I’ve never been a big fan of Stephen King. No reason, really, other than much of it is horror and generally don’t read genre fiction. Anyway, aside from The Green Mile and The Shawshank Redemption I haven’t read a lot of his stuff.
My problem, however, is my serious addiction to reading. I must read any time I’m not actually speaking or listening. The other day I was desperately looking for a book in the house, having read every magazine, newspaper and cereal box I could find. I went through my wife’s pile and came across a book called The Stand so I started reading it.
I don’t know if any of you folks have ever read this or not but I’m three hundred pages into it and I really like it. Except for the fact that every time anyone around me coughs I break into a panic. Every time someone sneezes my spine straightens and I start sweating.
Last night I had a dream that everyone around me was dropping dead from this virus or whatever the hell it is. Very realistic. I woke up in the middle of the night and was looking for duct tape to try and seal off the windows and doors to my house.
It's amazing how I got on in life without ever having read this book, what with my track record of swallowing novels by the boxload.
Last night I ried to watch the Masterpiece Theater version of Dicken's Bleak House but I had to turn it off after a few minutes. Having read the book a couple of times I couldn't reconcile the screen version wth what my mind had already generated over the years.
I understand there's a mini-series or something based on The Stand. Is it any good?
The mini series is alright but the book is much better. The Stand was the very first book I read by Stephen King and I will never forget how I was not able to put it down for more than a few minutes. I became a Stephen King fan right then and their. Have read all of them up to date and some of them twice. With all this talk about the Stand I think I will read it again. :)
Sompopo said just about everything I would have said. The book is far better and more intriguing than the film. With King's books, there is so much detail in terms of the characters, it doesn't convey well on the screen. That, and it's really hard to do a 1200 page book justice, even with a 9 hour miniseries.
Stephen King has written a gazillion books, some of them good, some of them great, and some of them not so good, but The Stand will always be his greatest work, particularly the unedited version.
The miniseries was okay, better than some screen adaptations of his work, but it can't quite give you that "whoooaaaa" feeling like the book.
I've been meaning to get a copy of The Stand for, basically, years since the miniseries came out (I loved the miniseries, BTW) but everytime I go into a bookstore I hit the magazines and the computer & SF sections and completely blank out on anything else. How will I know I'm getting the unedited version? And if I get the unedited version, will it really have me eschewing All Other Things, like my zombie horde, my rats, and the studying for my next cert that I better get soon?
The unedited version is something like 1150 pages, while the original (edited) version is around 800 pages. I think that the original version is now out of print, so you can only buy the unedited version.
According to SK, the book originally was considered too long and the asking price was too high (by 1978 standards) so about 300 pages were cut. Once SK became so popular he could sell anything regardless of price with his name on it, he re-released The Stand with the 300+ pages included and some time-frame updates (this was 1990). Both versions were best-sellers. Marketing genius, I say.
Beware, Victor: you may get so engrossed in the book that your rats may well starve to death, as well as any other small furry animals you keep company with. You've been warned.
The Stand was always my go-to book as a lad. When I couldn't find anything good to read, I started The Stand again.
Seriously, I've read it 10 times (2 of them being the uncut version)
I thought the Miniseries did a fair job of bringing the book to the screen. Worth watching, but like most King miniseries, the pacing plods in spots.
My favorite part is the camera-work while Blue Oyster Cult's "Don't Fear the Reaper" is playing.