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dezzella's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
It was an extremely slow paced (which i expected, that alone wouldn't have given it this rating) dystopian novel starting with a pandemic that wipes out a lot of humanity. I read the version that was a 47 hour audiobook and it felt like it was just dragging on. There were some moments I didn't get/ or were confusing to me. And some of the character motivations were weird.
My biggest gripe are the characters. I didn't really feel attached to any of them, and there were so many that it was honestly hard to keep track. Also, there is a lot of dated terminology and slurs that are now considered inappropriate and cruel (n word for black characters and r word for mental disabilities for example, and they are used repeatedly. I've confirmed from a few other friends that this is a trend with King's writing).
The latter part of the books starts to bring more Christian references which sometimes just felt out of place. I think this would have been a lot cooler if the problems were more focused around the plague than the supernatural elements at the end. Honestly concept-wise this book sounded like a good time, it's a shame it let me down.
Spoiler thoughts, referencing specific scenes/scenarios including the ending:
The ending was a bit strange. Not going to say I expected a nuke to go off or for the LITERAL hand of God to appear and pluck the bad guy away. That was certainly a choice.
I felt like the summary was a bit misleading, because while we had our bad guy/ dark lord/ prince of evil and this older lady who was "good". There wasn't a lot done with the good side, she ends up dying and the characters are really facing against the bad guy who is bad.
Graphic: Death, Violence, Pregnancy, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, and Injury/Injury detail
n0e11e0000's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
urnee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
lilashelly's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
mcritchett's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Medical trauma, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
_leitmotif_'s review against another edition
writing style and story are so engaging, i get why king has such a rabid fan base…AND NO ONE SHOULD READ THIS BOOK.
it is deeply racist and misogynistic to its core. like grossly, blatantly so. casually, ‘i definitely meant to do this/it’s so rooted in me i also didn’t even notice’ so. and it’s not just the relentless use of racial slurs in the dialog, and the description of women’s bodies and gross sexualized pov’s written for some of the female characters, it’s how the Black and brown characters are written and the positionality they take up in the story; covering all bases; from ‘thug’ to ‘magical being’, all as foils to the white characters.
oh, and this book is ALSO riddled with horrible ablism and fatphobia. all around fucking trash.
he wrote this in the 70’s. i get it, people felt REAL free to be super open with their white supremacy and misogyny. perhaps he’s grown? and even if so, where is the rewrite/updated version of this story or the disavowal?
disgusting.
Graphic: Ableism, Fatphobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, and Sexual assault
dflemmons'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
4.5
Graphic: Child death, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Trafficking, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Murder, and Pregnancy
tovajohanssonn'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? No
4.5
Graphic: Rape and Terminal illness
Moderate: Racism and Sexism
mon11's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Pregnancy, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Ableism, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Medical trauma, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Drug abuse, Sexual content, and Grief
colin_s'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? N/A
4.75
“The place where you made your stand never mattered. Only that you were there...and still on your feet.”
Setting:
Set in the year 1990 in a fictional United States a super flu gripes the nation and likely the world. The world is left with few left alive and only shadows of the dead in vehicles left on the road remind of the world as it was before.
Plot:
At the start of the novel there is a mistake that leads to a super flu (Captain Tripp as it become referred to) quick envelops the United States leaving very few alive. Our story follows several of those with an immunity to it and what they choice to do with what is left.
Writing:
Once again it's traditional Stephen King and you find yourself just not wanting to put it down, which is a shocker as it's a very heavy, very long book. Despite it's large size it doesn't feel like there is much fluff, even in the extended edition. The dialogue is as strong in this as in any of his other books I've read.
Characters:
The characters in this book are without a doubt the shining achievement of it. Each is well fleshed out and you get to see the life they lead before the super flu and how it changed them when society crumbled to dust.
Pros:
Stellar characters
Compelling story
Cons:
Very Long
An overuse of a racism slur
Recommendation:
This book is an easy recommendation from me, even with its large size. I managed to finish it in about 16 days. This breaks down to almost 75 pages per day, however I was reading it much slower at first and much more voraciously at the end. The book has a bit of a slow burn, hooking you in and making you want to see more, to know more. I personally will have to knock it a few points as the over user of a slur did start to grate on me, but luckily it's used more so in the first half and not the later.
Moderate: Racial slurs and Racism