Rating: 
Summary: the best book I ever read
Review: the stand is the most powerfull novel I ever read it has everything horor drama action religion and above all moral, the ultimate question we all have to ask ourselfs what would we do when judgement day will come how do we act, and stephane king brings up those question in a way that only he can.
Rating:
Summary: the best book ever
Review: I first heard about The Stand when it was on television, and I thought it was really good. But it was only til recently that I decided to read the book. I had glanced through it a couple times, but never read it from beginning to end. I read the entire thing in 8 days, and I couldn't put it down. I thought it was much better than the movie, but the movie was also really good. It has become my favorite book. And even thought i saw the movie first, I incoperated some elements from the movie into my thoughts as i read the book. Like the music for example. And the characters. For the most part, the actors in the film were very very good, so I see their faces when i read the book, all except Harold Lauder. I thought his character in the book was much more interesting, and scarier in a way. The movie only made this book better for me, but the book still beats the movie hands down. This is truly a wonderful book. Any fan of King who hasn't read this yet should do so.
Rating: 
Summary: M-O--O-N spells Okay. Laws, yes!
Review: What I expected: The ultimate horror novel, something that would give you nightmares as long as you read it and would haunt you for the rest of your life. The ultimate story of good versus evil. The darkest, most terrifying piece of fiction ever written. What I got: The first part where Captain Tripps kills everyone off moved at a really fast pace. After that, it slowed down a bit. The committee meetings were too long. I want horror, not politics. There was no part in this book that really scared me. Shocked me, sure, but not scared. The ending was a real let-down. It just happens so fast that you feel cheated. I read several hundred pages for THIS! The end-end was sorta confusing. What happened? Beats me. Overall this is an okay book, not as tightly constructed as some of King's other works. Some of the characters in here are really good. Laws, yes! It could use an editing job.
Rating:
Summary: Up there with Absalom, Absalom! and Tom Sawyer.
Review: The Stand sits alone atop the hierarchy of King novels. In fact, it sits near the top of the hierarchy of all novels. Its 1200 page length could be considered a blessing except for the fact that even 1200 pages might not be enough. King has created one of the most fascinating scenarios and some of the most interesting characters ever to appear in literature, so every page is worthwhile. King's writing style is straightforward. He does not employ the range of literary techniques you will find in a work of Faulkner (but then again, who does?) or Twain, but that does not detract in the least from his ability to develop his characters to an extraordinary extent and weave them into a fascinating story.The plot has been summarized in numerous other reviews, so I will not spend a lot of time on that. Essentially, a government created virus escapes, people begin to get sick, gradually the American populace realizes that they are all going to die- and for the most part, they do, the survivors sort themselves out into two camps, and we conclude with a showdown between good and evil. The fascinating thing about this book, and what makes it so good, is that King takes the above story line, which is hugely ambitious, and instead of trying to streamline things, he instead embraces every detail. This book focuses on each moment as if what were occurring at that moment were the subject of the entire book. King pursues every possible story thread to the fullest, and in doing so creates a sense of vividness unmatched in any other work. King has fleshed out the backgrounds of even the most peripheral characters to a greater degree than other authors sometimes are able to do with even their main characters. Being not a science fiction fan myself, I can also offer this to potential readers- this book, while at times embracing the supernatural and religious, does keep its feet firmly planted in reality. The first part of the book in which the virus escapes and the populace succumbs is almost entirely devoid of any purely supernatural/science fiction elements and rather deals mostly with sociology (and is truly fascinating). And King does not leave 99.94% of the populace dead without examining some of the non-supernatural consequences, such as the lack of law, the absence of things such as electricity and hospitals, the fact that there are millions of dead bodies rotting across the U.S., and the question of whether offspring of survivors will be immune to the disease. Even after the two groups have split up for this oft-mentioned showdown, sociological elements prevail. In fact, a great deal of conflict occurs in the second half of the book as peoples' everyday sensibilities lead them to attempt to organize and re-formulate a society while at the same time trying to come to grips with a situation (the threat of the Dark Man, the Walkin' Dude, Randall Flagg) which they cannot understand and can only overcome by reliance on faith. One final thought on the uncut version. As I indicated above, the depth and fleshing out of every detail in this novel is what takes it to another level. A lot of this fleshing out is done in the uncut version. Most notably, Frannie's relationship with her mother is delved into more deeply, and there are also many more of those priceless vignettes of life in a collapsing society- snapshots of scenes taking place around the U.S. as the superflu takes hold. Oh, yes. And the uncut version is also the only one in which you will run across The Kid- a disturbing character, but one who alone is almost worth the price of admission. Don't tell me, I'll tell you.
Rating:
Summary: A many-layered epic with much to teach
Review: On one level, "The Stand" replays Mary Shelley's theme of the danger of science advancing without conscience to guide it, of dabbling with the unknown in nature. The virus that wipes out most of Mankind was cooked up in a Man-made lab. But this story goes much further than that theme. It is also a rich adventure tale filled with well-developed characters (I know these people!). It is the Apocalypse in a form not expected (although Plague was one of the Four Horsemen). It is a showdown between good and evil filled with archetypes. "The Stand" is good story-telling and epic adventure. It is what every writer wants to produce.
Rating:
Summary: An Epic Read
Review: This book is a shining example of what makes Stephen King so great. This is way more than a horror novel. King finds humanity and depth in his characters in his writing other writers can only dream about. M-O-O-N, that spells excellect!
Rating:
Summary: One of my all-time favorites! The Stand
Review: Everytime I read this book, I discover something I've missed. The uncut version gives so much more necessary detail that the original abridged version left out. If you want a book you can really get your teeth into, this is it. Buy it in hardback so you won't wear out the binding too soon.
Rating:
Summary: His best
Review: The Stand is King's best work, hands down. It is an epic story, telling the tale of survivors caught in a battle between good and evil. Building on these basic elements, King creates a tale where the reader gets engrossed in the many plot strands that all come together at the end. It's length is a bonus in my opinion; the plot strands are allowed to become more elaborate and deep. King may falter in some of his other work, but The Stand has all the elements of a great story-romance, action, horror, and the feeling of an epic tale. Read it
Rating:
Summary: A great Book
Review: Although it takes a little longer to get into the uncut version than the previously released version of the book it is never the less entertaining and a priceless edition to my personal library. The fill from the cut down edition allows us to explore the mind and past lives of the main characters while throwing in a few new scenes to keep you on your seat. Never will there be another like this.
Rating:
Summary: I couldn't put it down!!!
Review: I bought The Stand innocently enough. I had considered myself a Stephen King fan, although in all actuality I hadn't read very much of his work at all. I searched through a bunch of Stephen King books, thought the summary looked pretty interesting and bought The Stand. Never before have I read a book like this one. Never before have I felt such an emotional connection to the characters in the book. Just the fact that the situation put forth really could happen, at least to some extent. I found myself caring about what would happen to characters as if I knew them and they are described so that is the case. Each character has a whole life behind them, and the reader is informed of a large part of it. I couldn't put the book down, but I didn't want it to end. I love this book. It's the kind of book that I will be able to pick up and read fresh over again as many times as I want. I highly recommend it!!!
|
