Finishing this book feels like finishing a race around the globe. I am exhausted! So much happens in this epic dystopian novel that serves as the cornerstone for the genre. This is more than just a book about a superflu killing 99.4% of the world's population. It is more than just a story about the evil Randall Flagg. The Stand is an epic novel. We have themes like society vs government as an agent of destruction, good vs evil, rebuilding a society, betrayal, love and death, religion, and so much more. King's insanely huge cast of characters is impressive.

I loved MOST of this book so much! So many characters stole my heart (Stu, Fran, Nick, Tom, Mother Abagail) while others just annoyed me so much and I dreaded their pages upon pages of meandering activity and bland conversations (Larry, Trash Can Man, Harold). I really enjoyed Randall Flagg and looked forward to his sections... but... he really did not seem to be in this book NEARLY as much as I have lived my entire life thinking he would be, even in the extended/uncut edition where we have some more scenes. I wanted more Flagg in this story - so that kind of let me down (Trash Can Man seemed to be in the book more and his parts were excruciating for me to read).

Finishing The Stand is definitely a feat and one that I am happy I completed! I will re-read this at some point in my life... but it will be a long time from now. It will be in a time that my own future life experiences and knowledge can better connect with more characters. It will be in a time that is not being completely shrouded by the pandemic that is Covid-19. Our current global situation definitely adds to the exhaustion and impatience while reading The Stand - it severely impacted my reading journey.

This is super difficult for me to rate. I want to respect and honor the extreme epicness that IS The Stand... the entire plot, the saga that was created, all the character development, everything. That alone is a 5 star rating for me. But there were just too many parts where I wanted to close up shop and stop reading. There were too many parts that slogged along and felt like more of a chore than a pleasure. I am going to land SOMEWHERE between a 4 and a 5. I loved it more than a 4 but not a full 5 in its entirety. The Stand is incredible and a book I will always recommend and I know it will stay with me forever.