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The End of the World as We Know It: New Tales of Stephen King's The Stand

3.5 / 5

Decent

Journey back into the world of Stephen King's "THE STAND". Overall, this short story collection is an interesting look at how the death of the world from the superflu affects a wider range of people than the scope of the original novel allowed. There aren't any bad stories in the collection, but some entries are definitely stronger than others. "Wrong Fucking Place, Wrong Fucking Time" by C. Robert Cargill is a standout winner with genuinely likeable protagonists and an unexpectedly "happy" ending — or as happy an ending as a story setting in the world of "The Stand" can have.

Author: Christopher Golden, et al.
Publisher: Gallery Books
Publication Year: 2025
Genre: Horror
Read: May 2026

Read May 2026

The Spider VS. The Empire State

4.2 / 5

Worth It

The Spider vs. The Empire State collects Norvell Page’s three-part Black Police Trilogy from 1938. Richard Wentworth — aka the Spider — is thrown into a New York State seized by an authoritarian political movement. (I'll skip the obvious comparisons to the current state of New York.)

Naturally, the Spider responds with disguises, secret broadcasts, resistance fighters, daring escapes, explosions, and a complete disregard for trigger discipline.

Page writes at full pulp velocity. Wentworth barely escapes one disaster before charging headfirst into the next, and subtlety rarely gets invited along for the ride. The plot can be wildly convenient, the characters broad, and Wentworth seems to operate at two emotional settings: determined and BY GOD, NITA!

But the excess is part of the charm.

What gives this trilogy extra weight is its 1938 setting. Page turns contemporary fears about fascism into an American nightmare built on propaganda, intimidation, corruption, and the takeover of legitimate institutions. Beneath all the blazing automatics is the unsettling question: Could it happen here?

It’s messy, breathless, historically fascinating, and tremendous fun.