Rating: 
Summary: Stephen King At His Best
Review: Stephen King excells himself in this beautifully written
book.The intricate story-line is a sure page-turner.
Rating:
Summary: It's only a cold!
Review: This epic needs to be read by everyone! Even if you are not
a Stephen King "fan" you will be drawn into this one! The thing that is really frightening about this tome is the fact
that it was written before AIDS had yet appeared on the horizon! To know anything about science and the human body and disease will certainly make the book that much more believable and scary!!
I was truly drawn into the lives of Frannie, Stu, Harold and the rest of the gang as they chose to either follow Mother Abigail or Randall Flagg (aka "The Walking Dude"). This book didn't just scare, but gave readers a look into the spiritual world that surrounds us. I like to think of "The Stand" as a very dark yet deep "Wizard Of Oz"! Truly
a feast to be read again and again and again! The movie on
television came close to capturing this great novel but it truly could not be totally done justice. Read it! You'll never be the same!
Rating:
Summary: Good versus Evil
Review: This book was superb. Scary, thought provoking, at times tender and romantic. It had strong religious/moral questions for the main characters and for us as well. People come from all over America after it has been hit by a nuclear disaster. The few people here and there band together and travel to one commom land summoned by an aged blind woman with visions who talks to Jesus. They follow her guidance and prepare to take a "Stand" against Evil. The book is unforgettable and the stuff that classics are made of. Surely King's best
Rating:
Summary: I'll Never Forget It.
Review: Stephen King is a master at involving the reader in the story. As I was reading, I began to forget that I was detached from
the story. As I anticipated certain events, I felt fear. When
a character was "saved" from certain disaster, I felt relief.
The Stand is an incredible journey. The most scary thing about
it is that you begin to believe that "it could happen." I recommend the book highly; it's one of those books that you can't stand to put down because you are so anxious to see what happens, yet when you reach the end, you are sorry you
can't continue reading it.
Rating:
Summary: It's a fascinating apocaliptyc fight between good and evil.
Review: I have to say that it is a very large book (the uncut edition) but it's worth reading every page. In the beginning of the book a virus that escapes a secret laboratory in Texas kills almost all of the population, and the people left gathered either in Vegas (by the
dark man) or in Boulder, Colorado (by Abigail, an old lady who leads the good people in the fight against evil). After the people gather they prepare themselves for the final confrontation and all sort of things start to happen,
including the deceit of two of the persons that were in
Boulder who sell themselves to the devil, and are drawn by the dark man. Reading this book is a spellbounding
experience which you'll never forget.
Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating Read, Disappointing Ending
Review: The Stand is the story of a killer plague that wipes out 99.5% of America, and about the apocolyptic battle between good and evil that follows, but to me, all of that came secondary to the most fascinating thing of all: the characters.The characters in this story are fascinating, multi-dimensional, and deep. They each start out in their own respective locations in the U.S., and come together near the middle of the book. Before the characters even meet one another and the real story begins, you are already intimate (and most likely fond) of each one. Stu Redman, Fran Goldsmith, and Larry Underwood will stay with you long after you put the book down. The fascinating characters and interesting plot make for a fun reading experience, but in my opinion, the conclusion of the story isn't worth the 1100 pages building up to it. It makes for an effect in which you've grown attached to all the characters, are thoroughly enjoying the book, and suddenly the ending comes, and you can't help but think to yourself, "What, that's IT?" Nevertheless, this is a novel I would definitely recommend. It would be especially handy to have on a good, month-long vacation.
Rating: 
Summary: Making my Stand!
Review: The Stand by Stephen King has been considered by many to be one of his greatest works. Sadly in my opinion this is very far from the truth. The enormous novel starts off as a simple story of catastrophe. The human race is infected by a plague is is quickly dieing at the waysides. Without giving too much away, this does not remain to be the main premise of the book and eventually it shifts to a story about the battle between the force of God and an a dark force led by "the walking dude". I will get the good comments out of the way to begin with. The original premise of mankind dealing with a horrible plague is quite terrifying and Stephen King does depict this quite well. The does make the first 400 pages of the book go by quite fast. His character development is phenomenal to the point of pain, giving long-winded chapters describing characters that end up being unimportant and "short" living. That is my biggest complaint, the story was simply to long. Comprised of three books ranging from 200 to 500 pages a piece, it seems as though King cannot decide what story he is trying to tell. He pulls in new characters whenever he pleases and then just as quickly trows them into the trash bin. King makes the reader watch character after character grow and change and work , only to see them die abruptly and accomplish little to nothing. He spends hundreds of pages on seemingly pointless details, only to have major plot twists whizz by in a page or less. I found the ending most discouraging, which left the reader with the vague feeling that nothing of any significance had occurred in the last 1150 pages. Simply put, I would not suggest this book to anyone who I cared for in the least bit. I found it time consuming and pointless, and the only redeeming quality I have unearthed is that I managed to read five other books while trudging through this monstrosity. So if you wish to read King, I would suggest the Gunslinger instead.
Rating:
Summary: A story so believable, that it COULD happen!
Review: For a book written twenty years ago, and republished uncutseven years ago, it is perhaps one of the most imaginablenovels ever written. A great story that has compelling characters (Stu, Larry, Randall Flagg, et al), a flawless plotline that is King's version of the Book of Revelations, and just when the situation is at its bleakest, good overcomes. Never have I read a book that constantly makes me find out more each time I read it...something new sticks out. Many of the characters actually became my friends as I read---Mother Abigail, Larry, Stu,Harold, Glen, Ralph, and many many others---and I CARED about what happened to them. For Harold, I felt pity for a boy who is mislead, for Mother Abigail, I felt love..When Larry, Glenn, Ralph, and Stu begin their walk---knowing that one of them won't make Vegas, I was concerned. For Mr. King to evoke emotions as vivid as these from me throughout the reading is a God given gift...not many authors can do such a thing
Rating:
Summary: best book i ever read
Review: When "The Stand," first came out, it became my favorite book. then in 1985, it was eclipsed by "Lonesome Dove." SO what does Stephen King do? He releases "The Stand," all over again, full of dynamite stuff he had to leave out the first time. and now it's my favorite again, leaving "Lonesome Dove," in a cloud of Texas dust. A book so compelling that you dream, not once but several times, that you are a member of its cast of characters--now that has to be a show stopper. "The STand," caused that reaction, as did "Lonesome Dove," the first Harry POtter book, and no other book ever. In my dreams I've been one of the few survivors after 99.4 per cent of the populace has ceased to live. When I awake, I'm just glad the world as I know it is still there. I was once hit with pneumonia, so Mr. King's "Superflu," is all too believable. His characterizations are flat-out brilliant. This book has to be read, as watching the TV mini-series diminishes the characters to mere life size. King's vision of how this country would implode under the right conditions is only too realistic. I wondered, on Sept. 11, 2001, whether a chain reaction would start that couldn't be stopped, and the whole party would come to a grinding halt, as it does in this book. Mercifully, it didn't, and this book is still a work of fiction. Another author, whose name escapes me, wrote "Earth Abides," a much smaller-scale version of what would happen if disease decimated the population. Both Nevil Shute and Pat Frank have envisioned the end of the world through nuclear war--in "On the Beach," and "Alas Babylon," respectively. All th3ese are worth reading, but "The Stand," for me is the best book ever written.
Rating:
Summary: readability should be required for publication
Review: I've never read any of Stephen King's other novels, but I tried to read The Stand since I like apocalyptic stories. I plodded through the beginnings, always turning the pages in hopes that the book would become better-written farther on.
No such luck. I gave up halfway through in disgust.
Perhaps his horror novels are better, but that shouldn't be too hard here.
I could only say that the loose, rambling, sloppy writing is meant to be paid by the word, not by the quality of writing.
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