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The Stand

by Stephen King, Bernie Wrightson (Illustrator)

4.3 of 5 stars 4.30 · rating details · 218,809 ratings · 7,589 reviews

This is the way the world ends: with a nanosecond of computer error in a Defense Department laboratory and a million casual contacts that form the links in a chain letter of death.

And here is the bleak new world of the day after: a world stripped of its institutions and emptied of 99 percent of its people. A world in which a handful of panicky survivors choose sides -- or...more

Hardcover, Complete & Uncut Edition, 1153 pages

Published May 1st 1990 by Doubleday

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Mar 08, 2012 Kemper rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: apocalypse-now, horror, favorites, 2012-reread, germs-viruses, sky-cake, fantasy

You know what’s really scary? Getting sick while you’re reading the first part of The Stand. Just try running a fever, going through a box of tissues and guzzling the better part of a bottle of Theraflu while Stephen King describes the grisly deaths of almost every one on Earth from a superflu. On top of feeling like crap, you'll be terrified. Bonus!

After a bio-engineered virus that acts like a revved up cold escapes from a U.S. government lab, it takes only weeks for almost all of humanity to s...more

203 likes · like · see review

Mar 04, 2013 Carol rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: King fans; apocalypse fans

Shelves: apocalypse

Dear Stephen,

I'm sorry. I just don't like you in that way. I know we've been friends for a long time, but I just never developed those kind of feelings for you, even after eleven hundred pages. I feel like we only moved forward in fits and stops, and we were just never able to sustain a kind of even-handed development of the kind of chills and thrills a person really likes. Shock someone enough times with snot running out of their nose, and it just becomes a little meaningless. And there are onl...more Dear Stephen,

I'm sorry. I just don't like you in that way. I know we've been friends for a long time, but I just never developed those kind of feelings for you, even after eleven hundred pages. I feel like we only moved forward in fits and stops, and we were just never able to sustain a kind of even-handed development of the kind of chills and thrills a person really likes. Shock someone enough times with snot running out of their nose, and it just becomes a little meaningless. And there are only so many ways to view a dead body before one gets kind of numb instead of apprehensive. Using the journal device to move things forward seems a little crude, when what we really need to do is talk.

I have to confess, I've felt kind of uncomfortable watching you struggle with religion and spirituality. You sparked my interest when you posited that this might be the battle between the age of reason and that of "irrationalism," and the dark man was the last vestige of doomed rationalism. I thought for a few minutes we were headed somewhere really special, but you didn't seem very confident, and the theme fell apart.

I will say there were a few surprises along the way, which I found pleasant. I appreciate you avoiding the obvious character arcs, especially when it comes to redemption. I was glad to meet most of your friends, especially Joe/Leo, Stu and even Kojak. Your military friends bored me out, though, especially Starkey; I don't even get why you like spending any time with those guys. Such a bunch of fossils. I do have to say, I was really impressed with how you must have studied disease modelling and progression--I almost felt like was there.

Sometimes I get the feeling that you don't really see me as a person, just a baby-maker. You even have an extended soliloquy about it, as if I wasn't even here reading your words. It bothers me, because you took the time to develop nuanced male relationships (Larry, Stu, Lloyd), but the women were about reproducing or were cannon fodder. Since you allowed technology to remain, I'm not going to buy into your lowest most-functional society mentality, no matter how many sociological theories you throw at me. And then there's the elderly black woman as representation of all that's spiritual. Perhaps even Mother Earth? If I'm rolling my eyes, it's because it's another aspect of compartmentalizing women as either maiden, matron or crone, and people of color as closer to God(s)(being savage and all, as you so helpfully illustrate in your "The Circle Closes" afterward). Honestly, it's kind of juvenile, and a little disappointing when I know you are capable of so much more.

It's time for me to move on. I'm sure you'll find someone special eventually, Stephen, because you are such a really great guy. And so unusual, too.

With Three Stars,

Your Friend Always.

Cross posted at http://clsiewert.wordpress.com/2013/0...

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52 likes · like · see review

Apr 25, 2008 Tim Pendry rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Anyone

Shelves: horror, north-american

Originally written in the late 1970s with a lot of pessimism in the air, the revised and rather massive 'original' version published in 1990 might meet the mood of the late naughties just as well.

This book is why King will never be 'great' but will always be read - like Conan Doyle. This has all the King themes except for the clowns, though the theme of the rictus grin on the face of the bad guy and the trickster element suggests that this archetype is central to the King world view.

It is peculi...more

33 likes · like · see review

Jul 09, 2011 Whitaker rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011-read, fantasy-scifi

I’ve said before that romance fiction taps into a primal desire for comfort. It’s a fantasy, a snuggie to wrap up in curled up with hot chocolate and toasty roadhouse cookies. The Stand falls squarely into that category, and adds hot rum to the mix as well.

The subtitle of The Stand really should be A Very Norman Rockwell Apocalypse. It’s a political fantasy set in the aftermath of a GM plague: a mutating flu virus with 99.4% transmissibility. Needless to say, 75% of the world’s population dies....more

45 likes · like · see review

May 09, 2012 Mike (the Paladin) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: horror

I am not a Stephen King fan. That being said this is one of a handful of works by him I enjoy. Mr. King seems to have a congenital inability to write an actual “hero figure”. The fatal-flaw motif is very evident in his protagonists. This will appeal to some readers, and they find it “a touch of realism”. There are times I wonder. At any rate that isn’t quite so evident here as in his other books. The main characters while definitely within the “feet of clay” school aren’t in general carrying aro...more

27 likes · like · see review

Mar 13, 2012 Evan Mcclellan rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Are 1100 pages enough to stop a bullet? This was the question that came to mind when my roommate asked if I had anything to use as target practice for when we would go shooting. Well, that was not the exact question. More of a theoretical situation, really. Suppose you are being shot at, and you have a paperback copy of the stand in your pocket, and that's where the bullet hit, would Stephen King's really thick novel be enough to stop the bullet and save your life? I was determined to find out....more Are 1100 pages enough to stop a bullet? This was the question that came to mind when my roommate asked if I had anything to use as target practice for when we would go shooting. Well, that was not the exact question. More of a theoretical situation, really. Suppose you are being shot at, and you have a paperback copy of the stand in your pocket, and that's where the bullet hit, would Stephen King's really thick novel be enough to stop the bullet and save your life? I was determined to find out.

Some reading this may be more horrified by the fact that I would be willing to even think of shooting such a beloved book. And I agree, based on seeing it's affect, that shooting a book is a very violent act. Yet I didn't feel any remorse in shooting it. I do admire Stephen King as a writer, though. I read several books of his (before and after reading the Stand) that I did enjoy a great deal, and hope he keeps writing more books. I like King's style, and something tells me that he would be amused to know that I shot his book. But I didn't like the Stand because I felt that it failed to deliver on it's promise of an "apocayptic confrontation between Good and Evil." I was waiting for our heroes to make the stand, which is a very powerful phrase and title for a book. *** vague spoilers follow *** Well, the heroes stood, and that's pretty much all they did, just in time for the most shameless deus ex machina ending I've ever come across. All the bad guys died in a way that wouldn't have made any difference if the good guys had been there to make their stand or not. I read about three hundred pages of tedious ad hoc committee meetings to get to that? Disapointing. I expected so much more. *** end of vague spoilers ***

But perhaps the book had other virtues. Maybe, just maybe, this 1,168 page book could save someone's life if they were being shot at. Just to make one thing clear: I, in no way, advocate the use of fire arms to maliciously deface intelectual property. I wouldn't have tried this on the Scarlet Letter which is 272 pages and which I equally disliked. I was going to shoot the Stand in the name of Science and public safety.

My roommate and I took it to an outdoor shooting range to test such a possibility. I mounted it up on a dirt berm, and used my roommate's .45 rifle to shoot it. No wimpy guns here, could this book stop a bullet or couldn't it?

Four bullets hit the Stand. Two bullets grazed the side. One went through the "h" in "Stephen" and curved up through the top before reaching page 450. The last bullet hit just below center, making a perfectly shaped O. What took me two months to get through, that bullet blew through in a tiny fraction of second. The bullet exploded out the back, ripping a two inch hole through the back cover, and finally ending in a puff of dirt behind it.

So the answer is no, my friends. 1,168 pages are not enough to save your life from a .45 slug. I wish I could say otherwise. If they had I would have given this book a higher rating. (less)

64 likes · like · see review

May 11, 2013 Seak (Bryce L.) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: audio, 2013

I know, I just listened to Stephen King's Carrie and now The Stand. I've found that reading one King book begets more just about every time. There's something to these tragic characters that you need more and more of.

Now, I have to tell a quick story on this one and I promise this will (probably not) be the last time I tell it to intro a review for a Stephen King novel. This is THE novel I hated so I figure it has to be told here if anywhere.

A number of years ago, I was in Borders and that tells...more

30 likes · like · see review

Apr 16, 2012 Stephanie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, post-apocalyptic, 2012, read-count-2

The first time I read The Stand I was home sick from school with some illness, the German measles I think. Maybe not a good time to be reading a book about a super flu, but I was young and not so bright.

This had to have been in 1981 or so, because that’s the year MTV debuted, back then they played music videos on Music Television and probably had about ten or so they kept playing over and over. Well, I’m on the pull out couch in the family room with MTV playing (it made me feel better to see the...more The first time I read The Stand I was home sick from school with some illness, the German measles I think. Maybe not a good time to be reading a book about a super flu, but I was young and not so bright.

This had to have been in 1981 or so, because that’s the year MTV debuted, back then they played music videos on Music Television and probably had about ten or so they kept playing over and over. Well, I’m on the pull out couch in the family room with MTV playing (it made me feel better to see the guys from Journey), and reading The Stand, half listening to MTV when this (very 80's)video I hadn't seen before comes on.

The Stand

This was very surreal. I was feverish and the words I was reading like “The walkin’ dude” and “Trashcan Man” were coming out of the TV machine. It was very strange……as strange as The Alarms hair. Did you notice the painting of the flower he did looks just like the hair. Amazing…….I kind of like the painting.

I loved the book and it has been one my favorites list ever since. I always wanted to re-read it, but it was so darn long, and there are so many books out there to read. Thirty years later they release the audio version and I was excited, not only to revisit the book but to hear it on audio,(yay) and I was not disappointed. The Stand still remains on my favorites list. But since it had been so long since I first read it, I forgot most of it. It was like a whole new book.

The government develops a biological weapon, a super flu (project Blue) , nick named Captain Tripps, that is inadvertently released and kills 99% of the human population along with most of the dogs and horses. The cats survive (they always do). Here I have to ask the question, why would a government develop such a weapon when It kills most everybody…….even the guys on your side, and you?

The people who survive start to have crazy dreams. One is about a very old African American women, Mother Abigail, in Nebraska who calls on the people to come see her and then to travel to Boulder Colorado. The other is a nightmare about a mysterious fella named Randell Flagg, aka The Walkin’ Dude or the Dark Man who draws them to Los Vegas. Randell is not just bad; he is pure evil, while Mother Abigail is the instrument of God. The survivors pick their side, and there is a good old fashion show down between good and evil. What could go wrong?

King develops strong, memorable characters in this book. He also writes horrifyingly memorable scenes like a trip through the Lincoln Tunnel in New York, dark and stuffed to the brim with rotting corpses. That is not one of the things I forgot.

A few minor things bugged me in this version. Stephen went back later on and added pages to the book that were cut by the publishers, which I am happy with. But, in an attempt to update the book, he moved the time period up from 1980 to 1990. This made a few things awkward, such as a scene about the shootings at Kent State University. The reasons for the shooting were changed from being about war protest to protesting the detainment they were under because of the flu. This worked in the original version because it was closer in time period of the shootings at KSU. Being set in the 90’s it made no sense.

Also, King was in love with the word “pillion”, it means to ride behind the driver of a motorcycle. He used it as much as he could. He also described people’s knee joints popping when squatting, or getting up from a squat, many times. One time would have been just fine.

Love the book. Now I’m off to buy hand sanitizer.
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38 likes · like · see review

Oct 21, 2007 Jessica rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: hypochondriacal jersey commuters

Shelves: happyendings

I read this book ages ago, but it's fresh in my mind every time I wind up stuck in traffic underneath the Hudson.

It's about almost everyone in the world basically catching a bad case of the Plague and dropping dead. This premise doesn't seem very far-fetched, which could make it either more or less entertaining, depending on your temperment.

Here's my opinion about good old Stevie King: he's got a real problem with endings. He'll spin these long, terrific stories, but way too often they're all ba...more

79 likes · like · see review

Feb 02, 2013 Samadrita rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: post-apocalyptic, dystopian-fiction, fantasy, suspense-thrillers, spookfest, sci-fi, amazing-characterization, politics, disturbia, awesomesauce, cherished, adventure, 1001-and-more, re-readable

One of the reasons why I would never club Stephen King together with any of the other best-selling writers of his generation (Grisham, Archer, Patterson, Sheldon and so on) is this :-
None of them match King's calibre as a story-teller. They don't even come close.

If somebody spins an intriguing tale, his characters get in the way of my enjoyment of it.
If somebody excels at characterization, his plotting is rather unconvincing.
If somebody plots a story well, then his writing turns out to be flat.
(...more

20 likes · like · see review

Aug 17, 2012 Nathan "N.R." Gaddis rated it 2 of 5 stars

Whatever I say below, I still have non-gut-wrenching memories of reading this. It is I suppose what is known as a Great Read, a genre I'm not familiar with. No really, I have to be a snob, but it's not at all what's known as a one-star book (see two up there?) I did get some enjoyment out of it. I've even got a goodreads Friend who reads King--and we're still Friends!!! (He's a smart guy, to boot).

______________
King is ~~schlock~~ [clearly a word too strong]. I read The Stand at the request of a rel...more

9 likes · like · see review

Oct 07, 2010 Sandi rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010, horror, post-apocalyptic-dystopian, sci-fi, e-books

As many of you know, I tend to read a lot of post-apocalyptic fiction. One of the books that was conspicuously missing from my post-apocalyptic shelf was The Stand. For a while, there was a hardcover copy on our family bookshelf that I started to read. I didn't make it very far. A year or two ago, I got it in mass-market paperback. However, the print was small and the size was intimidating, so I didn't get very far. Now, I have a Nook, so I downloaded the ebook edition. YEAH! It's amazing how ea...more

14 likes · like · see review

May 19, 2013 Miss Kim rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: keeper, 2009, king-stephen, doorstops, apocalypse-now, horror-or-mystery, favorites, 2013

The world as we know ends when the government accidentally leaked a ‘super flu’ virus at a facility and one idiot was able to bust the lock down precautions and infect the world. His intentions were to get out and grab his family and get the hell out of Dodge, but he ended up bringing death. The flu killed millions of people in two weeks, and others were not harmed at all. The survivors are left numb and wondering ‘what the hell happened and what do I do now?”

The government is trying to cover up...more The world as we know ends when the government accidentally leaked a ‘super flu’ virus at a facility and one idiot was able to bust the lock down precautions and infect the world. His intentions were to get out and grab his family and get the hell out of Dodge, but he ended up bringing death. The flu killed millions of people in two weeks, and others were not harmed at all. The survivors are left numb and wondering ‘what the hell happened and what do I do now?”

The government is trying to cover up the incident. They want us to believe it’s just anther flu and they are working a vaccine. They begin quarantining cities and shooting any people that try to leave.

The world as we know it is over. There is no electricity, running water; a good chunk of the population is gone. Why were the soldiers killing people? In the weeks to follow, many begin to have dreams. Some of a very terrifying force that they cannot explain, and others of a very warm and good force. All are having similar dreams, but do not tell others. Many begin trekking across America in search of other survivors, finding comfort in knowing there are indeed other people out there. Most have to walk or ride cycles because the roads are littered with vehicles full of the dead.

Those dreaming of the ‘good’ go to Nebraska. They had been dreaming of a108 year old woman who had been telling them to come and see her as soon as they could. She seems to be doing God’s will. Some are not sure if she is real. Oh, but she is. Mother Abigail welcomes them to her home and tells them it is God’s will for them to go to Boulder, Colorado. She doesn’t know why they must go there, but they will do anything for Mother.

The Walkin Dude, Satan’s Imp, or Randall Flagg as he calls himself is the Dark Man. He is a very powerful evil that is beckoning all of the survivors that were lunatics, criminals, psychotics, to serve him. Those are lead to Las Vegas where he has begun rebuilding his society.

Those in Boulder know the Dark Man is across the Rockies. They too are working on rebuilding their lives by clearing the dead bodies everything, restoring power, heat, law, government. After a period of just being grateful to have come here, they are told they have to stop the Dark Man.

There is horror, suspense, humor, love. It’s the story of how people are changed in an instant. They don’t have to be whom or what they were ‘before’. It’s a chance to start again. This book really made me think.

For those familiar with this book, or even the movie, I know I haven’t done the book justice with this review. It is hard to describe why I love this book so much. The battle between good and evil, the end of the world, rebuilding society, King’s humor? As of this date, I’ve read it three times. I am in love with most of the characters as I know them personally. I truly believe this is his best work.
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12 likes · like · see review

Jun 09, 2008 Chris rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: apocolypse, fantasy, horror, top-shelf

And so the Apocalypse Trifecta is complete, with my one, true favorite End of the World book. I have no idea how many times I've read it now - I know the first time was in junior high school, though, and a lot of time's gone by since then. I also think I have about three different copies floating around....

It's hard to know where to begin when writing about this book, probably because I work under the assumption that everyone has read it. But I guess that's what everyone thinks about their favor...more

46 likes · like · see review

Mar 30, 2007 Jameson rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Everybody

Shelves: sci-fi, horror

A security glitch first lets a goverment-made mutant superflu loose in a facilty, then allows one of the sentries on duty to escape the barracks with his family and head cross country, the virus in tow. Within weeks the flu, dubbed Captain Tripps, or Tubeneck (because glandular swelling turns its victim's necks into thick, black tubes) is wiping out the world population (though the book only focuses on the events in the U.S., martial law and anarchy prevail. A few scattered people are immune, an...more

12 likes · like · see review

Apr 22, 2010 jacky rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: horror, need-to-reread, adult-fiction

I love The Stand. I love it for several reasons. First, there are many characters that you get to know very well. They are deep and interesting. My favorite by far is Nick, but Stu and Tom Cullen are great, too. That includes the villains, too. I love Trashcan Man. I love how Flagg pops up in various King novels. Second, I liked how at least part of this story is possible, which is what made it somewhat scary in the beginning. While reading this book, when you are around other people and they co...more

16 likes · like · see review

Jul 25, 2007 Mike rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: fantasy/horror dorks

At least three of my friends recommended this book to me. I don't think I'm going to hang out with those dudes anymore. King can spin a good yarn - Misery and Thinner are pretty good. This story, however, was spread a little too thin - no...way too thin. I guess he was going for some kind of Lord of the Rings epic, but it came across as just an overlong dweeb-a-thon.

18 likes · like · see review

Aug 10, 2012 Jane Stewart rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: apocalyptic-paranormal-fiction, 5-star-other

I enjoyed being part of this group of characters.

WHAT IS THIS BOOK ABOUT?
The story begins with a virus killing 99% of the population. We meet several survivors in separate towns. They stay in town a while, then begin traveling on motorcycles, bicycles, or walking. The travelers start out alone or with one other person. Along the way they join with others. A man called Randall Flagg is creating his own empire, dictator style, with evil intentions. His headquarters are in Las Vegas, Nevada. Surviv...more

6 likes · like · see review

May 06, 2012 Kent rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: audiobooks, reviewed, apocalypse-then

This book is good. M-O-O-N, that spells good.

It's too damn long. It meanders from scene to scene. I'm glad that I'm finally done with it.

But I can't, in good conscience, give this book 3 stars, because these characters are simply masterful. The Stand features more than ten complete character arcs, and I'm confident that Stu Redman, Franny Goldsmith, Harold Lauder, Glen Bateman, Kojak, Larry Underwood, Nadine Cross, Judge Farris, Nick Andros, Tom Cullen, The Trashcan Man, and Randall Flagg will a...more

24 likes · like · see review

Oct 21, 2012 Lynne - The Book Squirrel rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: re-read

My all time favourite S K Book! Listened to this on audio and it was fantastic Grover Gardner is a great narrater and his Randal Flagg made my skin crawl it was that good!

7 likes · like · see review

Feb 27, 2013 sj rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: re-read, sk-in-order, yorwtfiw, read-with-heather-l

On a gathering storm comes
a tall handsome man
In a dusty black coat with
a red right hand
He'll wrap you in his arms,
tell you that you've been a good boy
He'll rekindle all the dreams
it took you a lifetime to destroy
He'll reach deep into the hole,
heal your shrinking soul
Hey buddy, you know you're
never ever coming back
He's a god, he's a man,
he's a ghost, he's a guru
They're whispering his name
through this disappearing land
But hidden in his coat
is a red right hand

Originally posted here.

I've always bee...more

4 likes · like · see review

Jul 01, 2011 Colleen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: dystopian-and-post-apoc, horror-esque, group-read

3 1/2

It only took 2 1/2 weeks, and I have conquered The Stand! (It probably wouldn't have taken so long, except I had a show going on for most of the time.)

Anyway - I'm not really sure what to say. I liked it. I didn't love it and I didn't hate it. Let's see.

It opened up really well. It was pulse-pounding and frustrating and sad and things started out, and I was swept away with it. In the beginning it held a lot of promise.

But as things settled down and "the event" happened, things slowed down a...more

9 likes · like · see review

Nov 10, 2011 Matt rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Hopefully I won’t sound too sociopathic when I say there is something seductive about the prospect of the end of the world. On the whole, humans are drawn to order. I’m no exception. I like things to be routine, controlled, and predictable. Still, every once in awhile, especially on a bad day, I welcome the Mayans’ prophecy, if only out of a sense of deranged curiosity. The primitive, barbaric part of my mind, the part I don’t talk about at cocktail parties (unless I get drunk, which is always),...more

21 likes · like · see review

May 10, 2012 Stefan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

The Stand was an enjoyable book from start to finish for me. After being with these characters for 1100+ pages, it almost feels as if I have a personal relationship with them.
I know that King has an affinity for his Dark Tower series, and while I enjoy it immensely, I would still say that this is his best and most complete overall work in my opinion.

As always, King's character development is top notch, given the length of the book, these characters are even more developed than usual. As I said e...more

5 likes · like · see review

May 27, 2013 Checkman rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: post-apocalyptic fans, horror/sci-fci fans.

Recommended to Checkman by: a classmate many years ago

Shelves: post-apocalyptic, beach-read, horror, seventies-classics, alternative-history

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This is a novel that I have read several times during the past 26 years.

I first read it in the summer of 1985 at the age of seventeen. The end of the world seemed like some type of grand adventure to me. After all I was young and immortal. The sheer immensity of such an event ,and what it would entail, escaped me then. Too young and to self-centered I suppose. I just liked the imagery of Chuck Heston racing around a deserted L.A. in his red convertible with a sub-machine gun and wearing aviator...more

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Jul 14, 2011 Yasmine Alfouzan rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 52-books, fiction

Amazing writing and development, but it was so lengthy that the good bits got lost in a sea of utter crap. Not worth reading. Ending is quite disappointing. I was going to give it two stars for it wasn't that horrible really, but it wasted a lot of my precious time and therefore it gets one star. Nothing more.

Old review (back when it was unfinished):
I finished about half of this book (which is a million pages), and I am suddenly feeling very unmotivated to finish it. Don't get me wrong, Stephen...more

13 likes · like · see review

Sep 18, 2009 Jason rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: dystopia

Laws yes, laws yes, M-O-O-N, that spells 2 stars. Stephen King wrote in his ‘Preface Part 2: To Be Read After Purchase’ that he added 400 pages to this unedited 1990 copyright of The Stand. I believe it was 500 pages too much. He says he added the extra pages at the behest of a majority of fans that considered The Stand one of his best books—though, personally, he doesn’t regard it as his best fiction. I’ve given King several other chances to capture my imagination, with only one success, The Lo...more Laws yes, laws yes, M-O-O-N, that spells 2 stars. Stephen King wrote in his ‘Preface Part 2: To Be Read After Purchase’ that he added 400 pages to this unedited 1990 copyright of The Stand. I believe it was 500 pages too much. He says he added the extra pages at the behest of a majority of fans that considered The Stand one of his best books—though, personally, he doesn’t regard it as his best fiction. I’ve given King several other chances to capture my imagination, with only one success, The Long Walk. I figured I’d try King one last time, and so I went with what’s ostensibly the fan favorite. But once again, Stephen King came up short in the following areas.

Storyline. A post-apocalyptic world is a fertile context in which to reveal a fascinating, phenomenal environment, and takes the imagination of a superstar to make it believable. King has the requisite imagination, but the story missed spectrums of opportunities to describe the process of the extermination of the human population. What we get instead is a relentless elaboration of all the vehicular accidents that occurred as people panicked and barreled straight into each other. There really was no description of the exodus, the run on supplies, the vigilanteism, the ad-hoc, grass-roots organization that must have banded together as societies’ institutions failed. There was no description of media’s spin and government’s intervention to fix the crisis, which the reader is aware happens all too often in catastrophes. King is happy to dedicate 400 pages to character development, and in the process isolates his characters from the carnage that is happening, transporting them cleanly to the other side of the apocalypse where everybody is already dead—in their cars apparently. How about increasingly desperate newscasts; some immunological forecasting where the charts and infection vectors are cobbled together by tired scientists; some scenes as the power dies, water pressure fails, hospitals surrender. Instead we get the National Guard deployed to cordon off cities, and machine gun nests manned by soldiers who were willing to accomplish their duties, despite that they would more realistically have abandoned guns and returned home to family. I think King missed a fecund opportunity to comment on human nature, the dark side of human nature, as they packed together like rats.

Characters. They were two-dimensional. With 400 additional pages and 20 main characters, one calculates that each person in this unabridged version would get 20 extra pages of detailed character development. That’s probably true, but King didn’t mature the characters. He used those extra pages merely to place them into more action. Consequently, none of the characters grew—none made profound statements of the human condition. The emotional breakdowns were weak. The fright was hollow. The good guys and bad were stereotyped and their development was heavy-handed; in other words, the characters were not leading independent lives, they were doing exactly as Stephen King’s pen dictated. The evil man overacted his part, and was thereby flat and unbelievable.

Denouement. To say the ending was anticlimactic is an understatement. The different threads of the story came to the same stitch, but it was messy and rushed. We come about 1030 pages not knowing how it’s going to end, we’re given a big clue, then it pans out exactly how you would have guessed 98 times out of a 100. There are 2 pages of what the world-to-come may look like from the different character perspectives, and yet King fails again to make resounding, sweeping, vitriolic summaries of the human condition. No warnings to mankind. No predictions. No lessons to the reader.

What gristle, then, are you supposed to take away from this book? I don’t know. I was never spooked, chilled, frightened, or even discomforted. I learned nothing about the dimension and capacity of humans in the land of post-apocalypse. I never empathized with any of the characters. Now, for 1153 pages, that’s not worth it.

New words: drumlin, nonce, caul, jocund, yatter, treacly, gymkhana, rugose, intaglio, blatting.

(less)

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May 16, 2009 Christina Stind rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009, fiction, henriks-books

This is Stephen King's take on a post-apocalyptic novel. A particularly nasty flu-like disease get out from a government laboratory and kills almost all the people in the United States in a matter of weeks. And when men in power decide that it would be bad if other countries discovered that the States have experimented with chemical warfare, they release it in Europe and the rest of the world...
So this is a world where entire towns are suddenly empty of inhabitants - or with just one or two. And...more This is Stephen King's take on a post-apocalyptic novel. A particularly nasty flu-like disease get out from a government laboratory and kills almost all the people in the United States in a matter of weeks. And when men in power decide that it would be bad if other countries discovered that the States have experimented with chemical warfare, they release it in Europe and the rest of the world...
So this is a world where entire towns are suddenly empty of inhabitants - or with just one or two. And if that wasn't hard enough to comprehend, the survivors start dreaming. And they dream the same dreams, very powerful dreams about an old black woman or a scary scary dark man. Slowly, people gravitate towards the east and the old woman - or to the west and the dark man.
These two symbols of good and evil - Mother Abigail and Randall Flagg - gathers followers around them and two very different types of states are created. A democratic one and a dictatorship. And neither of the states are content to just live the other one alone so a conflict is sure to happen some way or another.

This is a book about good v. evil, it's a book about faith. It's very clear that the two new societies represent the good and the bad in people and that people are drawn to one of the two. But to accept this, they have to accept that the old way of living based on rational thinking doesn't cut it anymore - now people have visions and are acting based on what they dream. Mother Abigail claim to be in contact with the Lord and as a spiritual leader of the settlement in the West, she tries to teach them to believe in things they can't see - and that sometimes you have to do something that doesn't feel right or wise because it's the will of the Lord.
This is a book about Christianity. King often refers to The Book of Job and it is the kind of Christianity where you are tested, beaten down and hurt a lot but just have to endure it and keep on going because God wants it. It's the God who told Abraham to sacrifice his son, we're dealing with. And if the good people in the east wants to deal with the evil in the west, they have to be willing to make sacrifices along the way.

It is also a book about a modern life focusing too much on the material things. When there's no one around to keep it going, electricity and other modern conveniences we take for granted, disappear. No more cold drinks - except if you can find a cool stream to cool them in. And it's a world laid bare because of human mistakes - because we distrust each other and want to make sure to be one step ahead of each other so if they use something bad against us, we have something worse - even though we've signed treaties that we would never do that. And when the bad thing happened to us, well, of course we shared it. It's about basic human nature - and it's not always pretty. But some characters rise above it and faces the wrong they did earlier and try to fix it and becomes better people for it.

The only thing that really bothered me was the amount of characters - or more exactly that they sometimes are hard to keep track of. Sometimes a character appears and is presented like you already know them - and I found myself flipping backwards through pages to find out who exactly that character was - only to discover they were introduced in the next couple of pages... But the amount of characters are also a good thing because he kills of quite a few of them - even ones who survived the flu in the first place but then die because there's no one around to help them when they fall into a well or get a burst appendix!

With so many characters, it's hard to pick a favourite - except for Kojak of course, one of the very few surviving dogs and a beautiful and very intelligent one at that. Tragic that the flu killed man's best friend as well. But besides Kojak, I really liked the deaf-mute Nick Andros and the unwilling leader Stuart Redman. And Tom Cullen the retard - what's not to love about Tom? (Maybe his display of stuffed animals?). But the book wouldn't be the same without the Trashcan Man - or without the Kid who is one of the added characters in this complete edition.

This book is epic in it's scope and for a long time I tried to read it as fast as I could - but in the end I didn't really want to finish it because I knew some of my favourite characters would die and because I'd been with these people for so long so I didn't want to let them go...

A lot of people say that King has a problem with ending his books. I really liked the way this book ended (a nice variation over evil imploding on itself) - and that, like in many King books, we are given enough knowledge to know that although evil may be beat this time, it is never destroyed. It will always rise again.(less)

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Nov 30, 2008 Savinipop Savini rated it 1 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Every once in a while I am suckered into reading a Stephen King book. I like his ideas, I even like his writing a lot, and would say he's got to be one of the best mass fiction writers out there, but he really needs someone to say "no" to him once in a while.
This book is a classic reason why I don't read King;
1. He is self indulgent.
2. Sucker-punch endings.
3. Campy

I know that there are a million people out there who will say that he is so good at writing characters and that is what you read his...more

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Sep 27, 2008 Fiona rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: anyone

Shelves: books-i-own, treasured, 2008, bricks, setting-usa, bought-new, favourites

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I'd never read a SK book before but for some reason this one jumped off the shelf for me. So I bought it and then I though I better read it before someone put me off such a thick book.

Two weeks later...

I walked around the house like a zombie. I walked reading from room to room. I thought about it during the day and dreamed (rather unpleasantly) about it during the night.

I read it a little too fast - I wanted and needed to find out what happened and was completely paranoid about Stu dying. (My fa...more I'd never read a SK book before but for some reason this one jumped off the shelf for me. So I bought it and then I though I better read it before someone put me off such a thick book.

Two weeks later...

I walked around the house like a zombie. I walked reading from room to room. I thought about it during the day and dreamed (rather unpleasantly) about it during the night.

I read it a little too fast - I wanted and needed to find out what happened and was completely paranoid about Stu dying. (My favourite character) I never considered that everyone else would go and die as well!

I'd like to read it again and take my time, but I think I'm going to break down crying with every Larry Underwood scene because next to Stu, I loved him. And poor Glen, poor Ralph.

I felt sorry for Harold too because it was such a waste of a life. I hated him for killing Nick, in the end it wasn't wholly the Dark Man's doing - he made plenty enough choices from his own free will. But just the way he died and the many opportunities he had to be better... I always hoped beyond hope he'd make the Right choice.

Stephen King produced some of the most real feeling characters I have read in a long time. That is the strength of the book - the characters because you care about them so much it feels as if they are real. To me, they are quite real and that is why it hurts when they die. I think on a second read it is going to be worse because I'm going to be taking my time rather then reading it so hungrily I'm sure I rushed through.

However, despite this... the climax with Flagg was a little anti-climatic and detracted a lot from the grief I should have felt from losing Larry, Glen and Ralph. It felt slightly rushed - slightly hashed together and not very well thought out. I suppose I was expecting some big show down but it never came.

The Stu's escape back to the Free Zone was a little long and protracted, slowing down what should have been an amazing ending. I'm not saying I didn't enjoy it - in a way after Larry & co dying I was a little shocked and it didn't really set in until Stu talked about them.

My whole heart was hurting when I read the end of this book at about 0530 though tears were slightly dry.

I loved this book, but the ending could have been better. Maybe it should have been two books rather then one?

(less)

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About Stephen King

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Stephen Edwin King was born in Portland, Maine in 1947, the second son of Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. After his parents separated when Stephen was a toddler, he and his older brother, David, were raised by his mother. Parts of his childhood were spent in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where his father's family...more Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Stephen Edwin King was born in Portland, Maine in 1947, the second son of Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. After his parents separated when Stephen was a toddler, he and his older brother, David, were raised by his mother. Parts of his childhood were spent in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where his father's family was at the time, and in Stratford, Connecticut. When Stephen was eleven, his mother brought her children back to Durham, Maine, for good. Her parents, Guy and Nellie Pillsbury, had become incapacitated with old age, and Ruth King was persuaded by her sisters to take over the physical care of the elderly couple. Other family members provided a small house in Durham and financial support. After Stephen's grandparents passed away, Mrs. King found work in the kitchens of Pineland, a nearby residential facility for the mentally challenged.

Stephen attended the grammar school in Durham and then Lisbon Falls High School, graduating in 1966. From his sophomore year at the University of Maine at Orono, he wrote a weekly column for the school newspaper, THE MAINE CAMPUS. He was also active in student politics, serving as a member of the Student Senate. He came to support the anti-war movement on the Orono campus, arriving at his stance from a conservative view that the war in Vietnam was unconstitutional. He graduated from the University of Maine at Orono in 1970, with a B.A. in English and qualified to teach on the high school level. A draft board examination immediately post-graduation found him 4-F on grounds of high blood pressure, limited vision, flat feet, and punctured eardrums.

He and Tabitha Spruce married in January of 1971. He met Tabitha in the stacks of the Fogler Library at the University of Maine at Orono, where they both worked as students. As Stephen was unable to find placement as a teacher immediately, the Kings lived on his earnings as a laborer at an industrial laundry, and her student loan and savings, with an occasional boost from a short story sale to men's magazines.

Stephen made his first professional short story sale ("The Glass Floor") to Startling Mystery Stories in 1967. Throughout the early years of his marriage, he continued to sell stories to men's magazines. Many of these were later gathered into the Night Shift collection or appeared in other anthologies.

In the fall of 1971, Stephen began teaching high school English classes at Hampden Academy, the public high school in Hampden, Maine. Writing in the evenings and on the weekends, he continued to produce short stories and to work on novels.(less)

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“That wasn't any act of God. That was an act of pure human fuckery.” — 1,009 people liked it

“Show me a man or a woman alone and I'll show you a saint. Give me two and they'll fall in love. Give me three and they'll invent the charming thing we call 'society'. Give me four and they'll build a pyramid. Give me five and they'll make one an outcast. Give me six and they'll reinvent prejudice. Give me seven and in seven years they'll reinvent warfare. Man may have been made in the image of God, but human society was made in the image of His opposite number, and is always trying to get back home.” — 477 people liked it

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