The Stand by Stephen King is a classic story of good versus evil. It starts with the spreading of a virus from a government research facility that goes on to ravage the population of the United States - I can't recall other continents being mentioned - save for a few survivors.
The survivors are then seperated into two camps. Those that serve evil (in the shape of randall flagg) and those that serve good (in the god-like form of Abigail). As the good camp, set-up in Boulder, Colorado attempt to live in peace, the evil camp begins salvaging weapons for an attack to wipe out their fellow survivors.

it's a gripping read from start to finish, with a Tolkien-esque split of good and evil (there are no in-betweens). The characters are well developed and their individual story arcs blend nicely when they meet up in their respective locations.
It suffers from pacing issue due to the density of some chapters (a popular fault with Kings work) but it levels out towards the end.

An excellent book. A little dense in places but Kings best by far.

Stephen King, The Stand leads up to things bit by bit and just gets better and better. It really makes you thing about what people could do with one tube of super flu that breaks and one man who spreads it to everybody without knowing it. It makes you make up how the characters look with a little imagination and a willingness to read a long, good, book. It is also a religious story, but in a good way I mean. I do hope I can find another book thats like it. Once I saw the movie I just had to read it. I watch the movie literally about one or more a week. When you you put it down you'll pick it up soon ... very soon. All in all it's just an amazing book for anybody.

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.

As Mr. King knows, The Stand is the favorite book of his loyal readers. I am one of them. I first read this book when it came out in 80? I forget the year. The people that put it down for the religious aspects must be devil worshipers. Evil loses. Just like in the real world in the end.
As far as the story, it will grab you from the beginning and will not let go. If you have not read this book, you are so lucky. It is huge and dynamite. Just the way I like a good book. This is a page-turner.

I am not a fan of the uncut version. I read the cut version first when the 70's were still fresh (was it 79 when this came out?). It left a pretty strong impression. He has many references to recent events and the culture of the 70's.
With the uncut version he didn't just add in the chapters that were removed, he want back and updated all the cultural references he had originally written. This was a mistake. He even mentions Madonna, that can turn a mans stomach.
There is nothing in the uncut version that really adds to the story. So I suggest you buy the original.

Out of all the King books I've read so far, The stand complete and uncut, is my favorite out of all of them, so far that is. It is about (Synopsis): A chemical warfare facility in California who apparently, have a chemical spill. They kill all the occupants inside, of what will later be known as "SuperFlu" or "Captain Trips." Charles Campion, the guard of the facilitation escapes, but he has a container of the new Superflu made, and spreads it across America, killing 99% of all occupants.
However, a few people are immune to the virus, and start having very vivid and lucid dreams, all being similar or identical, of walking in a corn field and seeing an old, black woman playing the guitar on a rocking chair on a wooden porch, saying: "Name, come here, your welcome anytime". Or dreams of a certain "Dark Man" who is said to be The devils imp.
Eventually, the survivors split into two groups, one is good in Boulder, Colorado with Mother Abigail (Black woman), and the other one evil, who runs off to Las Vegas with Randall Flagg, otherwise known as "Dark Man", "Walkin Dude", or just "Randy."
In the end they're is a final battle between good and evil, and I'm not going to tell you which side wins, find out for yourself, it will be the worth the wait.
During the whole book, there is a lot of adventure, romance, realism, destruction, sex, apocalytipsm, prophecy etc...
The new uncut edition is filled with illustrations, subplots, more character suspenseful , more dialogue, and sideplots and a new beggining, and a new ending, making King's best novel, better.

The book's great apart from the end, where it all goes supernatural...
Why did King add all this holy rubbish and God into this potentially great book?
After the masterpiece that was Wizard and Glass, he screwed up Wolves of the Calla, too, so King is NOT perfect, in-case you were wondering what I thought about that too.

Stephen King, The Stand - Definitely the most engrossing book you will probably ever read. What life would be like if only a handful of people survived a huge epidemic. The imagery in the book, the characters are all fantastic. This book is hard to put down and if you didn't have respect for King before then read this book as it will surely change your mind !

Stephen King, The Stand - Synopsis:
"First came the days of the plague. Then came the dreams. Dark dreams that warned of the coming of the dark man. The apostate of death, his worn-down boot heels tramping the night roads. The warlord of the charnel house and Prince of Evil. His time is at hand. His empire grows in the west and the Apocalypse looms".

The Stand first appeared in 1978 and has since been regarded by many as Stephen King's greatest book. However, a considerable amount of the original work had been cut from the published version. Now this material has been restored, with a foreward by the author in this complete and uncut edition. King's forward explains his reasons behind re-releasing the novel fully uncut, briefly mentioning what was originally taken out of the novel.

The novel is another take on the 'everyone except a very few survivors has been wiped off the face of the Earth by a plague' plot, which has been done so many times. King's The Stand is a masterpiece of good against evil, reflecting on the basic survival of mankind and their apocalypse. His writing style is descriptive, creating a vivid landscape within the mind of the reader and such outstanding characterization that you actually feel you know them. Unfortunately, with this comes King's over-describing and at times he just waffles.

When I started to read this novel, I thought 1421 pages...there's going to be a hell of a lot of unnecessary over-describing and sheer waffling. But no, this was not the case! Well, if I'm honest, the first 400 pages did drag a little. I understand the need to build up the characters, which is one of the greatest aspects about the novel...but it does drag on a bit.

Once the book gets going (around the 400 page marker), it really gets going. You'll be sucked in to the book, and find yourself gripped by the powerful storyline that unfolds. It spirals to a climax that is like no other, as King brings down the judgment on the rest of mankind. I won't ruin the ending for you, but this is where I felt a little disappointed... cheated even.

All, in all, an epic tale that was well worth the time and effort you put in to it. There was a mini TV series / film made of the novel by Mick Garris (Sleepwalkers, Quicksilver Highway, The Shining-TV version) back in 1994. As is standard with any Mick Garris film, the creation is appalling. It really doesn't do the novel justice, so I strongly recommend that if you get the chance, read the book beforehand.

I have read lots of Stephen King's books but this one is the best by far. I first read it about 8 years ago and have read it at least 7 times since. All of the characters in the book Frannie, Harold, Stu, Mother Abigail, Trashcan to name a few have excellent personalities and you really feel that you know them intimately. If I was to be stranded on a desert island this would be my first choice of reading material and I would reccomend it to everyone.

Stephen King's novel the stand is simply awesome. Most definitely the best book I have read so far. The description of the world being wiped out is first class literature. Put on the top of that the battle of good and evil, moral message and the religious tinge. This book is a must read for any fan of literature.