I just finished reading "The Stand", (the long version) and while thoroughly enjoying it, one thing left me puzzled. I couldn't see the point of Mother Abigail sending Stu, Ralph, Larry and Glen to Flagg's neck of the woods, where 3 of them would die. Their presence and deaths seem to have had no impact on the destruction of Las Vegas, as that was caused by Trashman's arrival with the nuke, which was going to happen whether Larry and co were there or not. Also, why the insistence that they go on foot, taking nothing, and leave immediately, except to continue the mystical qualities of Mother Abigail's dealings with those in the Free Zone? As well, the spies had no impact on the outcome at all, although admittedly their possible contribution was cut short by the nuke. The only real reason I can see was to have Tom Cullen there, deus ex machina, to rescue Stu. Enjoyed the book hugely, but I feel King lost control of the story at the end.
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
The ball of energy was created to silence the man in the crowd who protested them being ripped apart. The man was provoked by Larry's (I think) speech.
I drew an instant parallel to the Frodo/Gollum ending of LotR. Maybe that's why I was comfortable with it.
We are not called on to beat evil forces, merely to oppose them. Something like that.
Dagonee
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
Also, they needed to show acceptance of God's will for him to intervene.
While the end of the Stand angered me, it also felt complete in a way that King never has been to me ever before. I think it is his best writing, hands down.
Also, their presence made sure that Falgg and others would all be there at the same time, gathered at teh same place.
[ February 14, 2005, 08:09 PM: Message edited by: Kwea ]
Posted by David Bowles (Member # 1021) on :
Compare the end of The Stand to the shitty end (the entire final conflict) of the Dark Tower... the man has lost his mojo, IMO.
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
Yep. All that Ka for what was essentially just a run of the mill (for them) firefight. And everything after that annoyed the hell out of me.
Posted by Storm Saxon (Member # 3101) on :
quote: I think it is his best writing, hands down.
Really? I think it is his worst, filled with hackneyed characters straight out of a three-penny opera.
Mind, I still like it, I just don't at all think it is his best.
Personally, I think his short stories are light years beyond any novels he's written, with Night Shift being his best stuff, and The Dead Zone being his best novel.
Posted by prolixshore (Member # 4496) on :
The Stand is one of a very very few King books that I enjoyed the ending of. I usually have a problem with his endings.
I took their presence as a way to get everyone together in the same place when Trash shows up with the bomb, so that the hand of God could come down and destroy. As was said above.
--ApostleRadio
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
His best stuff is not horror at all, or is barely horror. 3 out of the 4 stories in different seasons (The Body, Apt Pupil, and Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption) are among his best.
Hands down, though, my favorite story by him is "Ballad of the Flexible Bullet."
Posted by the_Somalian (Member # 6688) on :
I understood the ending but was also utterly dissapointed by it. After much build up and suspense we truly have complete and utter deus ex machina. At least the Hobbits managed to destroy the Ring on their own. King's characters needed the help of Allah. Yawn.
[ February 14, 2005, 08:42 PM: Message edited by: the_Somalian ]
Posted by the_Somalian (Member # 6688) on :
"Compare the end of The Stand to the shitty end (the entire final conflict) of the Dark Tower... the man has lost his mojo, IMO. "
King writes his fantasy works with the mindset that "The journey is more importan than the destination." That's why the endings of "The Stand" and "Dark Tower" (Which I have not read past the second book, but imagine to end weakly given King) dissapoint.
Posted by Trashcan_Man (Member # 7345) on :
OMG! I love The Stand! But that's probably needless to say. (hint: look at my username) Posted by David Bowles (Member # 1021) on :
IT had a less than satisfying ending too, now that I think about it...
Posted by Space Opera (Member # 6504) on :
I'm a "Stand" lover and always will be. It's my favorite SK novel.
I don't think Stu, Glen, Larry, and Ralph's instructions to carry nothing on their journey had really anything to do with Mother Abigail. If you remember, in the book she was used as an instrument of God, so I always saw their taking nothing as an act of faith (and perhaps a bit of a confidence booster that they could face Flagg in the end). Also, it tested the faith of others, such as Frannie.
If anything, the end of the book just made me love the characters all the more. Glen was just a bad a** when standing up to Flagg; I always think the part where he flexes his fingers is cool. And Larry and Ralph still stand up even when it appears they're going to be physically ripped apart. As far as why they needed to be there, I'm in agreement with the rest of the posters.
space opera
Posted by Cashew (Member # 6023) on :
They didn't need to be gathered in a 500 yd radius to get nuked. Flagg being there might have been a factor, but he disappeared (Larry saw his empty clothes collapse) just before the nuke went off. Still enjoyed it immensely, just don't think he carried it thru fully. Accept dagonee's post about the fireball setting off the nuke though.
Posted by Space Opera (Member # 6504) on :
Now I'm curious. What would/could have been a better ending?
space opera
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
Yeah, I thought the ending to The Stand was pretty darn weak, although not nearly as weak as the end of The Dark Tower. It was however weaker than the end of The Shining and IT. Considerably worse than Carrie or The Dark Half. Or Pet Sematary and Eye of the Dragon, even.
What I'm trying to get at here is that the longer the book, the more King's endings blow. There's almost (but not exactly) a direct correlation. It's like he gets tired of writing with about three chapters to go and starts spouting nonsense. Posted by Lupus (Member # 6516) on :
I actually didn't mind the ending of the Dark Tower.
*(spoilers for the end of the Dark Tower series)*
I guess it could have been better...but it was different. I would have been annoyed if nothing had changed, but the fact that there was a minor change (he had the horn) made it seem that it was at least worth while. Maybe it was not enough to make things work the next time...but maybe it was enough for him to get a little bit closer.
As for the stand, I thought was a great book...but wasn't a huge fan of the ending (I wasn't really mad at the ending...but I thought it could have been better).
Posted by Book (Member # 5500) on :
I found the Stand to be damn addictive. I read it in about three days while my brother toured colleges with the family thoughout the south. I found the ending confusing, too, but since it had to do with God, I just accepted it, because I've never understood anything about God.
The Dark Tower... well, y'know, I was expecting the meaning of life at the end, just like the rest of you, probably, and you know the guy could never follow through. He did lose something. Probably when he got his by that van. (that cannot be a spoiler. I refuse to accept that) But I've always got the Drawing and the Wasteland if I want that allure.
I like the world incomplete. Has more meaning that way.
Posted by Constant Reader (Member # 7282) on :
I usually have no problem at all with Stephen's endings. I don't know if I can explain it correctly but he does not need to be perfect in the logic of an ending and he can even leave some holes but somehow...I don't know, he just seems to put it all together in a way that gets the emotion across really well. Sometimes his endings are almost like an abstract painting where you are not really sure what you're seeing but it brings out some very strong emotions, the precise emotions the artist intended that you feel. Obviously that is not an exact analogy but it's the best I can do. Who knows if anyone will get what I am trying to say, I don't think I was very eloquent here. Anyway, I LOVE the ending to the Dark Tower series! I don't think it could have ended any other way! Nikki
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
"Sometimes his endings are almost like an abstract painting where you are not really sure what you're seeing but it brings out some very strong emotions, the precise emotions the artist intended that you feel."
Somehow I really doubt that King intended to evoke the precise emotions that the last Dark Tower book brought out in me.
"You killed off Eddie so Roland could spend the end of the universe with a boring, pointless sketch artist?!" was one of them, for example.
Posted by Space Opera (Member # 6504) on :
Tom forgot the word "spoiler" in front of his post.
space opera
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
Thanks, TOm...I had been patting myself on the back for having the willpower to not read any of the spoilers for The Dark Tower...then I read your post....
The whole journey of Stu adn company was aboyut acceptiong God's will, and leaving without any physical possesions was a test of faith.
The whole book was about faith...faith in oneself, and in God, so the ending didn't suprise me, although until I thought about it for a while I was a little disapointed. That's the ting...King suually doesn;t make me think at all, but the Stand did, and that is why it is my favorite novel by him.
I do like his short stories more than his novels. The Longest Walk (I think that is the title) is great, as was Apt Pupil. I still think that The Longest Walk needs to be a movie....but it wouldn;t be a normal holywood movie unless they change the ending like they dod for the movie version of Apt Pupil, and that would take away most of it's power.
Kwea
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
It was called The Long Walk , and it is one of the four stories in The BAchmen Books.
[ February 15, 2005, 09:57 AM: Message edited by: Kwea ]
Posted by The Pixiest (Member # 1863) on :
The Long Walk was my favorate King short story.
Anyway, I didn't like the ending of The Stand, but I liked the book well enough to read it 3 times. I like End of the World type stuff. (which reminds me, I need to write another entry in the Apocolypse thread)
I always thought the reason the boys had to be in LV at the end was to distract Flagg so Trashy would have the time to find the bomb and bring it there. If I recall correctly, Flagg pulled his men off the search for Trash to find the Boulderite spies.
The hand of god thing annoyed me, but then God had already played a major role. He sorted the wheat from the chaff by giving people dreams of Abigale and Flagg and letting them choose.
Posted by Cashew (Member # 6023) on :
I read Apt Pupil and then eagerly (shoulda known better I guess) rented the DVD only to turn it off halfway thru. All the power and menace was missing.
Posted by The Pixiest (Member # 1863) on :
Speaking of movies mutaliting books... (Yeah, King is FAMOUS for that...)
Last night about half an hour before 24 I was flipping channels for ANYTHING to watch while I sorted some tax documents...
Apparently Sci Fi channel did a movie version of Riverworld.
Now I haven't read Riverworld since the 80s but in the first minute I watched I counted 4 MAJOR deviations from the book. If anyone has watched the thing through and has read the book, was there ANYTHING that REMOTELY resembled the book?
I mean, at least Starship Troopers had some of the same FEEL as the book. This movie had none of that.
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