Just starting to read The Stand...

[hansel4150]

Im just about to read The Stand. What should I expect? ALSO: which of these three should I consume after... The Tommyknockers, DreamCatcher, or Insomnia (don't say ALL OF THEM[i want a real answer]thanks!)

[JohnDalglish]

Hi,

You should expect what is IMO the greatest novel of the 20th century, a real rollercoaster of a book that'll make you laugh and cry, and touch you in places you didn't even know you had.

The other three all have things to be said in their favour but since you want a definite answer I'd go with Insomnia, but......

Long days and pleasant nights

[Katran]

Books don't usually scare me. I think it's too easy for me to pull myself out of a book. But The Stand scared me. To this day (many years after first reading it), I still can't drive through a tunnel without thinking of a certain scene (which I will not spoil for you).

I think as soon as school's over I'm going to read it again. I just don't have time right now. Too much other reading to do (darn you Darwin!).

[JRLauer]

The Stand the first Sai King book I ever read, and it ended up being one of the best books I ever read. As far as the other three, I agree with John, go with Insomnia.

[bopropadop]

AWJS, exactly. The Stand remains my favorite King novel 30 years after I first picked it up and countless re-reads later. It is his richest novel in terms of character development, converging plot lines, and an examination of human nature. All IMHO.

I'd also go with Insomnia after. Some who haven't read DT find it a bit difficult, but it's still a great story. Anytime we can visit Derry as a Constant Reader, it's a good thing. And Insomnia has a bit more of the true Derry flavor than Dreamcatcher.

Enjoy The Stand and let us know your thoughts when you're done!

[Roseasharn]

Expect nothing! Just roll with it.
I love this one.
I suggest Insomnia.

[aptpupil]

Have to agree with John, although I might tone down the hyperbole slightly...

But "The Stand" is probably the greatest "epic" in the modern horror genre.

I'd personally edge for "The Tommyknockers" next. "Insomnia" is good, but I've known a few fans who found it a little difficult to get into. But eventually you'll read 'em all anyway.

Enjoy! :smile2:

[Ben E Gas]

It took me about 200 pages to get into it. I think the reason is because I saw the tv mini series. I'm not finished with the book yet, but I am loving the book now. It had me looking over my shoulder at some points while reading late at night. It got me thinking of what it might be like if society broke down. Not a pretty picture. I cringed at some things, laughed at others. The good thing is I forget how the miniseries ended.

[Crimson Door]

You should expect Something most marvellous, The Stand will be better than you expect it to be even if you already have high expectations for it.

[Tooley]

You should expect total awesomeness!

Go with Dreamcatcher.

[Kurt Rambis throwback]

expect a pretty good story,some slow points though
hopefully you didnt see the movie..that kinda ruins it somewhat since you already know what to expect...
I'd read Eyes of the Dragon,followed by Needful Things imo
atleast thats what i did

[tak113454]

and touch you in places you didn't even know you had.

:blush::blush:

Haha!
Seriously though.
The Stand is great. I think you can expect some moments of utter wonder and adoration, and this is definitely a novel that sucks you in and makes you really feel for the characters as real human beings.

As for the next book, I would say Insomnia too!
That's my favorite!

[wally wonder]

hi hansel. can we assume you'll be reading the uncut version of the stand? hope so. i don't think there's anyone who read any version of the stand who didn't enjoy it. i'd say go for tommyknockers. why? i liked it. some don't. there's some interesting stuff going on there, maybe a kind of connection to under the dome, maybe not. we'll find out though, won't we. or i will. and i'm all that matters. :blush: and there's connections to ther sk stories in there, it, dead zone, the dark tower (II) i think, 'salem's lot, insomnia, a Ming vase hurled to the floor, a kind of connection to a bunch of sk stories.
and maybe it was written before the others?

best of all, its a big chunk of a story, like the stand. :) don't matter, though, read 'em all when you find the time.

[Trailmix]

The Stand is, in my opinion, the best book written in a long, long time. Personally my favorite book ever.

And I've only read Dreamcatcher and Insomnia out of those three, and they're both good, but I'd say go with Insomnia.

[moonhoney2]

I found it to be real slow int he beginning and very hard to concentrate on it. in fact, the first time I picked it up, I didn't even finish the first chapter before putting it away again. LOL

It was another 2 years before I finally tackled it again, and boy, did it grab me! I read it in 2-3 days. Stopping only to go potty. LOL Every now and then, I would look out the window to make sure the world was still there. It was very surreal. I've read it once a year since. It's been 20 years now.

Some parts of the book are slow, but by far, this is the best book I've ever read. I've gone thru 3 copies of it. I keep wearing them out! LOL

[Mattislegion]

The Stand is my favorite book that have ever read. I hope you enjoy it just as much.:smile2:

[Trailmix]

Yeah, I recently wore my first copy of the stand out completely. I read it about four times, and was on the fifth reread, and the cover just fell off. I had to put it back on with tape, lol. So I just bought a new copy the other day and gave the old one to my mom.

What a classic.

[karend3]

Insomnia was great, but if you haven't read IT first you should, plus Pet Sematary as they are referenced in some way in Insomnia.

[BDenbrough]

Ooh, now I'm REALLY excited about reading "The Stand". My mom said it'd be cool to read "The Stand" right now 'cause of that swine flu going around. She's real big into SK....got me into it. I was going to wait, but I guess I'll pick it up tomorrow!

[Teddy Duchamp]

Well I can only tell you how it affected me!

Frightened that Captain Tripps could actually happen in this day and age - and frightened of the outcome if it did!

Fascinated by the characters who were very flawed in their own way and surprised at myself for feeling very sorry for a couple of them who I felt could have made better choices and thinking that its a very human thing to make a bad choice.

Scared at some of the scenes in the hospital (dont want to go into details to spoil it for you) but some of the passages where Stuart was in the hospital were the most frightening I have ever read.

Heartwarmed when reading about Tom Cullen - m o o n that spells heartwarmed!

And lastly completely overwhelmed by emotion at what one person could do for another, and even, sorry to sound dramatic but it made me think about greater powers than myself and the power of belief............

PS: the only ONE tiny negative in the whole book for me - and I know others wont agree - was Frannie. She annoyed me a little at times - and even more so after watching the six part drama of this. Molly Ringwald was the last person I would have chosen to play her!!!

[JohnDalglish]

Ooh, now I'm REALLY excited about reading "The Stand". My mom said it'd be cool to read "The Stand" right now 'cause of that swine flu going around. She's real big into SK....got me into it. I was going to wait, but I guess I'll pick it up tomorrow!

Hi,

And your mom would be quite right - enjoy! (You will).

Long days and pleasant nights

[Bryan James]

After slogging through "The Stand" (and hopefully it's your personal copy...because I don't advocate writing in other peoples' books although I do it ALL the time) go back and read your (I use green) hilighted portions. Think about why you liked that part. What made it work so well for you. Tell us.

Tommyknockers (TK, oh where'd that come from?) grabbed me, but it's not for everyone early-King. It starts off well but might leave you stranded.

AFTER 'The Stand' and your reflections back thereupon, (if you make it through, I triple dog dare you), I suggest one of the least-discussed King book, "Eyes of the Dragon."

An easy read. A few characters. Just a decent and fun story. I thought King was turning into Brust when I read it. (I just read it again, but I must also recommend "Jhereg" by Steven Brust...and most of what follows).

"Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follett is also special gravy, even though it was a recent Oprah Pick. Stay away from the followup though.

Read what YOU like.

You get forced into wordcrap in high school, college, and grad school. If you're a reader, that's PERSONAL time, and it's your brain getting assaulted.

Read what you like.

BJS

[joemama73]

I'm rereading The Stand and stumbled upon something I didn't catch the first time through, Charles D. Campion is the fella who went AWOL and pretty much started the spread of Capt. Tripps in the prologue of the book, His Initials are C.D.C. (Center for Diseases Control) umm coincidence?

[frangoldsmith]

I was always a Stephen King lover in my youth i read carrie, cujo' Christine etc then i turned 16 and veered off to Jackie Collins, king books passed me by. Then i subscribed to a book club and the free book was the uncut edition of the Stand. It took me a while but wow!!!!! I loved it if you don't read the uncut edition you miss so much! Glad i read it proud to say i'm a stephen king fan. they'r all great but i love Liseys story!

[Drawn to Ka-tet]

After The Stand, I suggest Dreamcatcher, then The Tommyknockers. I think they go together like peanut butter and grape jelly.
Then, you would be doing yourself a big favor to start The Gunslinger and begin your journey to the Dark Tower.
Long days and pleasant nights.

[vivazebool]

The Stand is brilliant. My journey with the characters will live forever in my heart.

Just expect to be blown away.

I'd say go with Insomnia. It's slow moving, but very mind blowing. Don't be shaken by the things in Insomnia that don't make sense to you....this book is a puzzle piece. When you read The Dark Tower series, anything in Insomnia that you didn't get will suddenly make sense.

But Insomnia stands alone as well.

Happy reading.

[Cognac]

expect and amazing tale. and id read his books in order of publication.

[zhx0594]

:glare:

[Taz]

I think everyone agrees that you have a great experience to look forward to, it is a fantastic novel, and as I said in some other reply somewhere else even with it's length, I didn't want it to end. I would recommend Tommyknockers, although I love Dreamcatcher, it's a bit more sci-fi (in my mind anyway) than his other novels, and although Insomnia is great, the first time I tried to read it, I found it difficult to get into, but then again, I am odd when it comes to books, so maybe you should just ignore everything after I said about the stand :eek2:

[TheHardcase]

I'm rereading The Stand and stumbled upon something I didn't catch the first time through, Charles D. Campion is the fella who went AWOL and pretty much started the spread of Capt. Tripps in the prologue of the book, His Initials are C.D.C. (Center for Diseases Control) umm coincidence?

I never noticed that. Learn something new every day.

[rose key]

:glare:

I'm sorry, but I simply have to know...is this a comment on the comments, or a comment on The Stand? And if it's a comment on a comment, to which comment were you referring?

[TheHardcase]

PS: the only ONE tiny negative in the whole book for me - and I know others wont agree - was Frannie. She annoyed me a little at times - and even more so after watching the six part drama of this. Molly Ringwald was the last person I would have chosen to play her!!!


Roger that, especially when it comes to Molly Ringwald. I thought Frannie showed more steel in her spine in the book -- big surprise, SK's book far exceeded the miniseries version -- and the casting of Molly Ringwald only reduced Frannie's character to a sniveling, whiney princess with a terminal case of gimme-get-me-I-want.

On the whole, the casting was fairly decent, and in some cases, excellent. Not so in the case of Molly Ringwald.

Gosh, there's a whole new can of worms . . . How could The Stand have been cast better? :eek2:

[Jojo87]

I'm not even halfway on stand yet and I just love it. My summer vacation start soon, so then I have more time to finish the stand.

[Checkman]

I like Duma Key and the short story anthology Night Shift. It was Night Shift that got me going on SK. I would reccommend you follow up with Night Shift and Salems Lot. Those are some of his earlier works and were also written in the seventies. Then go onto his later works. Personally I think Duma Key reminded me in many ways of SK's older works. I liked it a lot.

I first read The Stand in the summer of 1985. I have since read it a few times, but I still remember the summer of 85 very fondly and the novel is one of those memories.

[karend3]

Well if you read Insomnia, you must read IT first so you will know the reference to the earthquake. Of course there is also a reference to Pet Semetary and Cujo, so maybe you might want to start all the way with Carrie.

[smooth operator]

Don't worry about what comes next - concentrate on the journey on which you are about to embark. This epic will have you mesmerized - and don't be surprised if you get at least a case of the sniffles. We have all suffered the same fate. This too shall pass.
And the world shall move on.

[amcbride]

I just finished the Dark Tower series (great!), and I have also decided to start The Stand for the first time, everyone has such great things to say about it, I am excited to get into it. I read the first 100 pages yesterday and cant wait to see whats next!

[delores 74]

I agree with everyone about The Stand. It is by far one of his richer novels in terms of character development. They are so alive that you expect Stu or Tom to come strolling through your door. It is an absolutely brilliant piece of work, and you won't be disappointed. Following your completion, I recommend Insomnia. I've read it quite a few times and haven't gotten tired of it. DC and TK are more sci-fi, which I am not particularly a fan of.

[spanishjoe74]

just started reading the stand myself (after having a copy of it on my bookshelf for ages!) after finishing cujo (for the first time!). think i only read that because i'd just put down the dead zone! i dont tend to think what im going to read after the book i've only just started, that would give me brain fade!!

[tillyn]

All good you can't miss with Steve's books. Get the graphic novels of the STand also good.

[joemama73]

I never noticed that. Learn something new every day.
Yeah when I came across his name, it was like it just jumped out at me, probably had something to do with the Swine flu, I guess :eek2:

[Lily Sawyer]

I'm not always into reading an author's works chronologically, but there's something to be said for having an understanding what Mr. King addressed early in his career, and then what came later for him. Horror based upon life situations (Dolores Claiborne, Lisey's Story) can sometimes be exponentially more frightening than a story based upon old folk tales or fairy tales (The Tommyknockers, 'Salem's Lot).

One thing I must say for Mr. King is that while he has included vampires and werewolves in some of his novels, in no way do they come close to being knock-offs of Dracula or I Was A Teenaged Werewolf. Go see for yourself in The Talisman. Wolf may very well be the character with whom you fall in love the most. Happy reading!!!

[05jellis]

I had started reading the stand about a week ago and got about 300 pages in and stopped reading. Partly because I was going on holiday and didnt want to take such a big book with me and partly because I didn't find anything very interesting when reading those 300 or so pages. I'm sure that one day I'll read it all but for now I'll read his others.

[thymeoperator]

I had started reading the stand about a week ago and got about 300 pages in and stopped reading. Partly because I was going on holiday and didnt want to take such a big book with me and partly because I didn't find anything very interesting when reading those 300 or so pages. I'm sure that one day I'll read it all but for now I'll read his others.

wow, i thought the beginning to that book was one of the best parts. it's a terrifying intro. i haven't genuinely been scared by anything in any other SK books, mostly i just find them eerie, but that intro i found hard to get horrifying. probably because it's more likely something like that will happen in real life than most of his other stories.

[05jellis]

I guess I was probably not really in the mood for another 100+ page book after finishing It. I do however love that on facebook there is a group for people to join if they want the name of swine flu changed to captain trips lol

[GBPack1]

I guess I was probably not really in the mood for another 100+ page book after finishing It. I do however love that on facebook there is a group for people to join if they want the name of swine flu changed to captain trips lol


:laugh: that's awesome!