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)

Well worth the credit

I have seen some complaints about people not giving an idea of what the story is about, so here it is briefly: It is not a "horror" novel, even though it is billed as one. In the beginning of the story a super flu wipes out most of the earth's population. There is no gratuitous gore, but there are some scenes dealing with lots of dead people. The rest of the book is about the struggle of the survivors to survive, and the battle between good and evil, God and the devil.

Stephen King's talent lies in his ability to spin a tale, to develop interesting characters that you can relate to, to put you in the mind of his characters, and make you live the story. In that regard this is one of his best works. I first read the original story probably 25 years ago, and it made a lasting impression on me. The extended version is even better.

Highly recommend this one. At first I had a neutral opinion of Grover Gardner' s voice, but after a while I grew to enjoy his narration quite a bit.

I enjoyed being part of this group of characters

WHAT IS THIS BOOK ABOUT?
The story begins with a virus killing 99% of the population. We meet several survivors in separate towns. They stay in town a while, then begin traveling on motorcycles, bicycles, or walking. The travelers start out alone or with one other person. Along the way they join with others. A man called Randall Flagg is creating his own empire, dictator style, with evil intentions. His headquarters are in Las Vegas, Nevada. Survivors with criminal tendencies are drawn toward Flagg. Good folks are drawn to Boulder, Colorado, where they form a community called the Free Zone.

REVIEWER’S OPINION:
Before I read any Stephen King, I thought most of his books would be about monsters, horror, screaming, slashing - things in horror movies. I was wrong. I’m finding a lot of depth and interesting character development. His bad guys are not all that different from some of the serial killers in mainstream crime fiction and thrillers.

The Stand has some paranormal, not a lot. Several characters have psychic dreams or a psychic sense at times. The Stand is one of Stephen’s longest books. The paperback is 1439 pages. I was never bored. I became attached to the characters. In the preface Stephen says “When I speak (which is as rarely as possible), people always speak to me about The Stand. They discuss the characters as though they were living people, and ask frequently, “What happened to so-and-so?”... as if I got letters from them every now and again.” Personally I feel that way. I’d like to think about the characters in the future.

Stephen makes everyday conversations interesting. There are many characters in this book, but it didn’t feel like too many. We are with a guy in Arkansas for 25 pages, then a guy in New York for 12 pages, then a woman in Maine for 11 pages. I like a linear time line and I like scenes with natural endings. And most of the time the scenes met these requirements. My biggest problem with Stephen’s book “It” was stopping scenes in the middle of action and jumping around in time. I’m pleased to see the author used “better methods” in this book.

This is a post apocalyptic world. By the end of the book some of the good guys die, but others have happy endings. Normally I would avoid books with this setup because I don’t want to be depressed. Other authors might tell this story with deep digging into grief and loss. This book was not done that way. I was pleased that I was not depressed.

I was pleased to see a romance. A couple meets, they eventually get together, and have a happy ending. For those whose don’t like abusive husbands, you’ll like this. This is the way guys should be. He cares for her happiness.

There is a homosexual rape scene in detail. Also there is a telling (after the fact) of women held against their will and repeatedly raped.

This is the expanded edition published in 1990. Much was cut for the 1978 edition. Stephen added back cut parts and a lot of new writing for the 1990 edition. I would not want to read the cut version.

IS IT PERFECT? NO.
I had a few questions that were not answered, such as why Flagg was losing his powers, and what was the purpose of the pregnancy. Also I did not like Flagg’s ending. I wanted something worse to happen to him.

The narrator Grover Gardner did an excellent job.

Genre: apocalyptic paranormal fiction
Ending: happy for many of the good guys, bad for most of the bad guys

Dated but entertaining

Vivid descriptions stir the imagination and 20th century sexist/racist/religious tropes lull it back to sleep.

Masterpiece

This novel is one of the masterpieces of 20th Century American literature. Once you start listening to it, it is very difficult to stop as the suspense grips the reader and never lets go. While it was written in the 1970s and set in the early 1990s, it is a classic examination of the dark heart of the American Dream with just enough redemption to offer a glimpse of a hopeful future, eventhough as of early 2012, that future is yet to materialize as the U.S. seems to be slouching towards some form of the self-destruction Stephen King envisioned four decades ago. The Audible version of The Stand gets a big boost from Grover Gardner, who is the best narrator currently working. And fortunately for us he works a lot.

still amazing certainly one of Stephen King's best

I read this book in text version numerous times. The narrator in this audio version is amazing. characters were brought to life with a vast array of emotions, he perfectly captured each character with the unique voice tone and inflection.. I may have to revisit all of Kings other novels and hope to enjoy them the same as I did this book.

Fantastic Narration of Excellent writing!

I had seen the miniseries more than once, but never read the book. I now understand why King has so many devoted followers. I couldn't stop listening! It was truly addicting!

And this narrator has an exceptional way of bringing the story to life! How can one man make so many different characters sound like completely different people?? How did he remember a voice he did 27 hours ago in the story for a minor character that reappeared? It was such a joy and added so much to the experience!

I can't wait to dive into anything else by this author and/or this narrator!

King's Best finally gets the proper treatment

Stephen King's masterpiece finally gets a proper UNABRIDGED audiobook. This is a MUST HAVE for any King fan.

Please Buy This. You Won't Regret It.

This was my first exposure to Steven King by means of his writings. I always thought he was over-hyped. No way he could be as good as people make him out to be. Wrong. The Stand is one of the best long-form stories I've ever been exposed to. The world he creates is bleak and realistic. The eldritch horror he brings to the table is just spooky enough to keep up quivering, but not so spooky as to make us discard it as fantasy entirely. It's almost 50hrs long, but I'd be willing to listen to it all over again.

Please buy this. You won't regret it.

A great story to listen to!

I read the long version around 1200 pgs and the shorter version about 800 pgs back when he first wrote it early 90's. This version the longest ever was the best ; it filled in the gaps and made me feel like I was there. It was a pleasure tojustsit back and listen to the story unfold. Stephen King is my favorite auther😎

Narrator added a new dimension to a classic read

Only my second audiobook. I really enjoyed it. Especially the part where Trashcan Man has his unfortunate run-in with The Kid. Narrator was excellent all around.