I have a mid life confession to make...

[unclelouie]

I am moving in on 40 (maybe not be mid life to Moses or George Burns, but it feels that way to me...ha). I've read the DT series, among many other of King's classics. However, somehow Ive managed not to read The Stand. Dunno why. Perhaps I was simply turned off by the tv movie from the 90s. I actually hated it (altho the intro part with Dont Fear the Reaper was pretty cool). Ive always been a huge Randall Flagg fan, however, so last night as I browsed the K section at the used book store, I thought to myself... "dammit Uncle Louie.. youre almost 40... buy the Stand, shut up, and just read it). Heres to hoping the book is nothing like the movie!

[Becks19]

Heres to hoping the book is nothing like the movie!

Here's to assuring you that it's better! Happy upcoming birthday!!

[fushingfeef]

In a way I envy you, unclelouie, reading it for the first time is quite an experience!

[not_nadine]

Just forget about Molly, please.

[GNTLGNT]

...oh believe me, the novel FAR surpasses the movie...and best yet-NO MOLLY FLIPPIN' RINGWALD!!!.....

[~Ally~]

Read it!

That is all.

[unclelouie]

Just forget about Molly, please.

Im sorry, I have had a bit of a crush on Molly since the late 80s. She was one of the few things about the movie that I actually liked. I will say though, I thought LT. Dan did a great job as Stu Redman, and the soundtrack was pretty cool. But the actors who played Nadine, Harold, Larry, and the MOON guy were just flat out annoying as hell. The muscial score was also very cheesy as well... the generic, horrible score screamed out "MADE FOR TV MOVIE" everytime you heard it.

[mstay]

It's my favorite SK book so I think you will love it! Have fun. :biggrin2:

And after you read it I hope you will see that the casting of Bill Fagerbakke as Tom was an inspired choice. Nadine not so much.

[doowopgirl]

It is still my all time fave. So, do yourself a HUGE favor and wipe that awful TV thing from your memory. Most of all enjoy!

[champ1966]

That is all.

M*O*O*N that spells M*A*S*H

[~Ally~]

M*O*O*N that spells M*A*S*H

Ooh, I'm going to listen to "Suicide is Painless" now...a great tune I'd somehow forgotten about! :y:

[unclelouie]

Ok, so like one last question....

This is bugging me... because Ive read the Dark Tower and Eyes of the Dragon, I always imagine Flagg as the pale, red lipped, evil, emaciated, almost demon-like man, with the hood and cloak. However, the movie portrays Randall Flagg as this Fabio, drug story romance novel cover model with a mullet, tight jeans, and huge pecs. Nothing like the Flagg I am accustomed to.


So in you guys opinion, does Flagg's appearance do some shape shifting during The Stand, or does the movie just have it all wrong.

[unclelouie]

Ooh, I'm going to listen to "Suicide is Painless" now...a great tune I'd somehow forgotten about! :y:

Oh great, now I keep hearing the opening to the song.... THANKS! lol

[~Ally~]

Oh great, now I keep hearing the opening to the song.... THANKS! lol

Yer welcome! :devil:

As for the Flagg query...read the damn book and see. :tongue:

[unclelouie]

Ok. so Im reading the book... about 100 pages in.... I am not picturing Frannie as Molly Ringwald, but as for Stu... I just cant stop picturing Gary Sinese.... anyone else have this problem!

[tenngolfer]

The movie was dissappointing after reading the book. You will enjoy it. I remember hating having to put the book down.

[Sundrop]

Ok. so Im reading the book... about 100 pages in.... I am not picturing Frannie as Molly Ringwald, but as for Stu... I just cant stop picturing Gary Sinese.... anyone else have this problem!

I pictured Gary Sinese as Stu when I read the book......way before the movie/mini series.

[GNTLGNT]

I pictured Gary Sinese as Stu when I read the book......way before the movie/mini series.

...just the same way I pictured Unca Steve writing the book before he appeared in the movie!....:tongue:

[Sundrop]

...just the same way I pictured Unca Steve writing the book before he appeared in the movie!....:tongue:

:laugh:

[GNTLGNT]

..and for Ally et al...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Yc52NckGLs

[Spideyman]

For me, the book is always better than the movie. The allows your mind to make the pictures. see the characters as the words are eaten by your own imagination. Read and enjoy.
As far as RF in the movie- I personally felt the physical characteristic was like skin of an onion- peel the outer-looks away, and the real RF appears.

[unclelouie]

So Im about 200 pages in (only like 1, 020 something left...). I cannot tell you all how amazed I am by this novel already. I am also glad I bought the expanded version. I know that there is a handful of SK readers who arent crazy about how detial oriented he can be sometimes (Ive heard it been referred to as diareah of the mouth before), but I love it. I abolsutely love reading backstory and details about even the minor characters (ie. Vic and the rest of Stu's buddies from the gas station). The minute someone tells me that a certain King book is bloated, overblown, and full of unnecessary detail, I put in on my list.

Oh, and who doesnt love reading about cover ups, fascism, and abuse of power!

[kylallie]

JUST today finished reading The Stand, a book I have been avoiding until now for some reason. I now can't figure out why..... it was an incredible read! Read it in five days as I couldn't put it down for long! Enjoy!!

[unclelouie]

I dunno about you guys, but this book is hard to put down. Its the first thing I pick up after work (besides dinner), and the last thing I put down before bed. But Im having one particular distressing issue. Having seen the movie.. I am trying so hard to let my imagination flow, and organically picture the characters in my mind.

However, all I keep seeing in my head are Gary Sinese, and the other actors from the movie. No matter how much I let my imagination go, I just keep going back to the actors faces. With 2 exceptions... oddly.... enough..

I do not picture Nick Andros as Rob Lowe or Frannie as Molly Ringwald. Probably bc SK describes Frannie as 20 years old, long Auburb hair, and long legs (not how I picture Molly at all). So now the Frannie in my head looks like a long lost, taller sister of Lindsay Lohan or something. The Nick Andros characters is described with black hair and being 22... Rob Lowe was what, 40 in the Stand? But King doesnt go into much detail on the physical description of the others, so I revert to the movie.

[not_nadine]

For some reason, I pictured Nick dark skinned and kinda short. I don't remember any description of him like that. As for Franny, I think you got that one right unclelouie. The Tom Cullen was right on in the movie. I pictured Nadine as more exotic looking.

[PatInTheHat]

Rob Lowe was what, 40 in the Stand?

:eek2:
Heeyyy hey heyheyhey, just watch it now pup, I'm older than ol' young Master Robbie, and I wasn't near forty when the movie was made:glare:...gee whiz, and at pushin' fifty today, he still damn near looks like a freakin' fetus:biggrin2:.
To be honest, at forty, the Rob Lowe'y(ish) lookin' types of the world, they would call often me pops & gramps and such early onset geezerly nonsense, often to their very own youthful(ish) indiscretion department's detriment:wink2:
I'm so glad your diggin' The Stand, it's my all time favorite and as previously stated, I'm rather jealous of you too...hey y'all know somethin', I've noticed that's said about this book bushel baskets worth, off the top of my head I can't think of another that's said quite like it.
Just wait til you get around to a re-read, I think most of us refer to that simply as, "the first", I mean if ya want the ride's just started:y:.

[mstay]

:eek2:
Heeyyy hey heyheyhey, just watch it now pup, I'm older than ol' young Master Robbie, and I wasn't near forty when the movie was made:glare:...gee whiz, and at pushin' fifty today, he still damn near looks like a freakin' fetus:biggrin2:.
To be honest, at forty, the Rob Lowe'y(ish) lookin' types of the world, they would call often me pops & gramps and such early onset geezerly nonsense, often to their very own youthful(ish) indiscretion department's detriment:wink2:
I'm so glad your diggin' The Stand, it's my all time favorite and as previously stated, I'm rather jealous of you too...hey y'all know somethin', I've noticed that's said about this book bushel baskets worth, off the top of my head I can't think of another that's said quite like it.
Just wait til you get around to a re-read, I think most of us refer to that simply as, "the first", I mean if ya want the ride's just started:y:.

Exactly! (Even including my age.) Thanks Pat!

[unclelouie]

Sorry to the old folks here :)

Apparently I made a silly comment about Lowe being 40.. I Googled him, and apparently he was only 29 or 30 when The Stand was made. But hey, as a teenager, everyone seemed so old back then, right!

Oddly, Lowe is only about 10 years older than I am now...

But yes, he'd held up well over the years.

[GNTLGNT]

Sorry to the old folks here

...listen Sonny, after I rub my leg down with some liniment-I can still kick yer azz!!!...:laugh:

[PatInTheHat]

Sorry to the old folks here :)



...listen Sonny, after I rub my leg down with some liniment-I can still kick yer azz!!!...:laugh:

Ehhh*achachwhhheeezeuhhkphhhtooy*ehh wassat *couuuugh* y'all sayin':eyebrow:..:oh:..ah jeez am I ever hopin' that was justa wee fart:eek2:

[not_nadine]

:laugh:

[GNTLGNT]

Ehhh*achachwhhheeezeuhhkphhhtooy*ehh wassat *couuuugh* y'all sayin':eyebrow:..:oh:..ah jeez am I ever hopin' that was justa wee fart:eek2:

...speak into mah good ear...I be deef in the other youngster!...

http://phisick.com/core/wp-content/uploads/ear-trumpet-photo-102.jpg

[unclelouie]

So over the holiday, I was able to catch up on my reading, and almost finished Part I. of The Stand. What an incredible book. Prior to this The DT series was my favorite SK work, but this is right up there. And ties in so nice.

Anyhow, I have to say, SK had me laughing a bit on the inside (in a very dark humored sort of way) on Chapter 38 or 39, I think it was... I call it the "post super flu Darwin Awards" chapter. OMG, it was like reading the yearly Darwin Awards. The girl locking herself in the freezer. The paranoid woman who had the gun explode in her hand. I felt guilty laughing, but heck, its fiction, and you gotta find humor in the fact that Darwinism is still applicable in the post flu world. I did not laugh at the kid falling in the well though, that kinda made me sad.

But Sai King is brilliant. This chapter, while totally 100% entertaining, gives you an even bigger overview of post flu America. But its why SK is my favorite author of all time... his attention to detail is second to none.

[unclelouie]

Update- slowly creeping along.....

So Book 2 started out pretty slow for me. I just wasn't enthralled with the Mother Abigail backstory, and the first part of the book (ie Book 2). However, moving along, the chapter where the Trashcan Man meets The Kid has been absolutely laughing my a## off. Everytime he says "happy crappy", it makes me snicker outloud. The Kid reminds me of a friend from college, who back then reminded me of a demented Ricky Nelson. haha

[ianhoops]

Hi unclelouie,

Despite reading lots of King in the early 90's I only started dipping into his early stuff about 18 months ago and like you I had never read The Stand. This was purely because I am not a quick reader so I knew it would take me ages to get through especially as King does have the tendency to waffle on at times! However, last spring I went for it and I was absolutely blown away. I just loved every aspect of the story and at no point was I thinking about how much I had left to read. For the first time ever I had withdrawal symptoms after finishing a book...I tried to read the Shining straight afterwards and all I could think about were Stu Redman, Larry Underwood etc and the apocalyptic world they were living in.

I have just finished Under the Dome and despite having lots more unread King to go, I am seriously considering getting another fix of The Stand....after a quick detour to Richard Matheson's 'I Am Legend' (which is an awesome read btw)

Happy reading! :grinning:

[AchtungBaby]

Hi UncleLouie,

I haven't really noticed the new posts in this thread until now. I think it's cool how you're updating us on your journey through one of King's finest (IMO) novels - it's a truly remarkable literary journey unlike anything else I've ever read.

I was a bit shocked with how RF and Harold Lauder looked in the mini-series. Harold was over-weight and suffered from acne in the book, right? Oh, well. It still beats some adaptions of King's works...

[not_nadine]

Yes, Harold was all that. But RF in a mullet? :laugh:


http://ts2.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.5017540602495629&pid=15.1


That there is some funny stuff.

[TheEllimist]

I have to say that RF was the worstpart of the series. My mental picture of RF was almost spot on with the way he was depicted in the comic series and I was very disappointed with the miniseries adaptation of the book. There is way too much story here to put into a miniseries without losing part of what makes it great. It needs its own series on a network like AMC or H.B.O. that would do it the justice it deserves, with good casting choices and writers who follow the details of the book closely.

I started readingThe Stand a couple years ago and right about the time that I got to the outbreak of Captain Trips there was breaking news of a new epidemic: "Swine Flu". It was perfect timing and made me wonder if the story was playing out in the real world.

16994

[tenngolfer]

I remember putting down The Stand after reading it ( a couple of decades ago) and thinking I was was saying goodbye to good friends I would never see again. I had a similar feeling when I finished 11/22/63.

[clemxens]

Sorry to hijack your thread, but I finally finished this last night and I loved it! Just wanted to express how much I enjoyed it, and that it's definitely my favorite King so far. Onto The Long Walk next...

[unclelouie]

Sorry to hijack your thread, but I finally finished this last night and I loved it! Just wanted to express how much I enjoyed it, and that it's definitely my favorite King so far. Onto The Long Walk next...

I can dig that, happy crappy.

[Chuggs]

Im sorry, I have had a bit of a crush on Molly since the late 80s. She was one of the few things about the movie that I actually liked. I will say though, I thought LT. Dan did a great job as Stu Redman, and the soundtrack was pretty cool. But the actors who played Nadine, Harold, Larry, and the MOON guy were just flat out annoying as hell. The muscial score was also very cheesy as well... the generic, horrible score screamed out "MADE FOR TV MOVIE" everytime you heard it.
It was "Made for TV." Just sayin.:heheh: