I've read a fair amount of Steven King over the years, and in general have enjoyed his page-turners. However,
The Stand lost my interest after about 400 pages --- I just couldn't continue on. It was his third or fourth book that I had read, after
Carrie,
Salem's Lot (and maybe
The Shining?), and was a very different experience.
As an aside, I met Steven King 37 years ago. We went to the same school and had the same English professor as an advisor. He had just finished writing
Carrie (hadn't been published yet), and was dirt-poor, working in a local laundromat (if I remember correctly). He had really long, dark hair (we all had long hair back then), was very thin, and seemed like a hell of a nice guy. No one, including him, had any inkling he would be a multi-zillionaire years later!
