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A security glitch first lets a goverment-made mutant superflu loose in a facilty, then allows one of the sentries on duty to escape the barracks with his family and head cross country, the virus in tow. Within weeks the flu, dubbed Captain Tripps, or Tubeneck (because glandular swelling turns its victim's necks into thick, black tubes) is wiping out the world population (though the book only focuses on the events in the U.S., martial law and anarchy prevail. A few scattered people are immune, and are sharing a common dream (telepathic transmissions?) of a 108 year old black woman on a porch in Nebraska, and of a terrifying, red-eyed incarnation lurking alonside highways and in fields of corn -- both images are terrifying to some, comforting to others. The survivors begin to migrate west across the nationwide ghost town of America, guided by thier dreams, to where the final showdown between Good and Evil will take place. Weighing in at a phone-book thick 1154 pages (plus a nice introduction by Stephen King), this book is a major investment in reading-time, but worth every word. I'm a big fan of apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic storylines, in fiction and in movies (I have an unhealthy fascination with stuff about zombies, viruses, stuff like that), and this is probably the most complete documentation of the end of times I've come across. What's really amazing here is the scope of the story, and the level of characterization that King is able to reach with so many different characters -- sure, Lost and Heroes are doing that, but they have a staff of writers and years to do this. King did this by himself, in about two years -- that's insane. This is also one of his works that rises above the sci-fi/horror genre and can holds its own as a piece of literature. This is in all honesty the best novel about America I can remember reading.

2022-10-21 05:46