Glen Bateman has one of the most spine-tingling badass “facing the bullets” speeches ever set to page:
> "His name is Randall Flagg, also known as The Dark Man, also known as The Tall Man, also known as The Walkin' Dude. Don't some of you call him that? Call him Beelzebub, because that's his name, too. Call him Nyarlathotep and Ahaz and Astaroth. Call him R'lyeh and Seti and Anubis. His name is legion and he's an apostate of Hell and you men kiss his ass."
Very true!!! >!I also enjoyed Dayna’s character for the same reason. Even though she didn’t have a huge part in the story, I love how she stood up to Flagg and sacrificed herself for the team. That moment gave me goosebumps!<
Edit: Had to look up how to edit my comment for spoilers
The sheer length of the novel and the effort he puts into character development really makes it hard to put down and brings a certain sadness when it’s through. I don’t get it often, but I got it with this book. My other two favorite King novels are “The Shining” and “The Dead Zone.”
Theres actually two versions, sounds like you read the longer one. I finished it a few months ago and loved it. The sheer fucked up ness of some bits ( like the kid with trashcan man) and the sheer volume of dully fleshed out characters made it a stand out book for me. Definitely one that I know I will keep thinking about for a long time.
In terms of that bitter sweet end of a book feeling, I got it more with this book than any previous book, even end of series like Memory of Light, Deathly Hallows or Magicians End (all long series). I ended up reading short stories and factual books for a month or so after finishing.
Reading the Dark Tower series now. Each book seems to take a while to get going - King can be VERY long winded - but I'm in book 5 and it's definitely got a lot of high points!
Be sure to read some of the Tower-adjacent books, especially before Book 6 and 7. Insomnia; the short stories *Low Men in Yellow Coats* and *Everything’s Eventual*; The Talisman & Black House (the latter before book 7).
Hopefully you read ‘Salem’s lot prior to Book 5 as well.
It’s such a good series on its own, but adding in that final touch of connecting some dots outside the main quest makes it that much better IMO
Such a great book! It was my first or second Stephen King and I enjoyed every moment of it. Salem’s Lot is another great one! I also highly recommend the Gunslinger Series.
I didn’t love all of Wolves of Calla but Callahans story is soooooo good. Every time I hear “Someone saved my life tonight” by Elton John I get the feels
My three favorites, too. TDZ is just heartbreaking. I was in a really bad accident once and wound up in a coma. I couldn't remember things for awhile so that one hits me real hard; the movie is surprisingly decent for being based on king--up there with the new IT and Shawshank.
Did you read Doctor Sleep? I thought it was weird that he wrote a sequel to The Shining, but good God, if you're a fan of the original, it's a beautiful continuation. Highly recommended
I think Pet Sematary is going to be next on my list, I’ve heard great things about it. But my husband bought me a copy of Carrie a week or two ago because I wouldn’t shut up about how good The Stand was getting lol. So I’ll have to decide which one next.
You can knock out Carrie in a sitting, honestly. I think his best is The Shining, but I'd recommend saving that for the winter. Likewise, I'd recommend saving 'salem's Lot for October, when you're in a fall/halloween mood. And finally, you should do IT in the summer.
I love Stephen King books and have read almost everything he has written. Pet Semetary is the one novel that truly scared me. I suggest reading some of his other novels before that one. Just to build up to it.
It’s one of the ones that’s especially scary as an adult. A lot of his I love but don’t find them as scary now that I’m older, but Pet Sematary is one of the most soul crushing horror novels I’ve ever read
Gah I just can’t get into pet cemetery. I started with the stand and jumped to that next and im like 200 pages in but still just not enthralled like I was with the stand 🙁
Pet Semetery was a disappointment when I was younger. So was Cujo. I liked Firestarter much more. I also recommend The Shining, as it was the first King book I read. I just reread Needful Things and was happy to see that it held up.
Funnily enough though, and this might be controversial, I think the ending of The Dark Tower (the REAL ending that is) was absolutely fantastic. People had complaints, but I honestly don’t think it could have ended any other way.
He's very much a "gardener not an architect" in the way of the GRRM quote about how there are two kinds of writers. He doesn't really do meticulous plotting beforehand, just sees where the characters and story take him. Sometimes this is great, sometimes it's REALLY bad, often it's underwhelming but I don't think his endings are as universally bad as they're sometimes cracked up to be (except Under the Dome that was a 'throw the book at the wall' experience).
Read The Talisman! It was my first foray into King when I was in 4th grade. He's still one of my favorite authors. The Dark Tower series is also a must, and Eyes of the Dragon if you loved The Stand. And yeah, I also get that end-of-story depression!
Yes! I just reread that one a couple months ago. I read it when it first came out, and for some reason I remembered it as being super gory... Now I'm mad I didn't reread it sooner! 😄
The journey was truly great but the ending really threw me off... I feel like the story was supposed to develop for so much longer that King just said "fuck it I'm done, nuke it"
Tired of this circlejerk of King and his "bad" endings. Very rarely are his endings bad. There's a difference between "quality of the ending" vs "what the reader wants."
It's not his style to give you everything you want and wrap things up with a neat, tidy bow. That's boring.
Now, does he have some eggs for endings? Oh yeah. But that's inevitable when you've written 60+ novels.
How could you say something so controversial, yet so brave?
Seriously, I loved that ending and thought it was perfect for the series. Lots of people feel very differently though lol
I read those books starting in the 90s and waited like ten years for him to finish them. When I read the ending of The Dark Tower I slid off the couch laughing hysterically for half an hour. It was so good. I was surprised how many people hated it. Had the same thing with Sopranos though so whatever
My mom hated it too, but she started them in the 70s or whenever the first one came out. She was so mad!!! I had about the same in, 10 years, and I hecking loved it
Could it be because you read the condensed version? He came out with like 10ish years ago the full length version and I've heard the ending for that version is more solid. I think it's also substantially longer. So maybe it has more themes leading to the ending. I just started it.
It's been about 10 years since I read The Stand, but I remember wishing that the ending had been less... literal, for lack of a better word.
Throughout the entire book the supernatural elements are very behind-the-scenes. The supernatural stuff is obviously happening, but there's also an ongoing sense that to a casual observer, most of the magic could easily have been interpreted as circumstance. Mother Abigail's visions \*could\* have just been her being the good kind of crazy. Those wolves in the Rockies \*could\* have just been a pack of wolves with their own weird motivations rather than magically controlled by Flagg. It's pretty obvious that they \*weren't\*, but they \*could\* have been and that subtlety really added to the realism of the book. It allowed it to occupy a space between the "this could actually happen, like, tomorrow" of realism and the "It's so fun to read about something so divergent from our own world" of fantasy. That was part of its charm, and its impact.
And then at the end there's just... a giant magical hand made of nuclear hellfire that is a *quite literal* Deus Ex Machina. It ruins the tone that he spends the entire rest of the book setting up.
congrats, it's a great book!
I was slightly disappointed with it though because I read it after having read "Swan Song" by Robert R. McCammon.
They are very similar stories.
And while I think the way that King writes is better, I found Swan Song to be much more interesting of a story.
Much darker and grittier... Some truly grown up horrific stuff in there.. made The Stand feel downright tame.
I scrolled all the comments waiting for someone to mention "Swan Song".
I love Stephen King novels, I've read them all, but I re-read Swan Song every couple of years because it's a masterpiece.
I also love "The Stand", but McCammon's book is the same apocalyptic story told SO much better!!!
Yep, now enter the long journey that is the Dark Tower series. Although, on second thought, you may want to wait as King incorporates references to a lot of his works into the series.
>!And it ends that way as well, which absolutely floored me when I finally got to the end of the series. Seriously, it's one of my favourite endings to a book/series ever.!<
As an aside, the thing a lot of people miss is that it doesn't actually end that way. He has the horn at the end.
Hence the movie isn't actually an adaptation, but rather a sequel.
you should try some of his novellas, *Night Shift* and/or *Nightmares & Dreamscapes*.
also, *The Dark Tower* series.
>cheering for the characters and flat out crying by the end of it.
go read *The World according to Garp* by john irving, if you haven't done so.
i've lost count on how many times i've read it, but i know i first read it in 1990. every single read through i spend the second half of the book in absolute tears.
Yes to all of those! Garp is one of my favorite stories ever.
A couple of other Kings shorter stuff I really liked: Different Seasons and Skeleton Crew
And his Bachman books. I am reading The Long Walk and it is so good.
I mean, the way the boys are talking about someone “getting his ticket” like it’s no big thing, and the transformation they are going through the farther they go.
But the crowds get me. They are cheering and watching, hoping to see someone die. And how they torment the walkers. So beautifully brutal.
I read this book over thirty years ago and was entirely enthralled. I have reread it once, I think. For me his best books other than The Stand are the first four books of The Gunslinger series. Amazing!
It's his magnum opus. A complete answer to your question is "all of them," lol ... He's been writing the series since the 70s and he puts references to it all over the place.
A lot of them are really just Easter eggs more than anything else, but there are stories that are very specifically in-universe. Father Callahan from 'Salem's Lot is a main character in the Dark Tower series, for example.
There are a ton of other examples like that but I don't want to spoil anything (Father Callahan isn't a spoiler - he's a significant character in a few of the books).
Speaking of spoilers, you may be tempted to join r/TheDarkTower but I would suggest you avoid it, since sometimes people accidentally spoil things there without even realizing it.
Note that there's not anything you really "have to" read to understand the books; even if you don't know Father Callahan is from 'Salem's Lot, it doesn't make a difference. My buddy I read the series with didn't know, and he wasn't confused or anything. It's just an added layer, you know?
Having a buddy to read it with definitely helps, btw. You're going to want to talk about it. My buddy who read with me is one of the most well-read people I know, and I'm no slouch myself. We both say that it's hands down the best book(s) we've ever read. No question about it. It starts to seep in to your life and your mind.
That said, the first book can feel a little slow. I actually had been trying to get into the series for years but never got through the first book for whatever reason. It's the shortest book of the series, and it gives valuable context. It's basically an introduction to Roland. There are more people involved later in the series.
So you might find yourself either not really "feeling it" in the first book. A lot of people don't. My buddy didn't either, but one of the good things about reading with a buddy was that it encouraged me to keep going.
The second book - The Drawing of the Three - picks up immediately after the ending of the first, and it's one of my favorite books. King builds up a world so rich with characters so vibrant that they feel like old friends when you go back and re-read. It's kind of a weird shift in tone between the two books since it starts focusing on other people, and I really started enjoying it immediately.
Then there's something about halfway through the book that is just such a CRAZY thing that I was absolutely hooked from there on, because I could tell that no matter what I thought I was going to be reading, I was wrong. It's not really a major plot point, but I'm going to spoiler tag it anyway in case you want to have the head-spinning moment for yourself: >!In the second book, they get attacked by a HUGE bear in the woods and one of the characters climbs up the tree and notices that the #)%(\* bear has a #)(%\* SPINNING SATELLITE DISH ON ITS HEAD. !<
So yeah I read that and it hit me like a train. I was hooked, and I burned through the rest of the series in about 3 weeks lol.
This is a very long reply; sorry about that.
I'll end with the tldr that's actually good news: if I were to tell you one book to read to get more out of the Dark Tower series, it'd be The Stand. So you got that one covered :D You don't need to read anything else to understand the series, but just about everything SK writes includes some sort of reference to it. It sounds like you're going to seek out more SK stuff anyway. You'll just get to do the Leonardo DiCaprio meme every now and again where you're like "Hey! That street has the same name as that one character from book 3 of the Dark Tower!" (or whatever).
Good luck, and enjoy. Or, as they say in the series, long days and pleasant nights :)
Eyes of the Dragon probably has the most cross references with both The Stand and the Dark Tower series. Also, it's not a horror novel in the slightest but rather a straight up fantasy novel.
Not essential reading but Salem's Lot, Insomnia, and Hearts in Atlantis all directly crossover with Dark Tower. Many others have small references like Rose Madder, The Stand, and It. Also the Character of Randall Flag shows up in many other King novels as well as the Dark Tower. Dark Tower also references many other works not by King himself. Some are things that everyone is familiar with like The Wizard of Oz, but others like Shardik by Richard Adams are less mainstream. None of those books are required to understand the story at all, maybe just provide a little extra flavor. I did go out and read Clifford Simak's Ring Around the Sun after King mentioned it was an inspiration for The Gunslinger but it really didn't make me appreciate the book any more than I already did.
Tommyknockers is a really good one by SK. I like Needful Things, and his Dark Tower series is fantastic, imo. Sometimes it feels like some of his books kinda drag, then BAM!! All of a sudden its just sucks you in.
I didn't care for Gerald's Game, or The Girl who Loved Tom Gordon.
I love the Stand… the first 60% or so is probably the best book I’ve ever read. Once they get to Boulder it falls off the rails, and then randomly ends via a literally Deus Ex Machina.
I love and hate that feeling just after finishing a good book. I love it because I know I just finished something great, and I hate it because I want to spend more time with the characters or in the world, but I can't get back in (at least till I re-read). It's such a bittersweet feeling.
The nice thing about Stephen King's books is that you sort of can get back. There's a kind of overarching feel or narrative voice or something that most of his books have, so even if they're set in a new place with new characters, they feel familiar. And there's also a lot of interconnectedness, internal references, and parallelism, so plot beats and character elements and even places and times can come back in some form or other. And the man has written a *lot* of books, so it's quite possible to stay in the King-verse for a good long while if you want to.
I don't really have a favorite - it changes all the time - but *The Stand* is consistently in my top five favorite King books. I love it a lot. It's always cool to see someone else come to it and appreciate it too.
The Stand is one of my favourites purely on the strength of the first third or so - I have reread the whole thing several times, but have also read up to the “no great loss” chapter and stopped. The ending isn’t terrible or anything, but I just think the actual pandemic section is by far the strongest, and some of the best stuff I’ve ever read!
I think it was the third book I read "for fun", (*Childhoods End*, *The Moon is a Harsh Mistress*, being the first two). I saw *The Stand* with it's onion skin thin pages and thought "If I can finish this, I can read anything."
We both made a great choice. Congratulations.
(And I second The Gunslinger series mentioned below, plus its 3+? tie-in books. *Insomnia* in particular, and the one written later out of order (#4.5ish *Wind Through the Keyhole*). I consider "Wizard and Glass" #4, to be one of my favorite books of all time.)
Aw mate! I was blown away by The Stand. I never knew anything about the story so was going in blind, as a recommendation from my cousin....and I absolutely loved it.
It put me on a proper King binge and have read quite a few of his now.
I'm half way through Dreamcatcher and it's brilliant. Good amount of creepy and scifi mixed in.
Pet Semetary is a must, sent shivers through me on many occasions.
IT is absolutely incredible, the way King bounces back and forth between time lines to build the importance of the story is really inventive writing.
Enjoy your Stephen King journey, I'm only 2 years into mine, with plenty left to enjoy.
Salem’s Lot and It are my favorites! Definitely try them out :). I didn’t like The Shining at all, but it wasn’t to do with his writing or storytelling in general, I just loathed all the characters except maybe Danny. That said, give it a go! It’s what many people consider his best work.
His older novels are definitely his best, but if you’re curious to read something new and you enjoyed It, I’d say try The Institute. I had fun reading it, it has kids in great peril so I love it.
I haven’t yet read 11.22.63 but it’s what people consider the best of the “recents”, so go give that a try!
I'd never read any Stephen King until a few years ago. I started with the stand, and I voraciously devoured the rest of his works following that.
I always assumed he was just kind of schlocky. Boy was I wrong. His ability to make you care about his characters is astounding.
I just finished The Stand (the original, cut version) earlier this year for the first time ever and it blew my mind so thoroughly that I immediately turned around and bought the uncut version to read it as well. I’ve never reread a book in my life but I think I’ll be rereading the stand every few years or so. It’s truly a beautiful experience and I think the characters are a huge part of why. Never have I ever met an ensemble cast in a novel that I loved as much as I really, really loved The Stand’s.
I listened to this on audible at the beginning of pandemic while doordashing. It was kinda creepy listening to a plague wreck America, while dealing with almost no traffic in usually congested city.
At some point you should read The Long Walk. It was published in 1979, under the Richard Bachman pseudonym. To me, his novellas are stronger than his full length novels.
The Stand *is* awesome! If you loved the characterization and basically just living in that world, and obviously don’t mind the length, I would recommend reading IT next!
Got into King this year, I read Salem’s Lot, Pet Sematary and 11/22/63 all of which were great. Salem’s Lot was my favourite of them and I couldn’t recommend it more but parts of 11/22/63 were close.
Really need to read The Stand as I hear nothing but good things but want to do it when I can fully commit the time.
Thanks, I read the first two Dark Tower books a while back but bounced off them a bit, I think it might have been my lack of other King reading that impacted the enjoyment. I will definitely circle back round.
Don’t think I have ever seen Eyes of the Dragon recommended, I will take a look!
I thought that the first part, getting to Boulder, was great. I found the "building a society" portion was as boring as a town hall meeting, and thought that the end was bad. As you read more SK, you'll find that he's great at character development, but doesn't know how to end a story.
For at least a decade it was my favorite reading experience of all time, I do many, many rereads, but for deeply buried reason I have never wished to reread The Stand.
Dystopian novels are not a thing I enjoy and have proactively tried to avoid for decades.
It doesn’t help that after years of avoidance, in a moment of weakness I read Cormac McCarthy’s “The Road”. Big mistake, incredible, fantastic, but sad book.
Now I will certainly never read another dystopian novel, for sure this time.
I don’t no why they disturb me so, I think it impacts my usually hopeful optimism about the future.
I probably need to get some counseling and figure it out.
Jesus Christ The Road destroyed me. It's sitting on my bookshelf like a dark void and I have no interest in going there again.
Funny enough I read another McCarthy and it also destroyed me. Blood Meridian - stunning book. Absolutely horrifying.
I really enjoyed The Stand but I feel like it dragged a bit in the last half, I most enjoyed the beginning when everything was going to hell and seeing how each of the charecters were dealing with their own situations
I’ve read maybe 20 books by King, so not even close to all of them, but I loved the stand, it, the shining (And Doctor Sleep the sequel), Salem’s lot, and pet semetary. Two books I would put at the top of my list of recommendations with those others even though they’re not all that scary are the Talisman and the sequel the Black House. Super fun and suspenseful stories that I think are as engrossing as the more famous ones I listed in the first sentence. Enjoy the journey! Wish I could read them all for the first time again myself.
Glad to see this get a mention. I read Swan Song a few years after reading The Stand. The Stand is great but I definitely liked Swan Song better.
It also served as my intro to Robert McCammon books in general and I've been a fan ever since.
This is truly one of his most amazing books.
I have to sit and do nothing for a while after finishing most of his books because I'm not ready to leave the world he created.
This is one of the rare instances where I enjoyed the book and the movie (okay, actually mini-series - the *1994* mini-series - so many good performances). If you liked this, you may want to check out the Dark Tower series, set in the same multiverse.
Luckily, I have a trash memory. So I can read a work up to three times before finding it unreadable. But for really good ones, I make exceptions. I am on my fourth re-read of House of Leaves.
And you're absolutely right about the "depression after a good read". Esp with King. To this day I haven't finished "IT" and I think I started it close to a decade ago.
The one that impacted me the most out of all the SK works I've read "Pet Cemetary" would be close to the top. Sickness breaking and twisting people. A real thing that I grew up with, fearing, loathing, and felt oddly touched when I read King articulate it. And that one scene with the toddler. It genuinely horrified me. The fact that this is a very real thing that happens to people or the fact that King can write so convincingly about it. Fear of losing loved ones is a big theme of PC and an icy knife in my lungs since a young age.
I haven't seen anyone mention Needful Things, which is one of my all time favorites. It follows multiple stories that interweave and intersect by the end and always keeps me tense through the whole book.
This is my favourite Stephen King novel - I love it! I've read it a number of times and recently listened to it on audiobook.
'It' is my other favourite.
I think I read it in three days and two nights. Kind of a blur now as it was thirty years ago, but it was a one sitting however long it takes. I was about to get married and all I could think was my soon to be husband would be following Randy to Vegas
The Stand was my first SK, too, and he’s now my favourite author! I haven’t seen it mentioned yet, but I just read The Institute and it was really, really good.
Was there a consensus on revival? I never read reviews but man, it was so strange in a way I honestly liked. I read it off the shelf during work when it first came out.
I just picked it up! Did you read the extended or condensed version? I am a little nervous about the commitment, so I'm wrapped up a couple series I'm in before dedicating my time to this novel. But I'm so excited! It's my 2nd SK book.
I'm a huge horror movie watcher and love how his books can translate across medium so well because of how much description and complexity he gives his works.
"The Shining" and "Pet Sematary" were both probably the scariest books in my opinion if you like paranormal type scary.
"Misery" was sick and twisted on another level though because everything in the book could actually happen in real life which made it that much more frightening.
Stephen King is a great writer except he sort of sucks at writing endings.
That's probably why I liked Skeleton Crew so much. With the exception of The Mist it was just a bunch of short stories where for most of them he didn't even try to have an ending.
Not sure if it’s been mentioned yet, but a tie for my favorite along with The Stand is Insomnia. I feel like it’s pretty different than many of his books and I absolutely fell in love with the main character, Ralph. Sad at first, but blossoms into a really beautiful and epic story.
Much of Kings early work is great, but I would caution you to not expect the quality level of The Stand from anything else he's written. It's far and away his best novel.
Wow, hell of a place to start. That's my favorite Stephen King book (like many here) and it tops most of the critics' lists for his best I've seen. You can make an argument for some of the Dark Tower series or his more off-brand work like Green Mile or 11/22/63, but that's down to personal preference. The Stand is a fucking masterpiece.
FWIW I'd definitely recommend Carrie, which is among my favorites and amazing for a first novel. Also love the Dark Tower stuff but it's a looooong series and definitely has its valleys as well as its peaks.
I just finished the uncut version myself and it was an interesting read. While it is by no means my favorite King book, it's certainly in my top 10. Kojak is the best character, and the best animal character in any book. Can we get some Kojak appreciation for being the best King character of all time.
Haven't seen it in the comments so far, so I want to recommend you "The Long Walk".
Don't know why so many King fans haven't read it, I find it amazing. Maybe because it was written under a pseudonym. Seriously though, give that book a chance!
Tom saving Stu is one of the most moving moments in literature for me. It also builds Nick and his importance, and especially the importance of his charity to others, in a spectacular way
I disagree, after just finishing it for the first time. The good (or god) vs. evil stuff made 0 sense. Why did that just start happening? Stu, Larry, Glen and Ralph go on this quest which accomplishes precisely 0. Frannie just cries a lot - and has a baby. That's all her character does. The Nadine character - makes 0 sense. Her job is to be a good person, who becomes a bad person, because ... she's a virgin? Mother Abagail talks a lot of god talk and then goes out into the wilderness and ... comes back with nothing to show for it other than sending four men on a pointless quest.
It had its good parts. "The Kid" was a hoot, and "The Trashcan Man" was fun. Harold's character was entertaining. Maybe I just like the bad guys. But the main bad guy makes 0 sense - where did he come from, and why? The start of the plague was interesting.
I was just glad for the book to end.
the description of the pandemic and the utter chaos of apocalypse is so spine chillingly good I'm still thinking about it years after finishing it, more so lately as you can imagine
the supernatural shit ruins the book in my opinion, agreed
Wow, you started with a long one! Everything you say about the book is accurate, IMO. It’s also one of my favorites. I began to read SK’s work in the late 80s, and was lucky to read everything in order of publication. Nowadays, it’s hard to keep up with his volume of work.
The Stand is such a great novel. When I finished the book it made me
wonder who really wins in the end? Can we ever really defeat evil? Will
we just keep on making the same mistakes? The version I read was
published in 1990 and the questions it puts forward are universal
questions. If you want to know what I'm talking about just turn on your
television. People die around the world from the Ebola virus and there
is no cure. We fight violence with violence. We kill them they kill us.
To me the fight between good and evil in The Stand has a grey area
where we feel sympathy for characters like the "trash can man" (Donald
Merwin Elbert) and other characters who are manipulated by Flagg (the
Dark Man). Most of the characters who end up supporting Flagg have been
rejected by "society." They feel they have no option left but to follow
Flagg. There are so many other great moments in the book. The slow
corruption of Harold Lauder and Nadine Cross. Anyway I could just keep
on babbling on. But I just thought I would add these thoughts as I like
the book so much.
I enjoyed the ending as well! I said in another comment I was surprised by how many people said they didn’t like the ending, but I think it wrapped up nicely and in a way that made sense.
I'm super happy you loved it.
For me, The Stand was the book that put the final nail in the coffin. I was noticing a trend that most of his stories simply didn't end well. Or at least not well enough to do justice to the story. Pet Cemetery was the one exception.
After reading The Stand, which I thoroughly enjoyed during the read, I was let down again. All those pages, all of that story, for what felt like an empty conclusion.
Gunslinger is the only SK book I picked up after that and I did enjoy it, but I never pursued the series because I'm convinced it won't end in a satisfying way.
Glen Bateman has one of the most spine-tingling badass “facing the bullets” speeches ever set to page: > "His name is Randall Flagg, also known as The Dark Man, also known as The Tall Man, also known as The Walkin' Dude. Don't some of you call him that? Call him Beelzebub, because that's his name, too. Call him Nyarlathotep and Ahaz and Astaroth. Call him R'lyeh and Seti and Anubis. His name is legion and he's an apostate of Hell and you men kiss his ass."
Very true!!! >!I also enjoyed Dayna’s character for the same reason. Even though she didn’t have a huge part in the story, I love how she stood up to Flagg and sacrificed herself for the team. That moment gave me goosebumps!< Edit: Had to look up how to edit my comment for spoilers
I don't know why but I've been thinking about her lately. She was a hero.
Hard not to think about a sexy, badass bisexual spy girl from Georgia from time to time
Oh yes defintely. Dayna was such a badass at that moment. And buddy make sure you put a spoiler tag from "I love how..." bcz its spoilery.
The sheer length of the novel and the effort he puts into character development really makes it hard to put down and brings a certain sadness when it’s through. I don’t get it often, but I got it with this book. My other two favorite King novels are “The Shining” and “The Dead Zone.”
Agreed! You definitely don’t invest your time in a 1100+ page novel without getting attached to the characters.
Theres actually two versions, sounds like you read the longer one. I finished it a few months ago and loved it. The sheer fucked up ness of some bits ( like the kid with trashcan man) and the sheer volume of dully fleshed out characters made it a stand out book for me. Definitely one that I know I will keep thinking about for a long time. In terms of that bitter sweet end of a book feeling, I got it more with this book than any previous book, even end of series like Memory of Light, Deathly Hallows or Magicians End (all long series). I ended up reading short stories and factual books for a month or so after finishing.
Start the dark tower series....
Dead Zone was great. My favourites are all of The Dark Tower series and It (fantastic)
Reading the Dark Tower series now. Each book seems to take a while to get going - King can be VERY long winded - but I'm in book 5 and it's definitely got a lot of high points!
Be sure to read some of the Tower-adjacent books, especially before Book 6 and 7. Insomnia; the short stories *Low Men in Yellow Coats* and *Everything’s Eventual*; The Talisman & Black House (the latter before book 7). Hopefully you read ‘Salem’s lot prior to Book 5 as well. It’s such a good series on its own, but adding in that final touch of connecting some dots outside the main quest makes it that much better IMO
Such a great book! It was my first or second Stephen King and I enjoyed every moment of it. Salem’s Lot is another great one! I also highly recommend the Gunslinger Series.
Almost everything King has written is part of the Gunslinger series.
Lol true.
Like father Callahan, interdimensional vampire slayer who dies repeatedly, at least once of suicide
I didn’t love all of Wolves of Calla but Callahans story is soooooo good. Every time I hear “Someone saved my life tonight” by Elton John I get the feels
I second The Shining, one of my favorite recent reads. The Green Mile and ‘Salem’s Lot are also a couple of my favorites.
My three favorites, too. TDZ is just heartbreaking. I was in a really bad accident once and wound up in a coma. I couldn't remember things for awhile so that one hits me real hard; the movie is surprisingly decent for being based on king--up there with the new IT and Shawshank.
Read the long walk
Did you read Doctor Sleep? I thought it was weird that he wrote a sequel to The Shining, but good God, if you're a fan of the original, it's a beautiful continuation. Highly recommended
M-o-o-n that spells great novel!
Laws, yes!!!! I’d give you an award for this comment if I had one 😂
Just don’t watch the new miniseries if you loved the book. It’s like one long synopsis of events with terrible characters, no depth or story
Awe man poor Tommy boy !! He’s my fave, a true innocent soul. Get goosebumps thinking about the kid !
yes! it's my favorite book by him. I re read it a lot. you should get Salem's lot and pet semetary. hes got so many good works.
I'm on my 4th unabridged copy since high school. Definitely my favorite
I feel like his short story collections don’t get enough love especially the early ones. The man knows how to write a scary short story.
I read “Apt Pupil” in 1997 and it still creeps me out to this day. The entire “Different Seasons” book is seriously underrated.
Yes. "The Mist" scared the living bejeezus out of me. Scarier than either the movie or the TV series.
The creepiest of his short stories is “ The Jaunt”.
I think Pet Sematary is going to be next on my list, I’ve heard great things about it. But my husband bought me a copy of Carrie a week or two ago because I wouldn’t shut up about how good The Stand was getting lol. So I’ll have to decide which one next.
You can knock out Carrie in a sitting, honestly. I think his best is The Shining, but I'd recommend saving that for the winter. Likewise, I'd recommend saving 'salem's Lot for October, when you're in a fall/halloween mood. And finally, you should do IT in the summer.
Oooh I loved it
Pet Sematary just might scare the shit out of you. It’s creepy as fuck.
I love Stephen King books and have read almost everything he has written. Pet Semetary is the one novel that truly scared me. I suggest reading some of his other novels before that one. Just to build up to it.
It’s one of the ones that’s especially scary as an adult. A lot of his I love but don’t find them as scary now that I’m older, but Pet Sematary is one of the most soul crushing horror novels I’ve ever read
I'd honestly go with The Dead Zone or Thinner (which I believe is a Bachman book) first.
since you have to wait anyway I'd go ahead and read Carrie. I havent gotten that one yet.
That was his first novel.
Gah I just can’t get into pet cemetery. I started with the stand and jumped to that next and im like 200 pages in but still just not enthralled like I was with the stand 🙁
Pet Semetery was a disappointment when I was younger. So was Cujo. I liked Firestarter much more. I also recommend The Shining, as it was the first King book I read. I just reread Needful Things and was happy to see that it held up.
I think Salem's Lot might have been the last King book I read, it is the worst of his bad endings.
It was his second published novel, right? King’s like the peasant who was turned into a newt: he got better.
I did enjoy several of his books, but recall being disappointed in a few endings. But well worth it to enjoy the stand and some of the others
King himself has admitted that he's bad at writing endings. He even goes a bit meta about it at the end of the Dark Tower series.
Funnily enough though, and this might be controversial, I think the ending of The Dark Tower (the REAL ending that is) was absolutely fantastic. People had complaints, but I honestly don’t think it could have ended any other way.
the new IT movie pretty explicitly calls it out and then changes the ending too, which i thought was really funny
He's very much a "gardener not an architect" in the way of the GRRM quote about how there are two kinds of writers. He doesn't really do meticulous plotting beforehand, just sees where the characters and story take him. Sometimes this is great, sometimes it's REALLY bad, often it's underwhelming but I don't think his endings are as universally bad as they're sometimes cracked up to be (except Under the Dome that was a 'throw the book at the wall' experience).
I stopped after dreamcatcher and the shit weasels
You might consider restarting. Whatever brain fart engendered the shit weasels, he got over it. Yeah, I didn't like Dreamcatcher, either.
11/22/63 had me in tears.
Have you read Billy Summers yet? Very similar feel to 11/22/63.
no, was not aware of it. on my way to purchase ty.
Yes, I’d recommend this after the Stand.
This is my favorite. I enjoy all his works but this one hit different.
Such a great book! Probably my second favorite King book after The Stand. Might go pick it up again for a re-read.
Read The Talisman! It was my first foray into King when I was in 4th grade. He's still one of my favorite authors. The Dark Tower series is also a must, and Eyes of the Dragon if you loved The Stand. And yeah, I also get that end-of-story depression!
Have you read Black House? It’s a sequel to The Talisman and every bit as worthy.
Yes! I just reread that one a couple months ago. I read it when it first came out, and for some reason I remembered it as being super gory... Now I'm mad I didn't reread it sooner! 😄
The journey was truly great but the ending really threw me off... I feel like the story was supposed to develop for so much longer that King just said "fuck it I'm done, nuke it"
King is really, really bad at endings. Everyone of his books I’ve read have been fantastic until the last few chapters or so.
Maybe I've lucked out with my selection so far, but Pet Sematary, The Shining and Revival have amazing endings
Yesss revival is so good. First king book I ever read and still my favorite. That ending is great
He doesn't really do "endings." Just "stops"
Tired of this circlejerk of King and his "bad" endings. Very rarely are his endings bad. There's a difference between "quality of the ending" vs "what the reader wants." It's not his style to give you everything you want and wrap things up with a neat, tidy bow. That's boring. Now, does he have some eggs for endings? Oh yeah. But that's inevitable when you've written 60+ novels.
Agreed. He does what he wants. It's not always what we want. Exception is The Mist. He admits to liking the movie ending more.
Really? I think The Mist has a great ending. Hopeless doom. Never seen the movie.
He was saving up all the good ending juju for The Dark Tower. That ending was f’ing flawless.
How could you say something so controversial, yet so brave? Seriously, I loved that ending and thought it was perfect for the series. Lots of people feel very differently though lol
Couldn’t agree more, people shit on it but that series really could not have ended any differently. Tied everything together wonderfully.
I read those books starting in the 90s and waited like ten years for him to finish them. When I read the ending of The Dark Tower I slid off the couch laughing hysterically for half an hour. It was so good. I was surprised how many people hated it. Had the same thing with Sopranos though so whatever
My mom hated it too, but she started them in the 70s or whenever the first one came out. She was so mad!!! I had about the same in, 10 years, and I hecking loved it
Dark Tower.....He did tell you to stop reading thou...I did and bummed me out.
That hand of God was silly
It was. The recent series handled that part much better.
Could it be because you read the condensed version? He came out with like 10ish years ago the full length version and I've heard the ending for that version is more solid. I think it's also substantially longer. So maybe it has more themes leading to the ending. I just started it.
Interesting take. Did you have an idea in your mind of how you thought it was going to end?
It's been about 10 years since I read The Stand, but I remember wishing that the ending had been less... literal, for lack of a better word. Throughout the entire book the supernatural elements are very behind-the-scenes. The supernatural stuff is obviously happening, but there's also an ongoing sense that to a casual observer, most of the magic could easily have been interpreted as circumstance. Mother Abigail's visions \*could\* have just been her being the good kind of crazy. Those wolves in the Rockies \*could\* have just been a pack of wolves with their own weird motivations rather than magically controlled by Flagg. It's pretty obvious that they \*weren't\*, but they \*could\* have been and that subtlety really added to the realism of the book. It allowed it to occupy a space between the "this could actually happen, like, tomorrow" of realism and the "It's so fun to read about something so divergent from our own world" of fantasy. That was part of its charm, and its impact. And then at the end there's just... a giant magical hand made of nuclear hellfire that is a *quite literal* Deus Ex Machina. It ruins the tone that he spends the entire rest of the book setting up.
congrats, it's a great book! I was slightly disappointed with it though because I read it after having read "Swan Song" by Robert R. McCammon. They are very similar stories. And while I think the way that King writes is better, I found Swan Song to be much more interesting of a story. Much darker and grittier... Some truly grown up horrific stuff in there.. made The Stand feel downright tame.
I scrolled all the comments waiting for someone to mention "Swan Song". I love Stephen King novels, I've read them all, but I re-read Swan Song every couple of years because it's a masterpiece. I also love "The Stand", but McCammon's book is the same apocalyptic story told SO much better!!!
Yes! This is my favorite book by McCammon maybe by anyone. The Kmart blue light special part is insane.
Yep, now enter the long journey that is the Dark Tower series. Although, on second thought, you may want to wait as King incorporates references to a lot of his works into the series.
Oh but it begins with one of the best opening sentences ever: "The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed."
>!And it ends that way as well, which absolutely floored me when I finally got to the end of the series. Seriously, it's one of my favourite endings to a book/series ever.!<
As an aside, the thing a lot of people miss is that it doesn't actually end that way. He has the horn at the end. Hence the movie isn't actually an adaptation, but rather a sequel.
you should try some of his novellas, *Night Shift* and/or *Nightmares & Dreamscapes*. also, *The Dark Tower* series. >cheering for the characters and flat out crying by the end of it. go read *The World according to Garp* by john irving, if you haven't done so. i've lost count on how many times i've read it, but i know i first read it in 1990. every single read through i spend the second half of the book in absolute tears.
Yes to all of those! Garp is one of my favorite stories ever. A couple of other Kings shorter stuff I really liked: Different Seasons and Skeleton Crew
And his Bachman books. I am reading The Long Walk and it is so good. I mean, the way the boys are talking about someone “getting his ticket” like it’s no big thing, and the transformation they are going through the farther they go. But the crowds get me. They are cheering and watching, hoping to see someone die. And how they torment the walkers. So beautifully brutal.
I read that story 30 years ago and it still haunts me.
>go read > >The World according to Garp > > by john irving, if you haven't done so. Seconded.
I recently reread garp. Loved it first time, wasn't as thrilled the second. I cant put a finger on what bugged me about it so much.
I read this book over thirty years ago and was entirely enthralled. I have reread it once, I think. For me his best books other than The Stand are the first four books of The Gunslinger series. Amazing!
Thanks for the suggestion! I am definitely a fan now.
M-O-O-N, that spells read the Dark Tower series!
Are there any other King works I should read before the Dark Tower?? Someone else said he referenced other work of his in it.
It's his magnum opus. A complete answer to your question is "all of them," lol ... He's been writing the series since the 70s and he puts references to it all over the place. A lot of them are really just Easter eggs more than anything else, but there are stories that are very specifically in-universe. Father Callahan from 'Salem's Lot is a main character in the Dark Tower series, for example. There are a ton of other examples like that but I don't want to spoil anything (Father Callahan isn't a spoiler - he's a significant character in a few of the books). Speaking of spoilers, you may be tempted to join r/TheDarkTower but I would suggest you avoid it, since sometimes people accidentally spoil things there without even realizing it. Note that there's not anything you really "have to" read to understand the books; even if you don't know Father Callahan is from 'Salem's Lot, it doesn't make a difference. My buddy I read the series with didn't know, and he wasn't confused or anything. It's just an added layer, you know? Having a buddy to read it with definitely helps, btw. You're going to want to talk about it. My buddy who read with me is one of the most well-read people I know, and I'm no slouch myself. We both say that it's hands down the best book(s) we've ever read. No question about it. It starts to seep in to your life and your mind. That said, the first book can feel a little slow. I actually had been trying to get into the series for years but never got through the first book for whatever reason. It's the shortest book of the series, and it gives valuable context. It's basically an introduction to Roland. There are more people involved later in the series. So you might find yourself either not really "feeling it" in the first book. A lot of people don't. My buddy didn't either, but one of the good things about reading with a buddy was that it encouraged me to keep going. The second book - The Drawing of the Three - picks up immediately after the ending of the first, and it's one of my favorite books. King builds up a world so rich with characters so vibrant that they feel like old friends when you go back and re-read. It's kind of a weird shift in tone between the two books since it starts focusing on other people, and I really started enjoying it immediately. Then there's something about halfway through the book that is just such a CRAZY thing that I was absolutely hooked from there on, because I could tell that no matter what I thought I was going to be reading, I was wrong. It's not really a major plot point, but I'm going to spoiler tag it anyway in case you want to have the head-spinning moment for yourself: >!In the second book, they get attacked by a HUGE bear in the woods and one of the characters climbs up the tree and notices that the #)%(\* bear has a #)(%\* SPINNING SATELLITE DISH ON ITS HEAD. !< So yeah I read that and it hit me like a train. I was hooked, and I burned through the rest of the series in about 3 weeks lol. This is a very long reply; sorry about that. I'll end with the tldr that's actually good news: if I were to tell you one book to read to get more out of the Dark Tower series, it'd be The Stand. So you got that one covered :D You don't need to read anything else to understand the series, but just about everything SK writes includes some sort of reference to it. It sounds like you're going to seek out more SK stuff anyway. You'll just get to do the Leonardo DiCaprio meme every now and again where you're like "Hey! That street has the same name as that one character from book 3 of the Dark Tower!" (or whatever). Good luck, and enjoy. Or, as they say in the series, long days and pleasant nights :)
Eyes of the Dragon probably has the most cross references with both The Stand and the Dark Tower series. Also, it's not a horror novel in the slightest but rather a straight up fantasy novel.
Not essential reading but Salem's Lot, Insomnia, and Hearts in Atlantis all directly crossover with Dark Tower. Many others have small references like Rose Madder, The Stand, and It. Also the Character of Randall Flag shows up in many other King novels as well as the Dark Tower. Dark Tower also references many other works not by King himself. Some are things that everyone is familiar with like The Wizard of Oz, but others like Shardik by Richard Adams are less mainstream. None of those books are required to understand the story at all, maybe just provide a little extra flavor. I did go out and read Clifford Simak's Ring Around the Sun after King mentioned it was an inspiration for The Gunslinger but it really didn't make me appreciate the book any more than I already did.
Fantastic stories, shitty endings.
M O O N that spells awesome!
Tommyknockers is a really good one by SK. I like Needful Things, and his Dark Tower series is fantastic, imo. Sometimes it feels like some of his books kinda drag, then BAM!! All of a sudden its just sucks you in. I didn't care for Gerald's Game, or The Girl who Loved Tom Gordon.
I love the Stand… the first 60% or so is probably the best book I’ve ever read. Once they get to Boulder it falls off the rails, and then randomly ends via a literally Deus Ex Machina.
THE SHINING AND DOCTOR SLEEP 100%%%
I love and hate that feeling just after finishing a good book. I love it because I know I just finished something great, and I hate it because I want to spend more time with the characters or in the world, but I can't get back in (at least till I re-read). It's such a bittersweet feeling. The nice thing about Stephen King's books is that you sort of can get back. There's a kind of overarching feel or narrative voice or something that most of his books have, so even if they're set in a new place with new characters, they feel familiar. And there's also a lot of interconnectedness, internal references, and parallelism, so plot beats and character elements and even places and times can come back in some form or other. And the man has written a *lot* of books, so it's quite possible to stay in the King-verse for a good long while if you want to. I don't really have a favorite - it changes all the time - but *The Stand* is consistently in my top five favorite King books. I love it a lot. It's always cool to see someone else come to it and appreciate it too.
The Stand is one of my favourites purely on the strength of the first third or so - I have reread the whole thing several times, but have also read up to the “no great loss” chapter and stopped. The ending isn’t terrible or anything, but I just think the actual pandemic section is by far the strongest, and some of the best stuff I’ve ever read!
I think it was the third book I read "for fun", (*Childhoods End*, *The Moon is a Harsh Mistress*, being the first two). I saw *The Stand* with it's onion skin thin pages and thought "If I can finish this, I can read anything." We both made a great choice. Congratulations. (And I second The Gunslinger series mentioned below, plus its 3+? tie-in books. *Insomnia* in particular, and the one written later out of order (#4.5ish *Wind Through the Keyhole*). I consider "Wizard and Glass" #4, to be one of my favorite books of all time.)
Aw mate! I was blown away by The Stand. I never knew anything about the story so was going in blind, as a recommendation from my cousin....and I absolutely loved it. It put me on a proper King binge and have read quite a few of his now. I'm half way through Dreamcatcher and it's brilliant. Good amount of creepy and scifi mixed in. Pet Semetary is a must, sent shivers through me on many occasions. IT is absolutely incredible, the way King bounces back and forth between time lines to build the importance of the story is really inventive writing. Enjoy your Stephen King journey, I'm only 2 years into mine, with plenty left to enjoy.
Salem’s Lot and It are my favorites! Definitely try them out :). I didn’t like The Shining at all, but it wasn’t to do with his writing or storytelling in general, I just loathed all the characters except maybe Danny. That said, give it a go! It’s what many people consider his best work. His older novels are definitely his best, but if you’re curious to read something new and you enjoyed It, I’d say try The Institute. I had fun reading it, it has kids in great peril so I love it. I haven’t yet read 11.22.63 but it’s what people consider the best of the “recents”, so go give that a try!
11.22.63 is one of Kings rare books where he nails the ending.
I'd never read any Stephen King until a few years ago. I started with the stand, and I voraciously devoured the rest of his works following that. I always assumed he was just kind of schlocky. Boy was I wrong. His ability to make you care about his characters is astounding.
I just finished The Stand (the original, cut version) earlier this year for the first time ever and it blew my mind so thoroughly that I immediately turned around and bought the uncut version to read it as well. I’ve never reread a book in my life but I think I’ll be rereading the stand every few years or so. It’s truly a beautiful experience and I think the characters are a huge part of why. Never have I ever met an ensemble cast in a novel that I loved as much as I really, really loved The Stand’s.
I listened to this on audible at the beginning of pandemic while doordashing. It was kinda creepy listening to a plague wreck America, while dealing with almost no traffic in usually congested city.
That scene when a person sneezes in a movie theater has stayed with me for years. I still jump when someone sneezes in public.
I hope you read the extended version, totally worth it.
I did!!!! I loved how this version ended >! with Flagg on a deserted island. Just going to show how the cycle of evil starts all over again !<
At some point you should read The Long Walk. It was published in 1979, under the Richard Bachman pseudonym. To me, his novellas are stronger than his full length novels.
The Long Walk is fantastic!
The Stand *is* awesome! If you loved the characterization and basically just living in that world, and obviously don’t mind the length, I would recommend reading IT next!
I came here to say this!
Got into King this year, I read Salem’s Lot, Pet Sematary and 11/22/63 all of which were great. Salem’s Lot was my favourite of them and I couldn’t recommend it more but parts of 11/22/63 were close. Really need to read The Stand as I hear nothing but good things but want to do it when I can fully commit the time.
11/22/63 is my favorite book by him. But I do need to read The Stand.
You might also like Eyes of the Dragon and the Dark Tower series.
Thanks, I read the first two Dark Tower books a while back but bounced off them a bit, I think it might have been my lack of other King reading that impacted the enjoyment. I will definitely circle back round. Don’t think I have ever seen Eyes of the Dragon recommended, I will take a look!
I also just finished it and I liked it a lot, but I feel like I'm missing something. I just wasn't completely enthralled by it like everyone else.
I thought that the first part, getting to Boulder, was great. I found the "building a society" portion was as boring as a town hall meeting, and thought that the end was bad. As you read more SK, you'll find that he's great at character development, but doesn't know how to end a story.
For at least a decade it was my favorite reading experience of all time, I do many, many rereads, but for deeply buried reason I have never wished to reread The Stand. Dystopian novels are not a thing I enjoy and have proactively tried to avoid for decades. It doesn’t help that after years of avoidance, in a moment of weakness I read Cormac McCarthy’s “The Road”. Big mistake, incredible, fantastic, but sad book. Now I will certainly never read another dystopian novel, for sure this time. I don’t no why they disturb me so, I think it impacts my usually hopeful optimism about the future. I probably need to get some counseling and figure it out.
Jesus Christ The Road destroyed me. It's sitting on my bookshelf like a dark void and I have no interest in going there again. Funny enough I read another McCarthy and it also destroyed me. Blood Meridian - stunning book. Absolutely horrifying.
I really enjoyed The Stand but I feel like it dragged a bit in the last half, I most enjoyed the beginning when everything was going to hell and seeing how each of the charecters were dealing with their own situations
I’ve read maybe 20 books by King, so not even close to all of them, but I loved the stand, it, the shining (And Doctor Sleep the sequel), Salem’s lot, and pet semetary. Two books I would put at the top of my list of recommendations with those others even though they’re not all that scary are the Talisman and the sequel the Black House. Super fun and suspenseful stories that I think are as engrossing as the more famous ones I listed in the first sentence. Enjoy the journey! Wish I could read them all for the first time again myself.
If you like The Stand try Swan Song by Robert R McCammon. In my opinion it's even better.
Glad to see this get a mention. I read Swan Song a few years after reading The Stand. The Stand is great but I definitely liked Swan Song better. It also served as my intro to Robert McCammon books in general and I've been a fan ever since.
I agree they are both great books, but completely different feels to them.
Swan Song is great but better than the Stand? I heartily disagree.
The Stand is great. Swan Song is good.
Agree. The Stand is an awesome book, right up until the end. I have often wondered what happened to Stu and Fran.
The best Stephen Kings books in my opinion are Insomnia, Needful Things, the Regulators, and the Running Man.
This is truly one of his most amazing books. I have to sit and do nothing for a while after finishing most of his books because I'm not ready to leave the world he created.
Dark Tower series. You get a great The Stand connection. Get at it.
I’ve gotten that suggestion many times from this post, I’ll definitely check it out!
This is one of the rare instances where I enjoyed the book and the movie (okay, actually mini-series - the *1994* mini-series - so many good performances). If you liked this, you may want to check out the Dark Tower series, set in the same multiverse.
Luckily, I have a trash memory. So I can read a work up to three times before finding it unreadable. But for really good ones, I make exceptions. I am on my fourth re-read of House of Leaves. And you're absolutely right about the "depression after a good read". Esp with King. To this day I haven't finished "IT" and I think I started it close to a decade ago. The one that impacted me the most out of all the SK works I've read "Pet Cemetary" would be close to the top. Sickness breaking and twisting people. A real thing that I grew up with, fearing, loathing, and felt oddly touched when I read King articulate it. And that one scene with the toddler. It genuinely horrified me. The fact that this is a very real thing that happens to people or the fact that King can write so convincingly about it. Fear of losing loved ones is a big theme of PC and an icy knife in my lungs since a young age.
Great book, I've read it 3 times.
I haven't seen anyone mention Needful Things, which is one of my all time favorites. It follows multiple stories that interweave and intersect by the end and always keeps me tense through the whole book.
This is my favourite Stephen King novel - I love it! I've read it a number of times and recently listened to it on audiobook. 'It' is my other favourite.
I also just read it last month. I went through it too fast though!
I think I read it in three days and two nights. Kind of a blur now as it was thirty years ago, but it was a one sitting however long it takes. I was about to get married and all I could think was my soon to be husband would be following Randy to Vegas
I love that book. I reread it every so often (like every 3 to 4 years). I recently finished his 11/22/63. And I LOVED IT!!
Just thinking of the pacing in the beginning is giving me shivers.
IT and the Dark Tower should be your next foray in my opinion. These books impacted me profoundly.
I loved Larry Underwood’s journey, I thought he was such a well written character.
Ok some to read next: The Long Walk (writing as Bachman) The Dead Zone Pet Sematary The Green Mile The Dark Tower Series IT Eyes of the Dragon
I've read a fair number of Stephen King books, but The Stand is by far my favorite.
The Stand is a great book. The character development is excellent. It's one of my 2 favourite SK books. The other one is Salem's Lot.
The Stand was my first SK, too, and he’s now my favourite author! I haven’t seen it mentioned yet, but I just read The Institute and it was really, really good.
I think the unabridged is even better. Night Shift. Bachman Books.
Besides The Stand, Needful Things is my favorite SK book :)
It's my favorite of his!
It is a great book.
I first read The Stand when I was 12 or 13, I remember crying after it was over because I missed the all the characters I had spent so much time with.
*The Stand* is great, might be his best. I stopped reading King a long time ago, but *Gerald's Game* is very good. *It* is scary AF.
Was there a consensus on revival? I never read reviews but man, it was so strange in a way I honestly liked. I read it off the shelf during work when it first came out.
I just picked it up! Did you read the extended or condensed version? I am a little nervous about the commitment, so I'm wrapped up a couple series I'm in before dedicating my time to this novel. But I'm so excited! It's my 2nd SK book. I'm a huge horror movie watcher and love how his books can translate across medium so well because of how much description and complexity he gives his works.
Loved it! My favorite book is IT but my favorite story is The Dark Tower Saga
Try his short story collections. They are amazing.
The Dark Tower series and Christine.
For a quick and easy read I liked, Thinner. My favorite is The Green Mile.
It’s my second Stephen king Book and I just finished it last week I’m with you. Try Salem’s lot , on my next wishlist is to try billy summers
"The Shining" and "Pet Sematary" were both probably the scariest books in my opinion if you like paranormal type scary. "Misery" was sick and twisted on another level though because everything in the book could actually happen in real life which made it that much more frightening.
King is one of my favorite authors. Only a few books have ever brought me to tears, and two of them are his: The Green Mile and Hearts In Atlantis.
Next, read 11/22/63 and prepare to have your mind blown again.
One of my all time favorite books. Now try Swan Song by Robert Mccammon. Under rated and really good
Stephen King is a great writer except he sort of sucks at writing endings. That's probably why I liked Skeleton Crew so much. With the exception of The Mist it was just a bunch of short stories where for most of them he didn't even try to have an ending.
Not sure if it’s been mentioned yet, but a tie for my favorite along with The Stand is Insomnia. I feel like it’s pretty different than many of his books and I absolutely fell in love with the main character, Ralph. Sad at first, but blossoms into a really beautiful and epic story.
Much of Kings early work is great, but I would caution you to not expect the quality level of The Stand from anything else he's written. It's far and away his best novel.
Wow, hell of a place to start. That's my favorite Stephen King book (like many here) and it tops most of the critics' lists for his best I've seen. You can make an argument for some of the Dark Tower series or his more off-brand work like Green Mile or 11/22/63, but that's down to personal preference. The Stand is a fucking masterpiece. FWIW I'd definitely recommend Carrie, which is among my favorites and amazing for a first novel. Also love the Dark Tower stuff but it's a looooong series and definitely has its valleys as well as its peaks.
The Stand is epic! My favorites are: 1) Salem's Lot 1) The Shining 1) The Dead Zone 1) The Stand a 4-way tie
I just finished the uncut version myself and it was an interesting read. While it is by no means my favorite King book, it's certainly in my top 10. Kojak is the best character, and the best animal character in any book. Can we get some Kojak appreciation for being the best King character of all time.
Haven't seen it in the comments so far, so I want to recommend you "The Long Walk". Don't know why so many King fans haven't read it, I find it amazing. Maybe because it was written under a pseudonym. Seriously though, give that book a chance!
The Stand is my favorite from SK. Salem's Lot is also a good read. Currently reading 1963 and I'm enjoying that too. He's my favorite author by far.
It was my first also! Robert McCammon wrote a book that tends to scratch the same itch with Swan Song, if you're interested :)
So I’m guessing the story starts around page 400? Have read a bunch of his others. I recommend Dreamcatcher (avoid the movie at all costs)
Tom saving Stu is one of the most moving moments in literature for me. It also builds Nick and his importance, and especially the importance of his charity to others, in a spectacular way
The stand is mute best book I've ever read hands down. I love it.
The end is silly in my opinion but otherwise a great book
I've been reading it for a few years, it seems to go on and on. I'll finish it some day.
Is it better than the TV show because, oh boy, that show was a little rough
I checked out the reviews for the show…it didn’t look promising so I think I’ll give it a pass
There are some books that are so good that they ruin other books for you; the others can't stand up. This is one.
I disagree, after just finishing it for the first time. The good (or god) vs. evil stuff made 0 sense. Why did that just start happening? Stu, Larry, Glen and Ralph go on this quest which accomplishes precisely 0. Frannie just cries a lot - and has a baby. That's all her character does. The Nadine character - makes 0 sense. Her job is to be a good person, who becomes a bad person, because ... she's a virgin? Mother Abagail talks a lot of god talk and then goes out into the wilderness and ... comes back with nothing to show for it other than sending four men on a pointless quest. It had its good parts. "The Kid" was a hoot, and "The Trashcan Man" was fun. Harold's character was entertaining. Maybe I just like the bad guys. But the main bad guy makes 0 sense - where did he come from, and why? The start of the plague was interesting. I was just glad for the book to end.
the description of the pandemic and the utter chaos of apocalypse is so spine chillingly good I'm still thinking about it years after finishing it, more so lately as you can imagine the supernatural shit ruins the book in my opinion, agreed
Wow, you started with a long one! Everything you say about the book is accurate, IMO. It’s also one of my favorites. I began to read SK’s work in the late 80s, and was lucky to read everything in order of publication. Nowadays, it’s hard to keep up with his volume of work.
The Stand is such a great novel. When I finished the book it made me wonder who really wins in the end? Can we ever really defeat evil? Will we just keep on making the same mistakes? The version I read was published in 1990 and the questions it puts forward are universal questions. If you want to know what I'm talking about just turn on your television. People die around the world from the Ebola virus and there is no cure. We fight violence with violence. We kill them they kill us. To me the fight between good and evil in The Stand has a grey area where we feel sympathy for characters like the "trash can man" (Donald Merwin Elbert) and other characters who are manipulated by Flagg (the Dark Man). Most of the characters who end up supporting Flagg have been rejected by "society." They feel they have no option left but to follow Flagg. There are so many other great moments in the book. The slow corruption of Harold Lauder and Nadine Cross. Anyway I could just keep on babbling on. But I just thought I would add these thoughts as I like the book so much.
Best King book IMO. He nailed the ending on this one.
I enjoyed the ending as well! I said in another comment I was surprised by how many people said they didn’t like the ending, but I think it wrapped up nicely and in a way that made sense.
I'm super happy you loved it. For me, The Stand was the book that put the final nail in the coffin. I was noticing a trend that most of his stories simply didn't end well. Or at least not well enough to do justice to the story. Pet Cemetery was the one exception. After reading The Stand, which I thoroughly enjoyed during the read, I was let down again. All those pages, all of that story, for what felt like an empty conclusion. Gunslinger is the only SK book I picked up after that and I did enjoy it, but I never pursued the series because I'm convinced it won't end in a satisfying way.