2 Bloggers 1 Book - The Stand (Brace Yourselves)

So, Stormi and I started this mammoth undertaking in November and I'm happy (so, so happy) to say that we finally finished.  So read on to see my final thoughts and then go look at Stormi's thoughts @ Books, Movies, Reviews! Oh My!

You can also see my thoughts on Part 1 HERE and Part 2 HERE (because we had to break it up).

TITLE: The Stand

AUTHOR: Stephen King

PUBLISHER: Anchor

PUBLISHING DATE: October 1978

FROM GOODREADS: This is the way the world ends: with a nanosecond of computer error in a Defense Department laboratory and a million casual contacts that form the links in a chain letter of death.

And here is the bleak new world of the day after: a world stripped of its institutions and emptied of 99 percent of its people. A world in which a handful of panicky survivors choose sides or are chosen. A world in which good rides on the frail shoulders of the 108-year-old Mother Abigail and the worst nightmares of evil are embodied in a man with a lethal smile and unspeakable powers: Randall Flagg, the Dark Man.  

MY THOUGHTS: So I think it's no secret that if I had to name just one favorite author, it would be King.  I love his books, both small ones and huge ones, and I thoroughly enjoy a good character driven story.  So chances were good I would fall in the with The Stand.  After all, it's King's epic, work defining novel right?  Well guess what, I was wrong.  Now before everyone who adores this book starts bashing me (well, you guys wouldn't really bash but you get my point), we read the uncut version and there's the possibility that I would have liked this novel better if we had went with the original, shorter one (and by shorter I still mean it's over 800 pages).  But, we'll never know because there's no way I'm EVER reading this book again.  And I might add that Stormi is more an action gal so I don't know how she managed to finish this either.

So in this section we get to see a lot of our survivors meet up with Mother Abigail and settle down in Boulder.  Lots of people are gathering in the area and we get a LONG, DETAILED look at what some of my favorite characters are doing.  And oh, by the way, the abandoned dog they left miles and miles ago?  Well, he was so smart and loyal he eventually showed up himself - and was almost killed in the process.  Smart doggy - bad people.

So while the "good guys" are in Boulder, Flagg  and his "bad guys" settle in Las Vegas.  I see  you King, your irony is not lost on me.  What stays in Vegas right?  Anyway, some of the people in Boulder are not happy and Flagg has gotten control of their minds and has convinced them to do some of his dirty work.  There is a huge clash coming down between the good and the bad and before it even happens, my favorite character dies! 

So some people die, the electric gets turned back on, Fran is still pregnant and I STILL hate Harold.  M-O-O-N, that spells hate. I like Tom 😁 Finally a select group of people head off to stop Flagg before he invades Boulder and ruins everything they worked for. 

And then....poof!  I know King has a reputation for having weak endings, and usually I can defend him somewhat (except for Under the Dome - I'll never defend that ending).  But this book had over , 1,153 pages.  We traveled and traveled and read and read and forgive me if I expected more of a showdown.

SPOILER ALERT (skip this if you haven't read this and plan on doing so).  Trashcan Man thinks he is doing Flagg a favor and ends up nuking everyone!  I cheered more when Nadine took a nosedive off the side of a building). SPOILER OVER

So basically I was let down.  I feel like Stormi and I read this book longer than the actual time span of the whole novel.  I need to pick up another King novel soon to fall in love with because this has left a bitter taste in my mouth.

RATING: 3 Paws - and let me tell you, it's probably closer to 2.5 but I rounded up because one, it's King and two, Kojak lived!

2 Bloggers 1 Book - The Stand (Part 1)

Well, Stormi and I are at it again and this time, she managed to convince me to read another giant book! Seems like it's been the year of the big book so why stop now.  For the months of November, December and January, we are tackling the unedited version of Stephen King's The Stand.  While I don't feel right rating each section, I do want to give you something a little extra and I would say you're in for a bit of a treat.  And make sure to go check out Stormi's thoughts @ Books, Movies, Reviews! Oh My!

TITLE: The Stand

AUTHOR: Stephen King

PUBLISHER: Anchor

PUBLISHING DATE: October 1978

FROM GOODREADS: This is the way the world ends: with a nanosecond of computer error in a Defense Department laboratory and a million casual contacts that form the links in a chain letter of death.

And here is the bleak new world of the day after: a world stripped of its institutions and emptied of 99 percent of its people. A world in which a handful of panicky survivors choose sides or are chosen. A world in which good rides on the frail shoulders of the 108-year-old Mother Abigail and the worst nightmares of evil are embodied in a man with a lethal smile and unspeakable powers: Randall Flagg, the Dark Man.  

MY THOUGHTS: There's something familiar about reading a King book.  I started this one when my Thanksgiving vacation started and I was quickly reminded of other times I've read King while on vacation.  That being said, this is a mammoth of a book with the unedited version having over 1300 pages so it's a good thing I have another vacation coming up before our next section is due.

The first section of this novel does a good job at introducing the reader to all the characters who play a part in this epic saga.  Some, like Frannie, Stu and Nick I quickly fell in love with.  And others, like Larry, Lloyd and Flagg, irritated me tremendously.  Which is saying a lot because there really isn't much of Flagg in the first 400 pages.  We spend a lot of time seeing how the contagion spreads and how the world quickly comes to a halt.  I also think it's important to mention how often I sneezed while reading The Stand.  Psychosomatic much? 

Once again, I found that King's novel is a slow burn - at least the beginning.  I am sure the action will pick up now that the intro is basically complete.  I can't wait to see where the tale leads me.

Oh, and there's a dog named Kojak - leave it to me to find a lovable dog even in this epic dystopian horror.

NOW FOR SOME FUN: Since I can't really do a complete review since we're reading this in sections, I thought I'd share some of the more hilarious comments I shared with Stormi during our buddy read.

B: Larry just became a bigger jerk. His mom is dying and he's upset she ruined his good news.
S: Yea he is horrible.  He is one I wish got sick instead of immune.

B: Page 120...I read and I read and I think the pages are breeding!

S: So much info in TS I don't need to know!  Seriously King, you ramble too much!

B: As if there aren't enough people already, now there's Trashcan Man...and he's boring me.

And for the record, we talked some about the new casting for the remake.  Marilyn Manson is listed but not as any particular character yet.  I'm betting he's Trashcan Man.

So make sure you stop by next month to see how we're faring!