Rating: 
Summary: A great novel for our time...King's masterpiece
Review: This is not just my favorite King book, but one of my all-time favorite books, period. I've read this book probably at least a dozen times since its publication, and I never get tired of the story.I love the characters, and find the plot fascinating and scary, because a scenario like this is completely plausible (does anyone really doubt that our government is more than capable of something like this and then doing everything they can to cover it up?) One of the most interesting aspects of the story is how radically society changes in the wake of the apocalypse and the breakdown of established order, particularly the fact that money is now obsolete - you can just take what you want or need. I found the sociological discourses by Glen Bateman very entertaining and interesting, and I loved King's development of all of the characters. I'm a little puzzled about everyone's complaining about Randall Flagg. So he wasn't a scary villain, so what??? He was a demon in human form, after all, but with weaknesses and foibles just like all creatures. He was Satan's representative and minion on Earth, just as Mother Abagail was God's. The final battle between Good and Evil, that's the crux of the story. LOVED THIS BOOK. When people who have never read Stephen King's work ask, I always recommend they read THE STAND first. It is by far his best in a long and brilliant career.
Rating:
Summary: best book he's written
Review: this is one story that king takes what the bible says and puts it into a story common people can relate to. kept me cativate for hours. have read it several times, and never tire of it. would reccommend it to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: King's compassion for his characters abounds!
Review: Never before do I remember a King novel in which the author showed as much compassion for his characters as in The Stand. The character development was clever and sensitive, with Larry Underwood coming out on top as the most redeemed individual, meeting his potential, a potential that was slowly and carefully revealed. I must say, I was grateful that Randall Flagg was such a disappointment in the scare category, but I feel that this was not an oversight on King's part. While evil has the potential to stop us in our tracks with fear, it's whole sum and substance can be brought down to size in the face of dogged determination in the cause of good. Our heros in The Stand cracked the veneer of his evil front and exposed him for what he was, a fraud with nothing to offer but empty promises.
Rating:
Summary: GREAT EPIC!!!
Review: This book is on my top three list. It had everything, emotion, action, mystique, apocalypse scneario, gothic, romance, and a sense of adventure. I really like Glen Bateman, the sociologist, and you really get to feel for Nick and Tom. You get to know the characters through the book. This isn't a novel, but more of an epic. It is the length of three novels alone. The only thing it lacked was Randall Flagg. Trashcan Man was a better bad guy than Flagg, but oh well. The book was awesome, don't get intimidated by the size!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Mixed feelings
Review: As with any other novel, "The Stand" has its ups and downs. The ups centered on the characters (Glen, Frannie, Stu, Harold, Larry, Tom, Nick). I was very drawn to these characters' growth, endurance, and development in the novel. Mr. King deserves a thumbs up for orchestrating and balancing these characters so as to make their interaction engaging for the reader. Much of my enjoyment of the novel comes from the energy that these characters create with their speech, actions, and personality. At times, they seem as real as people I know in my life. The downs rest mainly on the development of the villain, R.F. Quite frankly, he is not sufficiently sinister. I was not frightened by Randall as I was of the evil forces, say in The Green Mile or Desperation. The anticipation of meeting face to face with Randall was great, but after that, the excitement for the evil and carnage that I was hoping for did not materialize.
Rating: 
Summary: 3.5 Stars, actually
Review: This book came close to, but didn't reach, the heights of greatness I expected after seeing all these reviews. King does a great job of weaving a complicated story and bringing all the people together in a coherent plot. But there are still some glaring problems... like the villain, as one other person pointed out. Flagg is the least scary bad guy of any King book I've read. I was surprised that the embodiment of a supernaturally evil force is so stupid and incompetent. I was also greatly disappointed with the ending. Not that there aren't some good points. The characterizations are wonderful: I liked the tensions within the groups and the downfall of some of the 'good' folks. Larry's character changes were good too. But the ending still disappoints.
Rating:
Summary: Fifty years from now will be considered a classic.
Review: King's best so far; totally believable. I feel I KNOW Stu, Frannie, Nick, Larry, Nadine, Mother Abigail... I could go on and on, and it's been some years since I've read the original and Complete revised edition. I want to call Mr. King up and say, "So, where are Stu and Fran now?" Stephen King is a moralist in the same vein as Charles Dickens. His work is just as good and history will recall him as more than just a horror writer. A must read where ultimately good triumphs over evil.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Example Of What Long Fiction Should Be
Review: I have come to bat for Stephen King may times here at Amazon and I'm here swinging again for this book. Recently this was voted as the number one book of the century on a certain online carrier's poll. Reason being: Stephen King is most likely the most read author of the century with the farthest reaching audience. I won't even try to count the number of languages his works have been translated into. So he must be doing something right. Granted he may have a juggernaut of PR people and Publisher backing up the wazoo, but if he made you as much money as he makes those people you would be on that bandwagon too. His greatest accomplishment with this book is that it was written in a time when the television regins supreme and where reading has lost a lot of its stature (and popularity?) as an acceptible media. Just ask any high school student what he/she would rather do with his/her time: watch tv or read a book? We all know the answer to that one and so it is amazing how many younger people have willingly picked up a book of over a thousand pages in length with the intention (gasp) of reading it. The story isn't really new, in fact it is most likely one of the oldest ones out there, but it is the approach of the subject that was so damn cool. This book will stand (no pun intended, i hate puns) the test of time (as will many of King's books) and in the future when my generation (I'm 19 at this writing folks)is in control of the history books, we'll make damn sure this one gets remembered as literature. Believe it or not, that's what it is.
Rating:
Summary: Good and Evil have never been more clear cut
Review: One of king's best novels, it manages to delve into the world of religion without coming off as preachy and still manages to add a good deal of science fiction to the story. The forces of good and evil are very well defined, and the journies that the characters endure are as fascinating as the characters themselves. A must read for any fan of stephen king.
Rating:
Summary: Good Book
Review: Where do I begin with The Stand? Well, I rate it as the 3rd best book by Stephen King that I've read, behind The Green Mile and Carrie. The Stand has an excellent first part, but does somehow begin to taper off toward the end, but not that much. The Stand contains excellent characters created by King, such as Stu Redman, Lloyd Henreid and Glen Bateman. And I must say this, at the beginning of the book, I absolutly hated Larry Underwood, but as the book went on, and Larry began to change I began to like him, until he became my second favorite character only behind Stu. The only complaint I have with The Stand is simply and surprisingly the villian. Randall Flagg simply doesn't cut it for me as a bad guy. I found him not scary, and very dumb at some points in the book. He has no comparrison to Pennywise or Cujo, the two best King villians. He is not scary, which takes everything away from him. But other than that, The Stand is a good read, a novel of length, and plenty of blood and gore. (Just read Chapters 26 and 38 and you'll know what I'm talking about). The Stand is a great book.
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