Me: Stephen King and, what might be his masterpiece, 'The Stand'.
II: And for those who don't know Mr King, what should they know?
Me: I don't know who that would be. King is one of the most famous authors of the 20th century. He's well known as a horror writer. Also, he writes a crazy amount of material. Per Wikipedia, he has published more than 65 novels/novellas and more than 200 short stories. The only author on our list who can compete with that is Isaac Asimov.
II: Is he good?
Me: I think he's very good. His stories can be described as "gripping". As in, "I picked up this 500 page book yesterday and I'm nearly done with it now", gripping.
II: And this book?
Me: 'The Stand' is considered by many to be his masterpiece. In it, an experimental super-flu has created a lethal pandemic. It causes a fatality rate of something like 99.6% of all that catch it. As it spreads, there is a complete breakdown of the social order. This leads to an epic contest between good and evil.
II: Have you read many of his other works?
Me: Yeah, a couple dozen of them. Some of my favorites are 'Misery', 'Eye of the Dragon' and 'The Long Walk'. I also love the novellas that became the movies 'The Stand' and 'Shawshank Redemption'. I'm not a completest by any stretch, but I'm a big fan of his work.
