Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating Read, Disappointing Ending
Review: The Stand is the story of a killer plague that wipes out 99.5% of America, and about the apocolyptic battle between good and evil that follows, but to me, all of that came secondary to the most fascinating thing of all: the characters.The characters in this story are fascinating, multi-dimensional, and deep. They each start out in their own respective locations in the U.S., and come together near the middle of the book. Before the characters even meet one another and the real story begins, you are already intimate (and most likely fond) of each one. Stu Redman, Fran Goldsmith, and Larry Underwood will stay with you long after you put the book down. The fascinating characters and interesting plot make for a fun reading experience, but in my opinion, the conclusion of the story isn't worth the 1100 pages building up to it. It makes for an effect in which you've grown attached to all the characters, are thoroughly enjoying the book, and suddenly the ending comes, and you can't help but think to yourself, "What, that's IT?" Nevertheless, this is a novel I would definitely recommend. It would be especially handy to have on a good, month-long vacation.
Rating: 
Summary: Stephen King does it again.
Review: The Stand. Stephen King. New York City: New American Library, 1978. 1,141 pages. Over the years, we've come to expect a lot from the most successful writer ever, Stephen King. But many herald The Stand, one of his earliest works, as his best. Separated into three parts, it starts out with a disease that wipes out 99% of the world's population. The survivors soon band together and discover they have recurring dreams: One about a kind, 108 year-old women living in Nebraska, another about the Dark Man, whom none have seen but all fear. Led by the former, they attempt to reestablish society in Boulder, Colorado. But the Dark Man isn't ready to just let them start over, and campaigns to take down the peace-lovers. In the end, an apocalyptical battle between the forces of good and evil, God and Satan themselves at times, comes down to a showdown in Las Vegas. Though many believe this is the greatest book of all time, others have criticized it for its length. There are moments, however rare, when I agree and think it could have benefited from some trimming. But King for years wanted to make an epic like Lord of the Rings (it really shows in some aspects), which just can't happen if the novel's a mere 500 pages. Usually, I'm weary of someone who takes a pound of paper to spit his or her story out and usually, I'm right. Especially in J. R. R. Tolkien's, the tale kind of rambles on and on, with no interesting points at all. Entire chapters do nothing but add weight and label the author as "prolific". But not so with The Stand. King tells about nearly every single day from June to January, but makes it interesting. In the beginning, when just introducing the characters, it seems too much like a soap opera with all the emotion, but not for long. When the main characters meet, their problems and personalities seem to fit naturally with each other. The character Harold Lauder, the genius who begins to go mad, has a depth the likes of which I had yet to see. Ditto for the Trashcan Man, on of my favorites. While long, this story is definitely not boring. I should say now that the version I read was the unedited and uncut edition-meaning it had over 150,000 words that King wanted to include before, but couldn't. Since he became better known, he decided to re-release this with all the additions and none of the editing. I see where he's coming from, but the book could have been a good deal better if an editor saw it at least once. I'm speaking grammatically here, especially with the repetitiousness that distracts the reader. Particularly in the first half, I was tripping my way through every other sentence, rewording it in my mind so that it made more sense. Entire paragraphs would use the same style of sentence over and over again. If it weren't so flibbin' long, I'd read the edited version to see what that was like. There are some people who just don't like reading long books. Right away, they think, "Oh, it's going to be horrible because it's so flibbin' long." But, much like LOTR, it's really three different books in one. If he sold them that way, as a trilogy, then I think more people would have appreciated it for what it really is. In On Writing, a book to help other writers, King adamantly suggests a rule in which you write the first draft and then take out at least 10% of it for the second draft. He must not have thought so highly of that rule when writing this. It isn't the only rule he says yet refuses to obey, but it's the most obvious. If the goal of The Stand was to write a classic, then mission accomplished. Despite the many errors I saw, this is one of my favorite books. It's deeply religious, but also offers philosophy, sociology (what would humans do if 99% of them were wiped out? they'd start fighting again), romance, action, the whole shebang. If you look past the size, you're bound to find something you like. It has left almost nothing out, simply because of how much is written. In order to make it more acceptable to the public, another author would have skipped the whole first third, generalizing it in a paragraph or two. But not King, and that makes the characters so much more human. The only part of the plot you could find hard to believe is those who had immunity and lived through the epidemic: A deaf-mute, a famous singer, a borderline retard, and a pyro, to name a few. The fact that so many diversified people would come together in such a way suggests some belief requires suspension, but you could argue that that was all a part of God's plan- it was His strategy to let all of those people live, so they could interact the way they did. Some say yea, some say nay when it comes to The Stand; you either love it or hate it, because of how much is written. It's either a good thing that keeps on coming, or a bad thing that never seems to end. My belief is that the characters were very believable, the choices they made very realistic, and the action never-ending. All in all, it's a good book, one that should "stand" the test of time.
Rating:
Summary: Apocalyptic...
Review: This is of course the definitive book of the apocalypse. It is hard to review a 1200 page book, but rest assured that this book will be read faster than a book half its length -its just that good. The plot is simple - a flu is released and 99.9% of the world dies. Of the remaining people the good goto Colorado to be led by an ancient woman and the bad congregate in Las Vegas to be led by the mysterious Randall Flagg. The two factions prepare for war and begin rebuilding their respective visions of utopia. An explosive ending to a masterpiece of a story. Defiantly one of the more horrific visions of the future - but told in such a wonderful way that the reader appreciates that there is more to King than just a horror writer.
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