"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 Abigail and the worst nightmares of evil are embodied in a man with a lethal smile and unspeakable powers: Randall Flagg, the Dark Man."
| This is my favorite Stephen King book fo all time, so why am I not giving it a rating you may ask. Well, it's not because of the writing (although it was a little heavier on the God VS Satan than I usually can take) -it is because of this edition! This was an updated edition with extra pages -but what you may not know is that they tried to update the dates in the book too. The book was written in 1978: The novel was originally published in 1978 in hardcover, with a setting date of 1980. The first paperback release in 1980 changed the setting date to 1985. The book was later re-released in 1990 as The Stand: The Complete & Uncut Edition; King restored some text originally cut for brevity, added and revised sections, changed the setting of the story to 1990, and updated a few pop culture references accordingly. The novel marks the first appearance of Randall Flagg, King's recurring antagonist, whom King would bring back many times in his later writings. ... The updating most certainly did NOT work (who in the 90's would still reference 'shag carpeting'?) and it kept pulling me from the story. Luckily I never did get rid of my adored original copy. If you can get your hands on a used copy, grab it. If you have no problems with heavy religious philosophizing -grab it. |
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