I've read Swan Song three or four times in the last 30 years, but I'd never read The Stand or watched the 90s mini-series. I like this current mini-series, so I decided to read the book.

The book and the new series are pretty compatible. Folks rambling on about how the structure (flashbacks) of the new series makes it difficult to follow should probably put their phones down and just watch it. Not having read the book for the first half of the series, I didn't have any problem following the show.

I enjoyed reading The Stand, but it doesn't hold a candle to Swan Song. Maybe it's a first-love type of thing, but I think its the difference in how the two authors tell stories. McCammon uses significantly more dialog and character action to inform the reader. The first 60% of The Stand has a lot of omniscient narration. Toward the last 40% of the novel, King's writing seems to shift: more showing, less explaining.

I definitely liked the characters and their development in The Stand. King does a nice job developing their inner conflict, which is difficult to translate onto the screen. In many ways Larry and Harold are the same character. Their similarities build a theme around how in a book about faith, God, good, evil, and destiny all intertwine with our personal choices.

I definitely recommend The Stand, but given a choice, I'll read Swan Song again.