The Stand by Stephen King is an epic tale about a deadly virus that escapes from a lab and wipes out 99% of the human race. For the 1% that remain, they must learn how to survive in this bleak new world. As always, the survivors have different views on how a new society should move forward. Not helping the situation is Randal Flagg, a.k.a. The Dark Man, who is basically the embodiment of evil, and will stop at nothing to take over what little remains of the world. The only hope of defeating Flagg are the remaining survivors who must either join him, or stand against him. The first part of the book follows the lives of a number of characters, before, during and immediately after the deadly virus sweeps through. The time spent to explore these characters and bring their lives to life is crazy. Every city, town, etc. in this book is so realistic that you really feel like you are there. There are certain scenes and imagery I could not get out of my head when I read this book… living in a world where there are people, no food, no transportation, no electricity, and therefore no light in the darkness of night is truly terrifying.

There are a LOT of characters in this book, and every single one of them has their own wants, needs and desires. They all come from different backgrounds, and have different types of baggage. King really spends a lot of time letting us get to know these characters, so that we can really feel what they have to go through. For all their differences though, there is one thing that they all have in common… dreams. Each character dreams of the nightmarish Flagg, and a mysterious angelic woman who goes by the name “Mother Abigail”. Each character is faced with a choice, between joining the side of good and the side of evil. While this may seem like an easy choice up front, King really does take the time to make you understand why each character makes the decisions that they do.

Depending on which version of the book you are reading… this book is very long and you will have to be patient with it. There is a lot of set up at multiple points in the story, so if you are someone who just likes to “get to the action”, then this book may be difficult for you. Having said that, I believe that the journey is well worth the effort. When I say “journey” I do mean a journey because this book covers a very long span of time and if you stick with it you will be scared at times, laugh at times, and maybe even cry a little. Considering what the world is going through in 2020, this is actually the perfect time to read this book, and truly be thankful that things have not gotten as bad as they get in this book. There is a reason why this book is hailed as one of King’s best works, it is a classic and a masterpiece.