The Stand

A lengthy tome of a novel. I confess I haven't read the original edition of this, but after reading the uncut and un-abridged version, I don't think I'll be able to read any other. Whilst it definitely did have moments of dragging, each section provided a perspective that was interesting and painted a full picture for me of this post-apocalyptic world. The prose remained the same quality throughout all three individual books, and I got emotional at the [ SPOILERS ] of some characters, whether they were smaller interactions or larger parts of the puzzle. The plot was cohesive. There were a lot of lines and paragraphs that alternated between waxing on a little too long for me ( stream-of-consciousness is not my thing ) and being so hard-hitting, I had to put the book down and stare off into space. Not to mention, reading this in the middle of wintertime, when a flu pandemic is running rampant, sort of makes you not want to go outside. King doing one of the things he does best: taking something real and turning it and distorting it.