Helpful Score: 18
There are plenty of pitfalls that drag epic, amibitous novels down; plots that don't hold up for a thousand plus pages, characters that grow tiresome, repetitive themes that feel like a broken record halfway through the book.
The Stand avoids all of these. The cast is large and varied enough to keep multiple plot threads going, but not too large to become confusing. And as many as there are, none are superfluous to the plot, all serve a purpose that is revealed before the finale. The plot is intense and ambitious, but divided into segments it is managable and sustainable. Daunting certainly at 1200+ pages, but always building towards the inevitable conclusion. The theme is as old as storytelling; the ultimate battle between good and evil, the eternal cycle of death and rebirth. But King manages to present these timeless themes with mythic, Biblical imagery melded with a down-to-earth humanity that makes them fresh and exciting.
This book is a chilling, thrilling home-run. At the end of the book (and at many places throughout) I felt as though I'd been completely wrung out. The amount of emotion the reader invests in this book is one of the greatest of any book I've read. Its exhausting and exhilirating at the same time. One for the ages, truly not to be missed.
The Stand avoids all of these. The cast is large and varied enough to keep multiple plot threads going, but not too large to become confusing. And as many as there are, none are superfluous to the plot, all serve a purpose that is revealed before the finale. The plot is intense and ambitious, but divided into segments it is managable and sustainable. Daunting certainly at 1200+ pages, but always building towards the inevitable conclusion. The theme is as old as storytelling; the ultimate battle between good and evil, the eternal cycle of death and rebirth. But King manages to present these timeless themes with mythic, Biblical imagery melded with a down-to-earth humanity that makes them fresh and exciting.
This book is a chilling, thrilling home-run. At the end of the book (and at many places throughout) I felt as though I'd been completely wrung out. The amount of emotion the reader invests in this book is one of the greatest of any book I've read. Its exhausting and exhilirating at the same time. One for the ages, truly not to be missed.
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