n Next up is C. Robert Cargill\u2019s \u201cWrong Fucking Place, Wrong Fucking Time<\/strong>\u201d, which takes us back to Texas and introduces us to Derek and Alan, a pair of ranch hands who spend their days tending to the rest of the town\u2019s inhabitants, burying them when they die. They meet Bill, a quiet sort who is the only other survivor in town. Derek and Alan invite him to join them at their bunkhouse where they drink and watch horror double bills every night. As Bill settles into the routine, the three become friends. When they disturb a group of people who have broken into the town\u2019s food mart, Derek and Alan discover that Bill can\u2019t quite distinguish between movies and real life. Hailey Piper\u2019s \u201cPrey Instinct<\/strong>\u201d takes us on the run with Silvia, who is avoiding \u201cthe captain\u201d, and anyone who could be carrying it. Silvia is gay in a time when the AIDS pandemic is ravaging that community, and she finds herself comparing it to this new disease as she loses those closest to her. As it turns out, Captain Trips will be the least of her worries.\u00a0<\/p>\n Tim Lebbon takes us into space in \u201cGrace<\/strong>\u201d. During one of my many re-reads of\u00a0The Stand<\/em>, or perhaps during one of my many visits to one post-apocalyptic world or another, I found myself wondering what might happen to the people on the International Space Station as the world ends. Lebbon\u2019s story sort of answers that, as we find ourselves on the Space Shuttle\u00a0Discovery<\/em>. The shuttle is carrying nuclear weapons to the SDI platform, Reagan\u2019s so-called\u00a0Star Wars\u00a0<\/em>program. As we join the crew, the pilot Frank is dead, having killed himself and taken Hans as collateral damage. Gemma, Matt and Lizzie, the remaining crew, are trying to work out how to crash the shuttle in a way that ends it quickly and doesn\u2019t cause a nuclear explosion on an already-ravaged planet. But one of them is under the influence of Flagg. Lebbon\u2019s story stands out because it\u2019s so different to any of the other stories, which all follow familiar patterns. It\u2019s one of the hidden gems in a strong anthology and is likely to be one of the stories that sticks in the readers mind.<\/p>\n Fifteen-year-old Tommy Harper lives in Bennington, Vermont. Richard Chizmar\u2019s \u201cMoving Day<\/strong>\u201d follows Tommy as he spends his days on top of the town\u2019s water tower, watching as the army arrive and then die off. Watching, too, as a motorcycle arrives on the evening of July 3rd carrying a man and an older woman. They pitch a tent and spend the night. When Tommy awakes on the morning of Independence Day he watches as the naked man leaves the tent, empties his bladder and sings the National Anthem as loud as he can, before leaving, distraught, the woman still in the tent, obviously having died during the night. With the exception, perhaps, of Nat Cassidy\u2019s off-the-wall entry towards the end of the collection, \u201cMoving Day\u201d is the closest we come to actually intersecting with the events of\u00a0The Stand<\/em>, and we\u2019re in safe hands with regular King collaborator Chizmar. Alex Segura\u2019s \u201cLa Mala Hora<\/strong>\u201d gives us Desi Calderon who is on the run with her son, Danny. They have been on the run since before the outbreak, when her ex promised he would come to Miami and take the boy from her. They find a small hotel where they can rest for the night, lucky to find a room without any bodies in it. But when Desi wakes in the middle of the night, she discovers they are not alone.<\/p>\n
New Tales of Stephen King\u2019s The Stand<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n
Christopher Golden (<\/strong>christophergolden.com<\/a>)<\/strong>
Brian Keene (<\/strong>briankeene.com<\/a>)<\/strong><\/p>\n
Stephen King (<\/strong>stephenking.com<\/a>)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n
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