Discuss "The Stand" (main thread)

[torrycoo]

The opening few pages in this book to to tell us the story of how this strand of super flu gets out is pure excellence true story telling from King love the good and evil playing off in this also.

[Lucy815]

I finished the book last night!

Wow, what a great read! And many things reminded me of Lost. A lot of them have already been mentioned, but also at the end ... (don't scroll down if you're not finished yet) ...




the bomb! Maybe sometime in Lost Hurley will show up with Jughead on a cart to save the day?

[Lucy815]

Oh also, the version I read was 800ish pages, so I guess I got the edited version. In general, what did I miss?

[Oceanic11]

Finally finished the Stand today. It really is my favourite book of all-time. I'll be discussing some things from close to the end now, so if you haven't finished yet don't read any further:




The ending was really awesome. Too bad we didn't really see Flagg killed, but overall the whole sacrifice-thing was cool. The whole chain-of-events thing that caused Flagg to be there and the bomb to explode, because Larry, Glen and Ralph made it to Vegas, was maybe not a happy ending to a lot of the readers, but it made sense to me. Interesting to see that Larry was the leader of the sacrifice to save the other survivors; just as the character based on him in Lost, Charlie, was. One thing that bothers me though, is that one of Flagg's names is Richard Freemantle. One of Mother Abagail Freemantle's brothers was called Richard too; apparently also called Richard Freemantle. Was this chosen on purpose? The good leader's brother and the dark leader having the same name? Or just some weird coincidence?

Overall, I loved the book and there are many, many things similar to Lost. It was the longest book I've ever read, but I enjoyed every single page.

[lostinpgh]

Now I have different feelings than many of you regarding the book.

I LOVE the beginning. It's some of my favorite writing ever. But the closer I get to the end the less I like it. I feel this way about many of King's books.

The plague and how it spread, genius. The collapse of society, one of my favorite moments in any book ever and keeps me awake thinking all the time. The survivors having to live in a world nearly depopulated, excellent.

The religion aspect, eh. The fact that I have to read page after page of Stu & company heading out to Vegas, only to be sacrificed for what I feel is no reason, dumb. The book ending with the greatest Deus Ex Machina of all time, the hand of God blowing up a nuke, stupidest thing ever.

So when I read what an infuence King is on the show I just hope that the show I love so much doesn't end up ridiculous. Please no hand of God, please no cosmic turtles, etc.

[Wolle]

I agree, I also dislike the ending of many Stephen King's books (especially Dark Tower, which I still hope won't be the same way, the Lost producers will let LOST end...). It's mostly the same: the first 100 pages you do not have any clue what the main story is really about (you are thrown into a disaster or daily business), then the story is going to spread out and you can't stop, and the end is sometimes... not the end you want to hear/read. (well I liked Needful things).

The beginning and main part of "the Stand" is brillant, but I also think that the end is very sad, nevertheless, this will somehow also be a hint in how Lost will end: a big showdown with many, many gueststars and then some of the main characters are going to die.

Yes, I really think that some of the main cast will die or sacrifice themselves (like Charlie or Glen, Ralph and Larry) - I do not think that Lost will end like an original Star Trek show with Kirk, Spock, Scotti, Bones and Uhura all gathered in a circle and laughing about a malfunctioned tricorder.

Regarding Lost/the stand parallels:
- we still do not know who the real bad person is (maybe charles widmore, maybe not) and we also do not know which persons allied with him and why
-the frontiers are not so manifested and many characters seem to be standing between good and bad or are at the same time both

@oceanic 11- I think the name Richard Freemantle was only chosen to point out the same initials R.F. (Randal Flagg / Richard Freemantle). If I remember right, Stephen King uses them also in other novels. In "eyes of the dragon" he is also talking about the evil Randal Flag, in the Dark Tower it is Richard Fenin. You will find many more if you keep on reading between the lines...

[Oceanic11]

Originally Posted by Wolle

@oceanic 11- I think the name Richard Freemantle was only chosen to point out the same initials R.F. (Randal Flagg / Richard Freemantle). If I remember right, Stephen King uses them also in other novels. In "eyes of the dragon" he is also talking about the evil Randal Flag, in the Dark Tower it is Richard Fenin. You will find many more if you keep on reading between the lines...

I noticed the R.F. but still, the main good's brother and main evil having the same names just as a coincidence is kind of weird. He tells Nadine at one time that his real name is Richard, so if that's true, his real name is Richard Freemantle; the same last name as Mother Abagail.

I agree that the ending could've been way better; the party that went to sacrifice themselves could have been anyone else. I don't see why it should have been them, because their mere precense caused the chain-of-events to come that let the bomb explode. But overall, the last 100 pages don't lower my opinion on the book; it's the best I've ever read.

[Lucy815]

I think the ending fit the book. It's a dark, horror book and a happy ending for everyone wouldn't fit the mood of the book. The bomb felt like a relief to me ... Larry and Ralph didn't have to be tortured and at least died quickly.

But in general I agree that many of King's books have a wonderful suspense building with less than satisfying endings. Maybe so much suspense makes it impossible to to have a satisfying ending?

Where did you notice that RF also went by Richard Freemantle? I did pick up on the Richard. It made me ponder if our Richard (Alpert) might be more a bad guy than most of us currently think.

[markno]

I agree about the let down ending. I have read this book twice and both time I loved the first half - the plague, it spreading, the end of society. I found the climax at the ending rather disappointing, like Stephen King ran out of ideas so just ended it.

I reckon the style the Stephen king uses influences the show - lots of characters, details about the background. Killing main characters off. Pregnant women etc.

I didn't enjoy the religious themes, they were completely wrong and nothing like the bibles (I know as I am a christian and have read the bible many times)

[meggowiggle]

I am also perplexed that Randall Flagg's real name was Richard Freemantle... the same surname as Abagail's brother. I just finished the book today, and was disappointed that King did not provide an explanation for this small, but very significant detail.

Someone said that it was merely a name that fulfilled the initials of R.F, and that King frequently reuses names in his stories but I am not convinced. First names beginning with "R" and last names beginning with "F" provide a virtually endless list from which to choose. By specifically picking "Freemantle" as Randall's last name, he was showing us something. I believe he was subtly revealing a secret layer of Randall Flagg and Abagail for those who were really paying attention. I think we are meant to think they are biological siblings. Within the context of the book, King was showing us that Abagail has a past with Richard, that they are part of the same family. I wish we were told more about his past with Abagail; it is so intriguing.

On another note, I had no idea this thread, or even this community existed until I did a google search for "Richard Freemantle" to see what kind of discussion was going on about the name in the cyber world. This thread popped up, and Lo and Behold--- it is a Lost group! and I am, by chance a Lost fanatic--- watched every episode 3x or more, a part of many mbs, etc. I even chose to read the Stand because it influenced Lost to a great degree. I was shocked to discover the very book I finished reading today was the very book this Lost group chose to read for this month! Meant to be, I tell you.