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Summary: The first King I ever read.
Review: This is the tome that got me addicted to King. Even at its hefty doorstop weight, I found myself not wanting it to end. It was my first taste of King, and I think one of his best efforts. If you want a book that fully engages and entertains...and you want to get addicted to King, then The Stand is a great place to start.
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Summary: A truly amazing epic
Review: When I bought "The Stand," my first thought was, "why did I buy this?" I didn't think I'd ever actually read the entire novel, despite how much I'd heard about it. However when I picked it up, I actually found myself really wanting to tear into this book, because it had not only a great story, but was also very very well-written. King develops so many awesome characters in this story, whether they be good or bad. He does an amzing job of setting everything up in the first few hundred pagaes, but doesn't let it get very boring, either. I think it also has a very great story. It's got just about everything you could ever want in a book--horror, suspense, love, hate, action, drama, everything. It's one of his best books, and when I was finished, I understood why it got all the hype, and that's because it was simply that good. I highly recommend reading this book, and it's not just because I'm a Stephen King fan, but also because it's just a simply awesome book. Don't let the size of the book fool you, it's definitley worth taking the time to read all 1,141 pages in it. Buy this one for sure.
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Summary: Disturbing and topical
Review: Nobody draws down-home, small town characters quite like King. He is also a master at uprooting our nightmares and making us look them in the (red and hungry) eyes. With all that has happened since 9/11, and the chaos in Iraq, "The Stand" might keep you up at night for a long time to come. I just recently read it for the second time, and it is disturbing and topical with the current potential for biological warfare. I loved "Night of the Beast," Harry Shannons pulp-fest, and it was my fave book this year...but after reading "The Stand" again I'd say it's damned close, if a little too long in this incarnation. The shorter version was just as good, maybe better.
Rating: 
Summary: it good but
Review: I will make this short unlike the book. It good but it is just way too long. He could have easily done the book in 400 odd pages
Rating:
Summary: it good but
Review: I will make thi short unlike the book. It good but it is just way too long. He could have easily done the book in 400 odd pages
Rating:
Summary: King lover
Review: I have read this book a few times and still claim it's the best book I've ever read. It had great character developement and a bang up ending. I hope to find another book I can enjoy this much.
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Summary: The Stand: Complete and Uncut
Review: In its 1978 incarnation, The Stand was a healthy, hefty 823-pager. Now, King and Doubleday are republishing The Stand in the gigantic version in which, according to King, it was originally written. Not true . The same excellent tale of the walking dude, the chemical warfare weapon called superflu and the confrontation between its survivors has been updated to 1990, so references to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the Reagan years, Roger Rabbit and AIDS are unnecessarily forced into the mouths of King's late-'70s characters. That said, the extra 400 or so pages of subplots, character development, conversation, interior dialogue, spiritual soul-searching, blood, bone and gristle make King's best novel better still. A new beginning adds verisimilitude to an already frighteningly believable story, while a new ending opens up possibilities for a sequel. Sheer size makes an Everest of the whole deal. BOMC selection, QPB main selection.
Rating: 
Summary: Death and good times
Review: Note: this is a review of the original, not the extended directors cut. Judge accordingly.I'm not the biggest fan of the horror genre, but I enjoyed The Stand a great deal. It has many threads that, if they didn't inspire future stories, are in similar veins. The Stand starts when technology destroys much of humanity (a theme that enteres every book Michael Crichton has ever considered writing)-this time, as an almost unstoppable flu (a la Mission Impossible II, if you paid attention to the plot) that broke out of a government lab after killing everyone inside of it (enter, Halflife). And these themes are done expertly in the first third of the book. We see Larry Underwood, leaving New York City after the virus has destroyed it, via the Lincon Tunnel-a Lincon Tunnel filled with stalled cars, their drivers long since fallen to the Super Flu. King paints a dark, sickening picture of the horror Larry feels, as he finds some who had sucombed-not to the plauge-but to gunfire. The scene is one of the finest examples of the crackdown by the government to keep the disease under wraps, adding a layer of 1984 in the midst of the end of civilization Following the death of fifty trillion people, those lucky enough to have the right genes, or a blessing from Jehova, or enough Vitam B76 in their diet(we never are quite sure what saved our charecters, as the only exam of a survivor is done by doctors that are to busy pointing a gun at him and dying to close this minor plot hole) dream of an old black woman in Nebraska, and a man in Nevada. Slowly, two camps develop: the Boulder, Yankee, drinking, voting, "good guys"; and the Vegas, totalitarian, no-hard-liquor-for-me, psycopathic, terrified, "Bad guys." As if killing everyone and their cat wasn't enough, now the remaining people and cats have to have a final show down between good and evil, god and the anti christ, totalitarianism and democracy, and dogs and cats (no, seriously-at one point they flat out say that the villian is a cat ally, and a pet dog saves a main charecters life. Cats get a bum rap). Who will win? Take a wild guess. The forces of evil are easily some of the more terrifying charecters ever created. Randal Flagg is always a cypher you are on the verge of understanding; the description of his rape is haunting. The Trash Can Man is equally chilling, gleefully seting a ton of oil ablaze just to watch it burn. And I always held out a hope for Harold that, though unwarrented, seemed justified given the sorts of problems he was faced with.
The forces of good aren't as interesting, I'm sad to say. There were some good charecters, but none that would leave you thinking about them in terror or regret the way one might think of Flagg. However, I must fault his logic on this one. I am a big fan of cataclysmic events killing off all of humanity, and clashes between good and evil. However, there is little connection between the former and the latter, as presented in The Stand. In addition, the end was sort of confusing: if the charecters hadn't gone to Vegas, wouldn't the same thing have occured? But that's only a minor annoyance. It's a good read, especially for those times when you just want to see a lot of people die.
Rating:
Summary: No Doubt An Epic
Review: I first read this book a little over three years ago and maybe I was bias just by looking at the size of the novel. Few authors have the ability to write a long book and keep it together (Tolkien was one of them). King did a pretty good job at keeping the book together, but at times I think he got off plot. The book is basically about the end of the world and the few that survive after the catastrophe. The book is clearly about the battle of good and evil, but I am not sure if King drew a fine line between the two. No doubt, it is difficult for any author to define good and evil. King struggles with the charcters that follow an evil path, he describes their misfortunes in life. I think this is confusing at times you don't know whether to hate a charcter or pity them. All in all I must say the book is well developed and despite King's struggles with the ideas of good and evil it turns out pretty good.
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Summary: The most amazing book!
Review: I just wanted to write a review of The Stand because I thought maybe this might help someone. I originally read this book 2 years ago and am so happy that it was the third Stephen King book I ever read. It should've been my FIRST. Since then I have read the cut version along with the uncut three times. This book is and I believe will always be the most amazing book I have ever read. Stephen King's plot of the world ending and the good vs evil is a plot that was unbelievable. Randall Flagg is my personal favorite character even though he is the living form of Satan. The characters ARE so real you feel as if they are ppl you actually know! There are so many wonderful characters, and the book is worth every PAGE. It trully is a flawless book. This book makes you feel as if you were experiencing everything that the characters are, believe me you will have this book stored in your memory for the rest of your life. Don't pass this book by. You won't regret it!
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