Reviewing anthologies is always a bit complicated, so here's what we're going to do. Below you'll find the titles of all the stories, a brief, non spoilery description, and a line of my thoughts. Below that I'll talk more generally about the book. The stories are split into four sections; the largest is set during Captain Trips and the fall of humanity, while others are set during the trek to Boulder or Las Vegas, several years after the Last Stand, and then there's a couple of Otherworld stories as well. If you're thinking about reading this, I'll assume you're familiar with the basic plot of The Stand - a plague is released that wipes out most of humanity in about two to three weeks, and the survivors are drawn to either Flagg or Mother Abagail to begin rebuilding.
Section 1: During Captain Trips
Room 24 – A policeman becomes obsessed with a woman who might be a victim of domestic abuse. Mildly disturbing. I feel like the author was trying to be Stephen King rather than leaning into his own skill, but it's an interesting read.
The Tripps – Set in a ghetto in San Francisco, a young Black boy deals with gang violence and the Walkin' Dude as his neighborhood succumbs to Captain Trips. Interesting read, good twist, I liked the writing style.
Bright Light City – Set in Las Vegas and features a small group trying to escape before the Walkin' Dude gets there. Good tone, I enjoyed it.
Every Dog Has Its Day – A teenage survivor grapples with guilt after losing his family and his dog. A surviving dog may be his salvation. I liked this one; it felt like King but not aggressively like him, just in a natural way.
Lockdown – Set on an almost deserted island as they begin a lockdown to keep themselves protected. One islander is called by Flagg, one by Mother Abagail. This is exactly the kind of story I was hoping to find – how did places like that fare? However, I feel like it stops rather than ends. It also mentioned some events from the original novel, the first one so far to do that.
In a Pig's Eye – A survivor turns to the woods to escape a cannibal gang, trying to avoid the local wild hogs - who just might be his saviours. A gory but interesting one, well written.
Lenora – A survivor battles loneliness and despair when his pet dies of the superflu. This one really got me! Sad but a touch of hope at the end.
The Hope Boat – A woman realises that hope can be deadly. Haunting - this one will stay with me for a while.
Wrong Fking Place, Wrong Fking Time – Three good ol' Texas boys make a new life for themselves amidst the ruins. I like this one: the horror movie metaphor really works, and the characters are good.
Prey Instinct – A young woman discovers that there are worse things than Captain Trips in the dark. Not so fond of this one - the writing style didn’t suit me, too abstract, but it's a clever idea.
Grace – The last astronauts have to decide what to do with their last few days. Yes! Exactly what I was looking for from this collection.
Moving Day – The last survivor of a town drifts through his days until a chance encounter wakes him back up to life. The timeline seems odd in this one, but it's the most tightly connected to the novel so far, with an actual at-a-distance encounter with a main character.
(Timeline issue: Campion escaped the Mojave lab on June 13, died in Texas on June 15. This story is set in Vermont on July 4, yet mentions a failed National Guard barricade, several scavenger groups, and the protagonist not seeing anyone since July 1. That’s a lot in fifteen days, especially being as far across the country as it is! The NG didn't barricade healthy cities, only infected ones. I think the author chose that date to tie into something from the novel, but it still feels too tight.)
La Mala Hora – Against all odds, a mother and her son survive. This one felt like it could have been set anywhere; it didn’t really seem connected to The Stand.
The African Painted Dog – The last survivors of a zoo try to understand the end of days. This one was really upsetting to read, but good too.
Till Human Voices Wake Us, and We Drown – An HIV victim learns there are stranger things in the world than the Dark Man. This one doesn’t seem to fit either - it has a fantasy element that doesn’t match The Stand, but as a story, it's good. There’s some sexual content.
Kovach's Last Case – The last detective left in a city wrestles with how to solve his last case. Interesting, this one - thought-provoking.
Make Your Own Way – A young farmgirl has to trust her instincts in the days after the plague. The timeline seems a bit off again, but the writing is good and the story is interesting.
Section 2: The Long Walk (Travel to Boulder or Las Vegas)
I Love the Dead – A Jerry Garcia superfan goes looking for him after the end. A bit odd, uncomfortable being in his thoughts, but that shows that it's well written.
Milagros – A young girl tries to escape Puerto Rico to find Mother Abagail. (Warning: child and animal death.)
The Legion of Swine – A farmer wrestles with which way to walk. Interesting and a bit creepy, but I didn’t like that Mother Abagail played a fiddle in this one! She plays a guitar.
Keep the Devil Down – A woman fights off the devil as she travels toward Nebraska. I didn’t like this one, but it’s well written. Just didn’t suit me.
Across the Pond – Flagg’s influence stretches all the way to London. Well written but again a little disturbing.
The Boat Man – Two children try to escape from Key West in the company of an uncertain sailor. This one is creepy for reasons beyond the setting.
The Story I Tell Is the Story of Some of Us – An odd one about a clash between Flagg and Abagail’s followers as they try to recruit a young man. Not my style, but well written.
The Mosque at the End of the World – A community in Pakistan sees the edges of Mother Abagail’s fight, but they have their own fights to contend with. Beautiful, scary, and will stay with me for a while.
Abagail’s Gethsemane – This is not the first plague Abagail has seen, or the first time she stood against the Walkin’ Dude. This one was odd; the back-and-forth timeline didn’t suit me.
Section 3: Life Was Such a Wheel (Post-Final Stand)
He’s a Righteous Man – A writer who prophesied the plague finds that the survivors do not forgive. Shades of Children of the Corn here, and a clever twist. Timeline again, though - the story says that his novel was published on the 24th of June, but at that point most of the world was dead.
Awaiting Orders in Flagstone – Not all of Flagg’s followers died in Las Vegas, and a young girl has to try to appease one. Great creepy tone and an ending that hints at Of Mice and Men.
Grand Junction – Thirty years after Las Vegas, a young man grapples with good and evil. Ohhhh, shivers from this one! Very clever, and looks at a few realities of life that long after the plague.
Hunted to Extinction – Twenty-one years after Las Vegas, Flagg tries again in a Canadian community. The thought of the survivors suffering sterility is terrifying. It's a shame the writers obviously didn't coordinate, as Grand Junction has children, but it's quite possible that in a world of reduced travel the secondary infection didn't travel outside Canada.
Came the Last Night of Sadness – Flagg’s child, reborn into a new world, has to make a choice about what kind of world to create. Intriguing, and I love the last line.
The Devil’s Children – Two generations after Las Vegas, survivors attempt to learn from the children of those survivors who were never infected. An interesting look at the future with a touch of The Time Machine.
Section 4: Other Worlds Than These (Far Future/Alternate Takes)
The Unfortunate Convalescence of the Superlawyer – An odd meta story about a character removed from the first edition of The Stand during revisions. A bit weird for me, this one. I think the characters he meets are from other King books, but I didn't recognise them. (The Tower and Night Surf, I think, but I'm guessing.)
Walk on Gilded Splinters – A complicated story about how history records things. I think I missed a lot of the subtlety of this one - I get the point but not the details.
Animal lovers should be careful with Every Dog has his Day, Lenore, Milagros, and the one that's really stuck with me and I'm still thinking about a week after finishing, The African Painted Dog. There's also a little about animals in Came the Last Night of Sadness but it's a happier end.
The Stand is one of my favourite Kings, so as soon as I heard about this book I knew I'd have to try it. I wasn't disappointed, on the whole; most of these stories are really good, and a few are standout. The ones I didn't like were down to style differences, not bad writing, so they'll probably be the favourites of other readers.
As it happened, I was reading this while on holiday in a relatively deserted area - it's not unusual to walk for an hour and see less than half a dozen other people, which made for a creepy background! There were some images and ideas in different stories here that will stay with me for a long, long time.
If you are a Stand fan, definitely add this to your collection. I'm not sure it stands alone, but as a companion it's amazing and answers some questions I had after reading the original. Amazing.
Book Recommendation: Earth Abides was among the very first novels to suggest a world ending plague. It was written in 1949 and is strongly of that time, but it's a very interesting read. A mini series version was recently shown.
Movie Recommendation: If you haven't seen either of the two televised versions of The Stand, do yourself a favour and check them out. They both feature some of the best actors of their times. The newer one has better effects and some characters have been gender flipped for a better balance, but the first few episodes jump around in the timeline which can make for a frustrating watch, while the earlier one starts at the start and goes straight through.
The End of the World as we Know It publishes on the 19th of August, 2025, in both the US (top image) and the UK (lower image). I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.
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