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Summary: If you have an imagination read on my friend, read on.
Review: You have heard of a book "...you just can't put down..."? Well, I'm going to tell you. I HAD to put this book down only so that I could check on the other people in the house. I was sucked into the story. The words flowed so well, it melded into my mind. It turned me into a not-entirely-invisible character in the story. Almost like writing yourself into the story in your mind as you read.
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Summary: Taking the Stand
Review: "The Stand," Stephen King's most ambitious work (Two, count 'em, two versions!) is also his very best. This novel defies categorizing. It is science fiction, it has mystical overtones, it is a "road" book. It is a commentary of the mother of sociological experiments. The subject of chemical warfare, paired with the all-too-real scenario of a plague being released as an accidental occurence, is horror at its most chilling. The mysticism of the evil Randall Flagg, that shape-changing purveyor of doom, will have you looking at crows differently forever. The fortitude of Mother Abigail is religious fervor-lite. The journeys, both literal and figurative, that the characters take are truly unforgettable. And the events that unfold which lead to the climax are both thought-provoking and riveting. While I am aware that this novel causes strong feelings in both the pro and con columns, to me it is one of the great works of this century.
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Summary: This is King's Best
Review: The survivors of a plague akin to the bubonic plague and the flu outbreak gather together in two locations. Boulder and Las Vegas. They were gathered by a dream. Thus starts Stephen King's The Stand.The Stand is like the most wonderful feast you could have. A little bit of everything all rolled up into one big wonderful meal. The Stand is a feast for your eyes, but mainly your mind. Its characters are unforgettable and the plot is frighteningly real.The New York Times sums it up quite nicely. "The Stand...has everything. "Adventure, romance, prophecy, allegory, satire, fantasy, realism, apocalypse. Great!"
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Summary: King can make the unbelievable, VERY believable!
Review: I'm sure you read it all before, plague wipes out 99.5% of the worlds population, leaving about 3,000,000 or so people on the earth. Eventually, those people are going to (get together.) In the story they wind up in Boulder, (all the good people) or Vegas, (all the damned people.) BUT, the only reason why this happened was because people were led to where they went by a higher power. Lets take away that higher power, and think what might actually happen when the dust clears! This is where this book captured my heart as the greatest work of fiction ever written. There is a conversation between a former college professor, (Glen Bateman, BA, MBA, MFA) and one of the lead charectors in the book, Stuart Redman. They meet on the road in New Hampshire, Glen is painting, Stu was walking from Vermont. MIND YOU, these two are meeting for the first time. Well, Bateman begins to tell a story, his theory on how certain (post-plague) communities will succeed and certain ones will fail in the post appocolypse. His theories were grounded with thought, and research. He described how two (hypothetical) communities, one in Boston, on (Beacon Hill,) and one in Utica, (living out of cans,) and how they interact with each other because one has technology and one doesn't. How anyone can look at the future, and predict PROBLEMS that do not exist right now, the way King can do, in his stories is amazing. There are no words the describe the depth that was added to this book to suspend your dis-belief! I (me personally) felt like I was reading a story IN a story. Even if you remove all of the (Dark-Christianity) from the story, the realism added to the book places you, (the reader,) as one of the post-plague survivers. Never before did I ever read such a log book, that I hoped would have been twice as long. Not a single loose end remained untied, not a single plot unexplained, everything came together in the end.
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Summary: Awesome!
Review: This book is amazing and everyone should get it. I just wanted to "stand" up to those people who say that it was slow-moving and the ones that say that the flu only wiped out the US. This book is great and the approach by seeing how people react and where or who they travel to, that is what makes it great (in my opinion). First of all the government "accidentally" releases the virus in other countries and the countries that are small have little if no survivors and i doubt that the few say Russians left would survive the winter because it is so cold in russia and such a big country. P.S. um and remember what happened at the end
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Summary: King at his Best
Review: I have read just about every Stephen King book written. This is my absolute favorite although the Gunslinger Series comes a very close second. I can't remember how many times I've read The Stand but each and every reading I find something new, something I didn't 'get' before. The plot twists and turns but not enough to confuse. Even tho the premise of the story in The Stand is not altogether original, only King can give characters such personality and memorability such as the slightly dim but totally loveable Tom (M-O-O-N that spells Tom), the absolutely terrifying Randall Flagg and The Trashcan Man (whom is almost as terrifying as Flagg but very very sad at the same time). The good guys are just as wonderful with a few love stories thrown in. The reader feels the end of the world, rides the King Wave of anxiety and fear about will everyone survive, will good win out over evil? King fans will shiver when they realize that Mr. Flagg appears in other books such as Needful Things and The Gunsliger Series. I cannot recommend this book enough and five stars is NOT enough - don't be afraid of the size of this book! You'll wish it would never end when you get to page 1000.
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Summary: A disappointment
Review: A shame. The premise had such great potential. The characters seemed human in the beginning, but became nothing more than puppets to serve the story by the end. The action only starts after a meandering introduction (300 pages or so), before the real story starts. The survivors start grouping into "good" and "bad" factions, although they seem more like "flawed but well-meaning people" and "simple-minded incompetents who only work together because they're being led like sheep." The story builds up, and builds up, and then... goes nowhere. It's billed as a supreme conflict between good and evil, but there's no conflict. We read through 950 pages only to get a cheap throwaway ending; it seems like even King was sick of it and just wanted out. The Stand is a good read (if you can stand dozens of pages of excessive meaningless detail), but nowhere near the masterpiece it's being made out to be.
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Summary: Review of The Stand
Review: This was a wonderful book. It truly took me to another time and place and left me always wanting to get back to it. It is very lengthy, but this was one of the reasons I enjoyed it so much. I would look forward to continuing the story every night. The story line has a deep meaning and as always, King is very descriptive and brings the reader into the scenery.
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Summary: I chose this book as my book of the millenium
Review: I was so pleased to see my choice of book in the Millenium list - even no 6 is great, considering how many books there are to choose from. I have read this book at least 12 times- the uncut, and about the same, the abridged till the uncut came out. It absolutely my favourite book of all time. The style, the story, the people - they are friends. End of the world, plague, the chosen few, Randolf (the devil) Flagg - it's all been done - but Stephen King does it the best.
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Summary: An old premise with a new twist
Review: Out of the Stephen King novels I've read this is the one I enjoyed the most. As every reader of the book knows, a plague escapes a secret military base in California and kills nearly everyone in America. (And presumably the rest of the world.) This is not a new premise. Another book with the same theme is "Earth Abides" (1949) by George R Stewart. However, in addition to the trauma of living in a devastated country, King has given the survivors something else to contend with: the evil Randall Flagg, often referred to as "the dark man" or the "walkin' dude." Part of the reason I read this novel was because I liked the sound of the plot when I read the back cover. Another reason was the challenge of embarking on a long, long story. The novel makes quite a few references to "Lord of the Rings" and there are some parallels between the two. (Apart from being long.) Those who have read "Night Shift" will know "The Stand" is an expansion of the short story "Night Surf", though there are some inconsistencies with the continuity. An unusual thing for a Stephen King novel are the addition of illustrations. As an aspiring illustrator I can say these are very well done, and help enhance the book. If you like post apocalypse literature and have the patience for King's descriptive writing then this is the book for you.
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