I think The Stand is one of his best novels. It is also one of his longest novels (almost 1,000 pages). It is also one of his earlier novels, so maybe it's missing "the fat."
The original edited version is great. You can't buy it new, just the bloated monstrosity of the "Director's Cut" or whatever it's called. Writers do not outgrow the need for editing but a very few of them get high enough sales that they can turn editing into proof-reading, like Tom Clancy.
