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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

"First came the days of the plague. Then came the dreams. Dark dreams that warned of the coming of the dark man. The apostate of death, his worn-down boot heels tramping the night roads. The warlord of the charnel house and Prince of Evil. His time is at hand. His empire grows in the west and the Apocalypse looms."

For hundreds of thousands of fans who read 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.

©1978 Stephen King (P)2012 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

'As a storyteller, he is up there in the Dickens class.' ( The Times)

What listeners say about The Stand

Average customer ratings
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    5 out of 5 stars

absolutely wonderful experience

the reader is great and the story is an experience in itself. highly recommended

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Good read

Plenty of depth King really did his research for this one. Very enjoyable to read.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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Very good overall but...

This is a great story and I liked that it is the full story as the author intended. The narrator however is not my favourite. He is good but at times can seem as though he is bored stiff by the whole affair. Would I listen to this again? Yes maybe. Would I give it to a friend to listen to? If they liked Stephen King yes I would. But definitely not if I was trying to convice them to listen to more audiobooks.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great journey, great characters - well read

What did you love best about The Stand?

Most of the characters are fantastic. Frannie is a bet of a let down, but most characters have a great story arc

Who was your favorite character and why?

TrashCan Man "Oh Trashy!.

What does Grover Gardner bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Grover Gardner is perfect for this. He adds an element to each character which helps make them stand out in a long story.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Racist, Sexist, Ableist outdated writing.

Be warned. I had no idea what this was like. The racism, sexism, and ableism is rife throughout this whole book. It’s not just the slurs (and there are So Many slurs) but woven through every aspect of the storytelling.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Good story, but not as epic as expected

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Yes I would. The novel has a good premise and deep characters. It is definitely worth a read just to witness their struggles in the wake of a world-destroying plague. Every character has their flaws and it is interesting to see the choices they make in the face of the battle between good and evil.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

Perhaps a more climactic ending. The ending to the book did come together quite seamlessly, however it just felt that there was a lot of buildup to something that didn't really deliver as expected. The epicness expected just wasn't there. Flagg is an interesting villain, but not the big bad boogeyman he could have been. At times his demeanor is more comical than fearsome. Whilst I understand this underlines his more psychotic moments, I felt it took a little of the menace away from him.

What does Grover Gardner bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Gardner's performance is done very well. I have no criticisms besides the fact that he isn't as talented as other narrators I've heard when it comes to giving life to a massive cast of characters. But he did well enough.

Did The Stand inspire you to do anything?

Not really.

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4 people found this helpful