For the last month I was reading The Stand by Stephen King and just two days ago finally finished it. From my early days of reading, maybe six years ago, I was told to read The Stand even if I didn't want to read Stephen King. Well when I finally mustered up the courage to move on from techno-thrillers and Tom Clancy, I didn't read The Stand. It sat on my book shelf for about two years before I finally decided that I did have to read this. So I began an adventure that I can honestly say will never forget. I picked up the extended version, which was longer and more detailed than the version originally released for my parents generation. And even at its fantastic length (over 1100 pages) I can't imagine missing out on one sentence. King's brilliance is at an all-time high with this one and it's epic scale is rivaled only by the entire seven novel long Dark Tower series. If you are going to read King or if you just feel like reading a really good book, definately pick up The Stand. It shot my expectations out of the water and that's after being told multiple times that it is a must-read.
It is the story of the survivors of virus that nearly wipes out the entire human population. At first the story is one of death and the struggles of living in a post-apocalyptic world, but it quickly becomes one of the greatest stories of the struggle between good and evil ever written. Ultimately the struggle is engaged not only in the physical realm but also in the hearts and minds of every living survivors in both camps. It realism and King's uncanny ability to capture the essence of human nature is what makes the character's so vivid and enjoyable.
Don't start this book if you can't keep with something for a little while and certainly don't try to finish it in one night, otherwise enjoy this book, it's truly one of the greatest stories told by a legendary author.
My apologies for my comments on your quasi-review of the "The Stand" while defending what little comments I did manage to make I was under the influence of one or more substances and seemed to carry on more about my childhood than the book at the centre of the discussion. At any rate I suppose the way music is the soundtrack of some individuals lives, books remind me sometimes of events good and bad that have occurred in my life. When you've moved into your first apt. at sixteen years of age and you don't have a flashlight in order to remove the rogers cable filter from the back of the house you just might pick up a book and if you're lucky that book just might be the "The Stand" by Stephen King. Regardless if you've just moved into a new studio on Queen"s Quay or if at sixteen years old moving into your first apt. in a basement about 50 yrds from Cataraquui Crescent and Burn Hill neither of which housing complexes would dissapoint should you need crack, skag, whores , guns and the like. No matter which of these places you might end up inhabiting should you be fortunate to not only have a copy of the "Stand" but to crack the first chapter while you"re at it not only will you not regret but I assure you won't forget either of those moves anytime soon.
ReplyDelete"don't try to finish it in one night"?!?! I would challenge any one not to try, I can't think of another book that I had more trouble putting down! Is this King's finest work as many have said over the years? I don't know, how do you measure a book's value? Difficult to compare this book (or clearly the Dark Tower series) to other single works. For me, the measure of any form of entertainment (books, movies, music) is in the emotional response that it creates. By this measure I have to say that 'Salem's Lot, The Talisman, The Tommyknockers, The Girl who Loved Tom Gordon & Lisey's Story all resonanted just as deeply with me. But if I'm stranded on a desert island with only one book....The Stand it is! Long Live the King!!!
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