Rating: 
Summary: The original version was superior
Review: If I were reviewing the original of this novel, I'd definitely give 5 stars. I read it years ago and loved it. I was heartbroken, though, to read this version with all those pages that had been originally edited out and which, years later, King decided to have put back in (purely out of ego, I'm sure, because he couldn't bear the thought of any of his writing being discarded). Examples:1. In the original, I recall being impressed that you got an explicit sense of what Frannie's mother was all about, even though she wasn't in a single scene. In the new version, she's in there, taking up space. 2. Similarly, I liked the understated reunion between Larry and his mother. You got a clear impression of their awkward relationship in just a few pages. But once again, SK decided to throw in a lot more exposition that wasn't at all necessary and slowed down the book. 3. There is now a completely gratuitous and really grotesque homosexual rape scene that I could have lived happily without. 4. Worst of all - SPOILER ALERT - There is now a tagged on ending that renders completely meaningless the sacrifices made by the heroes of the novel. 5. SK claimed he was putting back in original material and yet he has a character wondering if the plague is some strain of AIDs. When The Stand came out, no one had ever heard of AIDs. 6. The character of (I believe) Dana originally crops up in Denver with a minimum of history attached. Now there's an utterly ridiculous description of how she and some other women had been kidnapped and turned into sexual playthings for a wandering gang of thugs before being rescued. I guess to sum it up: King's editors knew what they were doing back in the days when editors actually dared to edit him! I just hope he leaves The Shining and Salem's Lot alone. I can see why everyone's giving 5 stars, but I really wish you all could have read the original - You really missed out, and I'm sure you can't find it anywhere now.
Rating: 
Summary: I Vote To Take a Stand
Review: Maybe I am just a dyed-in-the-wool Stephen King fan but I loved this book. I read it from cover to cover in its original release and then read it from cover to cover in its complete and uncut version. What struck me the most was Mr. Kings amazing characterizations. You really can root for the bad guy if you want to because you know just as much about The Walking Dude as you do about Stu or Doc or the dog, for that matter. Of course if you believe that humans are at the top of the food chain and therefore will not/cannot/must not be destroyed, then this book is not for you. But, if you do enjoy/can enjoy watching mankind wipe itself out and then rise from its own ashes while surrounded by the monuments to its amazing arrogance, pull up a chair. This story takes a while but is well worth the time and definitely worth the trip.
Rating:
Summary: Stephen King's Absolute Best
Review: This is my favorite work of fiction. Basically a government created virus breaks loose and is spread all over the world killing 99% of the population. That in itself is terrifying. But then in the post apocalypse America a demon named Randall Flagg (who appears in the Bible) comes to Earth in human form and begins to gather his followers in Las Vegas. Those who are still good follow Mother Abagail to Boulder, Colarado. The rest is a religious battle between good and evil. There are so many details to this story that give it such a broad range. The characters must not only struggle to live with their memories of the world they must leave behind forever, they must also survive in a world emptied of it's institutions, and on top of all that they are faced with a terrifying menace. This story is great. I liked the Biblical parallels that King placed. The Bible describes people as fasting or traveling to the wilderness to purify themselves. The evil counterfeit versions of this are in the book. Such as Lloyd Henreid almost starving to death in a jail before Flagg rescues him or Trashcan Man travelling across the desert to Las Vegas. This book is excellent.
Rating:
Summary: Of all the Books Ive read: This is definetely the Best
Review: I have read a lot of books by other authors, but this was my first King novel and I have to say it is the best book I have ever read. Mr. King's book starts kind of slow, but he still keeps the book good by adding suspense, but BEWARE: If you even start to read this book it will slowly sink its addictive claws into your brain causing you to never put it down. Whenever you are not reading you will cconstantly think about it and want to pick it up again. This book is extremely thought provoking and will have you thinking for hours on end. This book may be a bit long, but it goes by real fast. Mr. King will have some characters that you love and some you hate. Most people I have talked to said they absolutely hated the ending, but I think it was an excellent way to finish off the book. I do have 1 minor complaint, but it should not cause you to not buy the book. In the book there are about 10 pictures showing some characters and I cant stand it because I will get a mental picture of a character and when I see the illustrations in the book the characters look nothing like I thought and it sorta ruined some characters(Only about 4 characters). If I could give this book 15 stars I would but Im only limited to 5.
Rating:
Summary: Disasterously good
Review: If he never wrote another word, Stephen King deserves to be remembered for this, his contribution to the "Disaster Novel" genre. (NOTE: This review applies to the ORIGINAL release of the novel, not the "Special Edition") It begins innocuously enough, with an army officer running away from his base. But he has left it too late, and he carries a new disease into the world. Over the next months people begin to die, in small numbers at first, then in their hundreds, thousands and finally millions. The survivors, a disparate band drawn from all walks of life, find they have to make a choice; to join with the forces of evil, personified in Flagg (one of the best fictional villains in living memory) or to take a "Stand" for good, personified by Aunt Abigail, an old wizened black woman with a fundamentalist approach to her faith. Soon all the survivors are lined up on one side or the other, and the final battle for their future destiny is set up when the main characters must take their own "Stand" The questions of faith posed by this, and how each of the protagonists make their choices, form the moral core of this book, and the rigours of basic survival when civilisation has fallen forms the backbone of the plot, but it is the characters who stick in your mind long after you've finished reading. King has always been good at "country" types, but here he shows a sure hand with such disparate people as a deaf-mute, a rock star, a garage worker, a pregnant teenager and her admirer-from-afar neighbour Harold (a gentleman so slimy you'll feel like taking a shower after just reading about him) You feel rapport with these characters, and are soon cheering them on, and King has managed to reel in his propensity for "bloat", and doesn't let any one character take over. The book carries a strong moral tone thoughout, and at times seems almost biblical in its "fire-and-brimstone" intensity. In typical King fashion there are some terrifying set pieces, the pick of which takes place in a tunnel which is full of dead and decomposing bodies that must be navigated without a light. Not for the squeamish. A lot of people have been daunted by the sheer size of this book. At over 1000 pages, it is not a quick read, and in the early chapters it is sometimes difficult to keep track of its large list of characters. Also, King seems to take delight in slowing things down and looking in great detail at some pretty unpleasant deaths as a result of the disease - a super-flu which results in particularly messy fluid expulsion. However once Flagg appears and starts insinuating himself into the survivors' dreams. the tension starts to crank up and King knows how to keep you hooked, cheering the good guys along to the denoument. I won't spoil it by giving away the ending, but the final "Stand" doesn't come quite as expected, and has some truly shocking consequences for the protagonists. For a jaded horror fan brought up on John Wyndham and John Christopher, this book revitalised my interest back in the late 70's. This was the book that brought me back to horror, and made me want to write it myself. For that alone it's got a lot to answer for.
Rating:
Summary: The greatest book of all time!
Review: This is Stephen King at his best, bringing to life an enormous cast of characters. It is basically your traditional good vs. evil story, but done in epic proportions. It's a challenging read due to its extraordinary length but well worth the time spent. By the end, you've spent so much time reading that you actually feel the weariness of the much-travelled characters when everything comes to a head. It's funny, as huge as King is, that his best book was written 25 years ago. But its the truth. If you are young enough to just be getting into Stephen King, you have to read this novel. Don't worry about the length of it. So it takes twice as long to read as a normal book, you'll find that in the end, it will all be worth it. Don't miss out on the greatest book of all time!
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic
Review: This is the ultimate "end of the world" book. Seen the mini-series??? You don't even know half the story!
Rating:
Summary: Good versus Evil
Review: After a killer flu wipes out most of the human world, a few survivors are left to rebuild civilization. In the aftermath, the survivors dream of an old woman and a man with no face, and the survivors have to choose between following the path of good or the path of evil. An excellent book, except for the ending, which fell flat.
Rating:
Summary: A Haunting Tale that is still revisited
Review: .....P>"The Stand" starts off with the accidental realease of a U.S. engineered disease that is an extreme version of the flu. A terrified man flees with his family in order to escape the feared possibilities, and what results is the fall of over 90 percent of the human race within the span of the summer. Enter Stu Redman, Larry Underwood, Nick Andros, Ralph Brentner, Tom Cullen, Fran Goldsmith, and Glen Bateman who have all been having strange dreams of a saintly woman, Mother Abagail, who is the beacon to which all must flock to in order to have survival. Dreams of a dark figure, Randall Flagg, calls all of those who have led terrible lives to build a dark force. What erupts results in Stu and the rest to make their last stand against the final evil that mankind is surely to ever face again, and the winner of the ultimate battle between good and evil will be decided. Just summarizing this epic novel does not do the book justice. What events take place in "The Stand" is something that everyone should not miss out on, and is a book that I still revisit to make sure that it is still that good.
Rating:
Summary: Incredible!
Review: When I started to read this book, my friends looked at me doubtfully. They told me that they woud never in a million years be able to read a book this ng.But For me, it was a piece of cake. why? Simply because you can't put the thing down. The story is breathtaking and without a doubt is King's best work.
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