The Stand by Stephen King

First came the plague - and they called it Captain Trips. This plague was so contagious and deadly it killed off a massive percentage of the population of the world. Some said it was the apocalypse, others figured out that they simply weren't going to get sick and decided that once they buried their dead, it was time to find others just like them. However, as a handful out of millions came out of the woodwork of wilderness and buildings of the larger cities, they sought to slowly build a new world from nothing. No television, no electricity, no gas and no government to run the countries of these new places.
But dark dreams began to warn the people of the Walkin' Dude. His red eyes pierced the night; seeing far distances and he himself appearing to be human, but somehow something wasn't quite right. The Walkin' Dude had many names, but they all knew he was evil. In the far west was his empire and it was growing fast. With the time of the real Apocalypse approaching, and the last massive struggle between good and evil, who will make a stand... and who will win the battle for the world.

I read this book when I was in high school in place of the set reading (because I couldn't get into 'To Kill A Mockingbird' and we had to read an American author so I chose Stephen King) and I was enthrawled from beginning to end. Years later, I read the unabridged version and found it had too much detail and there were a few things toward the end that I felt could have stayed in it; however they didn't.
I'm a huge fan of Stephen King and have been reading his books since I was in my mid-teens. My parents weren't always pleased that I enjoyed his work, but I have learned a lot about writing just from reading his words. Thank you, Stephen for your stories that scare me really good!

Stephen King is one of the world's most read and famous horror writers. Born in Portland, Maine in 1947, Stephen is the youngest of two siblings. He spent his time growing up traveling around Indiana and Conneticut and when he was eleven, his mother brought his brother - David - and himself back to Maine (Durham) for good.
His first publication was with Starling Mystery Stories in 1967 with 'The Glass Floor'. Throughout the early years of his marriage to Tabitha, he sold a lot of his stories to men's magazines. Many of the stories from these were gathered together into a book titled 'Night Shift' years later. In the Autumn of 1971, he took a teaching position at Hampden Academy, the public high school in Hampden, Maine. While teaching there, he continued to write books and stories. In the early Spring of 1973, Stephen's book 'Carrie' was accepted by Doubleday & Co and by Mother's Day he learned from his editor that he could leave teaching and write full time.
In the Autumn of 1974, the King's left Maine to live in Boulder, Colorado where Stephen wrote 'The Shining'. They returned to the Lakes District of Maine where he wrote 'The Stand' and 'The Dead Zone'.
Stephen King has written over 30 books during his life with millions of fans acros the globe who read them and visit his site regularly. Since he was in a horrible car accident in 1999, his fan base has increased and - I find - his writing has improved markedly.