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Content snapshot
Flag an inaccuracy →What's in this book, at a glance — five things readers want to know before they start.
Violence
Very heavy
Mass death from plague; violent deaths throughout; the final confrontation in Las Vegas
Language
A lot
Strong language throughout; King's working-class American register
Sexual Content
Some
Some sexual content including a disturbing subplot involving sexual violence
Substance Use
Some
Drug use is a character background; moderate
Emotional Intensity
Very heavy
The apocalypse's scale; Flagg as pure evil; the weight of survivor's guilt; the battle between hope and despair across a devastated world
What this book is about
A weaponized superflu accidentally released from a government lab kills 99% of the human population in days. The survivors drift toward one of two poles: the benevolent elderly woman Mother Abagail in Boulder, Colorado — or the demonic Randall Flagg in Las Vegas. Stephen King's apocalyptic epic pits good against evil on a literally biblical scale, following an ensemble of survivors across a devastated America. The uncut version at 1,153 pages is one of the longest novels in popular fiction and one of King's most ambitious works.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
Mass death — plague depicted in detail; graphic
Randall Flagg's evil — genuinely menacing and disturbing
Sexual violence subplot
The apocalyptic scale — some readers find it overwhelming
Reader Verification
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