tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post6920424345197731314..comments2024-03-06T11:11:48.095-08:00Comments on Too Much Horror Fiction: The Stand by Stephen King (1978/1990): Dancing on the Grave of the WorldWill Erricksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16285306262078600804noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-90422624192059735382021-10-08T07:36:38.174-07:002021-10-08T07:36:38.174-07:00You hit the nail on the head about the time and pl...You hit the nail on the head about the time and place regarding the novel's gestation. Over the years I have pointed out to people that it's important to look at when/where a novel was written by the writer. What was taking place at the time of the writing and how old was the writer at the time? This is a concept that has only taken on significance for me in the past few years (I'm Jeffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08772174583986120813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-10123577684881218312021-08-13T13:44:18.888-07:002021-08-13T13:44:18.888-07:00Thanks for replying. That makes sense, I guess it’...Thanks for replying. That makes sense, I guess it’s like how crime novels of that era had photos of a gun and some money and maybe lingerie, evoking a sense of something rather than anything specific in the novel. It just seems unusual for a mainstream horror novel - I wonder if people at the time were confused, although it’s probably just me. I shall ponder whether there are other examples of Ringo Piecehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00867613790367777810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-84550856876715782872021-08-13T13:24:20.468-07:002021-08-13T13:24:20.468-07:00Medieval-style art—evoking maybe Bosch, maybe Brue...Medieval-style art—evoking maybe Bosch, maybe Bruegel—symbolizing the eternal battle of good and evil…Will Erricksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16285306262078600804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-54087280213971469542021-08-13T09:44:21.150-07:002021-08-13T09:44:21.150-07:00What is going on in that original cover? Luke Skyw...What is going on in that original cover? Luke Skywalker fighting a crocodile-faced man? I just read the book and was waiting for this scene to appear; it didn’t. It would have improved the book and made a break from hundreds of pages of town-planning meetings and people having prophetic dreams. The first third of the book and the climax were very enjoyable, but the central section is intolerable.Ringo Piecehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00867613790367777810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-31087563901942864422021-07-31T13:15:47.208-07:002021-07-31T13:15:47.208-07:00It seems to me that you wanted a tale of "dar...It seems to me that you wanted a tale of "dark intersectionalism" instead of "dark Christianity", and that you can't meet the material on its own terms. That said, your criticism of the "modernized" edition is right on. Weirdly shortsighted of King to think that people couldn't handle a novel set in the past, and that the updates wouldn't soon be outdatedFliphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10571504164930741693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-75568034913216345962020-10-12T19:34:46.914-07:002020-10-12T19:34:46.914-07:00I managed to finish the uncut version when I was i...I managed to finish the uncut version when I was in high school and was completely underwhelmed. Like you, I had read--and completely loved--Swan Song. (McCammon was, and 30+ years later continues to be, one of my favorite authors.)Sharpiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08324379812223507454noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-85401664900591439232020-08-29T07:58:00.044-07:002020-08-29T07:58:00.044-07:00I really like your blog, but The Stand and Swan So...I really like your blog, but The Stand and Swan Song were the beginning of my love for almost all things apocalyptic. I've read The Stand twice, once in the original and again upon the republication with the added content. I didn't find that the additions made it better or worse. I just really enjoyed it both times. It would not be until much later in King's career that I would find TheBloodyNine85https://www.blogger.com/profile/15324877334177519898noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-70876497606390412982020-02-20T17:14:19.081-08:002020-02-20T17:14:19.081-08:00I don't think it's his best work but I got...I don't think it's his best work but I gotta admit I'm surprised that you would dislike it to such a degree.<br /><br />To be fair I haven't read it since 2007 and I was pretty green as a reader back then, maybe you're right, but I feel like I remember the novel pretty well and my gut tells me you're being a little too harsh on it and for whatever reason you simply couldn&Griffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14675128293286048756noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-89907618218433307972020-02-15T19:53:18.512-08:002020-02-15T19:53:18.512-08:00If you go back through this blog I have posted mo...If you go back through this blog I have posted most of those book covers over the years so you can click and embiggen to yr heart’s content! Will Erricksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16285306262078600804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-81429771811547781252020-02-15T19:51:20.712-08:002020-02-15T19:51:20.712-08:00Not a McCammon fan so probably not. I read a bit o...Not a McCammon fan so probably not. I read a bit of it back in its day and did not dig it at all. Will Erricksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16285306262078600804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-33251053542329325522020-02-14T17:44:24.474-08:002020-02-14T17:44:24.474-08:00Thanks for reminiscing. I read the "uncut&quo...Thanks for reminiscing. I read the "uncut" paperback in the summer of 1991, when I was seventeen, on a pointless but fun road trip with a couple of friends. Nearly everywhere I went, people were reading the novel. I even stopped to chat with strangers, everyone proclaiming how it was King's best yet. But I was sorely disappointed, despite enjoying portions of the novel. While I do Casual Debrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08098608670682517783noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-77573519594210974262020-01-29T10:32:39.690-08:002020-01-29T10:32:39.690-08:00This was a great read! Seems likes King's enjo...This was a great read! Seems likes King's enjoying a renewed popularity right now, so there have been a ton of articles detailing his strengths as a writer (which is cool) while simultaneously glossing over his weaknesses (which is not so cool). It was nice to read an unvarnished critical review of one his most famous books.<br /><br />I've sometimes heard Robert McCammon's Swan Song Leon K.https://www.blogger.com/profile/06189586101061104951noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-2261409654178507412020-01-28T10:22:22.165-08:002020-01-28T10:22:22.165-08:00Btw, I finally picked up PAPERBACKS FROM HELL and ...Btw, I finally picked up PAPERBACKS FROM HELL and I'm really enjoying it. One of its few disappointments (and I'm saying this as someone who usually prefers to read printed books) is that I can't click on the smaller cover art reproductions and make them enlarge! I got all excited to see that there was a page devoted to Jill Bauman, but such a tiny and tinily-printed sampling of her Hobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09277940177708996676noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-20376236173894937142020-01-28T10:15:24.015-08:002020-01-28T10:15:24.015-08:00It's been a long time since I reread THE STAND...It's been a long time since I reread THE STAND, so for all I know if I read it now I might feel exactly the same as you... and I have had a lot of the same thoughts before. But somehow there's something in all but the worst of King's stuff that makes me not care; I can see the flaws but at the same time it's working for me. At least, that's how it was when I read it before, Hobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09277940177708996676noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-86421198681271039462020-01-27T11:16:41.062-08:002020-01-27T11:16:41.062-08:00I knew I wasn't the only horror fan who felt t...I <i>knew</i> I wasn't the only horror fan who felt this about about the book! This was a hard review to write, not only because of its status and how its fans feel about it, but because I needed to tone down some of the invective in the first few drafts--I mean, THE STAND made me really, really angry! Like, how dare he foist upon us such unremitting lazy <i>junk</i>? I reread the short storyWill Erricksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16285306262078600804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-38016224268195286172020-01-23T06:09:19.416-08:002020-01-23T06:09:19.416-08:00When the "long version" of The Stand cam...When the "long version" of The Stand came out, I was under the impression that it contained pretty much everything that had been edited from the previously released version. So far, so good. Then I started reading it and came to a "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" reference....a movie that was released waaaaaay later than 1978. I suddenly smelled a brazen cash grab. What could beRobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13809452324368005896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-26148455121167780402020-01-21T11:32:32.374-08:002020-01-21T11:32:32.374-08:00I loved The Stand when I first read it, but I have...I loved The Stand when I first read it, but I haven't read it again. I keep thinking about doing it, but it's a commitment. Sometimes things you read back then don't hold up.<br /><br />For me, the book that doesn't hold up is Straub's Ghost Story. I loved it when I read it as a teen. Then I read it again about 20 years ago... and wondered why I ever liked it. So last Zwolfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02364540771153476179noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-90328334865218999712020-01-20T16:14:07.024-08:002020-01-20T16:14:07.024-08:00Good grief, I totally knew that. Sorry -- it's...Good grief, I totally knew that. Sorry -- it's a Monday. Will, great rant!TT.https://www.blogger.com/profile/14699282223544538076noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-26224494237258786622020-01-20T16:05:08.355-08:002020-01-20T16:05:08.355-08:00Hi TT, glad you agree, but this isn’t Grady’s blog...Hi TT, glad you agree, but this isn’t Grady’s blog! ;-) (I believe he gave the book the full five stars on Goodreads!)Will Erricksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16285306262078600804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-91456200278503088102020-01-20T13:22:07.142-08:002020-01-20T13:22:07.142-08:00Jeez, Grady, this is a great review/essay/rant abo...Jeez, Grady, this is a great review/essay/rant about something I've long suspected. And similar to something I just experienced myself with Fahrenheit 451. I'd been planning to reread both versions of The Stand back to back, but maybe I'll just leave my fond memories of the book to my younger self and move on to other things. I've put aside several King books halfway through in TT.https://www.blogger.com/profile/14699282223544538076noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-31566838962178848602020-01-19T15:15:10.154-08:002020-01-19T15:15:10.154-08:00I couldn't agree more with your review (of the...I couldn't agree more with your review (of the 1978 version; I never had the slightest desire to read the 1990 one). Thank you.Dr. Caligarihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14952014180438908530noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-61633287637469271152020-01-18T07:59:24.028-08:002020-01-18T07:59:24.028-08:00For me, 'The Stand' , which I read when it...For me, 'The Stand' , which I read when it first came out as a Signet Mass Market paperback, also was a 'one and done'. All the criticisms you make of the book remain valid after 40 years, and I have no desire to revisit 'The Stand'.<br /><br />In particular, I found the character of Mother Abigail to be overt Pandering by a white liberal. Along with Dick Hallorann, the tarbanduhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08205251855147881113noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-9136464279496920772020-01-18T01:05:47.924-08:002020-01-18T01:05:47.924-08:00I totally agree. I remember friends in high school...I totally agree. I remember friends in high school telling me it was the best thing ever and I had to read it. I gave up a third of the way through. Like you I was a Barker fan so the whole "folksy" thing grated on me (your Hee-Haw comment made me lol). As far as apocalyptic horror goes, I liked Swan Song from McCammon way more. Elizabeth Lee https://www.blogger.com/profile/10438720758397593062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-81565780869807527592020-01-17T20:53:56.527-08:002020-01-17T20:53:56.527-08:00I finish every book I start. With the exception of...I finish every book I start. With the exception of The Stand. I don't even remember how far I got, I just remember being incredibly bored. Babshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06665335310286722007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-6530023693697222020-01-17T18:46:57.791-08:002020-01-17T18:46:57.791-08:00Thanks for this review. Useful as usual. By the wa...Thanks for this review. Useful as usual. By the way, I agree with most of your ideas about this book.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17993658491449106122noreply@blogger.com