Free Audio Book : The Song of Achilles, by Madeline Miller

This is how the world meets its end: with a nanosecond of computer error within a Defense Department laboratory and a million casual encounters that weave the links in a chain letter of annihilation.

And now, behold the desolate new world of the day after: a world stripped of its institutions and devoid of 99 percent of its inhabitants. A world where a handful of frantic survivors take sides - or are chosen for sides. A world where the fate of good rests upon the frail shoulders of Mother Abagail, a centenarian at 108 years old, while the most sinister manifestations of evil find embodiment in a man with a chilling grin and unimaginable powers: Randall Flagg, the enigmatic dark figure.

In the year 1978, Stephen King bestowed upon the world The Stand, a novel now regarded as one of his crowning achievements. However, at its initial release, The Stand was incomplete, as over 150,000 words were excised from the original manuscript.

Now, Stephen King's apocalyptic vision of a world ravaged by a plague and ensnared in a primal battle between good and evil has been restored to its fullness. The Stand: The Complete and Uncut Edition reintroduces previously omitted material, complemented by fresh content that King incorporated while reworking the manuscript for a new generation. It introduces us to new characters and delves deeper into familiar ones. It commences with a fresh start and concludes with a novel ending. The result is an enthralling opus, possessing the grandeur and moral intricacies of an authentic epic.

For the hundreds of thousands of fans who experienced The Stand in its original form and yearned for more, this new edition stands as Stephen King's generous offering. And for those embarking on their maiden voyage into The Stand, they will encounter a triumphant and eerily credible creation of the imagination, confronting the very issues that will determine our survival.