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)

Worth the wait!

Would you consider the audio edition of The Stand to be better than the print version?

From what I've listened to so far the narrator (Grover Gardner) does a great job! He pulled me into the story with no distracting affectation that you get from so many other recorded books of the horror/fantasy genre. However, the daunting 48 hour listen may have me augmenting the audio edition with my paperback.

What other book might you compare The Stand to and why?

Grant's Pass - by Amanda PIller. A post-apocalyptic anthology, well written and very fun to read. At times I felt that this collection was the 'lost chapters' of The Stand.
Swan's Song - A very good read in the same vein, Robert McGammon is another of my favorites (unrelated but other great books by him: Boy's Life and Going South)
The Road - by Cormac McCarthy. Grittier and darker than The Stand but evocative (the book is better than the movie and I liked the movie)

Which scene was your favorite?

Gosh, so many! - the tunnel, the...hey, I'm not gonna spoil this for first timers! Read it and love it! Once everyone is up to speed, I may update this.

Any additional comments?

To all those folks who won't read this just because it's by Stephen King - please do yourself a favor and get this book. Although is has some 'horrific' scenes, the character development and story arc are some of the best I've ever read. Don't be put off by his reputation as Master of Horror - he's also a Master Storyteller; remember, this is the same author who gave us Stand By Me and The Shawshank Redemption.

Now, if we can just get Peter Jackson to take a peak at this little book....

Man this was long.. but man was this worth it!!

47 hours. I listen mainly on the way too and from work. This took almost two months to finish. There were times that I was ready for it to be over.. but then something so poignant and superbly written would be read by Grover Gardner and I was in love with the book all over again. I know that King wanted this to be his "Lord of the Rings", his epic tale of the fight between good and evil and it was thrilling and gripping and left me laughing and smiling and loving the characters. I loved how well Grover Gardner narrated the different voices for the characters. He truly is one of the best out there. And every time Tom Cullens says, "Laws yes", I had to smile. Fantastic book. Don't give up on it- go on the journey, you won't regret it!

A Biblical USA Post-Apocalypse Lord of the Rings

Stephen King's The Stand (1978/90) was an epic (48 hour!) listen. It's an ambitious novel, a hybrid of post-apocalypse sf like Alas Babylon, epic fantasy like The Lord of the Rings, horror movies like Nightmare on Elm St., and Biblical stories like The Book of Job, all set in a sea of American popular culture. People who like those genres (and don't mind profanity, sex, violence, and many hours of listening) would like the novel.

The first part depicts the devastating outbreak of a military plague, the second shows the shocked survivors forming groups around two figures seen in dreams, and the third shows the climactic last stand (for now). King writes a suspenseful plot about human and changing characters. At times Frannie is too teary and Glen too much of a Heinlein know-it-all, but I love the sweet, "mentally retarded" Tom, the deaf and dumb leader Nick, and the Gary Cooper-esque Texan Stu. The Trashcan Man, Harold, and Nadine are morbidly fascinating, while Randall Flagg (aka the dark man, Satan's servant, etc.) is a charismatic supernatural antagonist.

Listening to the novel etched many scenes on my imagination, among them Larry and Rita going through the Lincoln Tunnel, Nick and Tom hiding from a tornado, Joe playing the guitar by a fire, Mother Abigail presiding over a feast, the Kid and the Trashcan Man driving towards Vegas, Harold holding a walkie-talkie at dusk, Flagg interviewing Dana, and Larry, Ralph, and Glen doing a very difficult thing at a washout gully, and Tom, Stu, and Kojak sharing Christmas.

Grover Gardner dexterously reads the voices of the many different characters (old and young, male and female, all from different educational, economic, and regional backgrounds) with skill, emotion, and wit. Hearing his Trashcan Man groan to the dark man, "My life for you," or his Kid say, "You believe that, happy crappy?" or his Tom say, "M-O-O-N--that spells tired" etc., or his Flagg croon, "I love to love Nadine," made me walk around imitating them. I can hear them now.

Sometimes King overuses certain phrases (as when "like a one legged man in an ass-kicking contest" pops up twice), or his characters' expressions don't ring true (as when Frannie writes that Harold is "a real boogersnot"), or he tosses in one too many popular culture references (as when some tires are as bald as Telly Savalas). But I usually found his style vivid and page turning, and at times funny, scary, or moving.

I dislike The Stand's cheap association of wolves, weasels, and crows with evil and its moving some of the responsibility for evil away from human beings and towards the devil, but I like its questioning of whether we can escape our fatal tendency towards too much organization, rationality, and technology in favor of free, irrational, and green alternatives: as Stu asks Frannie, "Do you think people ever learn anything?" and Frannie answers, "I don't know."

Excellent and Worth the Wait

Nothing's better than a great Stephen King novel and this is the mother of all Kings novels. I've waited for years for this audiobook, and I must say this audiobook was worth the wait. Grover Gardener is absolutely excellent. Kings characters come alive with Gardener's narration.

Excellent.

Simply brilliant and especially NOW

Yes it is long but so worth the time.

The description of how the virus spread are eerie in the days of Covid. I have read the original a couple of times way back when I was a teenager but this extended audio version was so worth the revisit 👍😊

Stephen King's finest work.

Any additional comments?

This book is Stephen King's finest work. It is right there next to the greatest books ever written. It is honestly a one of a kind read, one would be doing a disservice to humanity by not reading it.

Great Listen - Slightly Disappointing Ending

I loved the first 46 hours of this book and it was only the ending that let it down slightly. In truth, an extra 5 hours would have rounded out the story nicely.

Post-apocalyptic Prose from the Master

If you could sum up The Stand in three words, what would they be?

The Walking Dude

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Stand?

The confrontation on the highway between Stu and Franny's party and the ex-military "Zookeepers" had a lot of tension.

What about Grover Gardner’s performance did you like?

Great job at doing multiple voice characters convincingly. I really grew to love his performance of "The Kid".

Who was the most memorable character of The Stand and why?

I thought Larry Underwood was really well done. His backstory was fleshed out so well that you really feel like you know the character.

Any additional comments?

I seem to be drawn to the post-apocalyptic genre when listening to fiction nowadays. I never read the print version, so this 'extended' version is the first I've had a chance to hear this story. I also haven't read much Steven King, but was eager to hear his take on this seemingly more-and-more popular subject. The story has been referenced in other media that I've seen over the years (e.g. the 80s metal band Anthrax's 'Among the Living'), so I'm surprised it took me this long to get to it.
The story was very good. Not terrific, but very good. In a nutshell, a genetically-engineered super-flu wipes out 98% of the world's population, and the remaining souls coalesce around two leaders: one devout ("Grandma Abigale") and one evil ("Randall Flagg / The Walking Dude"). There are multiple characters and story arcs, but I liked the fact that we are present from the very beginning of the epidemic, up through the inevitable cover-up and breakdown of society, and through to the ultimate final confrontation. There is a lot of exposition not just on the nature of good and evil, but of the sociological implications of the disaster, and I appreciated these digressions.
Those who like George R. R. Martin's 'Game of Thrones' will also appreciate the sheer scope of the story, and the large number of characters involved. I think the size of the story alone with these type of novels allows the reader a more complete look at each character, and makes for a better overall reading experience.
Ultimately, the end of the story made me wish I could hear more about these people, and I suppose that's the mark of an engaging story.

Long but a good read

I managed to go a few years without reading Stephen King and now in the past year I've read several of his books, including On Writing (part autobiography, part writing tips). Of the novels, this is my favorite so far. It's long. I can't see why the publishers originally forced him to cut it. This is King's original version. I can't tell you what was sacrificed in the first published version. What I liked about this one was how so many of the characters were so fully developed. The only exception to that was Randall Flagg. King didn't give us any hint about why things were happening to him. I suspect that was on purpose, but I don't know why. I also liked the way the main story line wrapped up. Having said all of that, I was ready for it to end.

Another insight from reading The Stand is how much technology has changed our lives in the one generation since 1990. The protagonists could have really used a good smartphone. If nothing else, the GPS would have been working.

You don't have to be a Stephen King fan to enjoy The Stand. There is a little bit of the supernatural in it, but not too much.

Great Story! Great Value!

Would you listen to The Stand again? Why?

This story is second only to the Dark Tower series. An epic quest and the ultimate showdown between the forces of good and evil. I was a little thrown by the narrator's voice at times. Definitely would have preferred George Guidall. But the story is still powerful and the price was really surprising considering how long some people have waited for this. This is a long story so you definitely get a lot of bang for your buck! I will listen to this many times and enjoy it as much as I did when I first read this work. If you love Stephen King then you won't be disappointed Constant Reader!