The End of the World as We Know It

New Tales of Stephen King's The Stand

By: Christopher Golden - contributor, Brian Keene - contributor, Stephen King - introduction

Narrated by: Sean Patrick Hopkins, Adenrele Ojo

An original short story anthology based on master storyteller Stephen King’s #1 New York Times bestselling classic The Stand!

Since its initial publication in 1978, The Stand has been considered Stephen King’s seminal masterpiece of apocalyptic fiction, with millions of copies sold and adapted twice for television. Although there are other extraordinary works exploring the unraveling of human society, none have been as influential as this iconic novel—generations of writers have been impacted by its dark yet ultimately hopeful vision of the end and new beginning of civilization, and its stunning array of characters.

Now for the first time, Stephen King has fully authorized a return to the harrowing world of The Stand through this original short story anthology as presented by award-winning authors and editors Christopher Golden and Brian Keene. Bringing together some of today’s greatest and most visionary writers, The End of the World As We Know It features unforgettable, all-new stories set during and after (and some perhaps long after) the events of The Stand—brilliant, terrifying, and painfully human tales that will resonate with listeners everywhere as an essential companion to the classic, bestselling novel.

Featuring an introduction by Stephen King, a foreword by Christopher Golden, and an afterword by Brian Keene. Contributors include Wayne Brady and Maurice Broaddus, Poppy Z. Brite, Somer Canon, C. Robert Cargill, Nat Cassidy, V. Castro, Richard Chizmar, S. A. Cosby, Tananarive Due and Steven Barnes, Meg Gardiner, Gabino Iglesias, Jonathan Janz, Alma Katsu, Caroline Kepnes, Michael Koryta, Sarah Langan, Joe R. Lansdale, Tim Lebbon, Josh Malerman, Ronald Malfi, Usman T. Malik, Premee Mohamed, Cynthia Pelayo, Hailey Piper, David J. Schow, Alex Segura, Bryan Smith, Paul Tremblay, Catherynne M. Valente, Bev Vincent, Catriona Ward, Chuck Wendig, Wrath James White, and Rio Youers.

©2025 Christopher Golden (P)2025 Simon & Schuster Audio

Excellent...but

Love the original Stand and it remains in my top three books.

It's not written by Stephen King and is not his writing style but there are some excellent authors. I'm always on the hunt for new authors so it's worth a read.

The only issue is with the fake "Spanish" accent (really bad) and the narrators inability to pronounce the names of places in Arizona. it does drive me a little buggy when Cholla is pronounced with an "L" (choy-a) or naranja with a "J" (nah-RAHN-hah). The highway names are indigenous names.

The "chica from the barrio" impression may not be intentionally disrespectful but it is misguided and sounds terrible.

Both narrators were fine otherwise. The blame should go to the producer. Do a better job and expect more of your talent. Accents are not necessary but a bad one is distracting from the story.

Not that great

This book was not what I expected. it had a few good stories but the big problem was the woman narrator. I couldn’t listen to any of her stories. She has a weird voice that is hard to understand. I was very excited about this book and now I’m just disappointed.

Most stories are a complete dud

There are a couple of well written, compelling stories. Most of the stories are very boring and put me to sleep. I had to really force myself to finish. Both narrators are pretty bad.

Dang. This is a doorstop of awesomeness.

Holy crap I was excited to read this one. I think it was announced a year ago and I flipped my sh*t.

And now it’s here. Heeecckk yeah!

Man, this did not disappoint. I blew thru these stories and was thrilled to be back in the world of the Stand. The stories were very well done and the whole production was put together so damn well, I couldn’t be happier. Yes, there were 2 or 3 stories that didn’t completely gel with me, but I still enjoyed them for the effort and they did not detract from the overall awesomeness. Loved it.

Hate to write this review

This is the first time anything Stephen King related is getting less that 5 star rating.
For me, the stories got boring and similar. Some were great - no doubt - but most seemed bland.
Also, for the first time, one of the performances was starting to get on my nerves to the point where I found myself wanting to skip that story.

I am a massive King fan, and for me - this fell well short of his standards.