Given the extraordinary length of what I've just finished reading, I'll try to keep this mercifully short. 
 I suppose I'll continue to have my reservations over the ending of "The Stand" for the rest of my life. However, that should not take away much from this good ol' tale of good versus evil. For this is a book with a five-star plot, a five-star narrative (courtesy of King's superpowers when it comes to storytelling) & a motley bunch of characters I genuinely cared for throughout the course of this big, fat book - if only the ending had not been such a three-star one. Okay okay, three & a half at best. 
 So my rating is more of a 4.5 than an outright 5, but this tale of dark Christianity is undeniably Stephen King's masterpiece & a modern-day epic in its own right. Highly recommended. 
 P.S. This is a somewhat unpleasant habit of mine - bragging about bargain deals when it comes to books. But this one here - I paid only 50 bucks for a copy (INR 50<$1) that was good as new. God is great.