First published in literary journal Ubris in 1969, revised extensively for Cavalier in 1974 and, crucially, a prequel of sorts to Kings 1978 opus, The Stand, this post-apocalyptic story could well be one of the authors most important. Featuring one of Kings best opening gambits, "After the guy was dead and the smell of his burning flesh was off the air, we all went back down to the beach," Night Surf is an unsurprisingly bleak affair - a group of beach bum New Hampshire teens kill a man and burn his body on a pyre, an offering to the deadly Captain Trips virus which keeps you gripped, even though all hope seems to be lost. While reading, keep your eyes peeled for a neat Rolling Stones track reference, a nod to one of Kings early poems and an alternate view on where the virus outbreak could have started.