This is the way the world ends: with a nanosecond of computer error in a Defense Department laboratory and a million casual contacts that form the links in a chain letter of death.And here is the bleak new world of the day after: a world stripped of its institutions and emptied of 99 percent of its people. A world in which a handful of panicky survivors choose sides — or are chosen. A world in … world in which good rides on the frail shoulders of the 108-year-old Mother Abigail — and the worst nightmares of evil are embodied in a man with a lethal smile and unspeakable powers: Randall Flagg, the dark man.
In 1978 Stephen King published The Stand, the novel that is now considered to be one of his finest works. But as it was first published, The Stand was incomplete, since more than 150,000 words had been cut from the original manuscript.
Now Stephen King’s apocalyptic vision of a world blasted by plague and embroiled in an elemental struggle between good and evil has been restored to its entirety. The Stand : The Complete And Uncut Edition includes more than five hundred pages of material previously deleted, along with new material that King added as he reworked the manuscript for a new generation. It gives us new characters and endows familiar ones with new depths. It has a new beginning and a new ending. What emerges is a gripping work with the scope and moral comlexity of a true epic.
For hundreds of thousands of fans who read The Stand in its original version and wanted more, this new edition is Stephen King’s gift. And those who are reading The Stand for the first time will discover a triumphant and eerily plausible work of the imagination that takes on the issues that will determine our survival.
From the Hardcover edition.
more
Recently re-read this classic. King builds a wonderful cast of characters and slowly dissolves the world around them and then rebuilds it in terms of good versus evil.
A classic!
The Stand is one of those books I still recommend to others because the characters are so real and the story pulls emotions out of you and keeps you flipping pages until late into the night. If you’ve never read it, you’re in for a treat, and if you haven’t read it in a few years, it’s a great one to reread…
This is an epic book and in my opinion, one of his best books. The book is depiction of what the apocalypse could look like in the 20th century. Its also super long so you could snuggle up in a big overstuffed comfy chair with some tea or hot chocolate and read away. Its so good you won’t be able to put it down!
I re-read this book this summer and was pleased that it was every bit as entertaining and horrifying as it was on my first read. Stephen King rarely disappoints, and this is one of his best.
I have re-read this book 11 times now, it is a trip back to visit old friends, and every so often I return to see them again. This is the classic good vs evil told in such a way that we have very few people left to survive a plague produced by our own government. The characters you meet along the way are wonderfully introduced and you will find yourself cheering them on as they work their way to the “old woman” or mistakenly to “the walking-dude”. Take a trip, King style in one of his early books to a place that may still happen. “This is the way the world ends”…………….
Probably my favorite book. An epic tale of good vs. evil with so many great characters.
Long but definitely worth reading.
After many years of watching The Stand mini-series it was good to finally read the book and read more about the characters and get to see what was taken out and what was change. I even found that as much as I love watching the mini-series I enjoyed reading the book just as much.
I enjoyed this book. From the moment you get introduced to each character, you want to know more about that character. The twists and turns as the story plays out kept me turning the pages, long after I should have gone to bed. Many days were spent with too little rest, simply because I had to know what had happened to one character or another.
seeing each character grow in your mind as you advance through the story, was a big draw for me. By the time I finished, I was actually mourning some of the characters, while cheering the demise of others.
This is a thoroughly enjoyable read if you like other books by Stephen King, you will love this one.
One of my favorites.
The very first Stephen King book that I read way back when it first came out. Then I bought the e reader extended version. This was a really good read. Very scary. Good v Evil. A flu called Captain Trips kills most of the world only a few survived. The epic proportions that take place will make every page scare you. Well done Mr. King
I don’t normally read horror/scary books, and definitely not Stephen King. However, I decided to try the Stand. I thought it was great, worth every page I read, tough it did not make me a fan of the genre. I was very surprised I liked it as much asi did. The mini series was also great and pretty much followed the book.
Leaves you thinking. I read this book a while ago but it still stands out in my mind. It definitely stays with you
This book is my all time favorite Stephen King book and should be required reading everywhere!
This is the book I would want when stranded on a desert island. Not only is it an epic journey but a very long read, especially the unabridged version. I read both versions and was glad the unabridged was published because many characters were left out of the first. Although the storyline is fascinating, the characters really make this book. By the end of the book I felt an almost kinship with the main characters.
This is one of my all time favorite books, if you can find one dig out the longer version. It was cut back considerably when it was first released. I believe the Stand is King’s most accomplished novel, and the writing is of an exceptionally high standard. He takes us on a journey through a difficult world that has emerged after the apocalyptic event that killed off most of the population. A battled between good and evil of epic proportions.
Whoa! What a tome! Just finished the revised version (over 1000 pages). Love King. Have since first reading Rose Madder.
One thing about King, he has no qualms about killing off favorite characters. I liked most of the people in this book except for Frannie. She caused a lot of the hard feelings and she became so needy. Never cared for Harold, but I wasn’t supposed to like him.
Never really figured out exactly what the Walking Dude was: demon, monster, embodiment of evil, the error of our ways? But, he was scary.
Great read. King doing what he does best, scaring the bejesus out of you.
When I first read “The Stand” by Stephen King, it took me a while to get into it because there were so many chapters about all of the different characters. Once a character showed up again, I would have to go back to their chapter(s) to figure out who they were again, so it took me a while to read the book. I still loved it so much, I read it again and was able to totally enjoy the book because I had the who-was-whom down pat by then. Such a great novel!
I remember reading this at about the age of 29 and being so engrossed in the story I wished it would never end.
I would love to see this novel on a required reading list. My all time favorite novel! I found this to be quite thought provoking and disconcerting! As we all have heard, there are super-bugs out there in which no antibiotic can cure, so the premise of this book could become a reality. Granted, this novel doesn’t attempt to find a cure nor will it help you do so. It will however share with you a fictionalized way that survivors come together and do what needs to be done. Good vs. Evil until the final Stand! This is an epic piece of work, slow in spots but well worth the effort!
I’ve only read the long version and I lost 3 days of sleep do to not being able to put it down.