I finished reading The Stand by Stephen King last night and I thought I'd start a thread to gather the impressions of the people who have already read it.
I thought the book was pretty good overall, it really gave me a lot of insight into Randall Flagg aka "The man in black" from the Dark Tower series. Speaking of Flagg, I really hate what happens to him in the Dark Tower:
*** Dark Tower Spoiler WARNING!*** / / / / / / / / / / / / // / / / / / / I really hate how Mordred ends up killing him... I mean, he's freaking RF, the man in black, and he gets killed by a spider-baby?! He survived a freaking nuclear blast!
/ / / / / / / / / / / / /
**** END DARK TOWER SPOILERS ****
There were a few things that bothered me a bit though. I didn't like how he killed off Glen, it really seemed a bit anticlimactic in some ways, almost like the character deserved a more grandiose end. I also didn't like how so much of the book focused on the people from Boulder trying to build up their society so they could fight the people from Vegas and in the end all that buildup leads to nothing as far as the town itself is concerned.
Overall though, I really liked the book, I think it had some interesting ideas about society, nothing groundbreaking or anything, but some pretty neat concepts... like rebuilding civilization only to have them want to get away from it in the end.
So, what did everyone else think of this book?
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
quote: I really hate how Mordred ends up killing him... I mean, he's freaking RF, the man in black, and he gets killed by a spider-baby?!
As far as I'm concerned, the last two books of the Dark Tower series never happened. King died after writing Wolves of the Calla, and the other two books were written by agents of the Crimson King. That's the only possible explanation.
Posted by Goody Scrivener (Member # 6742) on :
DT - the death of RF was one of the major disconnects for me, and for very much the same reason.
Stand - I read this book every couple years now. I currently have two copies on my shelf, the original 1978 release and the "complete and uncut" that came out in the 90's. I also have it on DVD, which is a fairly decent (TV miniseries) adaptation considering the restrictions of network television and trying to create visuals for certain events. (Yes I am a King fanatic...)
As for Glenn, Mother Abagail did say that "one would fall along the way". I admit, when Stu broke his leg, I hoped that might qualify and that the other three would survive. I think that RF's goons picked on Glenn because they knew he was the weakest and therefore the one they were most likely to be able to overcome. Deep down, everyone that went to Vegas (at least everyone we got to know) was a bully. And bullies go after the ones they know they can beat up so they don't look bad getting beat up themselves.
Larry was the one I was most upset about. I liked him best of the three that made it to Vegas.
Posted by Taalcon (Member # 839) on :
I still consider it one of the most powerful (and pro-faith!) books I've read. It yielded possibly the most 'involved' reading experience I've ever had.
Posted by Space Opera (Member # 6504) on :
It's one of my favorite books ever. Like Goody, I was most upset about Larry's death at the end. To me he was the one who had evolved the most, and there was just something about him that made you love him despite his behavior at the beginning.
space opera
Posted by King of Men (Member # 6684) on :
My girlfriend says that Nick Andros shouldn't have been killed, and that his death was carried out in a stupid, pointless manner. Otherwise it was a really quick read for a thousand pages.
Personally, I wasn't that fond of comrade Andros.
Posted by Rico (Member # 7533) on :
I wasn't particularly fond of Nick, but I'd agree with your girlfriend about his death. It was completely stupid and pointless IMHO.
I think Larry and Glen were my favorite characters. Leo was interesting, so was "The Kid".
Nobody beats Flagg though.
Posted by King of Men (Member # 6684) on :
True, Flagg was the most interesting character. I particularly liked the little bit about how, when he entered a room, the fanatics would stop screaming and shouting, and discussion would become cold and rational. That really struck me as an inspired sort of villain. Whats-her-name Abigail, on the other hand, just struck me as boring. Old folk songs on a guitar, wisdom of the ages, ho-hum. Go to the hills of California, you can get her message in any number of cute little communes.
Posted by plaid (Member # 2393) on :
Hey, watch your posting style, boy. I live on a commune. Posted by Rico (Member # 7533) on :
*Agrees with KoM*
I didn't like Abigail either.
It's interesting to note that Flagg had the opposite reaction on animals. When he entered an area with animals, the animals would either start attacking each other wildly or die.
Posted by starLisa (Member # 8384) on :
quote:Originally posted by Rico: I wasn't particularly fond of Nick, but I'd agree with your girlfriend about his death. It was completely stupid and pointless IMHO.
I think Larry and Glen were my favorite characters. Leo was interesting, so was "The Kid".
The Kid. Uck. There's a reason for editors, and the only examples I've seen of that being true that are even close to The Stand would have to be Stranger In A Strange Land and Podkayne of Mars. The stuff cut in the original published edition should have stayed cut.
Posted by Goody Scrivener (Member # 6742) on :
Well, we know where KoM is headed... LOL
And I'll agree, The Kid should've stayed on the cutting room floor.
Posted by Space Opera (Member # 6504) on :
Re: Nick's death. I seem to recall in King's "On Writing" him mentioning that he was stuck for quite awhile at that point in the book - something about having too many characters and not knowing what to do with them so the plot could advance. Hence, the explosion.
space opera
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
I liked the ending of King's original version, it made the whole book more interesting, IMO.
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