The Stand, By Stephen King. What can I say besides I’ve read this book three times and am about to read it again? It’s a classic Dystopian, Apocalyptic, End-of-the-world-because-of-a-deadly-virus, Quest-for-Salvation, Good-vs-Evil book with a plot and characters that keep you rooted to the page, lost in a world that is not—or was not—reality; a story that scares you until you remind yourself that’s it’s fiction. Or is it? Maybe it’s an allegory of sorts, of mankind’s struggle to find the good in a frightening world. King is at his very best here, creating memorable characters (the good guys and the bad), and a sense of place that rivets you into the world where cities are destroyed and the landscape is barren and the world is very, very dangerous. Follow Stuart and Frannie and Nick and Tom Collins—and the rest of the group of people who cross the country to save mankind. A must read for any fans of, well, a book you can’t put down.
