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infinite_kay's review against another edition
5.0
The Stand is an epic novel. Not only because of its length, but because of its multitude of epic characters, a powerful fight between light and dark and a story that spans on quite a while, with consequences that will forever impact the people left in this devastated world. It’s a journey, really, and a captivating one. I went into it planning on taking breaks, reading other books, but I didn’t : I had to know what would happen next.
There are too many characters to count in this story, so I’ll do this quick : I loved Nick, he was probably my favorite character. There are no polite words to describe what I would like to do to Harold, who I hated even more than Randall Flagg (I hate people who think they are owed a relationship just because they were standing there first, and then act on revenge!)
I really liked Franny at the beginning, but she got a little silly along the story, as she kept for herself important information and worries. This saddened me, mainly because The Stand is a world of men. There are too few female character who do anything else than sitting there and being protected. Mother Abigail has a strong presence, but she’s weak and old; Franny has personality at the start, but her pregnancy soon keeps her from any adventure. Nadine goes crazy. There are a few female characters who take important decisions or have important impact in the story, but they are often very secondary. I’m thinking of Dayna in particular; I would have loved to hear more about her journey, but it’s mostly left to the imagination.
This being said, King has a talent for writing flawed characters that feel very real. Love them or hate them, they are described with a complexity that makes them very realistic. They struggle with decisions, carry heavy pasts on their shoulders, and seeing them change as the story goes was one of my favorite aspect of the novel.
Was The Stand scary? Meh. Maybe a little, but it is not written as a horror story. There are difficult scenes to read, yes, but I have read worse in historical fiction or fantasy novels where heroes go to war against great evil. The most horrifying part for me was how realistic this felt. I kept wondering what I would do if such a thing happened, where I would go, what if no one I knew survived, etc. Scary thoughts!
Side note : when we get a dog, I really want to name him Kojak! Most fabulous dog in the world, he certainly was one of my favorite characters!
The Stand is a long metaphor for the battle between good and evil: it’s in the characters’ personal journey and in their every decisions, it’s at the heart of the story, it is even embodied by two captivating characters. Was it too long of a metaphor? Probably. I enjoyed it, and I wasn’t bored with it, but I felt the book could easily have left out some parts. (I was, after all, reading the uncut version, so it’s not surprising that I found the whole thing to be on the long side!)
I had watched The Stand TV series years ago, when I was a teen, and I remembered very little of it. Not a bad thing though; it allowed me to really discover the book as I read it, and after rewatching the series some weeks ago, I can say that the book is FAR superior to it.
Reading The Stand was a great experience and it made me want to read more books from Stephen King, who used to be a favorite when I was younger. Reading it with other readers and bloggers and tweeting about it made it an even more fun experience!
There are too many characters to count in this story, so I’ll do this quick : I loved Nick, he was probably my favorite character. There are no polite words to describe what I would like to do to Harold, who I hated even more than Randall Flagg (I hate people who think they are owed a relationship just because they were standing there first, and then act on revenge!)
I really liked Franny at the beginning, but she got a little silly along the story, as she kept for herself important information and worries. This saddened me, mainly because The Stand is a world of men. There are too few female character who do anything else than sitting there and being protected. Mother Abigail has a strong presence, but she’s weak and old; Franny has personality at the start, but her pregnancy soon keeps her from any adventure. Nadine goes crazy. There are a few female characters who take important decisions or have important impact in the story, but they are often very secondary. I’m thinking of Dayna in particular; I would have loved to hear more about her journey, but it’s mostly left to the imagination.
This being said, King has a talent for writing flawed characters that feel very real. Love them or hate them, they are described with a complexity that makes them very realistic. They struggle with decisions, carry heavy pasts on their shoulders, and seeing them change as the story goes was one of my favorite aspect of the novel.
Was The Stand scary? Meh. Maybe a little, but it is not written as a horror story. There are difficult scenes to read, yes, but I have read worse in historical fiction or fantasy novels where heroes go to war against great evil. The most horrifying part for me was how realistic this felt. I kept wondering what I would do if such a thing happened, where I would go, what if no one I knew survived, etc. Scary thoughts!
Side note : when we get a dog, I really want to name him Kojak! Most fabulous dog in the world, he certainly was one of my favorite characters!
The Stand is a long metaphor for the battle between good and evil: it’s in the characters’ personal journey and in their every decisions, it’s at the heart of the story, it is even embodied by two captivating characters. Was it too long of a metaphor? Probably. I enjoyed it, and I wasn’t bored with it, but I felt the book could easily have left out some parts. (I was, after all, reading the uncut version, so it’s not surprising that I found the whole thing to be on the long side!)
I had watched The Stand TV series years ago, when I was a teen, and I remembered very little of it. Not a bad thing though; it allowed me to really discover the book as I read it, and after rewatching the series some weeks ago, I can say that the book is FAR superior to it.
Reading The Stand was a great experience and it made me want to read more books from Stephen King, who used to be a favorite when I was younger. Reading it with other readers and bloggers and tweeting about it made it an even more fun experience!
captaincommunism117's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
Just know, the first half will fly by, and the second half will take forever, but both halves are excellent.
andreacpowers's review against another edition
3.0
I had not read a book by Stephen King before and I picked this one because I do like Big Books. It was OK. I have more books in my TBR pile than I have years left to read so I think I'll move on to other authors.
b3by's review against another edition
5.0
I know, I am a disgusting SK's fanboy, but oh my oh my.
This book was awesome, M-O-O-N that spells awesome! Laws, yes!
I was planning on a very long, detailed, and mostly uninformed review of The Stand, but as I finished it just right now, I can't overcome the full emptiness I feel.
The only question that's left now is... Baby, can you dig your man?
This book was awesome, M-O-O-N that spells awesome! Laws, yes!
I was planning on a very long, detailed, and mostly uninformed review of The Stand, but as I finished it just right now, I can't overcome the full emptiness I feel.
The only question that's left now is... Baby, can you dig your man?
haileyrobertson's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
don’t even know what to say but this is an Immersive Experience, not for the faint of heart or for people who dislike long wandering character sketches. the first third was my favorite (but i also think viruses are cool!) there are like nine different parts that feel like they’ve got to be the climax - even as you’re like 30 pages away from the end of the book and you KNOW - or you think you know - the climax has happened. it’s just kind of an insane book all the way until the very last page.
jsav9's review against another edition
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
jaci666's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
bexlu77's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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
rwilhoyte's review against another edition
4.0
This is either my fourth or fifth reread of The Stand. I had originally had it rated 5 stars but, upon this reread, I started notice a couple flaws. The main reason I love this book is that there are so many characters that feel like real people. Rereading is like revisiting old friends. But this book is quite the project. It's hefty, at over 1400 pages long. The pacing at the beginning is quite fast so the world we know quickly crumbles. But then King takes his sweet ol' time getting to that epic battle of strong good vs. weak evil which is supposed to be the reason for everyone picking a side (Colorado or Las Vegas) and someone to follow (Mother Abagail vs. Randall Flagg). He gets slightly bogged down with the good side rebuilding society in Colorado. The funny thing is that the rebuilding in Colorado is interesting because we learn so much about the people. The glimpses we get of life in Las Vegas are less interesting because they mostly focus on Flagg. My overall feeling of the last half of the book is that it's uneven but still captivating. I've never read the abridged version of this story and have no idea what is cut out (except that it amounts to just over 600 pages) so I can't say if reading the abridged version would cut out the parts I feel make the story uneven. I do know that some of the parts I enjoy would be gone, which would make me sad. So I'll just accept this story for its few flaws and bask in the things that make it awesome.
allisontang's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- 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
4.25