Title: The Stand
Author: Stephen King
What I think so far: Totting-up at an intimidating 1325 pages, The Stand seemed like a daunting duty waiting on my bookshelf. Now, 600 pages in, I find myself reading into the early hours of the morning; sleep can wait. The epic, apocalyptic novel begins with a deadly disease that spreads rapidly across America in a matter of weeks, causing havoc and destruction on the entirety of civilization… except for the few that are immune. The story follows a diverse range of characters who survived – lucky, or not – and their journey to find other survivors. King introduces a religious twist to the pandemic with the characters Mother Abagail and the Dark Man, the former being the clear protagonist and the latter being the antagonist. There is frequent foreshadowing of some collision between the two, and their respective followers, and I am keen to see how this plays out. Once again, King displays his magnificent story-telling talent in this dark tale of the end of the world.
Would I recommend? If death, destruction and the demise of civilization are right down your street, then this is absolutely for you. Although, you will end up forgetting which character is which at some point because of the sheer number that are introduced and killed off.
Rating: 7/10
Words by Eve Taylor