The Stand

You either love him or hate him (and if you do hate him, it's probably because every second sentence is a ridiculous metaphor), but there's no denying that Stephen King deserves a spot on this list. Even if it's only because he's the Stephen King. Something to keep in mind before you pick this up: There are two versions of The Stand. One set in the 80s and one in the 90s. King rewrote the 80s version to reflect 90s pop culture and add things that he'd left out of the initial publication. It probably depends on when you grew up as to which of the two you'll find most horrifying, but if you do read the original version, remember that it was written post-Vietnam and during the aftermath of the Watergate scandal. Why it made the list While there are many comments sections devoted to arguing over which of his books is the best, The Stand is almost always listed near the top. This is because, of all of them, this is the most quintessentially KING. There's no one better at making the reader feel so uncomfortable. This doesn't happen as a result of the horror genre aspect of his books, it happens because he takes the real world and then distorts it so that the world we're familiar with becomes one of horror. There are elements of this book that are simplistic to the point of immaturity (the obvious delineation of good and evil is a good example), but – as always – the strength of the book is in the way King uses a (very) large canvas to allow the characters to grow. Every one serves a purpose, whether it's to move the action along or to provide an extra shade to the greyness of human morality. It's a long read. But it's one of the greatest examples of dystopian fantasy. And the length King goes to in order to show the breakdown of civilization after most of humanity is killed puts The Walking Dead to shame.