The Stand

Feels good to finally knock this one off the ole bucket list!

While this is undeniably an epic, I do have to dock a star because at 1,152 pages it feels a bit bloated. The first quarter of the book was very repetitive, to the point that I almost gave up before the story even got rolling. I'm glad I stuck with it, though, because once the wheels began to turn this became a fascinating read, crawling with wonderful characters and that signature Stephen King storytelling. The book has its flaws, but it also has some of the best King writing I've read so far.

I really liked it at the beginning, but it got boring in the middle. I didn't care for the religious mysticism.

Ok so it feels like I've been reading this forever but it was SO worth it!!!!!! This was one HELL of a wild ride, and I grew so SO attached to these characters!!!!!! This is DEFINITELY one of King's BEST Books in my opinion!!!!!!

This book took me by surprise. I went into it with no expectations really and to be honest it was a very intimidating book. I read the unabridged version so it was longer than the version he originally published. My copy was 1439 pages. Because of the sheer size of it I was kind of expecting to not enjoy it as much as everybody else did but I am happy to say that I really loved this book. It took me almost 2 months to read it but I loved it. In typical King fashion there is a lot of description and for the most part it works but I definitely think I would have preferred reading the original published version where it was cut down some because there were parts that I felt like we could have done without. Every time I put this book down I struggled to make myself pick it back up but once I started reading it again I didn't want to put it down. I don't know how to review this book without spoiling it so I am just going to leave it at you need to read this book. I know it's a big book. I myself was very intimidated by it but I am so glad I took the plunge because I absolutely loved it. It's for sure on my top 5 King list. 

Long and depressing. I found the beginning very entertaining, especially when Captain Trips really takes hold. The middle of the book seemed to drag on forever though, and given the dark tone of the book it became a depressing slog for me. I enjoyed it but I wish I had read the shorter version.

Too much God and the books seems really watered-down. It would be better if it was half that long. I do regret not reading the original, cut down version

DNF

10/10

M-O-O-N, that spells masterpiece!

Querido King:
Me encantan tus libros, pero en este la has cagado. 1500 páginas de descripciones (total y absolutamente innecesarias) creo que me sé incluso que carreteras tomar si quiero ir de Boulder a Las Vegas porque....lo ha descrito TODO!

I LOVED this book until the very end. That's when my principle issues surfaced and remain problematic.

Why did they need to travel to Vegas? Because plot? If Trash Can Man was headed there, anyway, I can't figure out why the four were required to embark on their perilous, though noble, journey.

It wasn't to inspire the “wicked” to question their fear-based discipleship and “repent” or “reform” or whatever we are calling it. They all died. No reason to experience remorse for the evil they had facilitated, abetted, or perpetrated.

It wasn't to cleanse themselves. The only survivor never completed the full pilgrimage. Nor could he return with the full weight of knowledge of events. He simply assumed the truth based on preconceived notions of atomic fallout.

It wasn't to obtain some everlasting wisdom required to re-write the future and ensure a more prosperous society, devoid of man's previous follies. The intimation is that those are humanistically inevitable; hence Fran and Stu's departure.

Regardless, I simply must give it 4/5 stars. So much to love. Such rich characters. So poignant given the 2020 pandemic, social and institutional responses, etc., which are (arguably) secularly prophetic.

Damnit. I wanted more from the finale.

I do wonder if reading the uncut version may have hampered my enjoyment here. Many people seem to site the Stand as being one of King's best works. Undoubtedly, parts of this book are brilliant. The first part, Captain Trips, is a gorgeous study of a plague of apocalyptic proportions. This first third of the book was definitely the highlight and was a joy to read. The sense of loss and end of the world was amazingly captured, and with recent events worldwide felt very on the nose. The denialism of figures in power was remarkably prescient.

The book begins to lose its way after that unfortunately. The next large chunk is largely based on the politics of trying to build a new society. It works well enough but doesn't have the power or emotional impact of the first part. It also drags a bit - it is a long section of not a huge amount happening. When the book is as long as this one, that does feel a bit indulgent.

The final part dealing with a supernatural evil seems unnecessary and pointless. The big bad here is ultimately very underwhelming and the quasi religious nature of everything related to him was all a bit meh for me. Unfortunately this mean the book doesn't stick the landing with the ending.

It is a mighty tome and at places an interesting study in human response to disaster. The first third is brilliant, the second third is pretty good, the last third is a mess. A lot of promise, but the pay off is not quite good enough for its length.

I did it! I finished this monster of a book! It was quite a ride. I enjoyed most of the plot. I can't say I was completely satisfied with the ending but I'll take it. I found the way women were referred to (and portrayed) to be problematic- a lot of unnecessary boob and buttocks descriptions

Great book, but the plot is nonsensical in the last third and the unabridged version is way too long.

Rereading The Stand (after almost 30 years since I first read it) reminded me of all the things I like and dislike about Stephen King. His longer books (as this one is over 1,000 pages) tend to be long in the journey and short in the wrap up. Sometimes good and sometimes bad. Nevertheless, the man can write a horror and I'll always be a fan.

The Stand has long been a favorite of mine. It is classic good against evil, with a plague that kick-starts the end of the world...some immune and most not. It's scary this was written so long ago and some aspects reflect the current state of the world.

This must be the fourth or fifth time I've re-read it and it seems even more timely. Not just related to the current situation with Coronavirus but the polarization of humans to charismatic leaders, each promoting fear of the others. We may not all be having dreams about our leaders that make us feel an affinity for one or the other, but we're still taking in information - a shared subconscious, if you will, made up not of dreams but of social media posts.

Wow. This was very, very, very good. One of my very favorite King books I've read so far.

The world building, the character development, and the slow build up were quite a ride. This was such an interesting and intriguing premise and mixture of a medical thriller with the flu epidemic, good vs evil, and a study on society as a whole and how we rebuild. While also gory and very disturbing at parts, it didn't have the hopelessness like “Under the Dome” and for that, I am very grateful.

Looks like I am definitely not done going through Stephen King's works.

A lengthy tome of a novel. I confess I haven't read the original edition of this, but after reading the uncut and un-abridged version, I don't think I'll be able to read any other. Whilst it definitely did have moments of dragging, each section provided a perspective that was interesting and painted a full picture for me of this post-apocalyptic world. The prose remained the same quality throughout all three individual books, and I got emotional at the [ SPOILERS ] of some characters, whether they were smaller interactions or larger parts of the puzzle. The plot was cohesive. There were a lot of lines and paragraphs that alternated between waxing on a little too long for me ( stream-of-consciousness is not my thing ) and being so hard-hitting, I had to put the book down and stare off into space. Not to mention, reading this in the middle of wintertime, when a flu pandemic is running rampant, sort of makes you not want to go outside. King doing one of the things he does best: taking something real and turning it and distorting it.

When I was in high school, they released a TV miniseries if The Stand that I watched. I always thought it was the best end of the world/virus take I'd seen. Not because it's realistic or gritty, but because it frames the story with great characters battling good and evil.

When I read the book, I wondered how closely it would follow the miniseries. Turns out the show was a near scene for scene recording of the book (one of the bonuses of making it 6 hours).

What's amazing to me about The Stand is that it follows so many characters storylines so well. It would be easy to get lost with that many characters, but somehow they fit together in a way that I didn't feel overwhelmed. Add to that a story that had me on the edge of my seat and I see why this is considered one of the best sci fi books of all time.

This had been on my to-read list for years but I kept putting it off due to its size and time commitment. Well a few months ago I finally got round to it and although I enjoyed it I was left a little disappointed. As with all King books the world was expertly drawn and the characters were relatable but given the praise and length of the book I was expecting a lot more from the plot. In retrospect I wonder if this is a case of a story being ground-breaking upon its release but over the decades of other books/films/series taking inspiration from it and telling very similar stories it becoming standard and straightforward. I'm glad I read it but won't be rushing to recommend it to anyone. My favourite King book still remains 22/11/63.

Precise rating: 2.5 ⭐

well its long

I'm doing an experiment where I'm trying to understand what people see in Stephen King. So I'm reading the Dark Tower (the series he considers his magnum opus) and connected books. Since The Dark Tower and the Stand contain the same big bad, it seemed like a book I needed to read. The Stand has not convinced me that the man can write. This book was more of a mishmash of lazy cardboard cutout characters interacting than an actual story. The edition I have is the newer version with over an extra 100,000 words, but the book could easily be cut down from 1300+ pages to under 700 without changing anything important. It could probably be cut to 400 pages and become a better book in the process.

This is obviously one of his very early works, so he hadn't honed his craft yet. But I feel like I might have lost a few IQ points just from having read it. Definitely not recommended.

Some argue that there are too many books to be read out there for a person to re-read them. I disagree; like a beloved song you get something new from a book each time you read it. And what better time to re-read The Stand than during a real pandemic? COVID-19 is not as lethal as Captain Trips, nor is anyone I know plagued with weird dreams. But the journey was great, as always, and I even picked up a new word from the lexicon of the Judge...“botheration”.

Shelf-bender or not, this King classic is definitely worth the “botheration” of lugging it about. A great tale, his greatest in my opinion.

M-O-O-N, that spells TOO DAMN LONG, GOD DAMMIT! Laws, yes! Everybody knows that.

Where to start? Characters? Story? Setting?

Characters are standard SK business, however at least half of them are just deus ex machinas that are, on top of it, sometimes even underutilized. 1 300 pages is way too many. I cared about some of the main characters, whether I loved them or hated them, but in the end I was just glad it was over.

Story is set in 1990 USA and we witness what seems to be the end of human race. A new flu virus is killing 99% of the population. And here comes the first WTF - the rest of the people (that is one 1%) has weird dreams about a man in black and an old woman. Randall Flagg, The Walkin' Dude as they call him, is embodiment of evil, Satan's spawn, the last magician of the rational thought.
Mother Abigail is herald of God. But not the god some of you may pray to before the bed. This is the Old Testament God, the jealous son of a bitch that requires human sacrifices and total obedience. He's still “the good guy” in this conflict, though.
People either go to Mother or to Randall. Depends on how good/evil and brave they are.

Personally, I was a bit dissapointed when I found out about this. Battle between good and evil is the basic fantasy trope but to make it this bluntly obvious and on top of that religious was kind of a lazy move. It allowed for some “miracles” = deus ex machinas to happen and overall degraded the story a little. I like complexity. When you put divine miracles like in this book before me I'll just yawn and wave them away with my hand. But maybe that's because I'm spoiled with Steven Erikson's take on divinity in Malazan Book of the Fallen.

The book is divided into three... well... books. You could call them acts, of course. The second WTF comes in here. The first two acts are long. That's a huge understatement, though. King knows how to write characters, that's his biggest talent. However, when the story just drags and drags and drags and drags and drags and drags and drags and drags and drags and drags... See what I mean? It gets annoying!

The first two acts have a total of 1060 pages out of 1325. When you get to the climax, “the final stand”, if you want me to be punny, it's more of a relief than anything else. Actually, it can't be anything else. Despite the fact that the moment is epic the way we get to it is still very underwhelming even if I ignore the thousand and some pages that led to it. And have I mentioned the fact that it was obvious from a thousand miles (pages) away?

As if that wasn't enough, the book continues another 50 pages! What a drag, dammit. I'm never reading it again. The characters were good, the setting was great, but the page count is insane without any comprehensible reason. The book suffered on behalf of its length and it's a god damn shame. If it was 700-800 pages long it would've been perfect novel, one of his best. But with it being 500 pages longer I can't recommend it. There are other, shorter, better works out there that deserve more attention that this one. Go read The Shinning.

P.S.: Have I mentioned that this is extended version? Yeah, he published “only” 1200 pages long book back in the 70's because technology wasn't there to handle bigger paperback. The hundred pages are a bonus from more recent era. Thank you very much...

P.S.S.: You might wonder why I read it if I didn't like it. Well... the truth is I liked it at the beginning and by the time I found out it's a never ending story I passed the half mark. So I figured I'd finish it to see the story to the end.

Strange thing. Rereading a book after 30 years, you realize that the book in your head and the book you are reading are not the same thing. But then, you aren't the same person anymore either.

The Stand isn't as perfect as I remember it, but with the advantage of age, I can relate more to their struggles. The deus ex trashcan bugs me a bit, though not as much as many of King's plot devices from other books.