I have read Hemmingway, Michener, Steinbeck, Clancey, Robin Cook, Michael Crichton and many others who all wrote great stories, and were almost sad when I finished the book. They all made you think and wonder , what if, and were vastly entertaining. BUT The Stand, especially in the longer, by some 400 pages, is the best novel I have ever read. the characters, story, and descriptions, flow off page after page like no other. Simply said READ IT!