Rating: 
Summary: The Stand
Review: The Stand is the best stephen king book followed by It. I read the Dark Tower series first, The Shining second, The Stand third, Insomnia 4th, Dreamcatcher 5th, and It 6th. I am only 15 years of age. People who tell you to read the "easier" stories first, ignore them. Read them in whatever frigging order you want, it doesn't matter. But, back to The Stand, it may look long, but the many, many pages are worth it. The characters seem real enough to be actually alive today, and it's just so good! Read it.
-Kevin
Rating:
Summary: The Best Novel I've Ever Read!
Review: Stephen King's "The Stand" has got to be my favorite novel of all time. King is a master storyteller, and expecially excellent when he really puts his mind to something. As many others will tell you, I think "The Stand" is King's most brilliant story. I may only be 13, but I am smart enough to know what makes up a great novel, and "The Stand" has it all. Good characters. Realistic situations. Edge of your seat suspense. Lovable good guys. Dispicable bad guys. Detail. Action. Adventure. Horror. Romance. EVERYTHING! For those of you unfamiliar with "The Stand," what rock have you been living under your whole life? It's a magnificient epic that tackles the subjects of good and evil. Charles Campion, working his night shift duty at a secret army base, manages to escape with his family after a malfuntion that unleashes a deadly disease the people were working on at the army base. He doesn't realize his whole family already has the disease, and heads West, spreading it on his way. Uventually, he crashes into the gas pumps at Hapscomb's Texaco, where several men, including Stuart Redman, are hanging out. From there on, the disease spreads across the world, leaving only a tiny percent of the world alive. This tiny percent then chooses sides. There's the side of good, led by the 108 year old Mother Abagail, or the side of evil, led by the demonic Randall Flagg. It all comes down to the untimate showdown, the "Stand." This is a great novel. Do not let the size bother you. I know I was a bit intimidated by how large the novel is, but once you've started, you will only stop reading if absoloutly necessary. I'm reading the book for the fourth time, now (remember I'm only 13). I've read in "Uncut" two times, and I've read the original version once. I'd have to say go with the "Complete and Uncut" version. It has much more character development, and there's some stuff that NEVER should have been left out (Frannie's fight with her mother comes directly to mind). Anywho, none of my fellow classmates want to read this book, and I say "Why? it's really good." hey all say "It's too long." It's a sad world we live in when the size of a book stops people from reading it. When I said once you start, you can't stop, I meant that. During reading time, I let a friend borrow it for the half hour of reading (where many kids just pretend to read! May I ask, "what's the point?"), and she asked me later if she could borrow it to finish the story. See what I mean? I think it's great Stephen King got to release the "Complete and Uncut" version, because it's definately superior. With about 300 extra pages, you'd better hope the additional things are good, and they really are. The Kid was an interesting new part of the book, and we finally get to see what happens when Larry goes to tell his mother where he was the night before (we never find out in the original version). Also, in the original version, they make a lot of references to dleted material that you didn't read about, so you're confused. An example of this is Frannie's Mom's parlor, or Larry's mother telling him "You're a taker." The "Uncut" version also has some updates. By that I mean you'll find references to horror villian Freddy Krueger, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and the movie Predator. Wow! I got so caught up talking about the "Uncut" version that I forgot to say what makes this book great. Well, the characters are all very realistic and we can sympathize with them all. My favorite character is probably Frannie Goldsmith or Larry Underwood. I also liked the Harold character, and his descent into madness is creepy, tragic, and very detailed. A lot of people think first half of the book is better than the second one, but I think the second half is worth twice the first part. There's some completely unexpected twists and turns, and lots of cool stuff that comes out of nowhere and surprises the reader. Wo, this review's getting kind of long. Bottom line: read the book, I guarantee you'll like it. If you can only read one Stephen King book, make this the fan. Even people who hate Stephen King should check this one out! You should also see the movie, which isn't nearly as good but is very well done and has a fabulous musical score (including Blue Oyster Cult's "Don't Fear the Reaper"). Anyway, hope my review helped. See ya.
Rating:
Summary: I can't believe I didn't read this sooner
Review: I really enjoyed this book. Despite it's length, I never felt like it was too slow, and was always eager to keep reading. The characters are all very well developed. I really liked how much time was put into setting things up before the real action began. You really got a good feel for the characters and who they were BEFORE getting involved in the main story, which I think was important. I'm glad I read this book, and would recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Should Be Considered A Modern Classic
Review: Poor Stephen King- I think it really bothers him that he's not given more critical praise by the elite of the literary world. I bet he cries all the way to the bank- and good for him, because with books like "The Stand", he deserves every dime he makes. This book is an epic that holds its own with other lengthy classics like "Lonesome Dove" and "Lord of the Rings". I haven't read it in ten years, but I've browsed through it often and am certain it still holds up. It's an epic in the grandest sense, with believable characters, horrifyingly plausible situations that are all too appropo in the 21st Century, numerous popular culture references (love the numerous and sometimes obscure Springsteen stuff), and some just plain scary scenes that stick with me after all these years. King clearly has insight into human nature- his reputation as being a weird, twisted individual is just plain wrong from every thing I've read by and about him. If the world were to come to a near end, this is exactly how I'd expect it to be. That's not necessarily an entertaining idea, but King pulls it off with a compulsively readable book. He doesn't miss a detail, and clearly did his research. I believe that every edition is now the "uncut" version of the book, but make sure just in case. I don't remember what's different about the two editions, but this is another book that is too short even with the extra pages. Anyway, be sure that you're reading the expanded, uncut version.
Rating:
Summary: My all-time favorite book
Review: This is truly a classic. Stephen King is a masterful writer, and this is by far is best effort. Although it took me 2 months to read, it was amazing. I was captivated the whole time. King builds up the characters so well that you believe they're real people. As the story moves along, you find yourself feeling for the characters. The plot is great; I can't imagine ever hoping to think something up as brilliant as that. Overall, everyone should read this book. Don't listen to the anti-King critics, they just don't like him because he's popular. Read this book, and you'll be glad you did.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Start... Then it all fell apart
Review: The whole concept of the novel is great indeed. A plague claims the lives of most of the world's population. Two characters personify the poles of good and evil, which begin to attract the survivors who split into two factions. The inevitable stand off is immanent. The forces of good victor, humanity goes on, and the devil has lost the fight, but is still far off from losing the war. That said, the story starts marvelously well. The period of the plague is narrated exquisitely and convincingly. With tales that vary between the touching, the horrifying, and the funny. The reader gets to identify with characters that are artistically articulated. But then, things start to break apart. During the next phase the story, the roles of antagonists and protagonists are assigned. A very shallow-minded heroine along with her middle-aged cowboy macho stereotype are presented to us as the main protagonists along with other supporting cast. An intelligent "uncool" and misunderstood, yet resourceful character is assigned the role of the devil's minion. The whole assignment of roles is very disappointing and is at odds with any expectations the reader might have had from the reading the first part of the book. Such a mistake would have been redeemable of the ending wasn't so anticlimactic. Apparently the author found himself unable to come up with a convincing plot that would see the followers of light prevailing over the power of darkness, so he resorted to divine intervention: the hand of God, literally. By the end of it I found myself feeling cheated. It's like reading one of those novels that end up with cliché "It was just a dream."
Rating: 
Summary: Good, long, bothersome - Average Stephen King
Review: I read the Stand a while ago, and only recently came across it again on Amazon, which is where this review comes in. I used to be an avid Stephen King fan. He is truly a man with great ideas. Among my favorites were Misery, Pet Semetary, Desperation, and Hearts in Atlantis. The problem is, for these four great novels, there were the fifteen other ones that I read.
Now that I think about it, Stephen King has a style that he always follows: A great story, a great start, great characters. Then... A good buildup, long descriptions that seem useless after a while, bothersome plot points that do not belong, and eventually an ending that is almost always disappointing. The Stand has a great idea, amazingly written characters, and a terrific kickoff. The problem is, somewhere in those 1200 pages, I just stopped caring, and around page 800, it hit me: this is the ultimate Stephen King book. It contains everything that he always writes about and every characteristic that makes him him. I suppose if you like those useless plot points and those bothersome drag-ons, this is a terrific book. I guess that my real problem is with the ending. The Stand, on Amazon, on the outside, and within its own pages, was built up to be an amazing epic. And it seems to me that it has no ending. I mean, clearly, it ends, but not in a way that remains true to the book, and not in a way that leaves you satisfied. I won't tell you not to read this book. It's enjoyable. But I give it a rating of three because compared to what it has been given, it doesn't even come close.
You want an epic? Read Steinbeck's East of Eden, read Don Quixote, read anything by Dickens. You want End of the World or Future Dystopia? Read Burgess. You want amazing language. Read Nabokov.
I hate to say it, because I disappoint the person I was only a year ago, but I regret wasting money on mediocre books of his when I could have bought ones that were outstanding.
Rating:
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.
Rating:
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.
Rating:
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.
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