tiffcutshall'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
I love the way King weaves multiple themes and ideals together that make not just an interesting story but one that makes the reader actually think.
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Cursing, Dysphoria, and Grief
Moderate: Torture, Confinement, Violence, Medical content, and Racial slurs
By far my favorite King novel. This is the second time I’ve read this, the first being back ‘08. It was even better the second time and I caught things I either missed or glossed over the first. I love the way King weaves multiple themes and ideals together that make not just an interesting story but one that makes the reader actually think.saj04's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Gore, Rape, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Medical content, Car accident, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Torture, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Pregnancy, Vomit, and Violence
mayoje23's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Torture, Suicide, Sexual violence, Rape, Child death, and Violence
knenigans's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Would've been 5 stars if it weren't for the two rape scenes and the aggressive fatphobia. One of the rape scenes was directly plot related and was relatively vague, the other was explicit and did not contribute to the plot. While not shown, there is one section of dialog graphically describing other rapes.
Also about 0.05 of that missing 0.25 stars is because it seems like EVERY character in this book pisses themselves at least once. I'm quite sure there was more pants-pissing in this one book than all the others I've ever read in my entire life. I really hope one of the survivors turned out to be a pelvic floor therapist so they can help all these poor people control their bladders....
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Sexual violence, Body horror, Pandemic/Epidemic, Death of parent, Fatphobia, Pregnancy, Rape, Gun violence, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Racial slurs, Torture, and Suicide
ladawson'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
3.5
Graphic: Abandonment, Grief, Ableism, Bullying, Chronic illness, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Gun violence, Murder, Pregnancy, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Torture, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Racial slurs, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Hate crime, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, War, Body shaming, Mental illness, Violence, Animal death, Blood, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content
mxpringle'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
5.0
Graphic: Abortion, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Violence, Gore, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, Death, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Self harm, Racial slurs, Racism, Ableism, Car accident, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Child death, Body horror, Cursing, Miscarriage, Murder, Vomit, Genocide, Infidelity, Sexism, Cannibalism, Medical content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, War, Confinement, Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Misogyny
Moderate: Alcohol, Animal death, and Alcoholism
Minor: Cancer and Drug use
zazzyb'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? Yes
5.0
It didn't matter that I had never read stephen king, I needed to experience this book and if I didn't like it within 5 chapters I could give up.
I didn't give up, this book kept me on tenterhooks. I would find myself reading and reading until hours had passed, this book got me out of a reading slump and turned me into a stephen king fan.
I bought my own copy of the stand uncut and I will be reading this again.
Covid really made the stand all the more harrowing and it gives such relief that this wasn't our journey as well.
What else can I say about this book apart from the characters were in depth and well written, the story and plot were well paced. It did feel long but that's what I signed up for when I read the uncut version, I can't imagine how some bits were cut out because everything seems to fit so perfectly together.
I never wanted to put it down and its a classic that will be staying on my shelf for a long time.
Graphic: Violence and Sexual content
Moderate: Torture and War
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
jaym's review against another edition
Moderate: Rape, Animal cruelty, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Child death, and Animal death
sneakyhobbit's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
Graphic: Ableism, Rape, Sexual assault, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual violence, and Torture