Author: Stephen King

I love this book--the long version that he published years after the first one. I think I like it so much because it has more than just a catastrophic event; it also has so much on setting up a new society after the event. So many disaster books just focus on the disaster, leading up to it and averting some final devastation that would wipe out everything. Then the book ends. I think its more interesting when the reader gets to see what happens after the initial disaster, in the aftermath, how people restore their lives or rebuild society in a new image.

In this case, King has a confrontation between good and evil to address during that aftermath. I liked the fact that he wasn't afraid to bring up good vs. evil themes. These days too many folks shy away from such black and white issues.

The realism of the effects of a viral plague, how it starts, how it spreads, what the world is like afterwards...all these are very well done.

The cast of characters are great, leaving you with the feeling that you got to know these people, to like or dislike them and their choices. You care about what happens to them.

Some people think this book is too long, but I think all the details are important here. Some parts of it are just plain gross, but its all necessary to the story.

Definitely a must-read. I've read it dozens of times.