Being slightly mad about 'The Stand'

[altariel]

nickeyb borrowed The Stand off me a little while back, and returned it over the weekend. Whenever I get The Stand back, I start dipping into it, and I keep on dipping into it so much that I basically end up re-reading it. This I have done over the past couple of days.

I love The Stand. I think it is the Great American Novel, along with The Great Gatsby. I shall not support this argument sensibly. Anyone who disagrees with me is simply WRONG.

The Stand freaks me out. It freaks me out in winter, when people have colds. It freaks me out in summer, when people have hayfever. Because when I am reading The Stand and I hear someone sneeze I am RUNNING FOR THE HILLS. That, my friends, is true horror.

The miniseries of The Stand manages to be not bad at all. Randall Flagg is now the police captain in Law and Order: Criminal Intent. This SCARES THE BEJESUS out of me.

Also, in The Stand Sociologists Are Heroes Too. This is a limited sub-genre, and I can only think of Bellwether by Connie Willis. One day I will make a sociologist the hero(ine). The Stand has thus provided me with AMBITION!

God, I love The Stand.

Comments

[matildabj.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm sold!

I have books to return to you, btw, just so I don't have to move house with them! Will send to you soonest.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

There is a character that is the same as Dom Monaghan's in Lost, if you needed any more persuading.

Stick the books in the post, no worries! How do you like Bujold?

[matildabj.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed it, although I think I'd want to read more before deciding if I liked her stuff or not.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Was it just Shards of Honor you had? That's her first novel - her stuff gets better and better.

[matildabj.livejournal.com]

Yep, that's the one. If it gets better, then I'll definitely read more.

(and forgot to say that I'm completely sold on The Stand if there's a Charlie-type character! Hee. How sad.)

[altariel.livejournal.com]

That's how I sold The Stand to nickeyb!

Definitely read more - you have all the B7 avatars to come yet. I can provide a recommended reading route through her backlist if you decide to give them a go.

[teawith.livejournal.com]

Ooh, I didn't know Bujold had B7 avatars. I love Bujold, but I'm always terrible at spotting avatars. Who in particular?

And for matildabj, yeah Larry is definitely a bit of a Charlie avatar, but Eddie Dean from the Dark Tower sequence is even more so - particularly in the second book, where he first appears 'The Drawing of the Three'. I was squeeing muchly reading that book :)

(And apparently I can't code for shit today - sorry for the extra spam, Una!)

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Duv Galeni in Brothers in Arms is Avon (although he evolves into a different character in later books). Cavilo in The Vor Game is Servalan, but blond. I think there are some B7 names here and there as well; there's a 'Stanis' in one of the books, can't remember which one.

Must read the Dark Tower books...

[dolamrothdame.livejournal.com]

'Stanis' was Metsov (I think), the psycho Camp Permafrost commander in The Vor Game. And I can't ever figure out how to do italics in these things, so I apologize.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

That's the one! It's ages since I've read The Vor Game through - I usually *cough* just read the depressive Gregor bits.

(BTW, if you're answering via the website, italics work with the usual tag: < i > to start and < /i > to close, just close up those spaces. They don't work if you're responding in the box that comes at the bottom of the email notifications, though.)

[lame-pegasus.livejournal.com]

Baby can you dig your man? *grins*

[altariel.livejournal.com]

*grins back* He's a righteous man!

[espresso-addict.livejournal.com]

Heh. I think we may have to agree to disagree on this one. Have you read the Angel rewrite, Ashes, Ashes, btw?

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Wrong! Wrong! ;-D

Have you read the Angel rewrite

Recommended?

[espresso-addict.livejournal.com]

I don't recall finishing it, but various BBF folks claimed it to be "the best AtS crossover, like, evah", so if you're mad enough to adore The Stand it may prove worth a look.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Shall definitely try it out.

[lame-pegasus.livejournal.com]

I reread it at least once a year (and I'm obviously not the only one to flinch in sudden panic if someone sneezes, huh?) And the miniseries is respectably good IMO, and it was the definite beginning of my soft spot for Gary Sinise.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

the definite beginning of my soft spot for Gary Sinise

Me too! :-D

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

Was that casting some sort of pun, then?

[lame-pegasus.livejournal.com]

I have no idea, but they chose the actors very well.

[steverogerson.livejournal.com]

I think The Stand is probably my favourite Stephen King novel, and I too liked the mini-series. As I mentioned to you at the weekend, I gave up on Stephen King after Rose Madder. I just didn't think he was being as original on the sort of grand scale of his earlier books.

Funny you should mention Bellweather, because I have only just finished reading that - I am on a bit of a Connie Willis overindulgement at the moment - currently reading Remake.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I think I would have enjoyed Remake more if I'd known more of the films, but generally I enjoy Connie Willis a lot.

[ladybarnard.livejournal.com]

My friends and I used to sit around our dormitory and make up imaginary casts for The Stand. (The mini-series was not yet made.) By and large, I thought the casting was good, but Rob Lowe as Nick? *makes barfing noises* Loved, loved, loved Gary Sinise as Stu. I've read my copy to rags.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Rob Lowe was weird casting for Nick; I tend him as an actor, but it wasn't Nick. Seconding the Gary Sinise love. My copy started to lose pages on this re-read; I found the receipt at the back and it's dated 1996. I've lent it to loads of people.

[the-wild-iris.livejournal.com]

Third for Gary Sinise. That was excellent casting.

The one who didn't 'fit' for me was Molly Ringwald as Frannie, especially in her earlier scenes.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Gave it a bit of a John Hughes flavour.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

That was meant to be 'tend to like him as an actor' rather than the random words I typed.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

And - last spam, I promise - did you and your friends ever try the ouija board? ;-D

[emeraldsedai.livejournal.com]

I remember reading "The Stand" when it first came out--the short version--often while riding the bus to work in sniffly, rainy Portland, and having that exact reaction to the colds all around me. Of course back then, in 1970-whatever, everyone on the bus was reading the same book.

Later, I read the re-issued, "author's cut" long version and fell in love all over again. Now I have an electronic copy which I glance through from time to time. I agree, it's one of the great American novels, and I thought the miniseries actually did it justice.

And yeah, Gary Sinise was perfect as Stu Redman.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I've not read the cut version (I first read it in 1990, when I think the author's cut had just come out). Is it much different?

[emeraldsedai.livejournal.com]

I don't remember the specific differences, except that there were a couple of whole smaller stories omitted from the first-published, shorter version, that King reinstated when he published the longer one.

The difference amounted, as I recall, to hundreds of pages.

[the-wild-iris.livejournal.com]

It's been ages since I read the original edition, but as I recall:

The original featured less of the two military ops guys, Creighton and Starkey, and didn't mention the incident whereby the govt. deliberately spread the superflu to other countries.

It didn't have the early scenes involving Frannie and her mother.

I think that some of the chapters showing the nationwide effects of the superflu were trimmed, and the chapter detailing some of the victims of the 'aftershock' was entirely new in the uncut edition.

The major narrative addition, I think, was Trashcan Man's encounter with The Kid. That was cut from the original, although the later scene in which the four walkers come across The Kid's body ('the Wolfman') was left in.

Oh, and the short-lived Mark and Perion weren't in the original.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Thanks for this - very interesting. Some of those are among my favourite bits, particularly Mark and Perion, and the 'aftershock' bit. I say favourite, I mean they hit very hard.

I usually skip the bit with The Kid, though.

[the-wild-iris.livejournal.com]

Randall Flagg is now the police captain in Law and Order: Criminal Intent. This SCARES THE BEJESUS out of me.

"Young man," Glen said mildly, "your experience with a few battered babies and drug abusers does not justify your embrace of a monster.

Yay for the sociologist hero!

[altariel.livejournal.com]

YAY, I love that line! And it really fits for the two leads in Law and Order: Special Victims Unit (which is the one about battered babies and drug abusers).

[crossbow1.livejournal.com]

The Stand is one of my favorite books. I also liked the miniseries, except for Molly Ringwald. That was a AWFUL bit of casting.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Not Frannie at all.