In this collaborative story, the authors give us a high-stakes story: what would happen if women disappeared from the world of men? Something is happening when women fall asleep; they become cocooned in a strange gauze. If someone wakes them up or if that cocoon is disturbed, they women become spectacularly (and no, I'm not using that word lightly) violent. As the women fall asleep, one by one, the men of the world are left abandoned, increasingly tuning in to their primal devices. Only one woman seems immune to this strange sleeping disease: Evie Black. Appearing right when the strange sleeping disease begins, is she responsible? Is she some kind of goddess or demon? Will killing her bring all of the women back to life?
Set in a small town in Appalachia, the authors explore this story and the impact of the sleeping women on a close-knit community, whose primary employer is a women's prison. I felt this was a great way to explore what would happen if women disappeared, without having to wonder what would happen if it was everywhere in the world and have multiple story lines. At 702 pages, the book is big enough, just focusing on this one town.
I have been enjoying Stephen King's stories for years and I felt this collaboration with his son Owen was successful. What I feel makes this story such a good read is that it's realistic. In fact, the Authors' Note at the end states, "If a fantasy novel is to be believable, the details underpinning it must be realistic." Typical for a lot of the King stories that I like, there is a smooth integration of the supernatural with the everyday. That's what makes "It" so scary, and "The Stand" so scary (and a lot of other books by King). This is everyday life until something disastrous happens or something insidious slips in. It's very effective, and combined with realistic characters, I feel like this story resonates. Good book!
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