# If I like King's The Stand, I'll also enjoy... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 1, 2008, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-like-kings-the-stand-ill-also-enjoy/447660 "2008-05-01T19:39:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![LiveOnAPlane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3d9bf3/32.png) [@LiveOnAPlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LiveOnAPlane)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-like-kings-the-stand-ill-also-enjoy/447660/21 "2008-05-02T00:37:58Z")
Maybe a little off base, but to me, Dean Koontz’s two novels “Fear Nothing” and its sequel “Seize the Night” bring up the same sort of feeling or mood to me as “The Stand” even though they are way different in many ways. But, I actually enjoyed them more than King’s book. And I usually don’t care a lot for Koontz. One other thing. The first book is on a far smaller scale than the holocast that King’s book in set in. The second is…well, on a larger scale (maybe only potentially, but it’s one of those “I’ve got a baaaad feeling about how this is gonna turn out” things, and I think is closer to “The Stand.” Some of my acquantances loved the books, and a few didn’t really care for them, so I’d suggest you try to read some excerpts before purchasing. Just because I loved them doesn;t mean you will or that they invoke the same types of feeling in you as “The Stand” did. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-like-kings-the-stand-ill-also-enjoy/447660/22 "2008-05-02T00:43:53Z")
Oh, I just remembered one I read a long time ago. [IQ 83](http://www.amazon.com/IQ-83-Arthur-Herzog/dp/0595276091/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209688866&sr=1-2) by Arthur Herzog. Everybody catches a stupid virus. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-like-kings-the-stand-ill-also-enjoy/447660/23 "2008-05-02T01:39:13Z")
[QUOTE=LiveOnAPlane] Maybe a little off base, but to me, Dean Koontz’s two novels “Fear Nothing” and its sequel “Seize the Night” bring up the same sort of feeling or mood to me as “The Stand” even though they are way different in many ways. One other thing. The first book is on a far smaller scale than the holocast that King’s book in set in. The second is…well, on a larger scale (maybe only potentially, but it’s one of those “I’ve got a baaaad feeling about how this is gonna turn out” things, and I think is closer to “The Stand.” [/QUOTE] I was going to mention those two, but the virus in Fear Nothing is so slow moving (it’s implied all of the main characters are infected at the end of the first book and they don’t even show any symptons through the entire book 2) that I’m not sure it counts as a plague book. I just want Koontz to finish the damn trilogy. You’ve had ten years man, give us something! ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-like-kings-the-stand-ill-also-enjoy/447660/24 "2008-05-02T01:52:48Z")
Remote chance of this, but… Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand? More certain- The Lord of the Rings, Davis Grubb’s Night of the Hunter (the movie was a VERY close adaptation), perhaps James BeauSeigneur’s Christ Clone Trilogy. ---
**Author:** ![gnagtcha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@gnagtcha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnagtcha)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-like-kings-the-stand-ill-also-enjoy/447660/25 "2008-05-02T02:01:54Z")
On The Beach by Nevil Shute. The movie was almost as good as the book. The Last Ship by William Brinkley. Not as easy a read as The Stand, but well worth it. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-like-kings-the-stand-ill-also-enjoy/447660/26 "2008-05-02T02:22:02Z")
[QUOTE=Scupper] _Lucifer’s Hammer_, by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, is a slightly dated but still entertaining “Worlds Collide”-type story about survival after a comet strikes the earth. David Brin’s _The Postman_ has its fans. I was fairly ambivalent, personally. [/QUOTE] I was going to come in and say Lucifer’s Hammer. I read both that and The Stand at around the same time and I remember liking them in the same way. As to it being dated, I couldn’t say. It’s been a long time since I read it. I liked The Postman (much better than the movie) but his later books were much better. ---
**Author:** ![Frostillicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Frostillicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frostillicus)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-like-kings-the-stand-ill-also-enjoy/447660/27 "2008-05-02T02:47:03Z")
[QUOTE=Justin\_Bailey] Cell by Stephen King (shut up, I liked it!) [/QUOTE] As long as you stop reading around p. 150. Go past that point at the risk of severe disappointment. ---
**Author:** ![LiveOnAPlane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3d9bf3/32.png) [@LiveOnAPlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LiveOnAPlane)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-like-kings-the-stand-ill-also-enjoy/447660/28 "2008-05-02T03:24:08Z")
[QUOTE=Justin\_Bailey] I was going to mention those two, but the virus in Fear Nothing is so slow moving (it’s implied all of the main characters are infected at the end of the first book and they don’t even show any symptons through the entire book 2) that I’m not sure it counts as a plague book. I just want Koontz to finish the damn trilogy. You’ve had ten years man, give us something! [/QUOTE] Apologies for going off-topic to respond to you, but: I agree with what you said in the spoiler-box. It is different, but kinda-sorta a similar “feel” to the novel. I don’t have the words to really expres the differences. As to “finish the damn trilogy,” I say hell, yes! ---
**Author:** ![Clivas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@Clivas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clivas)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-like-kings-the-stand-ill-also-enjoy/447660/29 "2008-05-02T16:20:57Z")
I am a fan of King’s earlier work and I also enjoy Clive Barker a lot. Weaveworld, Imajica, The Great and Secret Show were all entertaining and if you like thick books these should satisfy. He also has a ton of short stories and some smaller novels like The Hellbound Heart (Which became the movie Hellraiser). I didn’t like the Damnation game or Galilee however and haven’t read much of his newer stuff. Barker has a great (sometimes disturbed) imagination with less cheese than Stephen King. If it’s King books you are looking for, I’d recommend any collection of his short stories and also The Bachman books. ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-like-kings-the-stand-ill-also-enjoy/447660/30 "2008-05-02T16:35:58Z")
I you like the apocalyptic, end of the world aspect of _The Stand_, try [Alas Babylon](http://www.amazon.com/Alas-Babylon-Pat-Frank/dp/0060741872/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209745935&sr=8-1) by Pat Frank. Set during the Cold War, it’s a bit dated but very, very readable. And I third the recommendation for Robert MacCammon. With Stephen King, try his earlier works first; they were better edited and more tightly paced. Once he got famous, I felt like he got a bit self-indulgent. ---
**Author:** ![Survey1215](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecb155/32.png) [@Survey1215](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Survey1215)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-like-kings-the-stand-ill-also-enjoy/447660/31 "2008-05-02T16:51:55Z")
Wow, lots of suggestions. I picked up _World War Z_ last night, along with (and I’m not sure how I came across this, but whatever) _Old Man’s War_ by John Scalzi. King’s _Duma Key_ looks interesting, I may get it next. Keep the recommendations coming as I’ll get through those two pretty quick; we sold our house and can’t move into the new place for three weeks, so we’re staying with my in-laws, where the television networks of choice are Fox News, Lifetime Movie Network, back to Fox News, and - if I’m lucky - NBC for Wheel of Fortune. I’ll be upstairs reading, thanks anyway. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-like-kings-the-stand-ill-also-enjoy/447660/32 "2008-05-02T16:53:03Z")
[QUOTE=Survey1215] **If I like King’s The Stand, I’ll also enjoy…** [/QUOTE] Three blotter-tabs of Owsley’s Finest. ---
**Author:** ![BaneSidhe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c5a1d2/32.png) [@BaneSidhe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BaneSidhe)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-like-kings-the-stand-ill-also-enjoy/447660/33 "2008-05-02T17:05:38Z")
[QUOTE=Biggirl] Oh, I just remembered one I read a long time ago. [IQ 83](http://www.amazon.com/IQ-83-Arthur-Herzog/dp/0595276091/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209688866&sr=1-2) by Arthur Herzog. Everybody catches a stupid virus. [/QUOTE] From the amount of stupid I’ve seen and read about lately, I think it’s already here! :eek: [ahem] I’ll second _Swan Song_. That story scared the crap out of me when I read it several years back and still does. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-like-kings-the-stand-ill-also-enjoy/447660/34 "2008-05-02T17:30:23Z")
I’ll agree with Swan Song. So easy to fall into that book. Time to re-read it! Great characterization, just like King’s stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Dante](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dante/32/9673_2.png) [@Dante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dante)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-like-kings-the-stand-ill-also-enjoy/447660/35 "2008-05-02T17:45:50Z")
_World War Z_ will be seen as a prophetic survival guide in the coming years. Mark my words. _Autumn_ by **David Moody** is good. And it’s available as a free download from his [website](http://www.djmoody.co.uk/) . ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-like-kings-the-stand-ill-also-enjoy/447660/36 "2008-05-02T18:13:29Z")
[QUOTE=Survey1215] I picked up _World War Z_ last night, along with (and I’m not sure how I came across this, but whatever) _Old Man’s War_ by John Scalzi. [/QUOTE] Old Man’s War is an awesome awesome book. The series as a whole has a pretty decent following around here and the fourth book is coming out this summer. ---
**Author:** ![Capcha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/82dd89/32.png) [@Capcha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capcha)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2008, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-like-kings-the-stand-ill-also-enjoy/447660/37 "2008-05-03T02:02:11Z")
I would recommend _The Talisman_ and its sequel _The Black House_ by the King. I agree with the rest: Dark Tower series i loved so much, until the last three parts. I had to finish it, because i can’t leave an unfinished story, although i nearly gagged. If only i could find the damn _Duma Key_ copy in the local stores. ---
**Author:** ![exclamation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/858c86/32.png) [@exclamation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/exclamation)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2008, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-like-kings-the-stand-ill-also-enjoy/447660/38 "2008-05-03T08:49:01Z")
[QUOTE=elfkin477] Or, if you’d rather be mostly left in the dark as to what caused a world-spread disaster, there’s Cormac McCarthy’s new novel, **The Road**. [/QUOTE] I second this, just finished it. It’s so bleak, and beautifully written. I got through it it one night. Oh, and thankyou for starting this thread **Survey1215**! I love apocalypse themed novels, and thought _The Stand_ was fantastic. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2008, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-like-kings-the-stand-ill-also-enjoy/447660/39 "2008-05-03T16:56:32Z")
_AfterAge_ by Yvonne Navarro follows the idea of “anyone killed by a vampire comes back as a vampire” to its logical conclusion. Two years after the first vampire appeared, virtually everyone has turned into a hungry vampire because there’s only a handful of human survivors left. _Midnight Mass_ by F. Paul Wilson, another vampire-based end-of-the-world novel. Shows a vampire army overrunning the United States and the formation of a human resistance movement. _The Harvest_ by Robert Charles Wilson, an unusual end-of-the-world novel where everyone disappearing is not necessarily a bad thing. ---
**Author:** ![Greywolf73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d9b06d/32.png) [@Greywolf73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greywolf73)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2008, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-like-kings-the-stand-ill-also-enjoy/447660/40 "2008-05-03T18:41:39Z")
I 43rd the recommendation of Swan Song. And you might like [Amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com/Blindness-Harvest-Book-Jose-Saramago/dp/0156007754/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209839849&sr=1-1) by Jose Sarmagao. A virus mutates and causes world-wide blindness (except for one person) and the book follows the efforts to contain the virus and the ensuing panic. This one really, really creeped me out–just trying to imagine what that would be like. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-like-kings-the-stand-ill-also-enjoy/447660.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-like-kings-the-stand-ill-also-enjoy/447660.md?page=3)