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)

Excellent!

Loved it! one of Kings best!! Read this year's ago and now I am listening to it on Audible.

LOVE this book - uncannily timely

Admittedly, listening to this during a global pandemic with an incredibly contentious election between a candidate that felt like evil and the end of democracy and one who was trying to work for the future of the world felt, in a word, uncanny. That said, narrator and author alike are at their best with this wonderful book.

Missed opportunity

It's a damn shame they got such a boring narrator for such an awesome book.

Awesome on the second reading even

I read the Stand many years ago and jumped at the chance to listen to it in all its glory. It took a while to down load it due to the book’s length.

Grover Gardner was the ideal narrator for the Stand too. I’m so glad I got to revisit this novel In it’s full length. Wow, just wow

Excellent listening experience

I have read this book three times and now listened to it on Audible. It is a terrific novel and sets a high bar for post-apocalyptic stories. In my opinion, King's characterizations are one of his great strengths and this book has plenty of fascinating, multi-faceted characters. A story that could have been relentlessly dark is saved by the struggles and successes of its people.
I was very impressed with Grover Gardner's narration. He varies the accents enough to let you appreciate the geographic diversity of the survivors. The characters run the gamut from a university professor to a developmentally delayed adult man and all characters are treated with respect by Gardner's reading.
I thoroughly recommend this Audible book.

one of Stephen Kings best works

his books are absolutely amazing, he is easily one of the greatest authors in modern literature and the sheer number of instant classics he has under his belt is staggering. however some of his longer books such as the stand take a good deal of focus to read through completely, which is why the audio book is so amazing. I can listen to the book in the background as I go about my day and finish it in a day or two rather than the week minimum it would take me to have enough free time to make it completely through a physical copy. I did find the narrator to be a bit lacking but Stephen King is one of very few authors that it truly does not matter who the voice reading the words is.

A true masterpiece

The Stand was my first novel to read at age 14, all these years later I decided on a whim to revisit it and threw a couple of logs in my firepit and settled into my chair and listened to King's amazing tale brought to life by Grover Gardner's superb narration style, complete with accents for each character. If you haven't read this book before, you are missing out. You really must read this book.

Epic tale of good vs evil

narrator is a great reader and actor but the choice to go with a folksy style didn't work for me. I wouldn't let that deter you from listening to this epic classic of good vs evil

added detail makes the story even better

I really enjoyed the added detail that was placed into the book. it was a very easy book to listen to

The Stand is King’s Best Work

I read The Stand over 20 years ago, and was spurred on to listen to it from Audible after watching the first few episodes of CBS All Access’s horrendous new rendition of The Stand in December. It was great to listen to the book again and to be immersed in the story again with characters that seem like old friends you’d like to catch up with. It’s long, but we’ll worth the listen.