The Stand (Modern Classics)

The Stand (Modern Classics)

by Stephen King

When I saw this in the library, I decided to take it out, partly 'cause I wanted to see how the book was, and partly because I never got to see the whole mini-series when it was on TV.

What I got was the "Complete and Uncut" version of the book - which is substantially longer than the originally released version, I understand. The note from King at the beginning of the book indicates that he originally needed to cut a lot for various reasons (including business reasons, apparently), but this new release was more in line with what he wanted to put out the first time - so it's a bit like a "directors cut" of a movie.

If you're not familiar with the story of the book, the premise is that a super-secret US Army base is experimenting with various biological agents and one of them, a shifting antigen variant of the flu, manages to get out. It kills everyone in the underground labs, and a guard at the front gate of the same labs manages to get out before he's locked into his guard shack. He knows what goes on underground, and before he left, he could see that they were all dead - so he grabs his wife and child, throws them in the car and starts to haul ass, thinking that he's not sick now, he won't get sick, and they'll get away from it all. He couldn't be more wrong.

After spreading this new super-flu across the country, the guard ends up crashing into a gas station in rural Texas. The locals call the police, and when he dies en route to the hospital, people start to wonder just what's going on. The CDC gets involved - and the Army starts it's cover up.

The flu spreads like wildfire, taking the life of most of the population of the world (the Army, while attempting their cover up, decides to set some of the flu loose in various other parts of the world, so it won't seem like it was just a problem in the US - bad move).

The folks that are left, scattered around the US, start to have dreams. Some dream of a kindly old woman, some of a scary man who's face is never revealed. People start to travel to whomever appeals to them more, and this is where it becomes clear that there is going to be a final stand off, good versus evil, and the survivors will be the ones making the final stand.

The writing is very well done. King knows how to write, and he does it well - a little too well, since in this case, it took me quite some time to finish this tome (it's frickin' long!).

Some of the scenes are very well done, and the whole concept of the book makes you wonder just whats going on, both with any real "super-powers" and in our own backyards - and in todays climate of terror everywhere, who knows what's going on. The fact that various intelligence community reports say that certain terrorist organizations have access to chemical/biological warfare agents makes it all a little too real, and just a wee bit too scary.

It's definately worth a read, and if you're so inclined, make sure you read the book before the movie - they always drop little bits out of the movies, and you don't want to miss some of the gems hidden in the pages.

$7.50