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.
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Horror
Liked so much I’ve re-read the book several times!
Still one of my all-time favorite Stephen King novels! Starts with a human-killing plague and develops into a very dark all-encompassing battle between the forces of good and evil. Highly recommended! Very memorable characters!
The first Stephen King book I ever read; given to me by my grandmother when I was about 13. I was hooked and read so many of his early books within a few years. Mr. King weaves a tale together in unexpected, horrific and exciting ways. The Stand is not the easiest read, but will always hold a special place in my heart.
little slow in parts, but great characters and stroy
This is my all time favorite Stephen King novel. I own the unabridged edition and I’ve read it three times. I get something different out of it with each reading. Shocking, scary, disturbing and perhaps a bit plausible makes this an outstanding book! Read it, you won’t be sorry!
I have read The Stand by Stephen King several times as well as watching the movie and the story always gets to me. It has everything: romance, anger, corruption, betrayal and the ultimate design of good and evil.
This happens to be my very favorite book. I have read it at least ten times and LOVE discussing it with anybody that has ever read it! Just a GREAT book from beginning to end!
Loved it.
This is one of my favorite Stephen King novels. An epic good vs. evil battle with memorable characters. Basically, a novel that explores what might happen after a pandemic wipes out a significant portion of the world population. It follows different groups of people and their varied ways of coping in the aftermath.
My favorite of all Stephen King’s novels.
One of the greatest novels ever written in my humble opinion. I have read this book 5 times even as long as it is. The characters feel like family. King draws you in to this alternate universe and keeps you heavily invested and on the edge of your seat for hundreds of pages. I love this book!
One of the greatest stories ever told. In my opinion Stephen King at his best.
This is another of about 100 books that I keep hard copies of because I go back and read it over & over.
The good guys are not really good guys, the bad guys are not really bad guys. The story itself is the main character and it is impossible to define. Don’t base your ideas about this story on the movies. They are not really accurate.
Franny wasn’t really a whiny brat, Stu really was a stronger character than portrayed in video, Nick was my favorite character in both formats.
Absolutely the best Steven King book.
One of my top 3 favorite books of all time. I re-read it every other summer.
Quite simply this is the best book I have ever read. I read it when it first came out when I was in high school and then bought and read the second version of it and then re-read it many times .
My all time favorite book!
Have read this three times over the years, and each time it seems an even more possible future.
Like a lot of King’s work, the ending is a bit anticlimactic… but everything leading up to that is superb! Great characters, awesome story, creepy setting!
This is the first of Stephen King’s books I’ve read and I am in love! The Stand is gritty, dark, and terrifying and I want more!