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4.23 AVERAGE
4.23 AVERAGE
dumbfellini's review
1.0
So, so boring. Nearly 1000 pages about a post-apocalypse battle for the soul of humanity... and 95% of it is small town minutiae.
nicokush's review
3.0
To me, this book felt completely anti-climatic. I wanted more in Vegas at the showdown. Also, I read all 1400 some pages of the unedited version and felt that 300 of the first 600 pages could have been cut. This is why we have editors.
sowens847's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
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? Complicated
5.0
stahlop's review
4.0
One of my favorite books! I used to read it once a year until kids came along. I even had to replace my soft cover with a hard cover after the first 6 times reading it because it fell apart. Great characters and great storyline! The ending is weak, as most Stephen King novels are, but the rest of the story makes up for it.
blanketspider78's review against another edition
3.0
24june2019
first found and read my grandma's (well, my grandpa's sister, technically) copy in laguna;
i distinctly remember i got a paperback for myself later
what i can't remember is if my gramma's copy was unabridged or not
first found and read my grandma's (well, my grandpa's sister, technically) copy in laguna;
i distinctly remember i got a paperback for myself later
what i can't remember is if my gramma's copy was unabridged or not
book_bookman's review against another edition
3.0
Pretty good as far as Stephen King novels go. It’s full of everything he’s famous for; rambling length, hokey supernatural junk, one-dimensional villains, way too many song quotes, way too many racial slurs. You know, the works. I purposefully picked up a copy of the older, un-expanded edition. If I read the uncut version I’d probably dislike this, because the length is pretty tedious at times, and that’s just the 817 page version.
Anyway, the first third with actual disease going around is the most interesting part, especially with the whole Coronavirus thing going on right now. Everything else is just varying degrees of “okay, I guess”. King has a bizarre view of the world and human nature in this. I can’t quite put my finger on what that is, but it’s definitely dated in a 1970s sort of way. I really don’t think any apocalyptic scenarios would ever turn out like this one.
Also, Randall Flagg is incredibly dumb. He has some creepy moments here and there, but for the most part he’s a big blustering nincompoop. At a certain point this starts feeling like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows for a slightly older audience, which isn’t a good thing. He’s evil for the sake of evil, and I just can’t get behind that. I get that he’s supposed to be the embodiment of evil, but a concept like that should feel a whole lot more intimidating than a guy basically described as young Richard Stanley.
The visual of the melty nuke-wielding Trashcan Man is kind of freaky, but it’s ruined by Flagg ragequitting like a weenie. The part with dead Wolfman guy was more unsettling than the entirety of Cujo, though, so I’ll give King points for that.
Anyway, the first third with actual disease going around is the most interesting part, especially with the whole Coronavirus thing going on right now. Everything else is just varying degrees of “okay, I guess”. King has a bizarre view of the world and human nature in this. I can’t quite put my finger on what that is, but it’s definitely dated in a 1970s sort of way. I really don’t think any apocalyptic scenarios would ever turn out like this one.
Also, Randall Flagg is incredibly dumb. He has some creepy moments here and there, but for the most part he’s a big blustering nincompoop. At a certain point this starts feeling like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows for a slightly older audience, which isn’t a good thing. He’s evil for the sake of evil, and I just can’t get behind that. I get that he’s supposed to be the embodiment of evil, but a concept like that should feel a whole lot more intimidating than a guy basically described as young Richard Stanley.
The visual of the melty nuke-wielding Trashcan Man is kind of freaky, but it’s ruined by Flagg ragequitting like a weenie. The part with dead Wolfman guy was more unsettling than the entirety of Cujo, though, so I’ll give King points for that.
happiestwhenreading's review against another edition
4.0
The Stand is about a highly contagious superflu that is leaked from a US military biolab. Sound familiar? What's absolutely bonkers about this whole story is that Stephen King wrote it in 1978 (the book is set in 1990)...long before any talk about COVID or pandemics or what could happen to society should such a virus exist.
Obviously, reading this after COVID gives the reader a much different experience than it would if read pre-2020, but it was an interesting lens to examine the ways King got things right. I had to keep reminding myself that in 1978 (when this was written) there were no cell phones, no computers or technology with which to communicate quickly and widely with people, and the idea of the "grid" going down wasn't as relevant as it would be today. Yet, even without all of this knowledge, King's foresight is kind of freaky!
Above all, I love Stephen King's writing and character development. I was quickly engaged, and the first ⅓ of this book is the best. The middle got a little bogged down and repetitive, interesting still but less so for me. The last part picked up again, but for me, there was a lot of unanswered questions that I wish could have been addressed. Like, what happened in other parts of the world? Was all of humanity affected? Even though this book is over 1300 pages, it only spans about a 6 month time period, so the aftermath is not part of the conclusion, so it still left me wondering how the world/humanity rebuilds.
I also felt like the ending was a little bit of a letdown, and without any spoilers, it just felt like a really big buildup for the ending. I was thinking of a really big King-like bombastic conclusion...and that's definitely not what I felt like I got. It helped buddy reading this because it kept me motivated through the length and to parse out thoughts and feelings.
I haven't read a ton of SK novels, but I'm super glad I read this one!
Obviously, reading this after COVID gives the reader a much different experience than it would if read pre-2020, but it was an interesting lens to examine the ways King got things right. I had to keep reminding myself that in 1978 (when this was written) there were no cell phones, no computers or technology with which to communicate quickly and widely with people, and the idea of the "grid" going down wasn't as relevant as it would be today. Yet, even without all of this knowledge, King's foresight is kind of freaky!
Above all, I love Stephen King's writing and character development. I was quickly engaged, and the first ⅓ of this book is the best. The middle got a little bogged down and repetitive, interesting still but less so for me. The last part picked up again, but for me, there was a lot of unanswered questions that I wish could have been addressed. Like, what happened in other parts of the world? Was all of humanity affected? Even though this book is over 1300 pages, it only spans about a 6 month time period, so the aftermath is not part of the conclusion, so it still left me wondering how the world/humanity rebuilds.
I also felt like the ending was a little bit of a letdown, and without any spoilers, it just felt like a really big buildup for the ending. I was thinking of a really big King-like bombastic conclusion...and that's definitely not what I felt like I got. It helped buddy reading this because it kept me motivated through the length and to parse out thoughts and feelings.
I haven't read a ton of SK novels, but I'm super glad I read this one!