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A review by theneener
The Stand by Stephen King
3.0
I tried reading this years ago, but got stuck after Book 1. The same thing almost happened this time around, but nevertheless, I persisted.
As someone who prefers shorter books, I definitely had to adjust my expectations and found myself getting into the rhythm of learning about the characters. King does a great job with description and dialog to help us get to know the main characters while building up the anticipation of how and why they cross paths. Book 1 is solid exposition. But Books 2 and 3 fizzled out for me. I tried to hype myself up to see past the supernatural turn because I think it still would've been a really interesting story without. Might've even been better!
What's also disappointing and a bit icky is how King portrays everyone who isn't a white man. There is a complete lack of diversity with the main cast, and the women are just props to further the stories of the men. One could argue, "write what you know," but it seems hard to believe that a post-apocalyptic world that crosses state lines would have more color than a junta of Black soldiers that murders white people and Mother Abigail who seems badass but then only seems to exist to bring people together (see: Magical Negro). I'd be curious at how King would reimagine this book 46 years after its published date; I haven't read any of his newer works to see if he's left the racist tropes, sexist roles, etc.
King didn't stick the landing, but looking at other reviews, he's never been great at endings. However, it didn't feel like a complete waste of time. I earnestly found myself invested in some of the characters, immersed in the colliding journeys, and surprised that 47 hours of the audiobook felt like less.
As someone who prefers shorter books, I definitely had to adjust my expectations and found myself getting into the rhythm of learning about the characters. King does a great job with description and dialog to help us get to know the main characters while building up the anticipation of how and why they cross paths. Book 1 is solid exposition. But Books 2 and 3 fizzled out for me. I tried to hype myself up to see past the supernatural turn because I think it still would've been a really interesting story without. Might've even been better!
What's also disappointing and a bit icky is how King portrays everyone who isn't a white man. There is a complete lack of diversity with the main cast, and the women are just props to further the stories of the men. One could argue, "write what you know," but it seems hard to believe that a post-apocalyptic world that crosses state lines would have more color than a junta of Black soldiers that murders white people and Mother Abigail who seems badass but then only seems to exist to bring people together (see: Magical Negro). I'd be curious at how King would reimagine this book 46 years after its published date; I haven't read any of his newer works to see if he's left the racist tropes, sexist roles, etc.
King didn't stick the landing, but looking at other reviews, he's never been great at endings. However, it didn't feel like a complete waste of time. I earnestly found myself invested in some of the characters, immersed in the colliding journeys, and surprised that 47 hours of the audiobook felt like less.