The Stand - Let's Discuss! *SPOILERS*

[Brice]

Are you asking about the complete and uncut in HC? Yes, I have a few of them.

The stand holds a special place in my heart too. It was one of (I believe the) first King books I read many many years ago.

[MonteGss]

I figured it was released in HC but when I was a young teenager (when i first started with King) I wasn't too keen on anything but mm paperbacks.

Being on this site makes me wonder if I should start searching out some first edition HC for specific King books though, namely The Stand.

I first read The Stand when I was about 12-14 I think. It is a fantastic book but IT was the first really long book I read when I was younger and I loved it so much. It has a special place in my heart.

[Brice]

Oh, It does for me also. I've read it quite alot.

[John_and_Yoko]

I liked the concept of The Stand--and Glen Bateman's commentaries were probably my favorite parts of it--but after reading it, I wasn't so sure why it was Stephen King's most popular book. Honestly I prefer The Dark Tower books, although I did enjoy the nod to The Stand in The Waste Lands and especially Wizard and Glass.

Don't get me wrong, though--I did like The Stand. It was well-thought out, for the most part, and I was able to keep in mind all the characters and all their story threads (not an easy thing for me). I kind of thought of it as like Watership Down, really--the characters forced to leave their homes due to a crisis, starting a new civilization, and a battle between good and evil at the end.

The only thing that surprised me was Fran's baby. Maybe this is because I saw the end of the miniseries first but

Spoiler:

I thought the baby was going to be a girl, and was surprised that it was a boy.

Maybe political correctness in the miniseries? I really don't think it added much, or needed to be done....

Anyway, I am glad I read The Stand, I just doubt I'll be reading it again--at least, anytime soon.

"M-O-O-N, that spells 'moon'...."

[Mordred Deschain]

The stand holds a special place in my heart too. It was one of (I believe the) first King books I read many many years ago.

Me too! Along with Skeleton Crew!

[Mark]

I love The Stand. It was the second SK book i read (after The Gunslinger) It reminds me of my Mum's ex boyfriend, he was really cool. He lent it me, but because they don't talk much, i cant borrow it again, so i can't do a re-read.

[AIMB]

http://forums.comicbookresources.com....php?p=6525151

am i just behind the times? is there anymore information on this

the stand as a comic book

[jayson]

http://forums.comicbookresources.com....php?p=6525151

am i just behind the times? is there anymore information on this

the stand as a comic book

the first i heard of it was the recent NPR interview with King [there's a thread for it somewhere where you can hear the archived version]. King mentions it in the interview but there isn't much more detail.

[Brice]

I am very excited about this.

AIMB, it's good to see you again.

<----quiddityquest from .net

[mia/susannah]

I love the Stand. I only have the uncut version. It was one of the first books that I read when I started reading SK. Great Book. My all time favorite non DT book,

[ladysai]

Sounds like they're still kicking it around.
I'll start getting excited whenever Marvel sets a release date.

[AIMB]

I am very excited about this.

AIMB, it's good to see you again.

<----quiddityquest from .net

yes its good to see everybody! i wish i had more sleepless nights online like i used to to hang out with you guys being busy all the time is the worst

[Brice]

I am very excited about this.

AIMB, it's good to see you again.

<----quiddityquest from .net

yes its good to see everybody! i wish i had more sleepless nights online like i used to to hang out with you guys being busy all the time is the worst

Well....in this case...I'll hope you get some sleepless nights.

[MaraJShakespeare]

Years ago, when I read The Stand: Complete & Uncut for the first time, I read King's preface without really understanding his point in any but the loosest intellectual sense. Having never read the book before in any form (and at the time, all the King I'd read was Four Past Midnight, IT and 'Salem's Lot), I wasn't familiar with either the story or the history of what is perhaps King's best loved novel, so I just enjoyed his preface for its humour and for King's casual, 'just shootin' the breeze' style. Now, many years later, I have read the unexpurgated version seven times. I've read the rest of his books at least once, most of them more than once (IT is the only other one that equals The Stand, with seven readings), probably averaging out at 3-5 readings per book (with the exceptions of Gerald's Game, which I can't stand, and The Regulators, which I didn't really like, either). But there was one book, technically, that I had never read; there didn't seem to be any reason why I should. I didn't even own a copy; after all, if it wasn't a first edition, what was the point? That book, of course, is the original version of The Stand.

Recently, I scored a first edition of the 1978 book, in excellent condition overall (the dust jacket is a bit battered, but not clipped, and is now covered in plastic to prevent further wear & tear) for under $100. Not having anything more important to do at the moment, I decided to read it at long last. After all, how can I call myself an expert if I don't really know the difference between cut and uncut? Well, I am now just past the half-way point- the folks in Boulder are getting ready for the first public meeting- and I already see King's point in the afformentioned preface. It really is amazing how many of the little-yet-crucial details are missing; how much of the rich characterisation and action is missing. It goes a lot deeper than just The Kid. So many incidents that, in the uncut version, seem to propel the story aren't there. It's still a great book, damn near impossible to put down, but there is more missing than the page numbers let on. I always wondered if there was really any point in restoring the missing text; was King right in his preface, or was the whole thing mere authorly indulgence? Even now, just past the half-way point, I can provide an answer: a most emphatic yes to the first, and no to the latter! King was absolutely right in the opening remarks of the uncut Stand, and now I understand exactly what he meant. Even at over 800 pages, the cut Stand is too damn short! If you don't remember it, or are one of those readers who skip such things, go back and read the preface to the uncut Stand for a fuller grasp of my point here. He's absolutely right and fully justified; it did need restored, and for exactly the reasons he gives. When I finish the cut version, I may come back in here to describe the differences between the two versions more fully, as a public service to the interested. I may even start a new thread for the purpose. Stay tuned. . .

[Darkthoughts]

I'm pretty sure that somewhere in this thread, someone already posted a link to a comprehensive and detailed list of the differences between the two

[Nix_Toren]

Hey, dudes.

Randomly, The Stand was the very first King novel I ever read... I just saw a paperback copy in a bookstore, thought "that looks cool" and decided to try it. I've now read it all the way through three times, and it remains my all-time favourite SK book other than the Dark Tower series. I just really connected with the book the first time... and every time I go back, I find something new, something I missed before, or I read a section and I see it differently.

(my favourite of the DT books - and my favourite overall - is Wolves of the Calla.)

[iscream22]

Oh i love The Stand. Most def my favorite Stephen King novel. Its filled with so much great character development and when you read the book its like the story naturally unfolds in your mind. Unfortuneately i saw the TV miniseries first about 4 years ago, which was not bad, i thought it was pretty good, not amazing but decent. Then i read the novel around a year ago and loved it. Then i read it again this year and loved it even more than this year i got started on the Dark Tower series and now im on Dark Tower 7 which so far is very good although i heard the ending is kind of cliffhanger.

[ZGDK]

I was wondering what you guys thought of the ending to The Stand? Personally I was kind of dissapointed. I thought using the a-bomb to blow up Vegas was cool and all but I kind of wish there had been an actual confrontation. It just felt the whole books built up to "The Stand" and then kaboom. The Stand is my favorite SK, no my favorite book of all time, but the ending felt lackluster.

[razz]

i kinda found it corny.

[The Lady of Shadows]

sorry razzle dazzle, a one line response is so not gonna get it this time. what, precisely, did you find corny with the ending? was it the finger of god? the long journey back for stu and tom? the very ending when stu and fran were at Mother Abigail's house talking about everything that had happened back in Boulder?

let us in. say thankya.

[razz]

truly don't know, it just seemed corny. not real. not the kind of ending that would occur with the sort of god King depicted in the novel

[The Lady of Shadows]

so i'm reading song of susannah now. and susannah says to mia "promised? promised by whom?" and that caught me for the first time (after how many rereads!).

it's a total echo of what nadine says to flagg when he greets her for the first time, isn't it? doesn't he say to her something like "nadine, as promised." and she says "promised? promised by whom?"

i don't know why that caught me this time but it did.

[Odetta]

truly don't know, it just seemed corny. not real. not the kind of ending that would occur with the sort of god King depicted in the novel

what would you have preferred?

[Matt]

I think if you take the book in a religious context (as I am convinced it was intended), the ending was perfectly fitting. Trashy was a tool of God.

[razz]

touche