The Stand

I have the same “problem” with The Stand that I do with LOST (I love both, so take this with a grain of salt) - I want a stripped down story without the supernatural elements.

Some narratives need a gigantic serving of the paranormal to keep the plot moving forward; but, I think King has become accustomed to using it as a crutch for his writing, when he doesn't always need it (or else, it's his “thing” - which I guess is his prerogative).

It boils down to the fact that I feel that the characters are so well-formed and have such a rich history, that this could have been enough for a more grounded adventure. I want to know what really happens if the world is largely wiped out by a virus, leaving only a handful of survivors behind. King offers answers only in the context of the “Big Bad” who exists outside of the natural laws of the earth and thus is contained only by King's imagination. (Similarly, I want to know what really happens if a plane crashes on a deserted island a-la-LOST - do we really need to add polar bears and smoke monsters to the mix?).

I think that either tale could have been equally as riveting without the added ambiguity of “the unknown” - but it is what it is, and both are enjoyable nonetheless. AND, of course, we can't ignore that this is Stephen King who has penned many a novel in which supernatural entities are to be expected and even welcomed. Ultimately, it's King's story, and it's a good one.

The made-for-TV adaptation of The Stand is also worth seeing... as are all six (6) seasons of LOST

El primer libro es hermoso, lo sientes tan personal y más con la reciente pandemia. Te mantiene atento, ansioso y con la incógnita de a que llevara, el segundo libro es un cambio total a lo fantástico pero no queda mal, repite algunos bloques descriptivos.
El final si se me hizo demasiado acelerado y le dedicaron más tiempo a momentos que hubieran sido buenos acortar para enfocarse más a detalle en como se cerraban algunos círculos.

I heard from a close friend of mine that this is easily far and above Kings best piece of work. Having read this, Salems lot, and Dreamcatcher (which a lot of people consider his worst (they are wrong)), I can believe it, but I really hope it isn't true. The experience of reading this book is kind of insane. The first 200 pages or so are expertly paced, the middle section has a perfect rising tension about it as you discover what the rest of the story is gonna look like, and then as it's wrapping up everything just kind of makes sense. I can't say much without going into spoilers but I haven't gotten so lazy that I'll start including them in here without tagging them so until I get hit with a random burst of inspiration I'll leave this as is.

After reading King's first several books I couldn't understand the hype for this guy. Like he's not THAT good. But after reading The Stand...WOW. This writing style isn't like his previous ones. It is vastly better. The size of this book my be scary but every single word is a pearl. Fantastic story and never been more relevant with the times we are experiencing now. If you like this book I thoroughly recommend reading The Passage. It is so much like The Stand but with Vampire like creatures. Also The Troop is an exceptional scary story with a lot of Stephen King qualities.

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.

This is an extremely long book that spends so much time developing characters that you inevitably don't care all that much about when something happens to them. Many of the characters were boring or straight up unlikable, so listening to their struggles for 50 pages at a time gets to be monotonous, and the explicit scenes felt a bit gratuitous and unnecessary in parts. I found they didn't really add much to the story and seemed like they were added for a horror or shock element in an otherwise slow and uneventful novel.

The premise was really exciting and the looming threat of the Dark Man really made me hope for more mystical/fantastical moments. I also hoped for more from Abigail, since I really loved her character and place in the overall story. In the end we're left questioning who these two really are and what place they really have in the overall world. Are they really the embodiments of Good and Evil? Have they always been “the chosen ones”? Did they somehow have a part in the plague? No questions are really answered... Which is very on-brand for a religious themed plot, but I found it left me unsatisfied.

In 1000 pages of build-up you really hope for some sort of battle for Good vs. Evil, sabotage, enlightenment... Anything. But we're really just left with a confusing turn of events and a lackluster end thought.

I loved the prose, but it wasn't enough to read 1000+ pages of people walking, eating, and talking a whole lot.

I haven't read Stephen King since I was in high school when it seemed everyone was carrying around a dog eared paperback of Cujo or Christine. It felt odd revisiting King on my ipad, the paperback covers having become such an iconic part of my adolescence.

The Stand is one of those books, like the Lord of the Rings, that seem to engender repeated readings and I know several people who've managed to plow through this weighty thing more than once.

I read the unabridged version published in 1991 weighing in at 1200 pages. Apparently this makes it longer than Moby Dick or War and Peace and caps off my post apocalyptic trifecta after finishing The Passage and The Twelve. You can see how much of a debt Cronin owes King.

Stephen King is a storyteller. I loved how much time spent on the early days of the virus, gleefully recounting each expired life as well as introducing the characters we would explore the post-virus world with. With it's heft he can really create wonderful, fleshed out arcs for each character. The Larry Underwood pre-virus is escaping from his drug debts and hiding at his mother's in New York. Stu Underwood is working a calculator factory and helping out at the gas station. Harold Lauder is a marginalized teen, mostly invisible and largely enraged. These characters and more get a nicely paced progression into the people they become. Maybe it all comes together a bit too neat, but as with the best road trips it's not the destination but the journey there that's the thing.

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.

Ironically, The Stand is more about the journey than the destination. It mirrors the everlasting political battles that seem hinged on the individual's interpretation of “freedom”, which is certainly relevant today. While I didn't connect well with any of the characters, I felt I was constantly thinking about them and their choices, even when not actively reading.

As a kid, my biggest fear was a zombie apocalypse. The idea of fighting an unwinnable war against something as all-encompassing as every dead person ever, reanimated, and the emotional defeat and hopelessness that would cause terrified me.

This book resonated with me, capturing my fears and projecting them large with a backdrop of real, believable, tangible human stories of loss, self-doubt and insecurity, fear, wrestling with your own dark side, regret, and coming to terms with the possibility that Something greater than all of us really does exist and have power in the world today.

Reading about Mother Abagail and her perspective on God's sovereignty, the slow redemption of certain characters, and even the perspectives of those characters who never had a redemption was impactful to me. Honestly, I'd say that this book is important and challenges the standards of our modern world maybe even more strongly than it did when it was released 30 years ago.

As a reading experience, this was by far my favorite King book. I had a hard time with the Shining because of the way that evil was portrayed, rampant and inevitable, with no counterpoint. Having this book framed as a good vs. evil battle made reading the atrocities the bad guys committed more bearable, because how else are you going to show who they really are? I read the Complete & Uncut Edition of this book, and I can't imagine cutting out anything from this book. It all felt so well done and necessary.

Age range: 18+
Not a YA novel, in case you were curious. Very violent, very graphic.