The Stand

Rating:
Summary: what a great work
Review: if you can buy just one if kings books make it the stand.

Rating:
Summary: Great Read!!!!
Review: I loved this book. It was long and memorable. I love Stephen King, and I thought that this was his greatest work ever. It was full of everything and much more. Great read, I recomend to all.

Rating:
Summary: Dammit! Read it!!
Review: No words can describe the end of the world like Stephen King's. Not with a BANG, but a wimper. (TS Elliott) So it goes, and if you miss this piece of epochal literary drama, then you should be pitied.

Rating:
Summary: It just doesn't get any better!
Review: This is my favorite book to date. It supposedly falls under the horror genre but it really is a mix of all genres. There's romance, comedy, drama, everything you can think of. Once you start reading you just can't put it down. When it came in the mail the first thing I thought was "how will I ever finish this book in a month." I finished it in about two weeks. You just can't put it down. You get wrapped up in all the story lines of Stu, Fran, Nick, Ralph, and the rest of the gang and how all their lives weaved into each other. No matter what kind of books you like, this is one for everybody.

Rating:
Summary: Refreshing my outlook
Review: I'll confess that I used to be a rereader. It's a habit that I've lost lately, but for some strange reason, I've made my way entirely through all thousand-and-change pages of this novel three times so far, and every time I'm impressed by the depth and effectiveness with which King accomplishes his task. This is a book that anybody interested in Stephen King ought to start with--this is where he first began to describe the fantastic and outlandish in the fashion that his fans have become so accustomed to in his later work, and this is undoubtedly one of the must reads in the library of King literature.

All that said, this book is far from perfect. For one thing, it is an exceptionally long work, even for a novel, and that work is split into two almost completely unrelated books. While King masterfully melds the apocalyptic events of the first half of the book with the examination of Judeo-Christian faith in the second, it's certainly understandable why some would view this book as bloated. For my money, I like the changes and additions made in the uncut version--while The Kid certainly isn't crucial to the plot of the story, his presence has its own point and contributes to the overall religious theme of the story.

There has been some criticism of the ending of the book, so I should comment on that specifically. I can personally guarantee that this book not only ends well, but it ends in the only way that it possibly could, considering the theme. I won't spoil it for new readers, but suffice it to say that those who would criticise the book for "ending weak" are simply not reading any deeper than the most superficial level of the plot.

All things considered, this book is one that anybody had ought to read. Nowhere else in contemporary fiction is there a better examination of Christian faith (save King's own Desperation), the characterization is in full keeping with the author's marvelous talent in that regard, and the plot, while long and meandering, always manages to stay in proper motion and keep to the theme. A good read for anyone.

Rating:
Summary: On the original version
Review: I didn't read the uncut version, but the original was fantastic! If this book is "good, not great" like one reviewer wrote, I don't know what King book is great. This is his best.

One thing, though, that seems weird to me. How about anyone else? After all the "good versus evil" stuff the heros never had anything to do with vanquishing the evil! It was just the Trash and the hand of god. The Free Zoners did nothing! Isn't that weird?

Rating:
Summary: Literally Magic
Review: From the beginning of this book, I was trapped in it. I could not put it down for anything. The characters are developed incredibly well and the story itself is a work of wonder. The only thing I wish that I hadn't done is watch the movie before I read this book, it took a lot away from it, but it is still by far the best single book I have ever read.

Rating:
Summary: Good Not Great
Review: Like a few Stephen King books, This one drags on alot at the begining. It takes about 100 some pages before the "Superflu" accually gets into action. During these pages, King gets into great details about the characters like Frannie Goldsmith, Larry Underwood (a man remarkebly like Bruce Springsteen), Lloid Henreid and his crime buddies. Stu Redman and his friends, and Nick Andros the deaf-mute wonder that always has a pad of paper to write on. This book is quite long, Over 1000 pages. But if you have the patience, the endurance and the desire to read this book you should read it. Its a really good storyline, not horror but a suspence-action-scifi mix. Good not Great because of a long starting.

Rating:
Summary: It's more addictive than a drug
Review: I spent roughly a week gorging myself on this book. I was completely unable to put it down. I was so addicted that I went without sleep. This book pulls out that "What if I was the last person on earth?" thought that we've almost all had and puts it on paper. You know what you want each charachter to do and you have ideas and you want things to happen a certain way but King makes it better than you could imagine. It's a must read for ANY psuedo-SciFi person or heavy thinker. It's great.

Rating:
Summary: Inspiring
Review: This book was one of my favorites by Stephen King. The quality and detail, as well as the theme, inspired me to write my own novels.