The Stand--Voting Closed

[Aaron]

http://www.thedarktower.org/gallery/data/510/medium/The_Stand_face.jpg
The Stand
Doubleday, 1978


Bracket #2

Voting for this Book is Closed

Final Average Score:
4.724137931

Bracket Winner: Advancing to Round 2

[Tiffany]

LOVED it! (Except for Fran.)

[mae]

Quite ashamed to admit this is one of the books by King I have yet to read. :(

[Hannah]

Get reading, Pablo! :P

[Aaron]

I liked this book...a lot. But I also feel that, despite the acheivement of literature that it is, it is also highly overrated. I gave it a four. It was good, but not good enough to make me want to read it again.

Well, I'll read the comics at least--but that's a far cry from 1000+ pages. :lol:

[Tiffany]

It's definitely a serious dedication of your time.

[Darkthoughts]

I was torn between giving a 4 or a 5. I gave a 5 in the end - I know what you're saying Aaron about it being overrated, but I've reread it twice and I feel like it was such an achievement to write an epic like this that it deserves a 5 despite any failings it has in parts.

[ManOfWesternesse]

This is definitely a 5 for me. (Have you got anything higher than a 5 Aaron?)
I've loved this Book from the first time I read it, and every tim eI've re-read it since (original and uncut). Lord of the Rings is the only Book I've re-read more times.

[mae]

Not to jump the gun here, but who thinks this will win the first annual Best Book award? :) I personally haven't yet read this, but I understand what Aaron is saying about it perhaps being a tad overrated by critics and fans alike, so that I feel a little apprehensive even starting it. I am half-done with DT7, and I think I'll start the Uncut Stand once I'm done.

[Darkthoughts]

Personally I'm hoping IT wins.

[Aaron]

No, I totally dig that, Lisa. And I don't think it really has many flaws at all. Like I said, I really liked it a lot. But I do remember that--for me--I felt relief nearly equal to my satisfaction when I finished it. And I like long books. Then I consider something like IT, where I still wanted more when it was done, and I have to concede that it wasn't one that I loved, though it was certainly close.

[Aaron]

Not to jump the gun here, but who thinks this will win the first annual Best Book award? :) I personally haven't yet read this, but I understand what Aaron is saying about it perhaps being a tad overrated by critics and fans alike, so that I feel a little apprehensive even starting it. I am half-done with DT7, and I think I'll start the Uncut Stand once I'm done.

I think it will come down to this and IT.

[mae]

Personally, I'm cheering for Insomnia, but I know that's a long shot.

[Darkthoughts]

I could reread IT forever and a day!

First time I ever read The Stand, I probably would have posted exactly what you just said above. I reread it years later and felt much the same - then when I reread last year for the Tower Connections, I saw so much more in it and it seemed like a completely different book.

I think thats one of the things that makes voting so hard. Rereading can change your opinion because of time, circumstances - a multitude of things. Sometimes if I've really loved a book I won't reread it, because I don't want to come across anything that'll tarnish my original opinion, y'know?

[ManOfWesternesse]

... Rereading can change your opinion...

Yes, that's often true - & it works both ways sometimes, though usually you re-rate upwards after a re-read (I did say 'usually'!)

I first read The Stand back in the early 80's , and have re-read it probably upwards of 15 times minimum. Have to say the same of 'It'. I agree it could well come down to those 2 in the end.

[Darkthoughts]

The second time I read The Stand I was pregnant, and I get really sensitive about what I'm reading...I learnt to avoid King, Gaiman and the like when up the duff! :lol:

[sarah]

Not to jump the gun here, but who thinks this will win the first annual Best Book award? :) I personally haven't yet read this, but I understand what Aaron is saying about it perhaps being a tad overrated by critics and fans alike, so that I feel a little apprehensive even starting it. I am half-done with DT7, and I think I'll start the Uncut Stand once I'm done.

I think it will come down to this and IT.


You think The Stand and IT will beat out all The Dark Tower books? :orely:

I voted "loved it" because I feel that you have to have great talent to go on and on for 1000+ pages and not have it suck boring ass. The Stand had me involved for the entire book. I was thinking about it when I wasn't reading it and for me, that is a good is a good sign. :D

[Matt]

I LOVED IT! I've read it a whole bunch of time and it never looses anything for me, I only notice more.

I believe this is on of Kings absolute very best.

[mae]

You think The Stand and IT will beat out all The Dark Tower books? :orely:


I do :evil:

[alinda]

My first 5 , in these votings ....a great book, a great read. A+

[Sam]

The winner will almost certainly come down to either The Stand or IT. I thought The Stand was a better book, but just barely. I read the uncut version and have never regretted my decision to wait to read The Stand until I had that volume. This was really the first book that I ever read that truly ran me through every emotion I ever had. I knew love, hate, fear, sorrow, everything. I actually cried halfway through this book, and that was at a time when I didn't cry for ANYTHING. I felt real fear several times through this book. Not the kind of fear that you feel when you're reading, but tangible, heart pounding, palpable FEAR. The kind that keeps you awake, not because you're too scared to sleep, but because you're too scared to not find out what's going to happen next. I never felt that way reading any other book, before or since. I love that a story can do that to me, and though I fell in love with King's writing long before that, this book cemented my need for his writing. I would give it a 10 if I could. I would vote twice if I were able. 5!! for certain. Long live The Stand. Long live The Boulder Free Zone.

[Odetta]

my all-time fave SK book... I love it even more than...

the Dark Tower... sshhhhhh!

[John_and_Yoko]

I'm with Darkthoughts on this one.

There were parts of The Stand that I did enjoy and appreciate, but on the whole, it seemed a little too long, and hard to pay attention to all the characters, where they were and what they were doing. It took me longer than I expected to finish it.

Now IT, on the other hand, started out a little slow for me (especially Chapter 3), but by the time I finished that I felt similar to how I felt when I finished The Dark Tower--no other Stephen King book has given me that feeling at its end, not yet.

I voted 4.

[Daghain]

I am not a big fan of IT. It didn't do a thing for me.

The Stand, however - if I could give it a 10, I would. :thumbsup:

I love, love, love this book, and I've read both versions. :)

[stone, rose, unfound door]

I'm always the only one making the Stand a bad publicity but I really think it was not a good book and it did not entertain me and I don't think it was well-written and the characters weren't very interesting or elaborate enough to make the plot-line, that I thought very lousy, enjoyable. Still, I gave it a 2 because it was ok until the second half of the second book.

[mae]

With 20 votes in, this is ranking 5 with 75% differential. Impressive...

[Aaron]

Current average score is 4.684210526 :harrier:

[mae]

Ooh, Excel must be getting quite a workout, huh? :)

[Jean]

it's one of my favorite books ever; "5" doesn't really feel high enough

[Aaron]

Ooh, Excel must be getting quite a workout, huh? :)

Not yet. I just used my desk calculator. (They still exist :P )

[Daghain]

Believe it or not, so do adding machines. :panic:

[ladysai]

This is definitely a 5 for me. (Have you got anything higher than a 5 Aaron?)
I've loved this Book from the first time I read it, and every tim eI've re-read it since (original and uncut). Lord of the Rings is the only Book I've re-read more times.

I agree wholeheartedly! I'd give this book a 10 out of 5 if it was one of the poll options.
I never tire of rereading this one, and will likely keep on rereading it 'til my eyes wear out.
:)


Quite ashamed to admit this is one of the books by King I have yet to read. :(

GOOD GRIEF, MAN!
:panic:
You're missing out on too much goodstuff...get to reading this book ASAP!

[mae]

I know. Granted I've only been reading King since '95. Cut me some slack, I have lots of catching up to do yet :)

[Daghain]

READ FASTER!!! :lol:

[ladysai]

Slack granted.
:)
I've been reading King since....
well, since before you were born, most likely.
:lol:

[Heather19]

Unfortunately I'm going to have to vote never read on this one. I actually started reading the uncut version last year, and got half way thru and for some reason just stopped. I'm really going to have to go and finish this one sometime, although at this point I'm going to have to start back from the beginning.

[The Lady of Shadows]

oh my god. why is this book even listed with anything lower than a five. except for maybe a "haven't read yet" in which case those people should be flagged (oh. sorry. did i mean flogged? :evil: ).

:lol:

[NeedfulKings]

Great adventure. It IS epic! Not my fave, but it easily deserves the 4 I gave it.

[stone, rose, unfound door]

Can I vote again ? I really don't want the Stand to win the tournament ! Never liked it and never will :(

[ManOfWesternesse]

Can I vote again ?....(

Absolutely......











... NOT!!! :lol:

[stone, rose, unfound door]

Can I vote again ?....(

Absolutely......











... NOT!!! :lol:

At least I tried... :cry:

[ManOfWesternesse]

At least I tried... :cry:

:grouphug:
Aw, don't cry about it. You only gave it a 2 anyway? Reducing that wouldn't make any difference to the outcome. Or did you plan on giving it a (-100) or something? :lol:

Is it a long time since you read it? Only read it the once? Might a new re-read change opinion? (I can't see an SK fan who doesn't like The Stand without trying to convert them!)

[Hannah]

**Aaron posting**

You will have a chance to try to "sabotage" The Stand again, in the second and third rounds, which I am sure it will advance to.

[stone, rose, unfound door]

At least I tried... :cry:

:grouphug:
Aw, don't cry about it. You only gave it a 2 anyway? Reducing that wouldn't make any difference to the outcome. Or did you plan on giving it a (-100) or something? :lol:

Is it a long time since you read it? Only read it the once? Might a new re-read change opinion? (I can't see an SK fan who doesn't like The Stand without trying to convert them!)

I read the uncut version once and had a hard time doing it. Rereads have never made me change my opinion on a book yet, so it'd be a first and I doubt I choose start with a book I like so little. I wanted to give it a 1 after thinking it over, actually :) Now let me explain: *spoilers*
The only character I liked in this book was Nick Andros, although I was fascinated by the Trashcan man and Flagg, of course. There were some characters that I think could have been expanded upon.
All the characters on Flagg's side are not too bright and I thought it was a bit too common to have stupid people going on the bad side and more intelligent ones on the good side. Actually, even the fact that there was a "good" and a "bad" side was quite childish to me (and I was 15 when I read it) so it helped disappointing me. The fact that it was thought to be King's masterpiece also helped making it so bad to me, especially since I'd started reading the DT series by then.
I was bored even before Stu escaped Vermont in the "Captain Trips" part (if I'm not mistaken)
Then, I don't like useless duality in books when it could have been avoided and that's how I felt when reading about the "Boulder free zone" and the group in Las Vegas.
In the second part, after Nick died, I thought the story totally lacked a purpose because after Abigail left, I thought he was going to be given some kind of leadership alongside Stu (who I never liked anyway) but since he was blewn up, he just couldn't help anymore. From that moment on, I forced myself to read on. I don't usually do it, even when I don't like a book much and after finishing it, I felt like I had lost my time.
Then, there was the final confrontation. That was the lousiest part for me. Why Stu broke a leg before getting there, I never understood because I didn't like him at all. Him and Frannie are the dumbest characters King has ever used, in my opinion. Then, the only character that I liked who was left was Larry and he died and I thought the appearance of the hand at the end of the story made it look like a Cecil B. De Mille film, exactly the type I found stupid !
I could give you some more reasons, but I need more time to think them over so I'm afraid you'll have to wait :(

[ManOfWesternesse]

...I could give you some more reasons...

No, enough is enough.
We'll have to agree to differ on our opinions of this one, which is fine. :grouphug:



@ Aaron:- You will have a chance to try to "sabotage" The Stand again...
:pullhair:
:lol:

[John_and_Yoko]

Can I vote again ? I really don't want the Stand to win the tournament ! Never liked it and never will :(

Um, wow....

Okay, I didn't like it as much as I thought I was going to either, but I didn't think it was THAT bad....

Seriously, if I start getting vindictive about these polls, someone slap me into reason....

[CRinVA]

Tis the bait that me started down the King path over 25 years ago! A - #1

[Patrick]

It's a 5, oh yes.

[stone, rose, unfound door]

Can I vote again ? I really don't want the Stand to win the tournament ! Never liked it and never will :(

Um, wow....

Okay, I didn't like it as much as I thought I was going to either, but I didn't think it was THAT bad....

Seriously, if I start getting vindictive about these polls, someone slap me into reason....

I tried to summarize it to my sister the other day after voting and I realized I thought a lot of things were lame in this book, so I wanted to give it a 1 instead, that's all.

[Unfound One]

I started this book twice and both times ended up stopping a couple hundred pages in.
I just couldn't get into it AT ALL.
But THEN I finally got through that first part I kept re-reading and couldn't put the book down!

My two favorite non-DT King books (IT and The Stand) were creepers like that - they started out kind of slow and I couldn't see how what I was reading had anything to do with the rest of the story, but then they really got going and became great!

Definitely a 5 from me. :)

[Daghain]

I think the reason it's so popular is that the whole superflu thing could really happen.

[Jean]

I started this book twice and both times ended up stopping a couple hundred pages in.
I just couldn't get into it AT ALL.
But THEN I finally got through that first part I kept re-reading and couldn't put the book down!
that's exactly what happened to a student of mine... it took her two years to read The Stand, and when she was at last finished, she called me all in tears and said,

"Now what am I supposed to do, I've lived with them for two years, and now they're nearly all dead..."

[ladysai]

that's exactly what happened to a student of mine... it took her two years to read The Stand, and when she was at last finished, she called me all in tears and said,

"Now what am I supposed to do, I've lived with them for two years, and now they're nearly all dead..."

And that's exactly the true magic of this book...
I feel like the characters are friends and aquaintances who I've known for years. Very few casts of characters are so approachable and memorable to me as the characters in the Stand. They're what keeps me rereading over and over.

[BROWNINGS CHILDE]

5. THIS ONE IS EASY AS IT IS MY FAVORITE KING BOOK. I CAN SAY ALREADY THAT IT WILL BE ONLY ONE OF FOUR 5'S FOR ME. (STAND, IT, DT W&G, SALEMS LOT) AND I HAVE READ ALL BUT A COUPLE OF THE NEW ONES. (LISEYS STORY AND BLAZE)

[Chooch]

The Stand was and still is the only book I have ever read and HAD to go to Boulder, Co. just to see if he was right on his discriptions. Let me say to you all it was perfect...just like he wrote right down to the picket fence in front of Harold Lauders house .... OMG that was the very moment I became a SK fan. Even in DTVII he writes about a place in Detroit where the Father was doing work and guess what.. yep its there..I'm sure there are a lot of us that have the same storys about our home towns and what he mentions about them.

[LadyHitchhiker]

I worship at the temple of Stephen King's genius because of this book.

[Aaron]

The first post of this thread has been edited to indicate The Stand's final average score, which is 4.724137931. The Stand is the winner of Bracket #2, and will be advancing to Round 2 of the competition.