I finally jumped into “The Stand” and I’m blown away. I don’t think I’ve ever had a more enjoyable time reading anything cover to cover. I read IT years ago, and reread it recently, giving myself some time after to digest it and found a copy of The Stand at a half price book store. With The Stand I’m left wanting wayyyyy more and I realized I had grabbed a copy of the OG and I’m excited to eventually jump into more in the Uncut.

Before I get into spoiler territory, I want to tell folks that may be lurking on this sub to just read it. I’m only posting here because I can’t discuss with my fiancée because I need her to read it before we go over it at all. READ THE STAND! It may be long, but it doesn’t feel like it. It’s never boring and gives you time to grow with the characters as the story progresses.

Now let’s discuss The Stand!

Spoiler Territory

I love everything about The Stand from the jump. Right away you’re taken to situation 0. A presumed drunk driver turns about to be the harbinger of plague. And we’re introduced to our boy Stu. He’s a strong silent type with a sad past, and after this the world is never the same. Before I end up giving a full synopsis of this story, I just want to say I think this book is the fastest I’ve been pulled into a story. Then it managed to carry that grip along the next 800 pages.

The Characters

After Stu, we meet Nick, a deaf mute kid who just got his eye messed up getting robbed; Frannie, a young pregnant woman who isn’t sure of her future; Larry, a cocky singer that hit the big time. He struggles with substance abuse and basic self-loathing; Lloyd, an amoral felon who’s stuck alone in jail; Harold, an incel boygenius; Glen, a professor and believer in free society; Kojak, the goodest boy. Also, Rita’s there too.

If I had to rank my 3 favorites I’d have to say it’s: 1. Nick 2. Larry 3. Stu.

King writes Nick’s arc with the most heart in the book in my opinion. Everything put to the page, from his time helping Sheriff Baker to finding and eventually communicating via beyond the grave visions (Shine? Let me know what you think!) makes the reader care about him. While I’d say Larry grows more than Nick as the story progresses, Nick still has the higher quality arc. He finds Tom Cullen and truly cares about him. His internal monologue knowing that Tom may slow him down but takes him along anyways illuminates Nick’s heart. He also is shown to believe in justice even if it won’t necessarily benefit him, even right away when he’s with Sheriff Baker and decides to go after Ray Booth anyways.

Larry is more complex than Nick. He’s charismatic where Nick isn’t. Early on he’s a swaggering but kind of squirmy and nervous guy. Heavily using drugs and alcohol after hitting the big time, he gets himself in a hole. The conversation with Wayne is a great part of the book and “the party has to end sometime” right before the start of a pandemic that kills 99% of the population is *chefs kiss*. Larry of course goes on to become a selfless person. He is scarred by Rita’s death. The first person he met after the world ended and he couldn’t save her. He ain’t no nice guy (he is). He’s also the only one who could have saved the world by banging a white haired lady (but he did the right thing there too). Larry beats himself up. But he’s lovable and his relationship with Leo, and Joe is adorable and wholesome. Not talking in desert dream visions wholesome but still wholesome!

Stu: The main man, fearless leader, head honcho, one legged fella. He falls in love with Frannie, and thank god he lives happily after his leg gets broken going to Las Vegas, which turns out to save him, and gives us some great chapters with Tom Cullen. (Did he save baby Peter by showing up when he did?) Let me know what you think.

There are endless amounts of characters that can tug on the heart strings in this one. Leo Rockway, the prodigy who plays anything he hears and can hear your thoughts. Nadine and Harold who are conflicted between doing the right thing and following the temptation He gives them. Lloyd who’s loyal because he got out of eating a celly because of Him. Glen Bateman who loves his hound Kojak and pissing people off if they deserve it. Mother Abagail, the light in a dying world whom everyone follows, until her sinning of pride makes her realize she’s not the real leader. The Trashcan Man and his love for fire. M-O-O-N, that spells elephant. The list goes on for a looooong time considering it’s a book where 99% of all folks die.

Randall Flagg

The man in blacks intro! I’m checking out the Gunslinger next, as I’ve heard lots of chatter about The Dark Tower series and the evil Man in Black.

I do hope there is more Flagg in the extended cut, especially after the A-bomb goes off. I loved his build up as the story goes on. He’s always watching, creating chaos at every turn. Threatening babies, hiding in crows, stealing sleep, offering temptations, real bad guy stuff. He’s awesome as a villain, and really adds to the tension after the superflu wipes everyone out. He’s written with a lot of charm when he’s up, but he freaks out when he’s not in control. He also kills the mother of his child for talking back to him. Dude doesn’t give a fuck about anything but killing and power. Trashcan Man bringing him a nuke was a fun way to see Flagg lose, and I’m excited to see how that progresses through TDT series.

But I will add, I was a little underwhelmed when all that happened post nuke was some wolves howled at Stu, Tom and Kojak, along with the nightmares. Like I said, I really do hope that this is expanded in the Uncut edition, and I’m just giving myself some time to forget about The Stand until I read the full thing. I need more of this guy but I also want to see him pissed off and defeated too. He does prove to be quite the villain though and I’m extremely glad that there’s plenty more content and in universe books to read coming up!

The Superflu

Lastly, I want to talk a bit about the Superflu. In the book, the Superflu kills 99% of people, and for those not immune, they die. They die because once antigens are identified and your immune system fights it, the virus adapts into a new antigen. Your body just wears out from the virus eventually. Later, Peter Goldsmith-Redman is born of half immune parents, and gets sick but successfully fights the disease.

My only question is, is there anything that could lead someone to be able to fight an antigen changing virus? I’m not at all in the study of science or medicine, but would like to know if you guys think it’s more of a religious angle that Peter survived or that it’s scientific.

If you made it to the end, thanks so much for reading! There’s a ton of stuff that I forgot but I really made quick work of this book because I couldn’t put it down and needed to get a discussion out of it. Stephen King really understands the heart in a story!