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suzanzanzan's review against another edition
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
taylorelena's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
xcinnamonsugar's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
According to my Kobo, it took me 20 reading hours to finish this tome. I've DNF-ed books a fraction of The Stand's length without hesitation, so yes this book is engaging enough to stick to despite being over 1000 pages long (I read the uncut/extended version).
The Stand is divided into three parts:
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 I was probably the dullest to get through, given that we've already had first-hand experience with a global pandemic. Reading about quarantines and an overwhelmed public system felt a little too on the nose. There are also separate chapters introducing at least twenty different characters, which can feel a little disorienting. However, I've read enough Stephen King to realise that his books tend to start off very slowly, giving even the NPCs a well-rounded backstory.
Book II is where it gets interesting, since you begin to see how King hypothesises each of the myriad characters in our society makes their choice. One of the characters, Glen Bateman, is a sociologist. His little monologues theorising how human behaviour would inevitably lead to a certain pattern of progression in these little scrappy survivor communities was one of my favourite parts of this book.
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Sexual assault
Moderate: Torture and Misogyny
tabatha_shipley's review against another edition
4.0
My audiobook from the library returned (because it took me 3 weeks to get this far). Don't worry ... I have a hold to get it back and finish it and I have a GREAT memory for plots so I'll be good. But that's why this one stalled out at 62% for so long.
What I Didn’t Like:
-Odd choices made about what to include and what to cut. For example, why do we need to know that Mother Abigail remembers the smell of a room after sex but not get front-row seats to a small girl breaking her arm? King always seems to have an obsession with talking about the things people don’t normally talk about (for good or for bad) including difficulties in the bathroom. It’s a weird thing to bring in.
-Definitely scenes that could be cut. I feel like if this was anyone besides King, this book would’ve been a lot shorter. But if you choose to read this book you already expect that, I think. It’s going to be a JOURNEY.
-Some of the flu aspects are … questionable. But this is fiction, so you can forgive some of that.
-The ending almost felt like it was going out of order. Almost like it ended more than once if that makes sense. Each one is good and necessary … but it’s strange to have that shocking feeling that there’s still more story.
What I Did Like:
+Characters are well written. All that build-up is for a reason. You need enough time with a character to start developing opinions about the inherent goodness or evil of each person. Ultimately, this book is good vs evil on an epic scale. You need time to draw conclusions so that the ending rocks you to your core.
+Ideas about the post-apocalyptic world are well done. The things that work vs the things that don’t. I’ve read a lot of post-apocalyptic things and I don’t think I’ve EVER had someone talk about bread before. It’s GREAT to see that brought up.
+The ending(s) deliver. They give you some satisfaction and some questions.
+Morality questions. Come on, you knew they were coming. They’re well written and they work for the story. My favorite? Dayna’s conversation in the office. It’s not the most famous, I don’t even remember it making the movie, but in print it’s POWERFUL.
Who Should Read This One:
-Do NOT tackle this beast if you’re not ready for a JOURNEY. This is over 1000 pages. You are getting up close and personal with characters who may not make it.
-BUT if you like dystopian and you want good vs evil on a HUGE scale … this is a great book.
My Rating: 4 Stars. It was EPIC and it’s worth the read. But I can’t say 5 star because you really need to be ready for that word count.
What I Didn’t Like:
-Odd choices made about what to include and what to cut. For example, why do we need to know that Mother Abigail remembers the smell of a room after sex but not get front-row seats to a small girl breaking her arm? King always seems to have an obsession with talking about the things people don’t normally talk about (for good or for bad) including difficulties in the bathroom. It’s a weird thing to bring in.
-Definitely scenes that could be cut. I feel like if this was anyone besides King, this book would’ve been a lot shorter. But if you choose to read this book you already expect that, I think. It’s going to be a JOURNEY.
-Some of the flu aspects are … questionable. But this is fiction, so you can forgive some of that.
-The ending almost felt like it was going out of order. Almost like it ended more than once if that makes sense. Each one is good and necessary … but it’s strange to have that shocking feeling that there’s still more story.
What I Did Like:
+Characters are well written. All that build-up is for a reason. You need enough time with a character to start developing opinions about the inherent goodness or evil of each person. Ultimately, this book is good vs evil on an epic scale. You need time to draw conclusions so that the ending rocks you to your core.
+Ideas about the post-apocalyptic world are well done. The things that work vs the things that don’t. I’ve read a lot of post-apocalyptic things and I don’t think I’ve EVER had someone talk about bread before. It’s GREAT to see that brought up.
+The ending(s) deliver. They give you some satisfaction and some questions.
+Morality questions. Come on, you knew they were coming. They’re well written and they work for the story. My favorite? Dayna’s conversation in the office. It’s not the most famous, I don’t even remember it making the movie, but in print it’s POWERFUL.
Who Should Read This One:
-Do NOT tackle this beast if you’re not ready for a JOURNEY. This is over 1000 pages. You are getting up close and personal with characters who may not make it.
-BUT if you like dystopian and you want good vs evil on a HUGE scale … this is a great book.
My Rating: 4 Stars. It was EPIC and it’s worth the read. But I can’t say 5 star because you really need to be ready for that word count.
lady_mel's review against another edition
5.0
This book, along with The Shining, are my two favorite Stephen King novels.
The book follows the few survivors of a plague that wiped out most of the population of the US. They have to band together, and start over from scratch. Also a survivor is Randall Flagg, one of the creepiest villians ever imagined.
The book follows the few survivors of a plague that wiped out most of the population of the US. They have to band together, and start over from scratch. Also a survivor is Randall Flagg, one of the creepiest villians ever imagined.
cw_mck's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
tululu's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
millanxvii's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
fabacious's review against another edition
2.0
I've never read Stephen King but always wanted to. So, I polled my Stephen-King-Fan friends as to which book they would recommend if I could only read one. The answer was unanimous. Read “The Stand”, they said. You’ll love it, they said. Many suggested I get the uncut edition, which I now see was a big mistake.
It seems to me that this was two stories in one. There was the story about the plague (which I enjoyed) and the story about the Dark Man (which I didn't). Unless I missed something, I don’t see how one relates to the other.
I enjoyed the beginning the book but as it progressed I got bored. The story got repetitive and tedious. It was unnecessarily long and there were too many (forgettable) characters to keep track of.
I know Stephen King is a good writer (he wouldn't be so successful if he wasn't) so I give him 2 stars but I will not be reading his books again. I will however continue to watch movies based on his books.
It seems to me that this was two stories in one. There was the story about the plague (which I enjoyed) and the story about the Dark Man (which I didn't). Unless I missed something, I don’t see how one relates to the other.
I enjoyed the beginning the book but as it progressed I got bored. The story got repetitive and tedious. It was unnecessarily long and there were too many (forgettable) characters to keep track of.
I know Stephen King is a good writer (he wouldn't be so successful if he wasn't) so I give him 2 stars but I will not be reading his books again. I will however continue to watch movies based on his books.