Stephen King Fans discussion

HAHA! Look at me, I remembered to post the book club pick on time! Anywho... discuss The Stand here and be sure to mark all spoilers for those reading along. Enjoy

Thanks Angie for posting it on time and for giving me the opportunity to remind the group how much I hate it. The Stand is Deus ex machina personified. Now I am gonna disappear from the discussion, last time I told how much I hated it, people wondered why I don't leave the group. :)

Suffice to say I loved everything after The Stand, be it the Castle Rock books or the best Bachman The Long Walk or the best short story collection The Night Shift. But The Stand is really bad. :)😀

Aditya every one has there Achilles heel, I am guessing the Stand is your. Mine is Gerald's game.

I remember loving this book when I first read it. I hope I'll fall in love with it again this time around. I'm finishing another book right now, but will join the group read soon.

I’ve re read recently and it didn’t disappoint. This was the first Stephen King (and adult fiction) book I read, I was 12 years old. It’s what made of me a Constant Reader.

You believe that happy crappy?

Don’t you f...ing tell me, I’ll f...ing tell you!

I’ve only read the full uncut version though, and it could use an edit imho.

If you want an edited version get the original it only has 823 pages about 300 pages less. I feel it is a shadow of what he originally wanted and was glad he did a re-print in 94 returning the book to how he originally wrote it. The added 300 pages gave it greater depth.

Yeah, I always felt that Gerald's Game was probably my least favorite of King's as well...it just fell flat, and he could have/should have instead made a GREAT SHORT STORY out of 'Gerald' as opposed to the instead merely ho-hum, mediocre book...

I recently re-read THE STAND while in hospital for a week in October. I usually re-read it once every year or two. I love the idea of the story, and the characters as well. The way King is able to create SO MANY fully fledged out, 3D characters in one story is quite remarkable. He must have 20 solid characters in this novel that readers can connect to and describe in detail; while some authors cannot create ONE believable character outside of their protagonist sometimes...---Jen from Quebec :0)

I cannot wait to get started on this. Seriously, this is my favourite book of all time!

This will be my third time reading it. Every time I’ve read this I’ve been ill in some way.

Look forward to seeing all your thoughts and sharing mine. Going to (try) and read this slowly over the course of the whole month.

I’ve read The Stand many times and always look forward to revisiting it. I always feel like I’m with the characters on their journey, not just looking from afar. I understand why some aren’t thrilled with the end, but if you shift your focus to Mother Abigail it kinda makes sense.

I'm sort of meh on The Stand. Not his worst, not his best. I do remember a horrifying nightmare starring Flagg after I watched the miniseries as a kid. Still gives me the willies! And, at the time, Molly Ringwald could do no wrong in my mind. Enjoy the apocalypse all!

I agree with you Leslie. The last time I read 5he Stand I didn't care for it. I hope I get more out of it this time.

Started it last night!! I'm really liking where it's going so far, I'm so excited

Anyone agree that Project Blue is the least epic name for the cause of all this flu... ?

Project blue, code named by the army after Campion gets away from his post with the illness. Trust me it is to form the army isn't very astute and imaginative when it comes to naming projects.

Yeah Project Blue and Captain Trips are both terribly lame. But I guess the army is indeed not terribly imaginative at naming

Aditya wrote: "Thanks Angie for posting it on time and for giving me the opportunity to remind the group how much I hate it. The Stand is Deus ex machina personified. Now I am gonna disappear from the discussion,..."

This post is hilarious!!

Hannah wrote: "Yeah Project Blue and Captain Trips are both terribly lame. But I guess the army is indeed not terribly imaginative at naming"

Yeah, Captain Tripps is even worse!

I'm starting soon.

I started early. I have it on audiobook and have been listening as I decorate my apartment. So I am about 75% (just under a thousand pages) in.

This will be at least my fourth reread, more likely my fifth or sixth. It's like coming home to all these familiar characters that I know so well.

I just started reading.

Maria wrote: "I started early. I have it on audiobook and have been listening as I decorate my apartment. So I am about 75% (just under a thousand pages) in.

This will be at least my fourth reread, more likely..."

You must have done a lot of decorating in that case!! I'm reading it for the first time on audiobook. Narrator is great.

Reading it for the first time now. Not too far in—163/1325—but it already feels like it needs a trim. Hopefully it picks up soon.

Paul wrote: "Maria wrote: "I started early. I have it on audiobook and have been listening as I decorate my apartment. So I am about 75% (just under a thousand pages) in.

This will be at least my fourth rerea..."

Yep, I can literarily measure it in hours as well as sore muscles (not used to painting ceilings ).

Maria wrote: "Paul wrote: "Maria wrote: "I started early. I have it on audiobook and have been listening as I decorate my apartment. So I am about 75% (just under a thousand pages) in.

This will be at least my..."

Hopefully you're not letting the subject matter of the story influence your decorating choices! Ha.

This is one of my favorites, but I haven’t read it in years. Looking forward to the discussion!

Ben wrote: "mrbooks wrote: "Aditya every one has there Achilles heel, I am guessing the Stand is your. Mine is Gerald's game."

I'll probably sit this one out too like I did Rage.
I didn't hate the Stand, but ..."

If you quit Gerald's Game halfway through, you missed the only good part... (view spoiler)[ the creepy guy in the corner of the room watching her - who may or may not have been there. (hide spoiler)]

Read this book last year for the first time and LOVED it. So many great characters and good moments of tension.

I didn't care for the third act so much, because I think some of the choices were rushed or not true to character, or maybe just unsatisfying. But I loved the stuff after that - movie theater in the hotel lobby and Christmas and all that stuff.

I'm finding it slow going nut I will preserver.

Just reintroduced myself with Nick after chapter 9. Probably my favorite character in the whole book.

On a side note, I loved this sentence:
He left the sweet thang that waited his table a dollar tip that was crawling with death.

Marcus wrote: "Ben wrote: "mrbooks wrote: "Aditya every one has there Achilles heel, I am guessing the Stand is your. Mine is Gerald's game."

I'll probably sit this one out too like I did Rage.
I didn't hate the..."

I didn't even get half way in I got a couple of chapters in and left with her cuffed to the bed and the dogs nibbling his dead body.

mrbooks wrote: "Marcus wrote: "Ben wrote: "mrbooks wrote: "Aditya every one has there Achilles heel, I am guessing the Stand is your. Mine is Gerald's game."

I'll probably sit this one out too like I did Rage.
I ..."

Taken out of context, that's a rather disturbing post, mrbooks. Ha-ha...just kidding!

read the book lol I am open minded but I couldn't get on with it... I didn't throw it away though I gave it to the british heart foundation to sell on.

mrbooks wrote: "read the book lol I am open minded but I couldn't get on with it... I didn't throw it away though I gave it to the british heart foundation to sell on."

Don't know if you were able to see it, and this is a bit off topic, but I thought the Netflix take on Gerald's Game was quite good.

mrbooks wrote: "Marcus wrote: "Ben wrote: "mrbooks wrote: "Aditya every one has there Achilles heel, I am guessing the Stand is your. Mine is Gerald's game."

I'll probably sit this one out too like I did Rage.
I ..."

Okay, I'm a big fan of Gerald's Game and the Stand, but having read them both just last year I'm focusing on Wolves of the Calla, which is damn good. Someday I'll debate you on GG Mr. Books. But I will say Marcus is right, the creepy guy in the corner of the room is worth the whole read... one of King's darkest villains who just revels in being horrific.

I had half forgotten about the creepy guy. For me it was always her decision on what she was going to have to do to escape.

Nick wrote: "mrbooks wrote: "Marcus wrote: "Ben wrote: "mrbooks wrote: "Aditya every one has there Achilles heel, I am guessing the Stand is your. Mine is Gerald's game."

I'll probably sit this one out too lik..."

No good debating with me I am guaranteed not to change my mind on it. I can't now as I gave my copy away to the heart foundation I'm not going to read it might as well as let someone make some use of it. I hope they looked at it as I think it might have been a first edition paperback.

Maria wrote: "I had half forgotten about the creepy guy. For me it was always her decision on what she was going to have to do to escape."

You're right of course. But the creepy guy is still a great villain. King's best portrayal of a guy who is stark raving mad.

By the way, shouldn't this thread be called "The Stand - Book 5"?

mrbooks wrote: "Aditya every one has there Achilles heel, I am guessing the Stand is your. Mine is Gerald's game."

The Stand is better than Gerald's Game and its counterpart/spiritual sequel Dolores Claiborne (and neither of them is his worst), I just felt too shortchanged by the ending to ever say anything nice about it. I gradually got used to King treating his endings as the bastard child of his books, if that was as apparent as it became later I would not have judged it so harshly.

Angie wrote: "This post is hilarious!!"

I usually am when I have about half a liter of Absolut in my system, unfortunately the morning after, not hilarious at all!!

I really have to agree with you there Aditya - In general, he has amazing ideas, intriguing beginnings, well-drawn characters - but ENDINGS!!! Argh. They are nearly always a disappointment. I think it comes from his having an original idea for a story, creating some really good characters and then just leaving them to decide what they will do next. The ending kind of just arises out of that.

There are of course exceptions.

Maria wrote: "I really have to agree with you there Aditya - In general, he has amazing ideas, intriguing beginnings, well-drawn characters - but ENDINGS!!! Argh. They are nearly always a disappointment. I think..."

Yes, in On Writing King knocks plotted novels... ones where you figure out the ending first and then build to that. He likes books where the story is an adventure for the author as well as the audience. He comes up with a "what if" premise, and then he sees where it goes. With that kind of formula endings are hit and miss and in King's case often miss. I don't think this ending is really bad, just a little soft.

Nick wrote: "Maria wrote: "I really have to agree with you there Aditya - In general, he has amazing ideas, intriguing beginnings, well-drawn characters - but ENDINGS!!! Argh. They are nearly always a disappoin..."

WARNING

(personal point of view) I think in a way he subconsciously doesn't want to finish the book so it ends up a weak ending.

About to start up on this one some time tonight. It's a re-read for me, but its been years since I've originally read it. I remember enjoying it for the most part the first time (ending not withstanding), so we'll see how I end up feeling this time around.

I’m really not enjoying Frannie this time around. She’s striking me as a very childish character. Something I took onboard the last couple of times I’ve read it but she’s starting to really irritate me now.

This is my first read of The Stand and I'm loving it so far. I'm somewhere around 40 chapters in - (view spoiler)[Harold and Frannie has met up with Stu. And Harold is worried that Stu is going to take Frannie from him, even though she is not his to give (hide spoiler)]

This is also a reread for me but I forgot a lot of things.

Linda wrote: "This is my first read of The Stand and I'm loving it so far. I'm somewhere around 40 chapters in - [spoilers removed]"

Hi Linda from a mans point of view,

(view spoiler)[ Yes Stu sees how Harold is reacting to his presence he is being overly distrustful and insecure in other words acting like a teen age boy with his first girlfriend. (hide spoiler)]

Paul wrote: "I’m really not enjoying Frannie this time around. She’s striking me as a very childish character. Something I took onboard the last couple of times I’ve read it but she’s starting to really irritat..."

I went back and forth with her too. I did not care for the way she treated her BF, Harold, or her mother at different points. But she did grow on me throughout the journey.

Yes Fran is a little girl who wants everything her own way. She is an only child so she has always gotten her own way why should that change.

Hello everyone. I have started reading this last week (1440 pages long edition). Now, I am on chapter 20 and I find it very good so far, it's a page turner.