GUEST REVIEW-Book Review: The Stand, by Stephen King

The Stand" is a very tense thriller. It was originally written in the 1980's, and since then has been edited for 1990 (updated pop references, and such) and has been made into a 4-part movie. The version I read is the very latest one, not the one pictured to the left. Anyway, it starts off with four or five normal guys at a gas station in Arnette, Texas. This gas station is owned by one of the men sitting there, by the name of Hapscomb. Suddenly, a car comes careening wildly towards the gas pumps. In their rush to turn off the gas so as to avoid an explosion, they don't stop to think why this car would be going so wildly... until they open the door. The driver is a dying man who has been hit by an awful plague. And so begins the story. There is a horrible disease that somehow got loose from a government experiment, and it is caught by 99.6% of people. The few survivors that are scattered all across the country begin to have dreams of an old woman... but also, of a terrifying man with no face, labeled the "dark man". People begin to take sides; either they're with Mother Abagail, or they're with the dark man. But some people who are with Mother Abagail truly aren't, at heart...

REVIEW:
This book was wonderful. I have a very weak constitution, and generally can't read very scary things late at night. But I sat up all night reading this book, endlessly. The characters have a very good depth, and they constantly change as the atmosphere of the story changes. They and the relationships they form make for a very interesting read. Also, the idea of a huge plague being accidentally unleashed upon our citizenry is simply terrifying. It's enough to make anyone shiver in their boots. But it's also enough to make anyone want to read this book cover-to-cover to see how these people recuperate from such a random tragedy. I give it a 5/5. Well, maybe a 6/5.