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_leitmotif_'s review against another edition
writing style and story are so engaging, i get why king has such a rabid fan base…AND NO ONE SHOULD READ THIS BOOK.
it is deeply racist and misogynistic to its core. like grossly, blatantly so. casually, ‘i definitely meant to do this/it’s so rooted in me i also didn’t even notice’ so. and it’s not just the relentless use of racial slurs in the dialog, and the description of women’s bodies and gross sexualized pov’s written for some of the female characters, it’s how the Black and brown characters are written and the positionality they take up in the story; covering all bases; from ‘thug’ to ‘magical being’, all as foils to the white characters.
oh, and this book is ALSO riddled with horrible ablism and fatphobia. all around fucking trash.
he wrote this in the 70’s. i get it, people felt REAL free to be super open with their white supremacy and misogyny. perhaps he’s grown? and even if so, where is the rewrite/updated version of this story or the disavowal?
disgusting.
Graphic: Racism, Sexism, Fatphobia, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, and Ableism
calypso_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Ableism, Cursing, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Body horror, Confinement, Racial slurs, Addiction, Excrement, Gore, Drug use, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Sexual assault
As usual, Stephen King has unprotected sex with racial slurs. Just something to be aware ofxcinnamonsugar's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The Stand is divided into three parts:
- Book I sets the stage. A deadly flu way more contagious and lethal than Covid spreads rapidly throughout the United States and kills 99% of the population.
- Book II focuses on the 1% of survivors. They all have recurring supernatural dreams of two people: "good" is incarnated in an elderly black lady named Mother Abagail, while "evil" takes shape in a man named Randall Flagg. All survivors gravitate toward one of these two people, making gruelling cross-country pilgrimages that claim a few more lives in the process.
- Book III is the cinematic good-versus-evil conclusion to this epic story. Despite juggling an ambitious number of character arcs, everything ties in together nicely at the end.
Book III was pretty intense, but all's well that ends well. Many main characters died, but I thought the ways that each of them met their deaths was rather poetic and satisfying, even if a little sad.
Knocked a star off because, for all King's storytelling prowess, I cannot in good faith give 5 stars to any book with this much graphic sexual assault and objectification of the female body.
Graphic: Murder and Sexual assault
Moderate: Torture and Misogyny
scipio_africanus's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Rape, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Death, Suicide, Death of parent, Grief, and Murder
catherineelms's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Murder, Death of parent, Grief, Violence, Death, Pandemic/Epidemic, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, and Rape
lo_vana's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
Moderate: Sexual violence, Death, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Rape
zoinkie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Gore, Torture, Violence, Medical trauma, Pandemic/Epidemic, Terminal illness, War, Sexual harassment, Death, Suicide, Body horror, Grief, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Medical content, and Murder
mon11's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Torture, Violence, Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexual violence, Rape, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Death
Moderate: Murder, Violence, Ableism, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Racial slurs, Racism, Gun violence, and Misogyny
Minor: Drug abuse, Grief, and Sexual content
sophtie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Rape, Death, Fatphobia, Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Gore
kirtreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
This book starts off so strong. I was gripped from the beginning and couldn't put it down. I wanted to know what happened to each of the characters. Everyone was interesting and dynamic. The book moves along at a nice pace until it doesn't. It comes to a screeching halt
Then, the story picks up again finally and there is movement again towards some kind of resolution.
There also are some frustratingly huge issues with the ending.
This book really highlights the best and worst of King.
- Pro: Characters are amazing and really fleshed out. You end up feeling connected to each of them and rooting for them
- Pro: It has a great premise and he has great world building at the beginning of the novel
- Con: The ending blows and falls flat
- Con: It is so long and needed some heavy editing. I know that people say that it "fleshes out the world" but you know what I didn't need?
Chapters of council meetings that had literally no hold on the plot.
If you are a die hard King fan and you want to complete all his works, then this book provides some really great highs and I recommend it for the great characters.
If you are not a huge King fan and are not sure if you are willing to put in the work, just stay away. The pay off is not worth it.
Graphic: Mental illness, Abandonment, Gore, Vomit, Body horror, Rape, Pregnancy, Infertility, Pandemic/Epidemic, Murder, Car accident, Drug abuse, Excrement, Toxic relationship, Child death, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide attempt, Stalking, Medical trauma, Violence, Suicide, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Confinement, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, and Medical content