The End of the World as We Know It

Probably a dream commission for most working authors of a certain age, and it shows in the names attached. Still there are signs people struggle to profile what makes this The Stand and not generic apocalypse shorts. The safest bet is introducing a connection to Flagg of course, or the call to the west in dreams. Brief cameos are a more cheeky attempt to link the stories. At worst they tend to feel a bit like lesser excised scenes from the actual book, veering into pastiche. Childhood bullies enacting vendettas, awkward first loves or sick obsessions also echo King themes directly.

In a related problem, stacking the stories thematically becomes an overload of false starts. We see the outbreak over and over and over. The same first show more ominous deaths. The same TV and radio turning dead moment signifying the end of the old world. It’s not that these themes and plot points are bad, they’re just not meant to be told in aggregate without greatly diminishing their effect. Only a handful of the authors dared to set their pieces outside that frame, and fewer still to muck around with the mythology at all.

In “Keep the Devil Down” we get a relationship between an abusive man of chaos and the strong woman called for better things, the prototypical The Stand story. "Room 24"/ refines this by writing an antagonist in a pitch just right for any King story. "Grace" places the same themes in space and dares to write in a significant event to the official story. Cargill's story mixes movie slasher trivia with another good vs evil showdown. It's recurring manichean themes of good and evil with a slight twist. But sometimes there's a standout like The Unfortunate Convalescence of the Superlawyer that creates a metanarrative flirting with The Dark Tower out of a scrap of lore from the books or The African Painted Dog that puts the same outbreak narrative through entirely new and nonhuman eyes to great effect.

What's really missing are stories about the original cast filling out blanks in the main story people know and love, whether due to an aversion to messing with canon or a contractual reason to stay away, the anthology of otherwise good stories struggles to cement why it's a The Stand story and not a generic post-apocalypse entry. show less

"The Stand" by Stephen King was the first book that I ever truly devoured. I think about that book all the time. I've read it too many times to count now, both the original abridged version and the behemoth uncut edition. I read the paperback copy my mom bought at an airport in the 80s so many times, the cover fell off completely. I should probably examine why my favorite books and films are all about desolate hellscapes after the apocalypse...

"The End of the World As We Know It" is a short story anthology from a variety of authors all set in the world of "The Stand." Some stories take place during the events of the original novel, others shortly after, and others far off into the future. There's definitely a mixed quality to the show more stories, a few I really didn't enjoy, but overall this anthology does an incredible job at capturing that sense of helplessness, despair, and lurking evil King so wonderfully did the first time, but told in different styles. I think if this had just been an original anthology without a tie-in to one of my all time favorites, I probably would have rated it a 4. But this is my own personal rating, and I love "The Stand" with all my heart, so this is getting the full 5. show less

Constant Readers - get this one!!! If you can't get enough of [The Stand], this book is a great place to find refuge, though refuge is a poor term considering the substance of the stories.

A couple fan-boy authors asked Uncle Stevie if they could put together an anthology of stories to pair with [The Stand], and Uncle Stevie agreed - thankfully. There are a ton of great stories. The best are the ones that successfully mimic the tone and rhythm of [The Stand], and most of them do just that. There are several direct tie-ins when one or another of the characters from the canon briefly appear on the page. The Dark Man, Randall Flagg, is all over the book. In fact, if I have a quibble, and it's a little one, it's that the overall feeling of show more the book yaws too closely to the Dark Man's side of the equation. I would have liked a few more of those dreaming of Mother Abigail - though she is one character who gets a whole story to more fully flesh out her backstory.

5 bones!!!!!
Highly Recommended!!!!! show less

When I originally heard about this one, I was so excited, because...what a fantastic idea. What a rich world to mine for additional stories. King had only pulled on a few threads...what other fascinating lives and stories could we look into? Now, I've only read one book by Christopher Golden, and it didn't do much for me, and I'm not a fan of Keene (you could say, I'm not keen of Keene) nor is he of me. Back when I was on social media, he saw fit to take offense to me calling him out on some of his more odious behaviour, and blocked me. Oh well. No great loss.

So, much as it pained me to put money in Keene's pocket, the idea of this collection was too compelling.

Flash forward to a few days ago, and I found out. Well, here we go.

PART ONE: show more DOWN WITH THE SICKNESS
Fully half of the stories in the book are in part one, and cover the coming of Captain Tripps and the world falling apart.

Room 24 - Caroline Kepnes - So, this book should come out of the gate with an absolute banger. 34 stories to choose from, there's a guaranteed banger here, right? Well, sorry, this ain't it. This anthology starts with a whimper. The story is barely connected to THE STAND, and the main character feels like Kepnes just created Joe Goldberg's brother for this story. Only okay. 2.5 stars

The Tripps - Wrath James White - Nice, solid connection with THE STAND, and a simple, yet effective story. 3.5 stars

Bright Light City - Meg Gardiner - Not bad characters, and set in Vegas, but pre-Flagg. 3 stars

Every Dog Has Its Day - Bryan Smith - Okay story, nothing special, but not horrible. 3.5 stars

Lockdown - Bev Vincent - This one surprised me, as Vincent has never impressed me much as a writer, but this story, so far, is the best of the bunch. 4 stars

In a Pig's Eye - Joe R. Lansdale - Oh thank god. Finally an author who never disappoints. Similar story to all the others (Captain Tripps comes, most die, only the really good and the really bad are left, and they have to square off), but this one has that unbeatable, totally readable Lansdale style. 5 full stars

Lenora - Jonathan Janz - And we're still stuck on the variations on the theme mentioned above, and not only is it becoming more and more disappointing with each story that treads the same ground, but also (with the exception of Lansdale) more frustrating as most just can't break out and make it something special. This is a solid average. 2.5 stars

The Hope Boat - Gambino Iglesias - And another variation on the theme, but at least we're getting a bit more variety here. Not earthshaking, but not horrible. Most of these survivors trying to make it feel like variations on King's own "Night Surf" story. 3 stars

Wrong Fucking Place, Wrong Fucking Time - C. Robert Cargill - Okay, but it felt almost more like an essay on what horror is about at times, rather than a story. 3 stars

Prey Instinct - Hailey Piper - This one didn't do a damn thing for me. Hard no. 1 star

Grace - Tim Lebbon - YAY! Fantastic concept! YAY! Someone trying something different! But...boo. The story was more annoying than anything. 2.5 stars

Moving Day - Richard Chizmar - Ugh. This guy. He just can't stop himself from killing the story by tossing a gigantic, unimportant info dump right at the beginning. And then, pretty much nothing happens. 1 star

La Mala Hora - Alex Segura - Overall, while this one was one of the better ones, the connection to THE STAND was tenuous, and the ending was disappointing. 3.5 stars

The African Painted Dog - Catriona Ward - Okay, on this one, I'll say the story is well written, but I hated it because I just don't like stories narrated by animals. Prejudice is mine, so I'll be nice and give it a 2.5 stars

Till Human Voices Wakesm and We Drown - Poppy Z. Brite - YES! FINALLY, an author willing to take a chance, go out on limb, and make the world their own, while still staying within the bounds. Fifteen stories in, and this is the first one that actually impressed me. 5 BIG stars

Kovach's Last Case - Michael Koryta - And right after that, a second one that actually takes some chances and goes in a different direction. Reasonably predictable, but at least it's not the same old same old. 4 stars

Make Your Own Way - Alma Katsu - Well written, that doesn't surprise me with Katsu, but back to the same old formula. 3.5 stars

PART TWO: THE LONG WALK

I Love The Dead - Josh Malerman - A story about the world's biggest Deadhead. Annoying. 2 stars

Milagros - Cynthia Pelayo - I'm liking the different cultures we're getting to see, and now that we're getting away from the Tripps, it's all about getting away. Well written, but just an okay story. 3 stars

The Legion of Swine - S.A. Cosby - Like Lansdale, Cosby can do no wrong. This is once again, more of the same (there's a whole lotta that in this book), but in the hands of an incredibly skilled author—and Cosby is one of those, no question—new life is breathed into it. This one was a pleasure to read. 5 stars

Keep The Devil Down - Rio Youers - Now, this one? THIS was an injection of adrenaline, and it was sorely needed. FINALLY, while this is still a good against bad, Team Nebraska against Team Vegas story, this one's got some balls. I should have been able to guess that Cosby and Youers would be two of the authors who would bring the heat. 5 stars

Across The Pond - V. Castro - And then we're back down again. Sigh. All the trademarks are here. Sex? Of course. The wrong kind? Yes, that too. But, did the story make sense? No, not so much. 1 star

The Boat Man - Tananarive Due and Steven Barnes - One of the better ones, with a fun little question at the heart of the story. 4 stars

The Story I Tell Is the Story of Some of Us - Paul Tremblay - Sigh. Okay, so, it's Tremblay, so it's well written, and there's a vague mystery at the heart of the story, but it never coalesces, and never really goes anywhere which, unfortunately, is kind of what Tremblay does, and why I can't read him anymore. 1.5 stars

The Mosque of the End of the World - Usman T. Malik - Again, totally different culture, wildly different point of view, that I enjoyed a lot, and a great twist. 4 stars

Abagail's Gethsemane - Wayne Brady and Maurice Broaddus - Okay! Another risk taking story, and one that digs into Mother Abagail...before she was Mother Abagail. I truly enjoyed this one. 4 stars

PART THREE: LIFE WAS SUCH A WHEEL

He's a Righteous Man - Ronald Malfi - Once again, an interesting take on THE STAND, way out from left field that I truly did not expect to enjoy, yet really did. And all this from an author I'm not that crazy about. 4 stars

Awaiting Orders in Flaggston - Somer Canon - Good story of the insanity of some leaders and the extreme lengths they will go to to retain their leadership. 3.5 stars

Grand Junction - Chuck Wendig - Well look at that! Another much better than expected story! And this one in the decades after the events of THE STAND. 5 stars

Hunted to Extinction - Premee Mohamed - Oh Canada! YAY! But, dammit, only an okay story. 2.5 stars

Come The Last Night of Sadness - Catherynne M. Valente - An interesting twist on Asimov's Mule from his original FOUNDATION trilogy, but written in a somewhat schizophrenic way that I found hard to enjoy. It could have been one of the better ones. 2.5 stars

The Devil's Children - Sarah Langan - This was just a meh for me. 1.5 stars

PART FOUR: OTHER WORLDS THAN THESE

The Unfortunate Convalescence of the SuperLawyer - Nat Cassidy - So, unlike the Tremblay story above, this one? This is confusion done right. Enjoyed this one. 4 stars

Walk on Gilded Splinters - David J. Schow - And here we are at the end with a story that was just about as dull as the opener way back at the beginning. 2 stars

So, that's it. Take all those individual scores and you get a firm 3 star, middle of the road collection, which is sad. I keep seeing readers saying things like, "look at that line up of authors!" (yeah, I was one of them), but now I'm just saddened at the lack of imagination. And the fact that half the damn book was about good people losing everyone around them, then having to fight against the bad guys, then (often) striking out to go...somewhere.

It's like they all drank the same Kool-Aid.

So, I was very excited for this, and hey, I did get some great stories out of it, but overall, this was a truly disappointing collection. Let's hope they don't strip mine any other King books this way. show less

Buddy read on the porch with my husband!

---jotting down a couple of thoughts 9/04---

This is a book of fanfiction for established horror writers who grew up admiring King. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. I'm having a great time with it. I love it when authors give permission for others to play in their world.

Some stories are incredibly creative. They pick up threads that from the main story and untangle them. One example is the background of the Central Park Zoo. How do zoos fare? The related short story deals with very hungry zoo animals after the death of humans. It's taken from a small set piece of The Stand made larger. It's the story I've been looking forward to most. African Painted Dogs are my favorite wild show more creatures.

-----

I finally finished the entire book over the weekend. It took a long time and I didn't finish some stories. Not all the authors were to my taste, so I didn't expect all the stories to tickle my fancy. That's okay. That's what anthologies are for. I found new authors among the bunch and will be on the look-out for more of their stuff.

Most of my favorite stories were set during the spread of Captain Trips and the Long Walk after. I was mainly put off by the double plagues and child worship of the last section. I found it boring and silly.

My faves:

“The African Painted Dog” by Catriona Ward story was definitely a favorite, as I suspected it would be. A different species affected by Captain Trips. Not our beloved companions. Something we can find familiar as pack animals, but far more primal. MEAT.

“Every Dog Has Its Day” was a nice nod to Harold Lauder and worked seamlessly into the world of The Stand.

“In a Pig’s Eye” by Joe R Lansdale was pure Lansdale. A fast, dirty, and violent survival tale. I loved it. If there is ever a television series of the anthology, this is the episode to watch. I'd watch the hell out of the whole thing, but this one is a must-see in a Michael Bay kind of way.

Tim Lebbon’s “Grace” was terrific. Astronauts watching the disease ravage the world while orbiting earth.

Disappointingly, some stories felt jacked into the world. As if they were already half or fully written by the authors, and bits were rewritten to be included in the anthology. Poppy Z. Brite's story in particular felt as if it had nothing to do with the world of The Stand. Alma Katsu's story felt the same.

There were so many stories and I enjoyed most of them, even if just a little. I started keeping notes, but soon fell off.

The end. show less

The Stand is in my top 5 books of all time. I don't read it every year like Brian Keene does, but I have read it a number of times. So, as you could imagine, I, like thousands of other fans, waited patiently with bated breath for this compilation of short stories honoring, and possibly expanding, the world that Stephen King created years ago. Sadly, for this reader, these stories, for the most part, were a series of Captain Trip-ups. As a former public school teacher, I'd have to grade this project as a "C" overall. To help me keep a running list of the ones I liked, I gave each author a grade after reading their story. Only 16 grades of "B-" or higher out of 34 stories. And, unfortunately, there were a few "D's" in there, too.
The ones show more that stood out for this reader were those by Jonathan Janz (overall best), Rio Youers, Robert Cargill (2nd best), Sarah Langan, Joe Lansdale, S.A. Cosby, Chuck Wendig, and Usman T. Malik. Those on the other end of the scale (which shall go unnamed) seemed phoned-in.
My disappointment (M-O-O-N, that spells "disappointment", laws, yes) stemmed mainly from the lack of any true connection with the novel and the characters. Oh yeah, there are plenty of references to dreams, Captain Trips, Mother Abagail, and The Walking Dude, but NOTHING about the other characters. It was stories about those characters that I was most looking forward to. (Maybe Mr. King would not allow that I don't know.) The only exception to the above was a story with Mother Abagail as the central character, written by Wayne Brady and Maurice Broaddus, which was just okay.
I don't want to deter any fan of the novel from picking up a copy of The End of the World As We Know It, just be ready for a different tack on the novel than you might expect. show less

The Short of It:

If you hold The Stand near and dear to your heart, this anthology inspired by this beloved book, will not disappoint.

The Rest of It:

I am picky, really picky when it comes to anthologies but this one holds up. Thirty-six of horror’s finest writers came together to create this, well, masterpiece.

The collection opens with a real banger of a story. It puts you right back into the pandemic. That fear of catching it, the fear of what comes after. As you can imagine, a world wrecked by a pandemic quickly deteriorates. Resources become scare, people become desperate, fast. In a world gone to hell, who can you trust?

Each story intentionally walks down that path. Who can you trust? What would you do in a situation like that? show more Fight to survive, no matter what that means? Or end it?

I really enjoyed this particular collection because it was easy to dip in and out of. Some of the stories are a little longer but still readable in one sitting, which I like. My issues with short fiction, typically, is that there isn’t enough time to pull me in. Not the case with this batch.

Highly recommend.

For more reviews, visit my blog: Book Chatter. show less