Journey step started: Sept 21, 2022
Journey step ended: Jan 9, 2023
Click the Google sheet to the right to see every item covered on this step of the journey.
The Book — The 1994 miniseries — The 2020 miniseries — The Graphic Novels — Misc
The Book
Day 264: Sep 21, 2022
I am now on that step of my Stephen King journey where I put on my “big boy pants” and tackle the classic behemoth, “The Stand”.
I read The Stand once as a teen in the 80s. Then I read the uncut edition in the 90s. I’ve watched the ABC miniseries several times and the new CBS All Access one just once. This book looms large in my mind! There’s over 100 podcast episodes covering this, so I won’t be alone…
Page 1.
From the preface:
“I’ve always thought Robert Duvall would make a splendid Randall Flagg, but I’ve heard people suggest such people as Clint Eastwood, Bruce Dern, and Christopher Walken.”
Duvall? That would’ve been interesting..
What an amazing start to the epic! No warm up. No world-building. No character history. Just drive right into the middle of the shit hitting the fan and feel the tension and anxiety from the very first word!
“He happened to know that Hank had gotten in the habit of taking Cokes out of the machine without paying the deposit”
I love reading novels set decades ago. You learn about society at the time and sometimes scratch your head trying to understand it. What are these Coke deposits?
“‘No, Jess, you were the one who rode me,’ she jeered in sudden, furious anger, and that was when he slapped her lightly backhand on the cheek.”
——
The slapping streak is kept alive in those early King novels. But at least it’s a “light” slap, so… Progress?
Day 265: Sep 22, 2022
Heading into Chapter 3 of “The Stand”. I’ve already met Stu & Frannie. Who’s next?
But bay-yay-yaby you can tell me if anyone can,
Baby, can you dig your man?”
—
Question for Stephen King: When including original lyrics in your books, do you have a fleshed out melody in your head that goes along with them?
“He had a BankAmericard that was issued in 1986 and that was expired, too.”
—-
The Stand was published in 1978 so this story was set in the “future”. Sitting here in 2022, it’s tough to feel it. Wonder if he incorporated any general tech advances he expected to see by that time
The main character introduced in Chapter 5 is Larry Underwood who has this gem of a thought flash through his mind:
“Mom, tell me the truth, has your bosom gotten bigger?”
“June 13, 1990. Thirty-seven minutes past two in the morning. And sixteen seconds.”
—-
Ok, we now have an exact date in which this story is set. I bet 1990 felt all Jetsons-like to the initial readers in the mid-70s.
Day 266: Sep 23, 2022
Cranking up Chapter 6 of “The Stand”. How many chapters this thing got? It’s jarring going from the short story collection “Night Shift” to this behemoth!
“She didn’t trust Jesse, who came from money and wore blue chambray workshirts.”
Well, now I know what the hell The Losers Club Podcast has been referring to all this damn time! 😂
“Under the California desert and subsidized by the taxpayers’ money, someone had finally invented a chain letter that really worked. A very lethal chain letter.” Hah! Do kids today even know what a chain letter was?
Day 267: Sep 24, 2022
I pause in reading “The Stand” so that I can listen to Kingslingers discussion on Chp 1-9. I’ve never belonged to a reading club before but I can see its appeal. Just hope they can stay ahead of me in their release schedule!
Day 268: Sep 25, 2022
Continuing onto Chapter 10 of The Stand. The major quartet – Frannie, Stu, Larry, and Nick – have been introduced. I can’t help but try to match them with their more famous counterparts: Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin
Sometimes, there’s King the poet.
Then other times, there’s this. 😂
“She slapped Frannie, and slapped her hard. Frannie’s head rocked back.”
Already several slaps observed in The Stand. Every single book has ’em. I should go back to Carrie and document & chart out each slap in every book and publish the analysis.
Literally, the very next page:
—–
“Get out! Get out of my parlor! Out! Out! Out! You bastard, let go of the goddamned door and GET OUT!”
That was when he slapped her.
Was it @Kingcast19 who has a theory about SK and some corn-related childhood trauma?
In the 2022 revised, revised edition of The Stand, these classified docs would be found among the bathroom reading material at Mar-a-Lago.
Day 269: Sep 26, 2022
Picking up at Chapter 16 of The Stand. So far, it’s been a lot of character building: Larry with his mother, Frannie’s pregnancy and how her father finally stood up to her mother. These little side-stories… So very rich!
“…maybe in the vast white class of victims there is a subclass: the victims of victims.”
Amen to that!
“Nick’s belly and ribcage looked like a Canadian sunrise.”
Does a Canadian sunrise look different from any other sunrise?
Just finished Chapter 20 and the support system for the main characters have begun to die off. The investment spent on fleshing out this supporting cast – mothers, the sheriff, doctors, etc – is paying off, adding gravity to the plague as it takes its toll.
Day 270: Sep 27, 2022
I put down my digital copy of The Stand and tune in to Kingslingers as they cover Chapters 10-20.
Wholeheartedly agree that the chapter with Frannie and her father’s confrontation with her mother represents the pinnacle of King’s writing. There is nobody who does verbal confrontation better than he.
Day 271: Sep 28, 2022
Reading Chp 21 – 26 of The Stand and the bodies are now piling up from coast to coast. Civilization attempts to carry on as normal. The Supreme Court even issues a landmark decision for LGTBQ rights! This feels too damn familiar.
“We’re getting exactly nowhere with Mr. Stuart ‘Prince’ Redman. Did you know they actually injected him with the Blue virus? He thought it was a sedative. He killed it, and no one has the slightest idea how.” Whoa.
That’s brutal.
Now here it is, first words of Chapter 23:
“Randall Flagg, the dark man, strode south on US 51…”
Knowing this is one of the most famous characters in King lore, this line gave me chills. But did it even register the first time I read it? I have no recollection.
The brief history of Randall Flagg paints him as a Forrest Gump of evil, always at events that turned violent or having encounters with infamous murderers and assassins over the decades.
“His time of transfiguration was at hand. He was going to be born for the second time…
He had been born when times changed, and the times were going to change again…
It was almost time to be reborn. He knew.
Why else could he suddenly do magic?”
And then Flagg levitates.😲
“CBS didn’t come on all night. NBC kept to a regular broadcast schedule, but the picture on the ABC affiliate kept going hazy, sometimes fading out to snow and then snapping back suddenly.”
Wonder how this would manifest in today’s world. Would Netflix just keep running?
“Things fall apart. The center does not hold.”
Had to pause on this line. I think I saw it before in this book. From the poet Yeats. It definitely commands your attention.
That Chapter 26 was a doozie. A complete non-stop, shit hitting the fan and spraying it from coast to coast wild ride. Loved it!
Day 272: Sep 29, 2022
It’s time to hear what Derry Public Radio has to say about these first 26 chapters of The Stand!
What does Stephen King’s “The Stand” and Limp Bizkit have in common?
I have no idea either, but Derry Public Radio tries to make a connection. 😂
I’ve got some time tonight, so I’m reading 2 more chapters of The Stand which will have me ready for another podcast episode tomorrow. Chapter 27 begins with a heartbreaking scene of Larry Underwood observing all the zoo animals that has died of starvation. 🦁🦒🦏😭
A young man munching Fritos from a gigantic bag told Larry conversationally that he was going to fulfill a lifetime ambition. He was going to Yankee Stadium, run around the outfield naked, and then masturbate on home plate. “Chance of a lifetime, man,” he told Larry.
—
Dream big!
This was not a pleasant paragraph to read: Frannie moving her dead father’s body.
Day 273: Sep 30, 2022
Kingslingers walks us through Chapters 21 – 28 of The Stand. I really appreciate their deep dives!
Day 275: Oct 2, 2022
The nation has collapsed and only the survivors remain. I pick up at Chapter 29 of The Stand this morning.
“You fixed me, he told the dead man. First my teeth and now my eye. Are you happy? You would have taken both eyes if you could have done it, wouldn’t you? Taken my eyes and left me deaf, dumb, and blind in a world of the dead.”
What a horrid possibility for Nick Andros!
“For a long time, for days… Donald Merwin Elbert, known to the intimates of his dim and confusing grade-school past as the Trashcan Man…”
—
From 35 years ago when I first read The Stand, I still remember Trashcan Man.
Donald Merwin Elbert, not so much.
I was going to wait until tomorrow to read Ch 35 of The Stand since it’s a long one, but I’ve got time to kill until House of the Dragon comes on. So hellooooo again Larry and his mama-replacement, Rita.
“She had made love to him with such frantic energy that for the first time he had found himself thinking of her age and had been a little disgusted. It had been like being caught in one of those exercise machines.”
—-
God help me if I ever compare sex to an exercise machine.
Day 276: Oct 3, 2022
Larry and needy Rita plan to get out of NYC. Chapter 35 of The Stand is in my sights this morning.
“The beginning of a journey,” she said, and then so softly he wasn’t sure he’d heard her correctly: “The way leads ever on …” “What?” “It’s a line from Tolkien,” she said. “The Lord of the Rings. I’ve always thought of it as sort of a gateway to adventure.”
—-
There it is.
Even though Kingslingers advised me to pace my reading of The Stand, I just can’t stop – won’t stop. It’s so good! Still, this 2 hr+ episode might slow me down just a little bit…
Day 277: Oct 4, 2022
Finishing this Kingslingers episode. These guys point out so many subtle things I missed, like the role reversal between Larry & Rita.
“I was making you my new mommy… That I was sleeping with.” 😂
The Lincoln tunnel scene was only three pages long? I only read that 2 days ago and it felt like it was half the chapter! That’s a sign of good writing.
Day 278: Oct 5, 2022
I’ve got my coffee and am settled into my favorite reading chair as I resume reading “The Stand” with Chapter 36.
“…she had taken the paperback (over his weak protests) and had read him four chapters in a Western by that woman who lived up north in Haven.”
—-
“Haven” – is this the first mention of that town that King brings up in later works? 🤔
“It was a portable phonograph, the kind with the plastic cover, invented for teenage girls of thirteen or fourteen… The kind of phonograph constructed with 45 singles in mind”
—
It didn’t make sense to update the dates in this story. This paragraph is out of place for 1990.
“They can’t get their power plant going, but they can fire a nuclear missile at Beantown.”
Bateman said, “If it was me, I wouldn’t bother with a missile. I’d just try to figure out how to detach the warhead, then drive it to Boston in a station wagon.”
—-
Helluva foreshadow!
Day 279: Oct 6, 2022
Diving back into “The Stand” with Chapter 38. Stu has finally connected with Glen and Kojak, Frannie and Harold have hit the road. But I can’t believe I’ve gotten this far into the book and Mother Abigail has yet to make an appearance!
Chapter 39, the “no great loss” chapter, was probably the single most depressing piece of writing I’ve encountered to day. Quick little vignettes of the “flu” survivors who were killed for a hundred different reasons as a result of society’s collapse… I’m numb from it.
“Just last night he had managed to slap one of his slippers over a cockroach and had eaten it alive; he had felt it scuttering madly around inside his mouth just before his teeth had crunched it in two.” — Good morning! Just thought I’d share that with you! 🪲
Chapter 40, and finally!
—-
“Sitting on the porch is the oldest woman in America, a black woman with fluffy white thin hair—she is thin herself, wearing a housedress and specs.”
“Harold glared sullenly at him again, the eyes those of a piggy little boy who wants the whole cookie jar to himself. Ain’t he going to be surprised, Stu thought, when he finds out a girl isn’t a jar of cookies.”
—
Can’t wait to tell my wife she ain’t no jar of cookies!
Day 280: Oct 7, 2022
Yesterday, I finished reading Book 1 of The Stand. I pause to catch up on 4 episodes that cover up to this point starting with my faithful reading companion, Kingslingers.
Day 282: Oct 9, 2022
It’s a 3.5 hr epic discussion of Book 1 of The Stand with The Losers Club. If I’m to have voices in my head, I’m sure glad they’re talking about this masterpiece of a novel!
Day 283: Oct 10, 2022
Finishing off this discussion of Book 1 of The Stand from The Losers Club. Most podcasters, including these guys, find Larry Underwood to be the most interesting character. Not me, though. I was drawn more to General Starkey. RIP
I love the “Are these tits necessary tits?” litmus test for SK’s works.😂
The answer, of course, is always yes.
Day 284: Oct 11, 2022
The last word on Book 1 of The Stand goes to Stephen King Cast. After this, I get back to reading!
There’s an analysis of Frannie’s introductory chapter in which the visit to Dairy Queen is given waaaay too much importance. “Dairy” being a homophone of “Derry” and “Queen” referring to Pennywise’s final form of the spider queen. Was this an intentional foreshadowing of IT? Nah
Okay. He continues his line of thought connecting more dots and ends up with Frannie being the mother of the Crimson King. Now I get that that entire analysis was a bit tongue in cheek.
Day 285: Oct 12, 2022
It’s back to reading The Stand and seeing what awaits in Book 2!
“Then Tom was pushing open a heavy wooden door, thrusting him through… In the last instant of light he saw they were sharing the storm cellar with a family of rat-gnawed corpses. Then Tom slammed the door shut and they were in perfect darkness.”
—-
Oh hell no.
Day 286: Oct 13, 2022
Finishing off Chapter 44 of The Stand before catching some more podcasts on that material. Whew, this is a looooong chapter. Way too long. When Larry meets Nadine and “Joe” is essential plot, but not so riveting as to warrant this drawn out pace.
“Building up a mental picture of someone you had never seen was a fool’s game, because they were never the way you had imagined.”
—-
And THAT is an absolute true statement about all of you beautiful people here!
“The old woman looked at Nadine pityingly. You’ll go straight to hell if you don’t watch close, daughter of Eve. And when you get there, you are gonna find that hell is cold.”
—-
Marking this passage for later. I recall “cold” being an important characteristic of evil later on.
Now, here’s Kingslingers to point out all the things that I missed in Chapters 43-44 of The Stand, which they invariably do!
Day 287: Oct 14, 2022
Derry Public Radio zooms us through chapters 27-44 of The Stand. It’s like Cliff Notes but just with the juicy bits covered.
Day 288: Oct 15, 2022
I’m exactly a third of the way through reading The Stand. Today, I pick up at Chapter 45. Looks like we open up with the first focus on Mother Abigail the person, not merely the dream biscuit-maker.
“She took three of the plumpest and made them stick their heads under their wings. They went immediately to sleep. She bundled them into a sack and then found she was too stiff to actually lift it.”
—-
Always said writers are the smartest people. Who knew this about chickens?
“She took three of the plumpest and made them stick their heads under their wings. They went immediately to sleep. She bundled them into a sack and then found she was too stiff to actually lift it.”
—-
Mother Abigail vs the weasels.
A classic battle of good vs evil.
Echoes of the Night Shift story, “Last Rung on the Ladder”.
“Prophecy is the gift of God and everyone has a smidge of it. My own grandmother used to call it the shining lamp of God, sometimes just the shine.”
“This other man, Nick, he’s as real as you are.” Yes, he was real… And when she spoke up again, her voice was husky. “He ain’t Satan,” she said, “but he and Satan know of each other and have kept their councils together of old.”
Having been immersed in King’s works all year now, I believe his strongest, most compelling writing is when major characters meet for the first time. When Nick & co reach Mother Abigail’s house, the pages just started to flow much faster.
Day 289: Oct 16, 2022
Whew, these chapters are getting long. Now reading Ch 46 where we’re back to Stu & gang.
“And do you know what Glen Bateman did then? That nice man who paints the horrible pictures? He went over and kicked that dead man in the face… Then Glen drew his foot back again.”
—-
Good for mild ole Glen! The “dead man” was the military dude set to kill Stu earlier on.
That “surgery” scene was intense.
I really love these entries in Frannie’s diary.
—-
“Things to Remember: The Gillette parrot. ‘Please don’t squeeze the Charmin.’ The walking Kool-Aid pitcher that used to say, ‘Oh … YEAAAAHHH!’ ‘O.B. Tampons… created by a woman gynecologist.’ Converse All-Stars.’”
Glen Bateman tells this story about a researcher named James Staunton who did research showing that passenger cancellations spiked for trips (planes, trains, etc) just prior to disasters, demonstrating a type of psychic anticipation.
Had me googling it. Not real, but believable!
Another really enjoyable episode from Kingslingers. This time, I aligned with everything they said. I think my reading has improved with these guys by my side!
Day 290: Oct 17, 2022
Another morning of reading picking up at Chapter 47 and the core 4 travelers: Stu, Frannie, Glen and Harold.
A big surprise gunfight erupts at the beginning of this chapter with the combatants only feet apart.
90% of this scene went like this:
“Stu fired at the shooter and missed.”
“The distance between muzzle and woman was at the most three feet… He missed.”
Day 291: Oct 18, 2022
Life has amped up to volume 11, but I want to keep my daily streak going. So I’ll crack open Chapter 48 of The Stand and see how far I’ll get before my eyes fall out of my head.
It looks like this is the single longest chapter in the book and it’s all about Trashcan Man? Hooboy, I hope this isn’t insufferable..
“He knew this dark man all right, his was the face you could never quite see, his the hands which dealt all spades from a dead deck…”
—-
I really liked that last part of the sentence. Very vivid imagery.
Day 292: Oct 19, 2022
Still plodding through Chapter 48 of The Stand. Honestly, I’m not particularly enjoying being in the mind of Trashcan Man for this long. Maybe for half this amount, it’s a very good character study. But this feels like too much.
I found this whole section took me right out of the story. Making comparisons between Trash & Larry’s tunnel experience was an essay for the reader. We’re already making those connections w/o having it spoonfed to us. Unless Trash knew Larry’s story personally, it doesn’t belong
This chapter definitely ended on a strong note. That crucifixion scene was intense and marvelously written.
With that chapter behind me, I turn back to Kingslingers for some analysis of Ch 47-48.
I thought it was an interesting discussion about how in Las Vegas there was a ban on illicit drugs upon penalty of crucifixion. For a side that represented pure evil, they had a strict moral code. They thought that this was counterintuitive.
I had seen it very differently. I mean, Hitler had some very extreme rules where the slightest infraction led to severe penalties. Plus, I think there was more of a selfish concern for Flagg… Drugs would cloud the mind and prevent him from being able to exert his spooky powers.
Day 294: Oct 21, 2022
Chapter 50! I love seeing all these characters’ journeys starting to coalesce. I’m well more than halfway through, but none of the main events I remember from reading The Stand decades ago have happened yet. This means I’m in for a helluva ride!
Talking about who migrates towards Flagg vs Mother Abigail:
—-
“I think he’s going to get most of the techies,” Glen said finally. “Don’t ask me why; it’s just a hunch.”
—-
As a “techie” I took great offense to this assumption! 😂 I’m Team Abigail all the way!
This discussion between Stu and Glen about the reconstruction of society and government is utterly fascinating! For King to play out these conversations in his head must be so much fun!
Mother Abigail’s fascinating reflection on who/what Flagg was.
A random character named “Sandy DuChiens” popped up.
Made me think of Roland Deschain.
And Andy Dufresne…
Day 295: Oct 22, 2022
Reading Chapter 51 of The Stand and how Boulder, CO continues to grow. I wonder if there been any tribute to this novel created in that city?
The committee talking about sending spies westward is such riveting dialog. As a teen reading this, I glossed over it wanting to get to the action stuff. But as an adult, with decades of having to make decisions as part of a group, this is now so incredibly fascinating to me.
If you put all the Kingslingers episodes about The Stand together, it exceeds the length of the audiobook version (not verified, but likely true). Another great dive, this time into Chapters 49-51.
Day 296: Oct 23, 2022
Listening to Derry Public Radio‘s third episode about The Stand this morning. Given their raucous take on the material, you could be forgiven for thinking this story was a rom-com.
“I prefer ‘Daddy Flagg’, thank you.”
😮
Day 297: Oct 24, 2022
Moving onto Chapter 52 of The Stand. So far, all the podcasts bemoaned the extensive politics of the middle section, but honestly, that’s been the most interesting part to me!
“But Kojak wasn’t asleep.
He lay somewhere between, where most living things spend a good deal of time when they are hurt badly, but not badly enough to be in the mortal shadow.”
====
I love the sudden POV shift to the dog!
“and in the crude telepathy that all animals of like kind share, Kojak could read its over-and-over thought clearly enough:
(wasps in me o the wasps the wasps in my head wasps are up my head o)”
====
I can’t help but think of the wasps of The Shining.
Day 298: Oct 25, 2022
Up next is Chapter 53 of The Stand. The big twist is that Mother Abigail has decided to wander off and is now missing. Who will replace her constant and ominous Godspeak?
Stu tells a tale of having filled Jim Morrison’s gas tank well after he had supposedly died. Now I want an entire novel dedicated to Jim Morrison’s faked death and all the adventures he had traveling incognito.
The ending of this chapter, a bit a Nadine’s backstory with the planchette (I had to look that word up), was really good. Reminded me of the Ouija board scene in The Exorcist.
With two more chapters now behind me, I turn to the fine fellows over at Kingslingers to review Ch 52-53.
Day 299: Oct 26, 2022
Moving on to Chapter 54 of The Stand. I don’t blame those who thought this book should be renamed “The Standing Around”. It’s been mostly interpersonal drama in Boulder for several hundred pages.
“Harold felt a sense of drawing-together, a camaraderie, and he fought against it, suddenly afraid. This was no part of the plan.”
====
Sometimes, King’s “bad guys” are a bit one-dimensional. I like that Harold is a bit more complex, with his own needs & frailties.
“I’m Nadine Cross,” she said. Her voice was low, close to being husky.
====
I’m jumping ahead, but I think the casting of Laura San Giacomo as Nadine in the 1994 miniseries was a stroke of genius.
“Young feller, we’ve struck oil!”
====
😂😂😂
The hypnotism scene with Tom Cullen, where they tapped into an otherworldly version of him… I wish that could’ve gone on for much longer – so riveting!
Wrapped up Ch 55 and am now listening to The Company of the Mad, a group of celebrities & SK experts, cover Ch 50 – 55 of The Stand.
Mind blown… The salesman from Mother Abigail’s history, named Donald King, is a reference to Stephen King’s absent father!
Day 300: Oct 27, 2022
300 continuous days of having Stephen King in my daily routine! Blessed to be here in the middle of The Stand as I begin Chapter 56 and see what’s stewing with Stu.
“Terrible.” Candy held up the bottle so Fran could read the word CALADRYL on the label. “Poison ivy. And you couldn’t guess where I got it. […] But I bet you can guess where Jack’s got it.”
====
2 yrs ago, I had the worst case of poison ivy. Head to toe & everywhere in between.
Harold’s now got the…
Now’s a good time to pause and have a listen to Kingslingers as they cover Ch 54-56. I don’t know how they pull two and a half hours worth of material just on these rather uneventful chapters, but they always find a way, and do so interestingly!
Day 301: Oct 28, 2022
The chapters get shorter which means the action is about to pick up. Starting this morning on Chp 57 of The Stand. Given the cliffhanger of Harold’s little science project in the last chapter, I’m not expecting good things to happen.
“It’s going to be just like the old fairy tale about the tailor and the flies. Seven at a blow. Only in this case, we’re dealing with a bunch of political cockroaches.”
====
I had to go look up that fairy tale that Harold referenced. Never heard of it before. Very weird!
“You’ve been given Novocain and the dentist pulls a tooth. It comes out with a painless tug. You spit blood into the white enamel basin. There’s a hole in you; you’ve been gouged. You can slip your tongue into the hole where part of you was living a second ago.”
====
So true!
“West?” “Not yet. Not until tomorrow night.” “Maybe I don’t want to anymore,” Harold whispered. He was still looking at her hair. She put his hand on it. “Too late, Harold,” she said.
====
The point of no return for Harold. I don’t remember what happens to him at the end…
“It’s over for them down there, and it’s over for us, and it’s over for everybody that died in the plague. God went off on a celestial fishing trip and He’s going to be gone a long time. It’s totally dark. The dark man’s in the driver’s seat now. Him. So get used to it.”
Two chapters read and I’m going to leave it just at the point where the house blew up. Tomorrow, I expect to get a full accounting of who lived and who died. Oh yeah, and see what Mother Abigail’s been up to all this time now that she’s back.
Day 302: Oct 29, 2022
Finishing off Book 2 of The Stand today. It feels like forever since this story has visited out west. Wonder if we’ll poke our heads back there before this section closes out.
I unexpectedly teared up at this passage in the post-explosion aftermath. Larry’s overwhelming sense of survivor’s guilt is personal. Stephen King is good with these tender moments. Very good.
I wonder what someone reading this, whose name happened to have the initials R.F., thought when they hit this paragraph!
Without a doubt, this is the most powerful passage in The Stand, if not in Stephen King’s entire career up to this point!
And the four men began their match out west. With that, Book 2 wraps up and I’m emotionally exhausted. King has such an amazing way of pulling on your nerves, tapping them like a piano tuner until he gets the perfect note out of you he was aiming for.
With Book 2 of The Stand completed, there are several podcast episodes that want to chime in. First up, of course, is Kingslingers covering Ch 57-60.
Day 303: Oct 30, 2022
Today’s goal is to listen to The Losers Club‘s 3.5 hour exploration of Book 2 of The Stand. Playing it at 1.2x speed might help me get through it in a single day.
I have no idea how they got there, but now they’re talking about casting RuPaul as Tom Bombadil in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings. I’ve completely forgotten we’re in a Stephen King novel now.
They believe that Book 2 was bogged down in Boulder. While I agree there wasn’t nearly enough abt Vegas, I hardly felt the building of Boulder to be too much. With advancing age & increased appreciation of history & politics, I found all the committee meetings to be interesting!
Day 304: Oct 31, 2022
Happy Halloween! No reading today since I have one more podcast to listen to that covers Book 2 of The Stand. Up now is Stephen King Cast!
Day 305: Nov 1, 2022
I dip my toe into Book 3 of The Stand, but will read only the first chapter today because of a podcast episodes that covers up through Chapter 61. Gonna have to figure out why they made that odd choice.
“And it came to him with a dreamy, testicle-shriveling certainty that this was the dark man, his soul, his ka somehow projected into this rain-drenched, grinning crow that was looking in at him, checking up on him.”
===
Wait, what? Is THIS the first mention of “ka” in an SK work?
“The dark man’s cheeks were flushed with jolly color… and a great hungry voracious grin stretched his lips over huge tombstone teeth, shark teeth, and his hands were held out in front of him, and there were shiny black crowfeathers fluttering from his hair.”
Not many people can make a planted bomb killing off a beloved character sound like fun, but here we are with Derry Public Radio to do the deed!
“I’m tired of Glen’s bullshit.”
Well now, there’s a hot take if I’ve ever heard one.
Day 306: Nov 2, 2022
Barreling towards the end as I pick up reading at Chapter 62 of The Stand. Looks like most, if not all, of the action is about to happen out west!
“…it was staring at her…, staring at her as the Eye of Sauron had stared at Frodo from the dark fastness of Barad-Dur, in Mordor, where the shadows lie.”
====
If you’re not paying close attention, you’ll miss these very subtle Lord of the Rings references.🙄
“Most of western Nevada and eastern California was owned by the good old U.S.A. It’s where they tested their toys, all the way up to A-bombs. He’ll be dragging one of those back someday.”
===
Ah, a line you focus on only when you know how the story ends.
Flagg: “There’s room for both of us. There will still be room for both of us in 2190. That’s if the babies live… and humanity continues, let our grandfathers fight it out, if they have a bone to pick. Or their grandfathers.”
====
“Grandfathers”? Didn’t he mean “grandchildren”?
“I could have been something in Boulder,” he said quietly, and the simple, awful truth of that might have brought tears if he hadn’t been so tired and so dehydrated.
==
I knew Harold’s end would come, but was this a “good” ending for his character from a storytelling perspective?
Day 307: Nov 3, 2022
Two of the three spies are dead. Dayna’s confrontation with Flagg was epic. Harold went out with a bang. Things are picking up stream as I turn to Chapter 65 of The Stand.
One thing I desperately want, and that I know I’m not going to get, it a full detailed background of Flagg. I’m understand the allure of maintaining the mystery, but damnit, I love a good origin story!
“She was pregnant. If she was also catatonic, what did that matter? She was the perfect incubator. She would breed his son, bear him, and then she could die with her purpose served. After all, it was what she was there for.”
—
There are too many lawmakers with this sentiment.😡
“Well, Julie Lawry, Flagg isn’t in Las Vegas now.”
“When will he be back?”
“I don’t know. He comes and goes, and he doesn’t wear a beeper.”
—
Hey kids, gather ’round and let paw-paw explain to you youngins what a “beeper” is. 😂
Time to pause in the reading to tune in to Kingslingers as they cover Chapters 61 – 66 of The Stand.
Was the sending of the spies out west a worthless plot point? Given that Stu & gang were sent out anyway, what was the point? Truly, the only story point possibly gained was exposing chinks in Flagg’s supernatural armor.
Hah! Literally seconds after writing the above tweet, Kingslingers used that same phrase “chinks in the armor”.
Also glad to see Kingslingers pick up on this as well (“grandfathers” instead of “grandchildren”). Although I never considered that it might have been intentional, I think the explanation that it’s just a symptom of Flagg losing connection with humanity quite a stretch. I’m going with “boo-boo”.
WOW! Matt’s prediction of Harold’s demise, made 3 months prior to actually reach that chapter, was SPOOOOOOKY!
Day 308: Nov 4, 2022
Turns out, Flagg isn’t quite up to the task of civilization building with big cracks forming among his crew. I mean, who puts someone named “Trashcan Man” in charge of New Pentagon? Now reading Chapter 67 of The Stand.
“But he was the strongest man on the face of the earth, wasn’t he? There might be another like him in Russia or China or Iran, but that was a problem for ten years from now.”
====
Now THERE’S an interesting story in there, right? Multiple Flagg’s placed around the globe!
“She looked like some pallid deranged sibyl, and in spite of himself, Flagg was afraid. She took a delicate step closer…
‘They’re coming. Stu Redman, Glen Bateman, Ralph Brentner, and Larry Underwood. They’re coming and they’ll kill you like a chicken-stealing weasel.’”
Tom Cullen’s prayer made me smile.
===
“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want for nothing. He makes me lie down in the green pastures. He greases up my head with oil. He gives me kung-fu in the face of my enemies. Amen.”
I just finished Ch 70 (I like that these chapters have gotten shorter!) Now for some review with The Company of the Mad.
Wait… Josh Boone and Owen King worked on a Clive Barker project together? Anybody got details on what that was!?
Day 309: Nov 5, 2022
It appears to me that Flagg’s downfall is 99.9% self-indicated and had nothing to do with anything the good people of Boulder did. If you removed Boulder, would the outcome have been any different? Continuing with Chapter 71 of The Stand.
Nothing like a biochemistry lesson on page 2,269 of the Great American Stephen King novel!
“Larry gripped his hand for a moment and squeezed it. Then he took Glen’s and did likewise.”
====
A wonderfully touching scene as the three men walked to meet their fate.
I love this confrontation with Flagg! Stand-up-and-cheer worthy!
Ok, cheering over. I didn’t appreciate Glen’s demise. 😡
And with that controversial climax, I return to Kingslingers for a review of Ch 67 – 73.
Excellent point about a pattern in SK works where, by the time the final confrontation takes place, the big bad enemy is for all intents & purposes already defeated.
Not unlike WWII, where by the time the US declared war on Germany, the Nazis were just about done in by Russia.
Day 310: Nov 6, 2022
I’ve made it! Today, I finish off reading Stephen King’s “The Stand”. The bad guy has been defeated. Good people have been lost along the way. Now it’s time to bring closure to the rest of them.
Kojak’s a very good boy!
“With a desperate cry, Stu let go of Kojak’s neck and grabbed an outcrop of paving. It snapped off in his hands. He grabbed another one. Two fingernails peeled back like wet decals, and he cried out.”
====
I grimaced at that last line.
After the super-quick pace of the Vegas climax (it almost felt like Cliff notes of the actual climax King wrote but kept locked in his desk) we’re back to the extremely slow & detailed pace of Stu & Tom’s journey back to Boulder.
I suppose this lengthy segment after the plot climax is yet another homage to Lord of the Rings
“And five minutes later they were sitting side by side, watching Sylvester Stallone kill hundreds of dope-dealers in Rambo IV: The FireFight.”
====
King wasn’t far off in his imagined sequel. It was actual Rambo V where he faced off against a drug cartel.
I’ve got goddamned tears in my eyes from the Stu & Tom Christmas morning scene. 😭
Nope. Didn’t like that epilog. Not one bit. Felt completely tacked on and amateurish. Totally unnecessary.
And that ends the book for me! This was my 3rd time reading it but it felt like my 1st since I last touched it 25 years ago. Since then, I’ve raised my own family, lived through a global plague, gotten involved in politics. The Stand has so much more impact this time around.
Day 311: Nov 7, 2022
With the book now behind me, there are quite a few podcasters who want to weigh in on the ending of The Stand. I’ll start with my constant co-readers, Kingslingers.
With the book now behind me, there are quite a few podcasters who want to weigh in on the ending of The Stand. I’ll start with my constant co-readers, Kingslingers.
Day 312: Nov 8, 2022
I got halfway through The Losers Club episode about Book 3 of The Stand yesterday and am finishing it up this morning. It’s awesome to be able to revisit these chapters with the banter of a group of goofy friends.
I know the big controversy of The Stand was the “Finger of God” aspect. For me, the biggest problem was Nadine’s backstory in the revised & expanded ed. It felt out of place for Nadine to have been “selected” for her fate well before Captain Trips swept the nation. Every other character (including Flagg & Mother Abigail) had no supernatural incidents prior to then (no dreams, etc). Nadine’s encounter with the Ouija board years prior felt wrong, narratively speaking.
The Losers Club is spending quite a bit of time discussing how *relieved* they were that King did not describe Flagg’s “junk” during the Nadine rape scene.
I agree!
Next up is The Stephen King Cast with his episode covering the third book in The Stand.
He’s got a good point about the side-plot of Randall Flagg wanting to have an heir. When you think about it, there really isn’t any pressing need. What exactly was this progeny supposed to accomplish anyway?
Day 313: Nov 9, 2022
This morning, I continue with various analyses of the final book of The Stand. The Company of the Mad is a collective of King-world celebrities like Mike Flanagan who discussed this work while living through the early months of the COVID pandemic in 2020.
What’s particularly fascinating about this episode was that it was recorded soon after the Jan 6 insurrection and the panelists are drawing so many comparisons between the insanity of that event and the mad Vegas mob led by Flagg. Riveting!
With Jan 6 still raw in his mind, one of the panelists draws a comparison not between Trump and Flagg, but rather between Trump and Trashcan Man.
The more he talked, the more he made sense about a zealot burning it all down!
Next is one of my favorite podcasts, Derry Public Radio, with their review of the end of The Stand.
Day 314: Nov 10, 2022
The podcast parade of The Stand reviews continues with Chat Sematary‘s attempt to encapsulate this work in under 50 minutes!
In this day and age, who reads the original edition of The Stand instead of the expanded and unedited version?
This podcast episode is the first in which I specifically hear the number 0.6% of the population having survived Captain Trips. Was that number ever actually established in the book? I don’t recall.
Next up is the Stephen King Cast with a short exploration of the Randall Flagg character.
Day 315: Nov 11, 2022
Only two podcast episodes left that cover the book, The Stand, and then I’m off to watch the two TV adaptations!
First up is Kingslingers podcast who released 15 (!) episodes so far as they read through the book. They were amazing companions to read along with, but now they wrap up with their 16th episode, a recap and reflection of this amazing work of literature.
Day 316: Nov 12, 2022
The final podcast episode covering the book, The Stand. Then I’ll start later today watching the 1994 TV mini-series!
Here is Stephen King Cast specifically covering just the ending of the novel.
The most famous scene of “The Stand”?
The host of Stephen King Cast posits that it’s the Lincoln Tunnel scene with Larry Underwood.
It’s a memorable scene for sure, but the standout one? I dunno. I would place the three interactions Flagg had with the members of Boulder above that (Dayna Jurgens, Glen Bateman, Nadine Cross).
Day 403: Feb 7, 2023
***circling back***
I’m back at “The Stand” (a step which I originally finished on Jan 9).
However, since then I discovered “Two Guys to the Dark Tower Came” and they published a many-part read-along of the novel back in the summer of 2020.
Today, I’m excited to revisit the novel with them!
A comment was made about The Stand’s book cover and MAD Magazine’s Spy vs. Spy and I can’t believe I haven’t noticed this before!
Day 404: Feb 8, 2023
***circling back***
Two Guys to the Dark Tower Came consume Chapters 5 – 15 of The Stand.
The Two Guys continue on to Chapters 16 – 25 of The Stand. Like a number of other podcasters, they took up this book during the early stages of the COVID pandemic in 2020!
Day 405: Feb 9, 2023
***circling back***
Two Guys to the Dark Tower Came continue through Book 1 of The Stand.
Day 406: Feb 10, 2023
***circling back***
In one week, I’ll be kicking off a new book in my journey: The Dead Zone!
But first, I continue this step with Two Guys to the Dark Tower Came.
Day 407: Feb 11, 2023
***circling back***
Two Guys to the Dark Tower Came continue to march through the post-apocalyptic world of Stephen King and Mother Abagail.
Day 408: Feb 12, 2023
***circling back***
Now I remember why it took me over 3 months to get through this book and all the related material! Two Guys to the Dark Tower Came continue their long read of this massive work.
Regarding Flagg’s disposal of The Kid, the Two Guys wonder what would be worse foe to face: Ten wolves, a hundred weasels, or 1000 chickens?
I’ve got room today for another episode from the Two Guys talking about The Stand.
Day 409: Feb 13, 2023
***circling back***
I had a long road trip and was able to knock out three episodes of Two Guys to the Dark Tower Came and their book review of The Stand.
Covering the end of Book 2.
Finally, Book 3 has been reached!
Day 410: Feb 14, 2023
***circling back***
Only three more episodes left for the Two Guys to the Dark Tower Came and their coverage of The Stand. Now they’re in the heart of Las Vegas and Flagg’s Dominion.
Day 411: Feb 15, 2023
***circling back***
Two Guys to the Dark Tower Came finally make it to the end of The Stand.
Day 412: Feb 16, 2023
***circling back***
Today, I finally reach the end of my backlog and will launch into the next King novel tomorrow!
But for now, Two Guys to the Dark Tower Came interview author Wred Fright who detailed out all the variations between the different book editions of The Stand.
Day 706: Dec 07, 2023
***circling back***
Revisiting the The Stand for the next few days with Tower Junkies.
t seems as if every podcast picked up this book during the early days of the COVID pandemic.
The host mentioned that they were on day 16 of lockdown in April of 2020 and he read the current stats of 50,000 dead worldwide… not fathoming that the number would soon shoot to the millions by the end of the year. How quickly we have forgotten and just moved on.
Day 707: Dec 08, 2023
***circling back***
Heading into Book 2 of The Stand with Tower Junkies.
(Call me weird, but that whole “rebuilding of society” theme makes this portion of the novel my favorite.)
Day 708: Dec 09, 2023
***circling back***
Finishing off my revisit of The Stand with Tower Junkies and their review of Book 3.
Day 830: Apr 09, 2024
Just King Things released a 3.5 hr episode on the novel The Stand. And it wasn’t even the extended edition they went on about. So I’ll be stuck here on this episode for the next 3 days.
Day 831: Apr 10, 2024
It’s my second day with Just King Things‘ 3.5 hr episode on the novel The Stand. Interestingly, they chose to focus on the original, edited release as they cover King’s works in publication date order. They do review the expanded and unedited version later.
They also weren’t the biggest fans of this edited version, which is a take that I haven’t seen before.
Day 832: Apr 11, 2024
Finishing off Just King Things‘ 3.5 hr episode on the novel The Stand (original edit).
Day 833: Apr 12, 2024
Just King Things returns to The Stand, but this time to talk about the expanded and unedited version. A version that they clearly thought was inferior to the original release, which they were highly critical of as it was.
Day 834: Apr 13, 2024
Finishing off Just King Things‘ critique of the expanded edition of The Stand.
Day 1010: Oct 6, 2024
**circling back**
Moving onto The Stand and a book discussion with Dark Tower Palaver.
Day 1011: Oct 7, 2024
***circling back***
Finishing off this episode from Dark Tower Palaver about The Stand. This was recorded a couple of years before the COVID pandemic, so it was rather ironic to hear one of the host remark that he gets nervous every time he has a cold after having read this book.
Day 1012: Oct 8, 2024
***circling back***
Staying with The Stand, I’m listening to Radio Free Mid-World‘s first episode about the novel.
Day 1013: Oct 9, 2024
***circling back***
Enjoyed finishing off this episode about The Stand from Radio Free Mid-World. This was only Part 1 of their coverage and I look forward to coming back for Part 2 at a later date.
Day 1260: Jun 13, 2025
***circling back***
Radio Free Mid-World covers the second half of the novel The Stand.
Day 1261: Jun 14, 2025
***circling back***
Finished off this episode from Radio Free Mid-World covering the second half of the novel The Stand.