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The Stand  By  cover art

The Stand

By: Stephen King
Narrated by: Grover Gardner
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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)

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What listeners say about The Stand

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Read it first in the 80s.. Viable in the 2020s A++

King's original classic, read unabridged with a great narrator. It has aged very well, and after Covid we all should know what a "shifting antigen virus" is. Over 52 hours, worth a credit.

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Good, but long.

Very long. Good story, great performance, but I’ve been listening to this book for forever.

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if I could give this 10 stars I would, fantastic

if I could give this 10 stars I would, fantastic utterly fantastic. an amazing experience.

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Great book

Needed more than one reader. Rather have women for their characters in the book for a more authentic experience.

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Modern Classic

I have read The Stand more than once. This is the first time I have read it audibly. It is my favorite book of fiction. I didn’t love the narrator but he did pretty well. This is just a great book.

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epic struggle

biblical in nature, a new journal of good vs evil told in from character's perspective in the midst of the actual struggle.

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Good long listen

I was hooked the whole time. Because of the length I had to take breaks from it, but I thoroughly enjoyed the story and the voice actor.
It is always silly hearing a grown man act as multiple female characters, but this guy did it effectively!

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Baby can you dig your man?

5 stars for the way he says baby can you dig your man. It was so slay

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The best of the best

Since marrying my husband 32 years ago I have been drenched in Stephen King novels, short story collections and my favorite film adaptations; however, this is my favorite! It seems to have every aspect of good and evil throughout and the unexpected twists and thrusting turns. Thank you for bringing the print to me the reading was magnificent. Your number 1 fan!

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Amazing

This mans voice was absolutely wonderful! Down to the woman’s voices, children’s voices, and good old Texan stu red man… standing ovation! No pun intended

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