The End of the World As We Know It: New Tales of Stephen King's The Stand Hardcover – August 19, 2025

Usually, anthologies don't do it for me. I'll buy if a few of my favorite authors are included, but I usually don't read the whole thing. This hits WAY different. Every author understood the assignment. I count 34 stories here (my math might be off). 3 of them didn't quite work for me. 31/34? For me, that's 'best anthology" in history type of success rate. So right off the bat, you have a LOT of quality writing.Next up, the way it reads. It's absolutely seamless. There is a well-developed sense of continuity here that I thought would be impossible to achieve. This even though stories are set in multiple timelines and settings so diverse there's even a low earth orbit tale.Finally, the references. Multiple references to "The Stand" from the dreams, to the Bateman writings, to a witness to Rita Blakemore's suicide. Nearly 100% of the authors bring something a little different to King's masterpiece while staying on message to some degree. At 800 pages in length, it is a worthy companion piece to the original novel.My Favorites? Of course I gotta shill for my favorite authors!! Lenora by Janz, Every Dog Has His Day by Smith, and "He's a Righteous Man" by Malfi really hit for me but I really loved the stream of consciousness style of "Walk on Gilded Splinters" by David Schow. Just a monolithic work of quality.

It was great to have so many different stories that tied into the "after world" of The Stand. There was some really great threads followed by these authors, yet each was completely different from the rest. Very enjoyable!

Stephen King’s THE STAND is one of my all time favorite books. I was lucky enough to have read it only a few months ago and it opened the door for me to what a book could do. It was EPIC so I was super excited to dive back into the world again. It did not disappoint.The list of contributors of the thirty four stories (by thirty six authors; the book is 600+ pages, so strap in) is phenomenal, and is not limited to horror novelists (although many current greats appear here). There are also selections by writers like Michael Koryta, S.A. Cosby and Meg Gardiner. I don’t think I’ve ever seen an anthology with so many heavy hitters, which speaks to writers’ admiration of THE STAND and, likely, their regard for King.I loved this. I know that each time I review an anthology I likely use the term “mixed bag,” but I am awed at how many of these stories were great, in my opinion…people brought their A game with this one. My favorite stories (and there are a number) were “The Tripps” by Wrath James White, “Lockdown” by Bev Vincent, “Wrong Place, Wrong Time” by C. Robert Cargill, Tim Lebbon’s “Grace,” “Moving Day” by Richard Chizmar, “The Africa Painted Dog” by Catriona Ward (how Captains Tripps affected a particular couple of animals - so inventive!), “Make Your Own Way” by Alma Katsu, Cosby’s “The Legion of Swine,” “The Mosque at the End of the World” by Usman T. Malik (this and several other stories take place outside the U.S., a fact I so enjoyed), and “Awaiting Orders in Flaggston” by Somer Cannon.If you are reading, or thinking of reading, the book you should know at least the basics about THE STAND (or you’ll be lost, or miss too much). Let’s just say you’ll be humming along to your own version of “Baby, Can You Dig Your Man” a lot while reading this (and I love how we may all have an entirely different version of how this song goes). And if you’ve read THE STAND you’ll know it’s not a light, cheery book, and the stories here mirror that; so prepare for some rough stuff.But, oh! If you love THE STAND I would be surprised if you don’t find a lot to love here. These are just great stories. King seems to be pleased with the book which really says it all.

I really enjoyed this anthology, really well done and had me gripped from beginning to end. If you like apocalyptic horror and suspense I'd recommend it to others. All the authors did a great job.

Where to begin with this mess? It is not one of the best anthologies I've ever read. Star trek has way better anthologies and this author should have taken a look at those books before putting this hot mess together.Some of the stories are really good and some of them are just really long-winded. It would have been nice to have had some more continuity from the main book meaning following up with some of the main characters. Also, they could have gone more into the Dark Tower world instead of just having 1 story and it really didn't go into anything the story was just there. I was really excited to read this but I wouldn't recommend reading this until it's in the budget bin at Barnes and Noble...

I’ve loved Stephen King’s The Stand since its release. Like so many of his Faithful Readers, I’ve read this book many times and always find it comforting to return to those characters I’ve come to love. Fans of this book have been clamoring for a sequel for decades. This lovely long book of short stories definitely satisfies that craving. The stories are well-written and imaginative. I’m only sad that there aren’t even more of them. Perhaps we’ll get Parts Two, Three, Four…? The appetite of rabid fans of The Stand for more material based on the book is unquenchable.

I give this book infinity ⭐s!! It is chock full of amazing stories by amazing authors, who obviously love The Stand as much as I have. I also read it once a year since that first, couldn't put it down, reading. From now on, this book of truly fantastic stories will also be part of the annual reading. Bravo & many thanks to Christopher Golden & Brian Keene (and especially, Stephen King) for making this book a reality. (Any possibility of another?? Never hurts to ask.)