The Stand (split volumes) #1

The Stand: Part 1 of 2

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This is the way the world ends: with a nanosecond of computer error in a Defense Department laboratory and a million casual contacts that form the links in a chain letter of death.
And here is the bleak new world of the day after: a world stripped of its institutions and emptied of 99 percent of its people. A world in which a handful of panicky survivors choose sides—or are chosen. A world in which good rides on the frail shoulders of the 108-year-old Mother Abagail—and the worst nightmares of evil are embodied in a man with a lethal smile and unspeakable powers: Randall Flagg, the dark man.

0 pages, Audio Cassette

First published January 1,1978

This edition

Format
0 pages, Audio Cassette
Published
January 1, 1978 by Books on Tape
ISBN
9785557085243
ASIN
5557085246
Language
English
Characters More characters
  • Stuart Redman

    Stuart Redman

    A quiet man from the fictitious town of Arnette, Texas. He is there at the beginning of the plague and survives not only the Flu, but the governments attempt to eliminate him. Later he emerges as one of the leaders of the Boulder Free Zone. ...

  • Glenn Bateman

    Glenn Bateman

    An associate professor of sociology who went into retirement some years before the superflu hit, Glendon Pequod "Glen" Bateman met Stu near Glens home in Woodsville, New Hampshire. A senior citizen handicapped by arthritis, the wise Bateman is often on ha...

  • Nick Andros

    Nick Andros

    A 22-year-old deaf-mute drifter originally from Caslin, Nebraska, Nick is beaten and robbed outside of (fictional) Shoyo, Arkansas, by some local thugs shortly after the start of the epidemic. Moderately injured, he is befriended by the local sheriff and ...

  • Tom Cullen

    Tom Cullen

    Tom Cullen is a man initially thought to be in his mid-20s to mid-30s who suffers from mild to moderate mental retardation. Nick encounters him while cycling from Arkansas to Nebraska through Oklahoma. After Nick learns that Tom remembers his ...

  • Nadine Cross

    Nadine Cross

    A teacher before the Flu. Nadine is a conflicted woman who has always felt like she was destined for something great though it remains unknown and undefined until after Captain Trips. Ultimately she is a tragic figure torn between her desire to do good an...

  • Fran Goldsmith

    Fran Goldsmith

    A college student from Ogunquit, Maine, Fran (or Frannie, as she is often called), is pregnant at the start of the book, a topic which results in a painful standoff with her mother and the end of her relationship with the babys father, Jesse Rider. The su...

About the author

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Stephen Edwin King was born the second son of Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. After his father left them when Stephen was two, he and his older brother, David, were raised by his mother. Parts of his childhood were spent in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where his father's family was at the time, and in Stratford, Connecticut. When Stephen was eleven, his mother brought her children back to Durham, Maine, for good. Her parents, Guy and Nellie Pillsbury, had become incapacitated with old age, and Ruth King was persuaded by her sisters to take over the physical care of them. Other family members provided a small house in Durham and financial support. After Stephen's grandparents passed away, Mrs. King found work in the kitchens of Pineland, a nearby residential facility for the mentally challenged.

Stephen attended the grammar school in Durham and Lisbon Falls High School, graduating in 1966. From his sophomore year at the University of Maine at Orono, he wrote a weekly column for the school newspaper, THE MAINE CAMPUS. He was also active in student politics, serving as a member of the Student Senate. He came to support the anti-war movement on the Orono campus, arriving at his stance from a conservative view that the war in Vietnam was unconstitutional. He graduated in 1970, with a B.A. in English and qualified to teach on the high school level. A draft board examination immediately post-graduation found him 4-F on grounds of high blood pressure, limited vision, flat feet, and punctured eardrums.

He met Tabitha Spruce in the stacks of the Fogler Library at the University, where they both worked as students; they married in January of 1971. As Stephen was unable to find placement as a teacher immediately, the Kings lived on his earnings as a laborer at an industrial laundry, and her student loan and savings, with an occasional boost from a short story sale to men's magazines.

Stephen made his first professional short story sale ("The Glass Floor") to Startling Mystery Stories in 1967. Throughout the early years of his marriage, he continued to sell stories to men's magazines. Many were gathered into the Night Shift collection or appeared in other anthologies.

In the fall of 1971, Stephen began teaching English at Hampden Academy, the public high school in Hampden, Maine. Writing in the evenings and on the weekends, he continued to produce short stories and to work on novels.

Community Reviews

Rating(4.1 / 5.0, 100 votes)
5 stars
38(38%)
4 stars
32(32%)
3 stars
30(30%)
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100 reviews All reviews
April 17,2025
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Les deux volumes de cette histoire ont séjourné bien longtemps dans ma PAL avant que je ne me décide à les lire. En réalité, cela faisait plusieurs années que j'en avais envie, j'avais d'ailleurs failli passer à l'acte en 2020, mais fort heureusement, je m'étais ravisée. Trois ans après, je suis contente d'avoir attendu, car très clairement, en pleine pandémie de Covid, je pense que j'aurais bien flippé avec ce roman !
Un premier tome assez remarquable, mené de mains de maître. Les éléments fantastiques s'insèrent progressivement dans le récit, de manière insidieuse. Dans un premier temps, c'est le réalisme qui prédomine et contribue à instaurer cette ambiance de fin du monde.
Un volume exigeant avec de nombreux personnages et autant de récits secondaires comme aime à le faire Stephen King.
C'était une superbe lecture, totalement immersive et fascinante, efficace.
April 17,2025
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[4.5/5]

Je n'ai aucun souvenir de la mini-série que j'avais vue étant enfant du coup j'ai pu apprécier cette histoire comme si je la redécouvrais. Et autant dire que je n'ai pas choisi la mauvaise période de l'année pour la lire ^^

Malgré quelques longueurs (inévitables chez cet auteur), j'ai vraiment beaucoup aimé les personnages (des bons comme des mauvais, je crois qu'il n'y a que King pour me faire aimer des vilains) et les événements auxquels ils sont confrontés. Je déplore un peu cependant cette tendance qu'a l'auteur à vouloir mettre une entité mystérieuse dans la plupart de ses romans x) À moins qu'il ne s'agisse du même homme noir à chaque fois... Je n'aurai ma réponse qu'une fois sa bibliographie entièrement lue je crois.

J'ai particulièrement aimé suivre Fran, la jeune femme qui a eu le malheur de tomber enceinte avant la pandémie ; Nick le jeune sourd muet hyper débrouillard et son acolyte Tom ; Larry l'artiste déchu et Lloyd qui devrait révéler son potentiel de méchant barré dans le second tome.

Un peu frustrée de ne pas avoir la suite sous la main !
April 17,2025
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Найбільше я захоплююсь Кінгом саме за те як глибоко, реалістично і детально він описує кожного героя книги. І хоча це звучить скучно і здається занадто  перенасиченим, але це взагалі не так. Навпаки, ти знаєш досконало кожного, передбачаєш їх вчинки, починаєш відчувати великий спектр емоцій - ненависть, кохання, відданість. І навіть огиду. Ця книга знайомство, опис найближчих подій після початку апокаліпсису.  І от здавалось, що тут немає чим уже здивувати. Але це ж Кінг... Буде трохи страшно, особливо коли хтось буде поряд чхати
April 17,2025
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Интересно, колко ли хора са прочели тази стара книга след "супергрипа" през 2020 г, въпреки че в началото на годината Стивън Кинг помоли да не се правят асоциации между ставащото в света и романа му? :) "Сблъсък" е мой връстник, издаден е за пръв път през 1978 г.
В романа на Кинг смъртоносен и постоянно мутиращ щам на грипен вирус, разработен в лаборатория като биологично оръжие, избива 99,4% от населението на Щатите. Останалите 0,6% се опитват да започнат наново - да оцелеят като вид, да открият себеподобни, да възстановят обществото си в някаква форма. И понеже човекът е социално животно, което търси близостта на себеподобните си, те се събират в групи. Но хората се оказват пионки в една голяма игра между доброто и злото и всеки от тях трябва да избере на чия страна да застане.
Силите на доброто се обединяват около една чернокожа старица, майка Абигейл, а тези на злото се стичат към Загадъчния мъж, Рандал Флаг. Бог и Сатаната ще влязат в схватка, която ще реши съдбата на човечеството.
Лично за мен най-страшното в романа беше колко бързо "добрите" хора решиха да завземат властта "за благото на народа". Самият сблъсък, който трябваше да бъде колосален, ме разочарова. Злото издиша и се спихна като спукан балон, светци и грешници паднаха рамо до рамо, както се оказа накрая, напразно. За съжаление, хората не си взеха поука от грешките, поради което колелото на историята се завъртя наново, към нов Апокалипсис.
April 17,2025
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La verdad es que me ha costado mucho leer este libro, es la primera parte del libro más grande de King. Es mi escritor favorito, de eso no me cabe ninguna duda. He podido observar que esta primera parte del libro se ha focalizado en la presentación de los protagonistas y de la situación, y debo reconocer que se me ha hecho demasiado pesado y me ha costado mucho, por lo menos hasta casi el final del libro, continuarlo. En el final King ha sabido engancharme y meterme en la historia como solo el sabe dejándome con muchas ganas de más y de leerme la segunda parte. Que incluso dude de ello, pero ahora como están surgiendo los acontecimientos y como ha terminado no he tenido ninguna duda de que una vez más, King me ha absorbido. Sin duda mis personajes favoritos de todos los que llevamos son Nick y Frannie, muchas ganas de la segunda parte.
Mis tres estrellas se deben a que el libro se me ha hecho muy pesado porque hasta prácticamente el final no ha empezado lo interesante.
Pero bueno, ¡para eso hay segunda parte!
April 17,2025
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Като за внушителния си обем от 750 страници, книгата се чете доста леко и приятно. Нямам някакви особени впечатления до тук, въобще не е лоша, но аз лично очаквах малко повече апокалипсис. Всеки случай зададе един доста добър тон за развитие на историята и се надявам във втората книга да се разгърне максимално.
April 17,2025
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Спочатку дуже багато імен і не встигаєш запам'ятовувати, хто є хто. Але потім, коли розкривається історія кожного героя і деталі - все набагато легше.
Знайомство з героями - чудове, описання пандемії і смертоносного вірусу - моторошне.
Треба шукати другий том)
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