The Stand is a post-apocalyptic horror fiction published in 1978. The story starts in California, where a lethal strain of influenza is being developed as a biological weapon in the U.S Department of Defence laboratory. However, there has been a security breach and the virus seems to have been accidentally released. Charlie Campion is a security guard who notices the breach and escapes with his family before the facility locks down. After a couple of days, they crash their car at a gas station in Arnette, Texas. By then, they’ve been infected, Charles is dying and his wife and child are already dead. The bystanders and first responders come in contact and it all goes downhill from there.

This influenza deemed ‘superflu’ is highly contagious and it takes no time for it to spread across the country. Being highly lethal, the virus kills more than half of the population within a month. Humanity comes near extinction. The only hope is the ones who are immune and have survived. These people are led to one another by a set of the same dreams: one where an old Black woman named Mother Abigail, invites them to her home in Nebraska, which makes the dreamers feel safe and hopeful. While the other has a terrifying ‘dark man’ called Randall Flagg, who seems to call them West.

These two contradicting powers lead to forming two groups of people, one in Colorado and one in Vegas. Both struggle to take over the establishment of the ‘new world’.

How did it make me feel?

Wow! With a lot and LOT of characters and multiple storylines, reading The Stand was truly an experience. And not to mention, so so relatable in this Covid era. Scary relatable. I had goosebumps all over. I have to say that now I know why they call Stephen King a master storyteller!

While my experience with the story and worldbuilding was extraordinary, I was not too happy about the characters. I mean, I can’t exactly explain why but I was constantly annoyed by each and every character in this book. I think back now and I can’t name a single character that I really loved. All of these characters were represented adequately in terms of their traits and quirks and what not but still, they had this air of oddity about them, that quite frankly just added to my irritation. 

But even with that, this was a remarkable experience. I am so glad that I read it and I highly highly recommend that you do too.

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