n  “Man is a gregarious, social animal, and eventually we'll get back together, if only so we can tell each other stories about how we survived the great plague.”n

After having left it to dust off on my long list of future reading material for years, I deliberately picked the most appropriate time to read Stephen King’s The Stand. What better time to delve into a huge brick centred on the downfall of the human race through a pandemic, than when one is trapped at home under lockdown resulting from a pandemic?

It is, perhaps surprisingly, a novel idea. Post-apocalyptic stories in the entire post-war era have tended to base themselves on the idea of nuclear apocalypse, on mankind’s ultimate bout of self-annihilation, creating a radioactive world of mutations and grey-green colours. Or, in the case of more absurd and low-form iterations, some form of zombie transformation. The concept of the practically instant removal of 99,4% of humanity, leaving the material world in preserved stasis, breaks with the whole post-apocalyptic feeling (although similar works have admittedly been written before; I am Legend comes to mind).

That being said, the similarities with post-apocalyptic stories which do base themselves on the nuclear explanation is easy to see. The Stand is one of the most influential works of the genre, and it struck me more than a few times how the developers of Fallout: New Vegas must have both read, loved and been forever shaped by the experience of reading this book. Here are mentions of the rise of new dictators, ‘little caesars’, the formation of depraved communities in the desert surrounding Las Vegas, crucifixion of the dissenters and so forth.

While the formation of such tropes is interesting enough in itself, the true beauty of the book lies in the exploration of humanity’s reaction to near-annihilation, sometimes expressed through the analytical monologues of sociologist Glen Bateman, but more frequently through the inner musings of various characters in doubt about their own situation. How are the advances of technology, including innovations of gender, politics and education, dealt with in a time when the advances that made them possible are now longer present? What happens to social values we have taken for granted in our post-industrial world? How does mankind reassemble and what types of communities are formed?

The exploration of these questions also inevitably means that the development of certain characters is going to be incredibly interesting. The tragic and doubt-ridden journey of the almost archetypal “disgruntled young man” Harold Lauder is one such. The life and time of the supernaturally endowed centenarian Mother Abagail equally so. As the survivors emerge from the ashes of human civilisation, so too do their stories, their motives and their dreams.t

Problematically, it is very evident that King spent so long crafting, building and setting things up, that he forgot to plan for an ending. The last section of the book feels extremely rushed, far too convenient, and fails to do any sort of justice to the first 80%. It falls miserably short of the expectations formed by simply going through the book up until the end, and it takes a significant amount of willpower to not let the final disappointment be the main takeaway.

In the long days of quarantine, however, I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the book. It is a flawed work, and the fact that I read the uncut edition meant that I had to endure origin stories for the characters which were significantly longer than they needed to be to get on with the actual plot. But invariably sitting and lying down in a variety of spots in my small London apartment, I had a great time delving through The Stand, sometimes reading it as pure entertainment, sometimes nitpicking and critically analysing the more scientific and sociological aspects of it, sometimes following the characters’ lives and sometimes being annoyed by them.

All in all, reading it was like living with it, accentuated by the situation in the real world.

Traveling sister read with Norma and Kaceey

I am feeling wow right now and what an achievement reading The Stand. 2 weeks on this amazing book and the best part the discussions it created with Norma and Kaceey.

Great book for a group read.

As soon as Chinese New Year got cancelled, I knew coronavirus was serious. Then the virus spread just like viruses do in every horror novel. So much so, in fact, that my immediate first thought was not to stock up on bottled water and toilet paper, but that it's finally time to read n  The Stand.n

Naturally I'm a Stephen King superfan, so it's strange I hadn't yet read what is commonly considered his magnum opus. In the back of my mind I knew there would be a right time to read it. I thought it might be after King's death (rue the day) or after reading everything else by him. As a way to fully compare it to the rest of his oeuvre. Clearly, however, a once-in-a-100-years pandemic was the sign I was looking for. This is it, folks. It's time.

As it turned out...maybe not the best idea. After seven months of living through this, there's a level of new normalcy. But in those early days, during constant uncertainty, seeing nearly 4,000 Americans die daily, entire nursing homes wiped out, entire families...it was scary as hell. Reading a scary book during a scary time isn't nearly as fun as it sounds.

I kept a reading journal throughout this time. Partly because I wanted to remember my reactions throughout such an enormous read, but also to monitor my mental state during a pandemic. Much of my journal entries relate to bad dreams, reactions to the news, or just keeping up with the death count. Many times Stephen King's world was a close parallel to the real world, resulting in much anxiety and much admiration for a writer capable of prophecy.

Here's the full, unabridged copy of my The Stand review journal:

01/27/2020 - What better time to see what The Stand is all about than during a global coronavirus pandemic? Given this book's epic length, I’m going to do a review journal with spoiler-free reactions over the many months I suspect it will take me to finish.

Three chapters in, and of course I’m hooked. Would expect nothing less from King. It may be a big ass book, but he doesn’t wait around to get started. For this rollercoaster, you skip the line and sit right up front. Clickity-clank, clickity-clank, then a straight drop. If the rest of the ride is this intense, and the coronavirus doesn’t kill me first, I’m going to be one frazzled mess by the end.

02/11/2020 - I've been reading this a while, but only at 10%. My main thought right now is that it's entirely unfair for Stephen King, probably writing most of this while still in his 20s, to be this good. Old characters, female characters, rich, poor--they all come across so real it's startling. How can one mind comprehend so much? How does he articulate it so well? He builds this terrifying world one person at a time and it's so much scarier that way. I'm in awe.

In other news, over 1,000 deaths have been attributed to the coronavirus. That's approximately 2-3% death rate for those infected. Better than the 99% death rate in The Stand, so there's a bright side. Of course, there are Internet rumors circulating that China is under-reporting and the real count is significantly higher.

02/28/2020 - Up to 15%. Starting to question my logic that reading this during a pandemic will make it more fun. I became physically disturbed last night while reading in bed. Like, on the brink of a panic attack. It's all getting too real. The careful pacing particularly. Stephen King, prophet that he is, describes our current world too well. One case spreads to ten, to fifty, to a thousand. The government doing all it can to prevent blame, to avoid panic. Of course that's making it worse.

For historical reference, what's going on right now is that there are more coronavirus cases outside of ground zero China than in. Last I heard that includes 56 countries, with rates rising every day. Other than China, Iran, Italy, South Korea and Japan seem to have it the worst. The W.H.O. just raised its risk assessment from "high" to "very high," which is their most extreme rating outside of declaring an outright pandemic. Saying the world is under pandemic essentially succumbs to the realization that the virus is unstoppable and everyone on the planet will eventually be exposed.

The death rate for the coronavirus is somewhere between 2-3%. I calculate that 2% of the world population is 154 million.

There's also been a case where someone previously "cured" of the coronavirus caught it a second time.

At home, our president has censored the CDC from making any announcements about the virus without approval by the vice president. When asked why the stock market is tanking, he blamed the recent Democratic debate.

Still unclear which is scarier right now, Stephen King's novel or reality.

03/03/2020 - have to share this frightening quote from the book before I forget:

The President is scheduled to speak tonight at 6:00 PST and his press secretary, Hubert Ross, has branded reports that the President will speak from a set mocked up to look like the Oval Office but actually deep in the White House bunker “hysterical, vicious, and totally unfounded.” Advanced copies of the President’s speech indicate that he will “spank” the American people for overreacting, and compare the current panic to that which followed Orson Welles’s “War of the Worlds” radio broadcast in the early 30s.

03/13/2020 - It's a misty Friday the 13th. I'm reading The Stand on my break, which happens to be at home now. The office is still open, but we've been instructed to work from home for the unforeseeable future. This doesn't come as a surprise since nearly all gatherings have been cancelled. Talk shows are without an audience, theme parks are closed, movie releases are all delayed. The upcoming presidential debate has been relocated to avoid cross-country travel. Entire countries are on lockdown.

It's all playing out eerily similar to Stephen King's doomsday scenario. The book, so far, has been a crystal ball for what happens next. Within hours of reading a passage where King's president delivers a cough-filled address stating that virus concerns are blown out of proportion and a vaccine will be delivered next week, Mr. Trump appears in the oval office and assures all Americans will have access to testing and free medical treatment. Surprise, surprise, both presidents lied.

What's still to be determined is just how deadly this virus is. On one hand you have 22 dead in a single Seattle nursing home, but on the other it's been suggested that hundreds of thousands of infected people are running around who don't even know it because they don't have symptoms or they aren't serious. It seems like either way I'm not personally at high risk, but I am worried about those who are.

These are certainly interesting times, to say the least.

03/19/2020 - Today marks my first full week of not leaving the house. There's little incentive to at this point. Movie theaters, restaurants, and book stores are all closed. And even if they weren't, the risk of getting COVID-19 isn't worth the reward. Fortunately we saw this coming and our house is stocked with food, water and other essentials. I'm thinking we can last another two weeks before needing to venture out again.

Being honest, I've struggled to pick up The Stand as of late. King usually delivers a delicious dose of escapism disaster, but under the circumstances it's all hitting too close to home. Like reading Cujo while living with a rabid dog.

I also think the last few chapters have been really boring, though. I'm at 26%, which probably translates to page 350ish, and the most recent characters have really snoozed the action. I know I still have a bazillion pages to go so I'll hold off before giving final judgement, but in this present state I wouldn't call it his best work. Of course this wouldn't be the first time that a King book had a lengthy lull before launching back into life-changing thrills.

We'll see how I feel after another week. Hopefully I'll have better things to say about The Stand, and will not have yet descended into madness.

03/28/2020 - The Stand did get good again. I’m at 35%. Been reading faster than normal because I have this conspiracy in my head that the coronavirus will finally end the day I finish reading this book. Unfortunately, even at my current pace, that might be several more months. I’m trying, world, I’m trying! Lol

As for current affairs, today is sadly noteworthy because over 2,000 people have officially died from COVID-19 in the United States. Just two days ago we hit 1,000 dead. The way things are going, it’s very realistic for those numbers to continue doubling every few days.

The virus itself is still somewhat mysterious. Is it airborne? Kinda yes, kinda no. How long can it stay on surfaces? Several days...ish. Can you get it from touching cardboard boxes? Maybe? Will warmer weather do any good? Don’t count on it. Who can you trust? No one, of course, because even the seemingly-healthy can spread it all around.

The president expects everything to be fixed in a few weeks so churches can be packed on Easter Sunday. We’d all get a good laugh out of a comment like that, except the situation is too dire.

What else has been going on? So much I can’t even keep track. The government somehow came up with $2,000,000,000,000+ to infuse the economy, save businesses and give people enough money to hopefully keep the lights on. Pretty cool, I guess, but I think we’re all wondering what will happen next if this goes on for several more months.

A number of celebrities and politicians have caught the virus, some have died from it. A grim reminder that this really does impact everyone. You can’t buy your way out of this mess.

04/16/2020 - Future me, whenever you decide to re-read The Stand (which I’m sure you will at some point) remember that the end of “Book 1” gets boring. But don’t give up, because the adventure really starts with “Book 2.” There’s a lot of direct homage to The Wizard of Oz, like there is in The Dark Tower series. Slightly cheesy, I suppose, but Oz is up there among the great quest novels so it’s worthy. And like Oz, King populates his journey with unexpected characters who become close to your heart. You’ll fear for them, and really hope they don’t die—even though in the back of your mind you suspect they will.

Hopefully you won’t live to see another global pandemic, but if you do—don’t read The Stand during it. You will be tempted, because it is perhaps the definitive literary achievement of pandemic stories, but it won’t make you feel better. It will make you feel worse.

If it’s been 19 days since you last updated your review/blog, remember that looking back at what’s happened in the world will be depressing. For example, 19 days ago only 1,000 Americans were documented as succumbing to the virus. Now that number is 34,000 and growing rapidly. Globally, there’s been 144,341 deaths. These numbers include only those who were officially counted, of course. The world is unfair, and you know that there are many more who society didn’t deem important enough to be included in the statistics.

One good thing about revisiting The Stand will be recognizing that no matter how horrible your current political situations are, remember that most political situations are horrible. In the 1970s, King imagined a president who refused to take any responsibility for the handling of a pandemic. Had King’s president lived long enough for the other branches of government to approve stimulus checks, there’s no doubt he would have demanded that those checks bear his name. Situations change, but people generally don’t.

If you are absolutely determined to re-read The Stand during another pandemic, remember that it’s okay to take a break and read other books before coming back to it. I recommend gothic romances. They're a good melodramatic distraction from all the real drama swirling around.


05/06/2020 - What’s life like during a pandemic? I suppose people will ask years from now. For me, at least, the staying at home part isn’t bad. Where there’s books and Internet, I’m good. I’m still employed (from home) and taking online classes, so too busy to let staying in every night be oppressive.

That said, I still find myself suddenly panic-stricken. The smallest thing sends me a spiraling. Planning a birthday party and realizing it’s impossible amid a swirl of uncertainty. Will I still have a job in six months? Will it be safe to travel? Will the next wave of virus be even worse? Will I be dead by then—what about my family?

Other things too. Watching a movie where people happily interact can be an escape, or a grim reminder that those moments were the before times—times we may never see again.

Are my panic attacks unwarranted? Probably. Mostly. But how can I be sure?

Even if we do eventually return to normal, what’s the long-term psychological impact? Can I ever attend a concert or visit an amusement park without imagining a plague of death in the air?

The new developments haven’t been reassuring. It’s not just flu-like symptoms; the virus causes blood clots which can lead to fatal strokes. The strain that’s out now is more severe than the original strain. Maybe you get it once and you have antibodies, maybe you can get it an unlimited number of times.

The official death toll continues to rise to terrifying numbers, but they’re also saying the virus could have gone global as early as December 2019. How many COVID deaths haven't been counted? Hundreds? Thousands?

By the way, says some government leaders, we believe this virus was manufactured in a Chinese lab. Great. What does that mean? Was China reckless? Was this intentional and we have a nuclear war to look forward to?

Oh, and murder hornets.

Ugh!

Anyway, back to The Stand. I’ll admit to still reading slowly. It’s good. Really good. But I can only handle small doses at a time. King is revving up to create the ultimate Good vs. Evil battle. Stakes of Biblical proportions. I still got about 500 pages to read, but I can see why people find that aspect of it appealing. I’m not convinced it’s Top 5 King material yet, but I’m willing to let the adventure roll on and be convinced otherwise.

06/04/2020 - Dreams play an important role in The Stand. Survivors of the super flu dream both of holy Mother Abigail and evil Randall Flagg, but where their sympathies lie determines their allegiance.

Since the beginning of the pandemic I’ve had my own reoccurring nightmares. All of them some variation on the same theme: impending doom.

***Goodreads Word Limit Reached, read the rest n  HEREn.***

At least three of my friends recommended this book to me. I don't think I'm going to hang out with those dudes anymore. King can spin a good yarn - Misery and Thinner are pretty good. This story, however, was spread a little too thin - no...way too thin. I guess he was going for some kind of Lord of the Rings epic, but it came across as just an overlong dweeb-a-thon.

The last Stephen King book that I'd read before this one, was The Green Mile, and that one just blew my mind. Unfortunately, The Stand didn't live up to my expectations. I'm fully aware that many love this book and say it's possibly King's best, but for me, it was definitely just average King.

The book started off well, and the first chapter definitely had my attention. I was immersed in the story until around halfway through, and that was when I began to lose interest, and I felt I simply wasn't invested enough in the story.

This book is advertised as an 'epic thriller' so that was what I was expecting, but instead I felt like the book did have some thrilling scenes in it, but it moved at an incredibly slow pace. In it's defence though, the character development was incredibly detailed, although, I cannot say that I had a favourite.

I had absolutely no time or tolerance for Trashcan man. The chapters with him in were horrendous, and for me, added nothing to the story. What was his purpose?

I found the ending was anticlimactic, and I'm left pretty disappointed, especially for a Stephen King read. I know what he's capable of, and I wanted more from a book that was 1325 pages. I'm hoping my next King read will be better.

Oh wow, it hasn't even been a year since I finished this and I'm rereading again?

*******************

I'm not sure what I can say about this massive tome that hasn't been said before, but I came, I read, and I conquered. I also really enjoyed it along the way, which says a lot due to my struggle with committing to massive books. :) Does anyone know if there will be a new book-to-screen adaptation of this one in the near future, or if the old mini series is worth the time? Anyway, I'm satisfied and a tiny bit relieved to be finished. <3 Thanks to everyone who pushed me to make 2019 the year I picked up The Stand and for all the people who cheered me on along the way.

FULL REVIEW UP!
Laws yes, I finished this huge ass book!

I’ve been wanting to read The Stand for years. I put it off because of the sheer size of the book. I finally kicked my butt in gear and read this post-apocalyptic tale of good vs evil.
I love post-apocalyptic/dystopian plots and I knew I needed to read this. I'm so glad I did!

I went into this book not knowing much about the plot or characters. I did not watch the TV mini-series of The Stand which was produced back in 1994. I'm glad that I didn’t watch it or know what type of plot and characters that Stephen King was going to introduce me too!! I think it's better that way.

The Stand starts off with a deadly plague that kills most of the world’s population. I enjoyed reading about the trials and tribulations of the survivors trying to navigate in this new world. I loved this part of the book!

And because of the death and destruction that occurs, Randall Flagg, the Dark Man comes back for the remaining survivors. Dun dun dun!


I ended up reading the unabridged version of this dystopian tale. I do think that some of this “extra” of the unabridged version could have been cut out. I still loved the overall story though and have to give this book 5 stars because of the amount of world building and characterization that King ends up writing about.
One thing that I had issue with on the unabridged version was the Trashcan Man chapters. It slowed down the pace for me and made me miss the other characters.
Now that I’ve finished the book though, I understand why King wrote those chapters and wanted them in the book.

I absolutely loved the ending of this book! I’ve read some reviews that had problems with it, but it worked for me. I’m not saying more due to spoilers.

Last of all, some of the characters in this book will be with me for years. That’s the skill and brilliance of King when he writes a character driven plot.

Nick Andros, Tom Cullen and Glenn Bateman will always be my favorites.
And I will always hate Harold Lauder with a raging passion. What a weasel! Speaking of weasels…


And now thanks to King, I want an Irish Setter like Kojak. Fetch Kojak, fetch!

goodness me, this book was a chore. it took me nearly a month to finish and by the 12 day mark i was really regretting reading the unabridged version. and along the way, i realised that this is a classic case of me liking the idea of the book so much more than the book itself, which is so unfortunate.

i thought the beginning started off really strong. i was enjoying seeing how the plague affected everyone differently and the lengths everyone had to take to survive the mass confusion and looming death. oh, and nick. nick is the best thing to come out of fiction since i dont know when. and although an attachment to a character is enough motivation to finish a book, its sometimes not enough to actually enjoy the book entirely.

what really made me check out was when the dreams started becoming a major focal point to the plot. i just could not get behind the whole mother abigail vs. randall flagg story line. i understand that stephen king has wonderful and deep messages in his books, but if im not really engaged with the story, then im not going to invest the extra time to try to analyse everything. so i know i missed out there, but i cant bring myself to care more about it.

so what began as an interesting story turned into a very religious subtext of good vs. evil. its an ambitious story, but one i just wasnt quite feeling by the end.

↠ 2.5 stars

Simplemente excelente.

Este libro me encanto. He tardado un mes leyendo esta novela, pero la he finalizado con gran satisfacción. Además de la historia, lo que más me gusto fueron los sentimientos y reflexiones que me causó el autor mientras avanzaba entre páginas. Stephen King es un genio. Es el mejor apocalipsis que he leído en mi vida.

¿Cómo saber si leer o no este libro? Es sencillo. ¿Quieren saber que sería del mundo si se muriera el 99% de la raza humana?, les gustaría averiguar ¿Cómo actuarían los sobrevivientes ante este repentino Apocalipsis? Si las respuestas son sí, entonces este libro es para ustedes. No encontraremos guerras, batallas sangrientas o zombies que persiguen y despedazan a la humanidad, como muchos textos o películas relacionadas con cataclismos; lo que si encontraremos, es un libro con acontecimientos, que nos hará meditar sobre muchos temas de la vida.

La obra está categorizada en el género de horror, pero en lo personal no me causo miedo ninguna escena o capítulo. Lo que si sentí fue tristeza por muertes de personajes, que no quería que perecieran.

Inicialmente, en la sinopsis, se nos habla de un virus letal que se propaga por el mundo y también de un inevitable enfrentamiento entre el bien y el mal; pero eso, no es más que la publicidad para que nos interesemos por el libro. Eso quiere decir, que sí nos encontraremos con esos eventos, pero ese no es el tema principal de la nóvela; el tema principal, es el éxodo que los sobrevivientes a esa enfermedad emprenden, por buscar respuestas y la vida de otros seres humanos.

El libro está dividido en tres extensas partes. En cada uno de esas partes, aparecen muchos personajes que incluso olvidaremos, y no es cuestión de tener mala memoria, es que son tan numerosos hasta desde el inicio, que es imposible recordarlos todos. La cantidad de personajes, lleva a que nunca lleguemos a saber con claridad quien es el verdadero protagonista.

Algunas personas critican que hay muchas páginas innecesarias, pero yo opino lo contrario; sin esas páginas, el libro no sería bueno. Para entender la función de esas páginas, es imprescindible leer el prólogo al inicio y así comprender porque son necesarias tantas páginas. En mi opinión son indispensables, porque lo que hace verdaderamente bueno este libro son sus personajes, y esas páginas de más, nos ayudan a conocer mucho mejor cada aspecto de sus vidas.

Es una narración contada a través de historias paralelas, que provoca que estemos constantemente interesados por leer más, eso me atrapa mucho. La narración me parece muy agradable, porque no se enfatiza en la descripción de los lugares o en el físico de sus personajes; se enfatiza, en narrar la vida de cada personaje. Conoceremos su pasado, decisiones, sentimientos, pensamientos, defectos, virtudes, formas de relacionarse con el mundo, etc. Son personajes, que poco a poco se nos hacen más familiares y por lo tanto desearemos saber más detalles sobre ellos. Tienen historias muy bien creadas y se sienten tan reales, que podrían ser la historia de cualquier persona, incluso de nosotros mismos.

La historia, produce permanentemente un estado de reflexión que va desde la sociología y la ciencia, hasta el odio y la hambruna. A pesar de que nunca nos preguntan qué haríamos nosotros mismos, al leer los problema de cada personaje provoca irremediablemente que nos preguntemos ¿Qué es lo que haría yo? ¿Iría al bando del bien o al bando del mal? Eso es un punto muy fuerte de este libro.

Lo único que no me gusto del libro, es que en la segunda parte, hubo uno o dos capítulos que me parecieron aburridos y monótonos, pero también entiendo que posiblemente era un punto de transición en la historia. Lo otro que no me gusto, fue el antagonista principal que me decepciono. Tenía alta expectativa de él, pero al final esa expectativa se rompió y me resulto pareciendo un personaje plano.

Pero en términos generales, un gran libro lleno de reflexiones, historias y mucho entretenimiento gracias a la imaginación de Stephen King. Es increíble.

Continuing my journey of reading SK's books in publication order, and arguable one of constant readers favourites.

This is one of the best books I have ever read. It's well-paced, it's both character and plot driven, it's dystopian and it's dark. There is no question now that Stephen King is my favorite author. I would say I wish I had read this sooner but I'm glad I waiting this long, I couldn't have imagined reading this through the COIVD-19 pandemic.

This book centers around an unstoppable virus and it's survivors, if you can call them that. This is a really good book and therefore might not be the best introduction to Stephen King be it's a masterpiece. Every word read in this book is worth it and it never seems to slow in pace. I couldn't put this book down but of course I had to because it's to BIG.

So many characters in this book are stand outs: Stu, Nick, Tom, Randel Flagg and Frannie it becomes hard to pick a favorites. The climax of this book is outstanding and so clever King doesn't miss a trick here. Everything is described so well you feel like your right there surviving with the rest of the characters, the story progresses faultlessly. It highlight's all the rights in the human race and all the wrongs and which people turn to in catastrophic moments.

“That wasn't any act of God. That was an act of pure human fuckery.”
“He smiles a lot. But I think there might be worms inside him making him smile.”
“Love didn't grow very well in a place where there was only fear”

I could add so many quotes here because there were 100's of outstanding lines.

I don't think I have ever read anything like this book, the way it moved me, disgusted me and shocked me over and over again. There was never a dull moment. I read the extended version of this book and I think you can tell because the beginning of the book felt ever so disjointed to the rest but I still thoroughly enjoyed it.

If you haven't read this book or feel intimidated by it please don't be take your time with it and enjoy the ride.

I read the extended version. Wasn't sure it was ever going to end, but it felt like a TV series that I wanted to binge until the last episode and then wanted one more episode anyway. In the same way, it was exhausting to read. There were a lot of characters to keep track of, especially while their stories ran parallel, and when they finally merged, it was I kept having to check who was aligned with whom.

A few observations (not spoilers since they don't really give away much in terms of plot):

1. How did Larry know about zircon and diamond paste??? I'm especially amused that he knew about paste. That's not a common jewelry material/technique used in modern jewelry design or technique, at least not in mass produced jewelry. Stephen King might have a vaster knowledge in jewelry than expected, and I hope he gifts jewelry regularly!
2. There's a point when Larry is momentarily disgusted by the sight of a woman's sagging breasts. This annoyed me because it's this kind of writing in pop media that contributes to impossible beauty standards for women. So to all the women out there and to all the men who haven't yet discovered this, let me tell you that gravity comes for EVERYONE. Just cuz you can't see it on the outside so much doesn't make it any less freaky or unsightly or whatever adjective you want to use. Gravity is an equalizer. Trust me on that one, and it's equally and breathtakingly fill-in-the-surprising-blank the first time you might see how it effects men - for me, it scared me so much that I had to look away and tell him to go home. Bet that was uncomfortable to read, right? But being critical of women's bodies has gotten so normal that no one even blinks when a writer says something about degrading about our bodies. So let's try to stop making judgmental comments about women's bodies, and I won't make any about men's.
3. The day before New Year's Eve last year, I had finished reading for 2024 and decided to watch a little TV. I caught up on a couple of Taylor Sheridan shows - Landman and Tulsa Kings. I knew he had a deep respect for Native Americans, so I was especially disappointed and a bit shocked that toward the middle/end of Tulsa Kings season two, the writing suddenly got racist toward the Chinese. That's kind of how I felt with Stephen King's language here, referring to the Chinese as a savage (though the others in PTSD where merely in PTSD) and the Native American as scalpers (the colonizers did MORE than their fair share of scalping, by the way).
4. One thing that doesn’t die in a global pandemic that killed off 99% of the population is apparently patriarchy. Otherwise, Harold may have been more likeable and could've grown in character. Note to men: women are not ownable! You have no rights to put claims on us in anyway - EVER.
5. Another thing that doesn't die in the patriarchy is the weak sexual will of men and how easy it is to paint women as Jezebels.
6. I thought it very funny that the stand takes place in Las Vegas, aka, Sin City.
7. Dogs truly are a human's best friend.
8. We are evidently doomed because we clearly cannot learn from lessons as big as a global, apocalyptic level pandemic. The true cockroaches that survive anything are the dark and a-hole natures of people who are power hungry and love to put other people down, which also means that they NEED a sense of superiority. Otherwise, Tom (possibly my favorite character) couldn't have gotten away with the story he was told to feed the people in Las Vegas. If the story had ended a different way, we would've had a community of eugenicists all over again.
9. Not sure I would've wanted to migrate to Abigail if I was in the book. All the Biblical citations would've made my eyes roll too much, and I would not have wanted her to pick me to go to Vegas! Plus, King seems to love to kill off characters too easily after I've invested in them. You just never know who will survive to the end.

These were most of my gripes, but the book was so expansive that the rest of it being so good made it more than readable and easy to overlook these discomforts.

I originally had this as a 4, but I can't stop thinking about this book. So I'm going to call this a 5.

The Stand Abridged: 5 Stars
The Stand Unabridged: 3.5 to 4 Stars

I hope that Goodreads lets both of my star ratings of this book go through as I already rated The Stand Abridged years ago, but in case it doesn’t, I am combining my review of the two into one.

The original Stand is one of my top three favorite books of all time (the other two being Brave New World and 1984 – I am a sucker for post-apocalyptic/dystopian). I don’t think The Stand is the best introduction a person could have to Stephen King (that lies with Salem’s Lot or The Dead Zone), but it is a great story of good vs evil that shows King’s writing chops to the extreme. Other than a slow spot in the middle  (Free Zone) , it is perfectly paced and un-put-downable.

That is where my problem with the Unabridged version lies – and I have seen other reviews complaining about the same thing; some even saying that the abridged version of The Stand is their favorite King book, and the Unabridged their least favorite. There is just too much extra!

I think the editors had it right when they cut down some of the extended scenes - they slow the pace considerably of what was a roller coaster ride of a book. There are extensive scenes at the beginning of the book and in the middle that felt like they would never end. The already slow part I mentioned above is now close to 400 pages – longer than most books I read! The best paced part was the action packed final 200 pages or so, and they were almost the same as in the abridged version. In fact, all the parts I enjoyed the most were there in the abridged version – and I don’t think I enjoyed them just because of familiarity.

Another thing that the extended parts caused was getting out of touch with the characters for a much longer time than before. Several times I found myself asking “Where is so and so – it has been forever since we heard what was going on with them”. It caused me to lose my connection with some of the minor characters because they are now overshadowed by the major characters. Also, most of the added parts related to the good guys, which made the story lines of the bad guys almost feel like an afterthought. Probably the best new part was  Trashcan Man and The Kid as it filled in the blanks for the Trashcan Man’s journey across America. However, it makes it more obvious that Trashy is barely in the rest of the book – which I don’t remember feeling when I read the abridged version .

In summary, I think if I didn’t have the abridged version to compare it to it may have been a 4.5 or 5 star book. But, with the 5 star abridged version out there, it is no contest. While it is interesting to learn more about the characters, it throws the pacing off and makes it more of a chore and less of a joy to read.