The Stand

By: Stephen King

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

Length: 47 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

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 which good rides on the frail shoulders of the 108-year-old Mother Abagail - 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 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 complexity of a true epic.

For hundreds of thousands of fans who heard The Stand in its original version and wanted more, this new edition is Stephen King's gift. And those who are listening to 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.

Cover artwork ©2020 CBS Interactive Inc.

©1978 Stephen King (P)2012 Random House

Critic reviews

"A master storyteller." (Los Angeles Times)

"[The Stand] has everything. Adventure. Romance. Prophecy. Allegory. Satire. Fantasy. Realism. Apocalypse. Great!" (The New York Times Book Review)

"As brilliant a dark dream as has ever been dreamed in this century." (Palm Beach Post)

My First Novel I've read by Stephen King.

narrator was perfect for the book. I think the story was great. it had me on my toes threw out the whole audio book. this is one of the best books on audible. must have for all horror fans and all Americans!

An amazing experience

This was my first Stephen King novel, and it was by far my best audiobook experience. It's a long listen, but King's storytelling will keep you engrossed the entire time. The characters are incredibly memorable, the story is engaging, nuanced, sophisticated, and will not leave me for awhile. The Stand needs to be required reading for anyone looking for great American fiction.

An apocalypse with a reasonable storyline.

The government develops a super deadly, super contagious virus (for warfare?), it gets loose and kills 99+% of the US, probably the rest of the wold too. The people remaining are resistant but no one knows why. The living experience love, death, births, creation of new society and government. the book is 1000 pages, but I opted for the 48 hour audio version. Overall, very good fiction, but the ending was weak. The VERY ending was predictable.

awesome narrator and story

this is a classic story of good versus evil. It is an amazing book in many different ways. It is unpredictable and exciting at every turn. And amazing work that will leave you happy every time you heal from the common cold.

long but worth it to the end

I loved it to the end although the characters names got confusing at points. I would recommend this book.

excellent story with ties to the Gunslinger

as always an incredible story put forth by Stephen King but in rereading this many years after I had originally done so I love how I am being real looking to the Gunslinger series The Dark Tower Randall Flagg as Walter the Crimson King and all the tie his stories together in a great universe

excellent

excellent story. excellent performance. read it again. I wish I had more to say about it.

just as good 25 years later...

this was the first "real" book I read as a child. it was what got me hooked on reading, and what made me a fan of almost all King work.

excellent narration and fantastic story

Still listening... Good story - too long

Good variation on a classic end-of-the-world scenario, but too long, way too long, notwithstanding the author's intro, where he all but apologizes for making it so long. In fact I haven't yet finished it, so this review is not final. Can say for sure that I enjoyed 11/22/63 better. Better story, better narrator. Not too long.

Revising my first review

What did you love best about The Stand?

The suspense

What did you like best about this story?

It was very intricate and the characters were very well developed.

Have you listened to any of Grover Gardner’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not. He was very good.