The Stand by Stephen King

My all-time favorite book is The Stand by Stephen King. I've read it over a dozen times and every time I get something more from it. As usual, King does an outstanding job of making the characters and the situations seem real to the reader.

In this book, an accident unleashes a very deadly flu upon America. Within 2 weeks, the disease has spread and killed 99% of the population of the earth. Those left behind find that they are plagued by two very different dreams.

In one, a dark man is beckoning them to come to Las Vegas, in the other an old black woman is talking to them comfortingly and telling them to come see her any time. King theorizes that times when the population is at a low number are good times for the Devil to try to take over the Earth. I found that my religious views were strengthened by the stand that the good people take against the devil in this book. It was very moving.

King wrote this in the 70's and then did an overhaul in the mid-80's and put back some of the things that had been edited out. It is a massive undertaking but well worth the effort. I still swear that if I were to see any one of the main characters on the street, I would know them instantly.