Imagine, in America, a world in which there are few survivors.  A great plague, one released by an accident at a secret U. S. Government installation, has wiped out almost everyone in the world.  Except for a select few.  These few all have one thing in common: they all have dreams.  Whether the dreams are of Mother Abigail; a 107-year old woman in Nebraska, or the Dark Man; of whom many fear, they have these dreams every night.  The Dark Man attacks their worst fears, while Mother Abigail beckons them to come with her, for she represents all the good that is left in the world. 
    This book is mainly a post-apocalyptic battle between good and evil.  There are quite a few surprises, and many unexpected occurrences.  Stephen King has planned this story so thoroughly that the characters seem real. Although he uses so many characters, it is easy to keep them straight in your head.  You also become very attached to them.  Stephen claims that people still write to him, asking how the characters are doing, as if he keeps in touch with them!  If this book has a fault, it would have to be that it is a little winded in the middle and towards the beginning.  It is 1,141 pages long.  But I think that, if you can handle a book that big, you would thoroughly enjoy this book. 
    I must note here that it is a little graphic, and should not be read by younger readers, or the squeamish.