The Stand

Title: The Stand: Complete and Uncut

Author: Stephen King

Publisher: Penguin Group

Publication Date: May 1991

Genre: Horror

Pages: 1168

Okay, a little history lesson here, so please bear with me. Once upon a time, way back in the 1970's (1979 if the brain is working right) I bought a copy of The Stand. The cover had a painting of a crow mixed in with a twilight sunset. As I was walking home with my new book and couldn't wait to break into it, I looked up and saw the same sunset in the sky and it ran a chill up my spine. Man this was going to be good! The original paperback copy of The Stand came in at a little over 800 pages. I dove into it that night. I was even caught reading it at school during study hall and in my free time. A teacher even went as far as to contact my mother and ask her if she was aware of what I was reading. Mom came to my room that night all kinds of concerned that I had gotten my hands on some pornographic filth. She asked me what I was reading, so I showed it to her and she just shrugged her shoulders and walked out of my room. Then in 1991, Stephen King decided he wanted the world to see The Stand in its entirety.

Having read the original version of The Stand I felt like i had something to look forward to. I admit I was a bit skeptical about going into the re-edit. What could be added to one of my favorite Stephen King books? Well, the answer is alot!

The Stand is an end of the world tale. Not a nuclear holocaust, but one done by a man made super flu. Over 90% of the world's population is wiped out. And out of the "ashes" of this holocaust rises Randall Flagg, basically evil on two legs. Very charming, and very very bad. To go against Randall Flagg is 108 year old Mother Abigail. The world's remaining population divides between the two camps, with Mother Abigail getting very few followers. It is up to these people to defeat Randall Flagg in the ultimate showdown of Good versus Evil.

This book has everything you could look for in a book. The characters are very engaging and believable. You get enough background on each character to feel as though you might just be a part of their lives and not some distanced voyeur looking in with binoculars. It moves at a good pace, not a break neck pace, but an enjoyable pace. This is not a book that you will finish in one sitting or even a weekend, unless you are a speed reader, and then you will be missing out on a lot. This is Stephen King at his finest!

5 out of 5 stars

Re Readable factor of 5 out of 5