Rating: 
Summary: The Stand: Complete and Uncut
Review: Love it or hate everyonr who reads The Stand has to be impressed. Many people complain about the theme of religion which runs throughout and the so-called religious ending(Don't worry I won't spoil it! )However what most people fail to see is that the ending is left open. At no point in the story does King say "This is right, this is wrong, she is God, he is the devil." Although some of the characters believe it not all do. I read a review by someone claiming to be an atheist who complained about the 'religious ending'. If he can see this and is saying that it definitely is and that is who they definitely are he needs to question whether or not he does believe in God. This book sparks your imagination, touches your emotions, makes you questions what you do and do not believe in and is so far from his comercial novels its unbelievable.(Oh I've started planning for the end. If lots of people get ill around you e-mail me and let me know! I'll need to buy a generator so at least I have electricity! )
Rating:
Summary: WOW!
Review: The stand is Stephen King's second greatest book! His first is IT and you should read that too (but if the thought of 2 1,000 page books makes you puke space it out!) I am 14 years of age and I was only 7 when I first saw The Stand and it was always a favorite of mine! I just got done reading the complete and uncut version and I couldn't count how many times King's words brought me to tears. From when Harold Lauder's heart was first broken to when it was he who was creating tragedies I couldn't put it down! Honestly it never left my hands (unless I was reaching for a tissue!) In the course of the book I was ecstatic when good news appeared but only seconds later, at some times, I would be mad at King for crushing the utopia the Fran, Stu, Nick, Ralph, Glen, Larry, and Sue Stern had tried so hard to make in the cozy little town of Boulder, Colorado. The book, as many of King's, affects all parts of you; it tears your heart apart from saddness and makes you think about the basis of all humanity and whether or not The Dark Man, Randall Flagg, really exists. If not literally, perhaps in all of us.
Rating:
Summary: King proves he's America's best writer, period
Review: The reviewer from May 6, who disliked the conclusion because he's an atheist, inadvertently revealed why Stephen King is such a great writer and The Stand is such a great book. King is one of the few "mainstream" writers with the courage to challenge the smug, complacent philosophical assumptions of our society. That's what great literature does. I can't think of another book, even by writers deemed "important" by the literarti, that challenges the basic philosophical assumptions (materialism, primacy of the self, etc.) of the modern American elite. In fact, writers who are deemed "important" by critics are writers who churn out servile drivel that praises the views commonly held our country's elite. For example, The Cider House Rules (pro-abortion message) and City of God (New Age/pantheistic message) are both praised by critics, but there is nothing courageous or groundbreaking about these books. These books simply reinforce the views held by the intellectual elite, of whom the critics are part. It is much more courageous to write a book that suggests the world works in a different way than the cultural elite says it does. That is what Stephen King has done, and he's done it brilliantly.I have a theory that in the future, Stephen King's works will be remembered like those of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien or Ursula K. LeGuin. The Christian subject matter is there; the themes are darker because it is a darker time.
Rating: 
Summary: Typical derivative (but entertaining) King
Review: In "The Stand," King applies his signature style of writing and his usual cast of character types to what is, for him, a somewhat novel end: a post-apocalyptic future setting for a battle between supernatural forces of good and evil. Much has been made of the premise of the book--a super-virulent strain of flu virus is released and eliminates most of the human race, and the few survivors are the participants in a battle of magical powers--and I have little to add to the descriptions of this. What seems to go largely unrecognized, however, is that "The Stand" is a transparent rewrite of J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings." Each character here can be identified with a character in Tolkien's work (most notably Trashcan Man with Gollum), and most of the plot of the latter book is replicated, albeit with a change of setting and phrasing, by King. King's literary act of thievery is an adept one--there will undoubtedly be those who prefer his version to Tolkien's original, most likely due to a preference for King's style of writing or the more modern settings--but it is thievery nevertheless. Contrary to what many other reviewers (see below) have stated, the characters here are not terribly distinguishable from the characters in any of King's other novels, and the episode of (in King's own words) "literary elephantiasis" that resulted in this book's gargantuan length ensures that this is not the book that I would recommend for anyone thinking of reading their first King novel (that distinction would go to "The Shining.") It is nevertheless a fast and entertaining read worth a few stars, more or less.
Rating:
Summary: King's Greatest Work
Review: The Stand is really an aquired taste. Some love it and some hate it. It's a very long book, but very interesting. The book starts off as a disease destroys almost all of the world's population. Soon, a demon makes his move and attempts to conquer what's left of the world. A battle for survival during a plague turns into a holy war that the world has never seen. A great book. I loved it.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Book Ever Written?
Review: If I was told to sum up The Stand: Complete and Uncut in one word, that one word would definately be WOW. This epic tale of apocalypse, magic, romance, horror, adventure, and just about every other genre of literature is absolutely stunning. I have just finished reading this book and I must say- I AM AMAZED. I never thought that Stephen King could top his excellent It (you should read that one, too), but he has. There is no word in the English language for this book, so anyone with the attention span (its 1141 pages long) should order this book RIGHT NOW and see what I mean. You won't regret it!
Rating:
Summary: King's best long work
Review: Usually, when a Stephen King book tops the 1000 page mark, the reader is in for a lot of unnecessary bloat. That is not the case with his sweeping, epic end-of-the-world novel "The Stand." For once, the subject matter is worthy of the extended length and the uncut version just adds to the book's pleasures. The best part is still the first two hundred and fifty pages or so, which feature King's descriptions of the world being destroyed by the powerful flu. The survivors' journey and battle in the decimated wasteland of America is also very strong. While some may knock the underlying spiritualism, nobody can deny that this is a fantastic adventure story, expertly told.
Rating:
Summary: The Stand: By Far Stephen King's Best Book
Review: The first thing you notice about The Stand is how individual and real each character is. Each character has a personality so real and so unique that you feel you've met them in real life. Aside from the best and most unforgettable set of main characters to appear in a book other than the bible, this book tells a chilling tale of the ultimate struggle between good and pure evil. It is a highly original and frightening story and its story line and suspense makes it nearly impossible to put down. It is simple enough for the simple minds to enjoy, yet it makes everyone who reads it think. Anyone can relate to this book, horror fan or not. The Stand is a great book that had me hooked from the very first page. I recommend this book to everyone.
Rating:
Summary: Great premise, good characters but unsatisfactory ending
Review: Fantasy/horror writers have it easy. They can write themselves into a corner, but poof, a door can magically appear to let them out. King does that twice in this book. The first third of the book is a fairly fascinating and well written account of how most humanity dies due to a mutant flue bug created by the military. You really wonder how the remaining people are going to survive and rebuild civilization. But, poof, King takes the easy way out. He divides the survivors into good and evil and creates a leader for each group. The survivors then congregate in Denver (good) or Las Vegas (evil). The second third of the book is a detailed account of the two groups rebuilding their societies. The last third is the climatic confrontation between good and evil. Things go really bad for the good, and it looks like good is finished. You wonder how good could possibly triumph, and then, poof, the hand of God swoops down out of the sky and wipes out the bad. I didn't read 1100 pages just to have everything wrapped up in one page by the hand of God. This is one of King's earlier books. It was originally released in a stripped down version. He says that the publisher thought is was too long and spent too much time on the characters. I don't think that's true. In the long version, the characters get fully developed, but the story keeps moving and never drags. I think the publisher correctly recognized that alot of readers would be upset reading through 1100 pages, only to have it all abruptly ended by the hand of God. That kind of ending is OK for a short story, but not an epic. Besides the unsatisfying ending, this is a good story with well rounded characters. The only character I don't like is the up and coming rock star and his horrible no. 1 hit. This guy fulfills King's self indulgent fantasy of becoming a rock idol.
Rating:
Summary: King at his best in this voluminous novel
Review: I don't read King much anymore, but back when I did this book was among his best. Most of mankind is wiped out as the result of a deadly contagion released at a government facility. In typical King fashion, it contains the gore made famous by his work. The book follows the two groups that survive the disease - your classic good versus evil story. The characters are believable and unforgettable, and King's attention to detail is impeccable. Somewhere 2/3 into the book King will bring back some seemingly insignificant detail from early in the book. King fans will love this book. If you've never read King, you'll probably enjoy this one too.
|
