Huntsville-Madison County Public Library discussion
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The Stand
Summer 2016 Book Suggestions
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The Stand by Stephen King
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Annie Lee wrote: "As book lovers, we hope you get some downtime to read at least a few awesome, get lost and never want it to end titles. If you need suggestions to get you going, this librarian is happy to share!..."
I truly enjoy this story as well. I know a lot consider this his masterpiece work and that's probably not far off. Although, it continues the tradition that my favorite characters dies :( I'll give no spoilers beyond that, I promise.
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I totally agree. Yes, some very lovely characters you feel like are friends!!
The Stand by Stephen King is, for me, a desert island book. I read it for the first time the summer I was 15, and I've read it 3 or 4 times since (no mean feat, it's almost 1,000 pages!) Why do I love it so much? Plot, setting, characters, pacing - all draw together to make the perfect story. It begins in the summer of 1985. A soldier guarding a top-secret germ bioweapons facility in the desert sees the red light go off and makes a run for it. But it's too late - a lethal strain of flu AKA Captain Trips, is unleashed.
Only a tiny percentage of the population is immune. Within 2 or 3 weeks, the rest of the world is dead. King switches between multiple character viewpoints as they struggle in the devastation of a lost world. Some of them are called, through dreams, to gather in Nebraska and follow a kind centanarian named Mother Abigail, to create a safehold in Denver, CO. The others, more nefariously, are drawn to a dark man named Randall Flagg, AKA The Walking Dude, who holds court in Sin City. It's come down to the classic good versus evil, and you will not be able to put it down!