The End of the World As We Know It

Released in August of 2025, The End of the World As We Know It is an amazing book. Not just in its length, but in its premise.

It is the first time Stephen King has ever authorized other writers to write in his world. And of course, everyone wanted to play. Which could be why the book is a whopping 761 pages in print. Edited by Christopher Golden and Brian Keene, this collection of short stories includes heavy-hitting authors like Josh Malerman and Paul Tremblay.

Wait, this book was released half a year ago, and it’s the first thing I’m reviewing on our brand new horror site? Yes, it sure as hell is. And let me tell you why. Because not enough people are talking about this book. And if you haven’t read it, it’s new to you.

Also, hi. I’m Nicole, and I love horror. Especially horror books. Especially Stephen King books. I hope you like it here. Now, back to the matter at hand.

The End of the World As We Know It is a collection of short stories about people living through the events of King’s novel, The Stand. We start, of course, with the ravages of Captain Trips. We then go on to see people called by either Mother Abigale or Flagg. Sometimes we see those two groups bump against each other to dark and bloody results.

This book reads like a love letter to Stephen King. No surprise, he’s been the undisputed King of horror for years. There’s a generation of horror writers who came up reading his work, myself included.

Perhaps that’s part of the reason why all of these stories seem to be written in his distinct style. Each one has the grungy, grumpy, sepia tone feel that his work tends to have. Word choices, locations, characters. They all feel very ‘King’ like.

And yet, the best part of this book is the way we see the world of The Stand through brand new eyes. The eyes of a young Black kid trying to stay alive. The eyes of a gay man, given the chance to survive at a terrible cost. The eyes of a young Hispanic mother, trying to protect her child in a world gone mad. This world is so varied, filled with so many people with different walks of life. It’s great to see so many of them included here.

Easily my favorite stories in this book are the ones that revolved around animals. And the best one by far was The African Painted Dog, by Catriona Ward. It’s the story of two wild dog brothers who must escape the zoo they’ve grown up in and survive this dark new world alone.

Another fantastic story was Till Human Voices Wake Us And We Drown, by Poppy Z. Brite. A young man is given the chance to survive not just Captain Tripps but AIDs.

In the end, this is the book that I always wanted but never knew I wanted. The world of The Stand is such a vast one. Even though this book was massive, I feel like it could have been twice as long and not tell all the stories there are to tell.