The Stand by Stephen King
1990 (1978) / 1325 pgs

Mr. Kings’ Magnum Opus.   What many people consider his most significant work.  It’s the classic story of good versus evil.  Funny enough, reading it in this time with what is going on around us makes one laugh.  A virus, Captain Tripps, a deadly variation of the flu, is accidentally released from a lab in the United States and kills 99.4% of the human population. 

Much of the novel is the gathering of survivors that eventually come together in two sectors of the United States driven by visions from two people. 

In the Good Corner, at the age of 108, Mother Abagail.  A figure for God’s own voice that guides survivors to Bolder, Colorado.

In the Evil Corner, the most infamous Randal Flagg.  An evil shapeshifting, superpowered demon started in The Stand but is also in a few other books like Eyes of the Dragon and The Dark Tower, making his stand in Las Vegas.  It did produce a chuckle knowing that Vegas was chosen since it is also known as Sin City.

Flagg is fantastic in this book.  He is pure evil with a power-lust like no other.

After much of the gathering in the two locations, the plot starts to level, showing how law and order are run in two different places.  For Bolder, it’s a restart of the United States.  For Vegas, the rules of a dictatorship, many times compared to NAZI Germany. 

Naturally, Flagg wants to destroy those that survive in Boulder, Colorado, or Free Zone as it’s known, because he wants to rule with absolute power.

The plot then twists to what the meaning of The Stand is…the final stand against Flagg.  I won’t give away the story from here.  However, one thing that I did discover was the rest of the plot get’s very predictable.  There are two characters on their own journey that change the scheme and are critical to the outcome.  As you read one’s solo plot, you can almost predict what will happen and then see that scene play out as the climactic event starts.  It doesn’t ruin anything.  It’s more of an ah-ha, I knew it.  There is also Deus ex Macina.  However, in the fight of God vs. a Demon, what do you expect? 

I enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it.  Is it my favorite King novel?  It’s up on my top 5, sure.  However, it didn’t grab me and held on while taking me on a long ride.  It still is a great read!

Enjoy a cup of coffee and a good book!

Lopaka