Stephen King, The Stand Review

Overall Rating

- Exciting plot
- Believable characters

- Second half of book not quite as good.

I first read the Stand when I was in hospital for a few days and the book lady came round. Up until that point I had never read any of his books, but I thought I would give this a try and from that moment on I was a massive Stephen King fan - to the extent I now have every book he has ever written. The Stand is still, for me, the best book he has ever written though.

The plot concentrates on an apocalyptic plague that hits America after accidentally being released from a military experiment. The first half of the book deals with the aftermath of the plague and the subsequent fragmentation of society after 99.8% of the people are killed. The few surviors eventually coalesce into two societies, one led by the charismatic (but evil) Randall Flagg and the other by the benevolent (but errr...old) Mother Abigail.

The second half of the book deals with the growing threat of war between the two sides and ends in a cataclysmic confrontation that leaves only one group alive.

The best part about this book is the richness of the characters. From the start you are introduced to the main protagonists and you follow them through the nightmare days of the plague through the rebuilding of society and the eventual death or survival at the end. All of these characters (except one, the Trashcan man) are incredibly realistic with oh-so-human flaws and follibles and you find yourself building a mental image of these people and actually caring what happens to them.

All in all, a superb book and I would recommend it to anyone.