1. The Stand

by Stephen King (1141 pgs)

Rating: 4

The U.S. government screws up, illicit plague research leaks (literally), over 99% of the world population is dead within a month. Those left are troubled by vivid dreams of evil and good embodied by a scary dark man in old cowboy boots and an ancient black woman living in Nebraska. God and the devil are having a power struggle over the remains of humanity and the survivors have to pick sides.

The Stand is an incredibly long book. It's also pretty good. King uses several characters on both sides of the struggle to move the action forward. Because of the length, most of the characters have a wealth of depth and feel distinct. However, also because of the length there's a definite fatigue factor to consider when reading it. While the narrative drags only briefly in a couple of places, I found myself getting rather tired of reading it after about 600 pages. The supernatural aspects didn't always overlay the apocalypse themes. I was a little uncomfortable with the religious themes at times but didn't find them too overbearing. All and all, it was a good read.

Recommended to horror fans and anyone contemplating a long trip.