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artmajorese's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
He edited it to add a bunch of extra stuff in the '90s, but didn't bother to edit out the N word. Left the whole racist tone intact.
Pacing is kind of uneven. Not my taste for a book! Instead of anything horrifying or spooky, the tension stems from the fact that you might run smack into sexual violence around any corner.
Graphic: Racism, Misogyny, Death of parent, and Cursing
Moderate: Sexual content, Colonisation, Homophobia, Rape, Physical abuse, Death, Forced institutionalization, Sexism, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Confinement, Bullying, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Pregnancy, and Sexual violence
mswarning'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
3.75
I know this tells you nothing of what I thought of the book itself. Well, I added a lot of notes while I read this book. Allow me to share:
2%: "The n-word usage is not my fave." - SG
2%: "This one is sooo long. Hoping I can finish in 18 days 😬 " - Instagram
5%: "I'm not super into this narrator." - SG
30%: "I'm getting there, slowly but surely. Waaaaay too many characters and POVs. And I'm so-so on the narrator." - GR
30%: "I'm listening to the extended uncut version, btw. I'm sure the original one is better." - GR. At this point, I was still naïve AF.
30%: "Took awhile to get into it, especially with so many povs. 12 days to finish now. 🤞" - Instagram
43%: "M-O-O-N spells slog." - GR
53%: "The first 40% was way too long. I can't believe I didn't know that this book is over 1100 pages. 😂" - GR
69%: "I have to finish in 5 days, which I think is doable. If I had to do this over again, I would stick to the print." - GR
69%: "Semi-regular 'The Stand' update. Feeling less irritable about the length now. Pretty confident I'll finish in 5 days. I can't say it's been a pleasurable experience racing to the end. I can tell this book sits better on the buildup of anticipation with dread steadily increasing - as all good King books do. Get a copy without a due date and stay away from the audiobook. Or if you do get it, prepare to increase the speed or you'll feel it suck the life out of you. I miss listening to music or letting myself think in silence. I feel guilty when I watch TV, that I should be listening to this book. Ugh." - Instagram
82%: "I might make it? The book is due in 3 days. Less than 9 hours left [in the audiobook]." - GR
95%: "I'm gonna make it after allllll." - GR
100%: "Finished with 5 hours to spare! I feel like all of my complaints were 1) the audiobook narrator and 2) the loan period. So don't make those mistakes, and you'll be fine." - Instagram
Highlights: Walking at the lake this past weekend listening to the book aloud because my bluetooth headphones had no battery left. The, uh, sex scenes and n-word usage while doing so was a bit sketchy. I had to pause the book or turn down the volume as I passed people.
Overall, I still ended up liking this book. You can tell how naïve I was about the length. I mean I knew it was 47 hours long, but I didn't really know ANYTHING about what that meant. I kept thinking I knew where this book was going or how it would end. I think that's the point, you're prepared for certain tropes or plot twists because authors tend to pull the same shenanigans. I was pleasantly surprised. I wouldn't say it's my favorite King book, but I think it's definitely my favorite King reading experience. Because of all my thoughts and feelings and the fact that I documented it all here.. and on GR and Insta. 😂
I still stand by all the updates/comments I made while I listened to The Stand. It's too long. As time went by and all the characters met up, I kind of forgot about the slog of the beginning. Part of that is recency bias, I think. But I understand why it's so long. I can appreciate it more on this side of it, even if I hated it while it was happening.
And yeah, check out the content warnings. There are a lot.
Graphic: Gun violence, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Death, Grief, Body horror, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Death of parent, Rape, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Child death, Medical trauma, Sexism, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Drug use, Pregnancy, Animal death, Medical content, and Suicide
flamesocks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Child death, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Alcohol, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Gun violence
judythereader's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Grief, Sexual assault, and Violence
Moderate: Abortion, Death, and Suicide
lineyrose'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Cursing, Death of parent, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Murder, Racism, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexism, Torture, Violence, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Child death, Cannibalism, Vomit, Suicide, Grief, and Gun violence
meganturnsthepage'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
4.5
Graphic: Rape, Gun violence, and Violence
nadia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
It took me just under two months to get though, weaving in other books.
The cast of characters was huge but King does a great job of helping you to stay on top of who’s who as you get deeper into the book.
So many interesting themes and questions are raised with this, and while the scope is large, it all fits! Family, death, violence, grief, survival, sociology, community, politics, law and order, religion, war, and more. It’s all in here.
It is all about a global pandemic, so if you’re feeling like it’s too close to home, then pass. I kept on thinking about it how terrifying the beginning segments would have been if I’d started reading it a year earlier.
Graphic: Death, Violence, Suicide, Sexual assault, Murder, Medical content, and Gun violence
Moderate: Pregnancy
Minor: Vomit and Torture
tatitos's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Cannibalism, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, and Violence
ggcd1981's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Minha maior crÃtica é que somos apresentados a diversos personagens, mas ao final não sabemos o real destino de muitos deles. Também retiraria a última cena do livro que a meu ver foi desnecessaria.
Bom, em resumo, do meu ponto de vista, se Stephen King é conhecido por não ter bons finais para suas obras eu excluÃria The stand dessa lista. O final do conflito foi o melhor possÃvel para a situação que se configurou na narrativa. Colocaria The stand na lista de "Bons finais" de Stephen King.
Graphic: Sexual content, Animal death, Violence, Confinement, Death, Grief, Medical content, Genocide, Toxic relationship, Animal cruelty, Gun violence, Murder, Suicide, Body horror, Child death, Death of parent, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Gore, Misogyny, Body shaming, Cannibalism, Bullying, Car accident, Vomit, and Fatphobia
Minor: Addiction
dont_stop_meow's review against another edition
- 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
This will be the last Stephen King book I'm tempted to read. He's gross and I'm done with him.
Graphic: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Transphobia, Ableism, Addiction, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Medical content, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Torture, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, Vomit, and Violence