The Stand: Expanded Edition: For the First Time Complete and Uncut (Signet) by Stephen King
|
List Price: Our Price: $4.50 You Save: $4.49 (50%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.27 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of The Stand: Expanded Edition: For the First Time Complete and Uncut (Signet)
Book Review: A must-read
Summary: 5 Stars
To start with, I should say that I never read the original shorter version of this novel. And now that I have finished the uncut version, I cannot imagine where this story could have been shortened, what could have been left out. I do not feel that any section or page was unnecessary. The story would be incomplete, if any page was missing. Due to the books' length, the story line is developed in much detail and the reader really gets to know the main characters.
In the story, mankind destroys themselves and the few remaining survivors of the super-flu find themselves drawn either to God's side or the devil's. Both groups are curious of what the other is up to, until they finally meet. I found the story so gripping that even after I put the book down for a few days, I could pick it up again without having to re-read a couple of pages to know what was going on. The book is very well written. One of Stephen King's best works (along with The Shining).
Book Review: Flagship King
Summary: 5 Stars
I had long avoided this book because of it's length. I just wasn't sure that even a great author like Stephen King could keep me captivated for that long with a stand alone novel. I was told by a co-worker that I was not a true Stephen King fan if I had not read "The Stand", and the gauntlet was thrown down.
I loved this book. From start to finish I was hooked. The first section of the book describing you spread of the "superflu" as well as it's aftermath and the consequences suffered by the main characters was stand alone. It was amazing how he could have written in so many different characters and storylines and still leaving me caring about all of them a great deal. He then manages to tie everything together in a masterful way.
It was definitely a "heavy" read. It took a lot of time and attention, but I was rewarded by the wonderful story that he had put together. This book transcends the decades that have past since it was written and released.(Keep in mind that when this book was written there was no talk of a great bird flu pandemic)
Don't be afraid of the length of the book. If you are a "constant reader" then he will keep you from page one up until the final sentence. This book IS that good.
Book Review: Self contradictory mish-mash
Summary: 3 Stars
*** SPOILERS FOLLOW ***
Stephen King nearly gave up on this book because he couldn't figure out how to end it. He ended up writing new chapters which took the book in a new direction, without changing the old ones.
The result is several contradictory sections spliced together. First the characters are told by God (dreams) to travel to Kansas. Once they get there, they immediately are told to travel to Colorado. That's how the first two-thirds of the book are spent, with the original disaster and then the main characters traveling to Colorado and beginning to fix the city up.
Yet God then tells the "good" characters that they sinned by settling down in Colorado instead of killing The Dark Man! So a few of the heroes are sent to the Dark Man's headquarters by God. Even that trip ends up being a waste because the evil destroys itself, while the "good" characters are captured and helpless!
The result is that everything the good characters do is futile and has nothing to do with defeating the villain. The book ends up being a bunch of interesting but disconnected vignettes about surviving the end of civilization. Good & evil never really battle each other.
Book Review: Masterpiece by Stephen King
Summary: 5 Stars
I first read the abridged version of THE STAND back when I was in high school in 1976. I was amazed by the characters Stephen King created. The story was full of "what-ifs" that really made you stop and think about what it would really be like to be alone in this world.
I immediately purchased the unabridged version when it was published. I enjoyed Stephen King's candid comments on the edition. I was pleased to learn more about the characters I had already come to know, and the addition of little bits of information that added flow to the horror that unfolds in the story.
I highly recommend this book to anyone. I don't believe that you have to be a Stephen King fan to appreciate THE STAND.
Book Review: King's best work
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm not going to bore you with too many details about what the novel is about as everyone else has already covered it, but I would like to say that "The Stand" is my favorite book of all time and although Stephen King's "It" is a masterpiece of a different kind, "The Stand" is definitely his best work.