The Stand
I recently (now that I’m twenty, I’d say that “two months ago” is equivalent roughly to “recently”) finished reading this book. I read it once, long ago, back when reading was productivity in between hours of youtube watching and video gaming. Now reading is relaxation in between productivity. Funny how that’s changed… anyway, here’s what I thought of it.
Obviously, perhaps, given that I chose to read it again rather than explore any of the other books that … exist … I really like The Stand. Laws, yes. M-O-O-N and that spells “you should read it, too.”
That’s a reference you’ll get, when you do.
I know of no book that develops characters as effectively as this one. My grandfather’s principal complaint with many stories are long lists of characters thrown at us readers. Sure, it’s harder for him: my grandpa’s a busy (but retired - is that an oxymoron?) fella who often goes days or weeks in between reading sessions. Yet even as someone who incorporates reading into their daily routine, getting to know the cast can feel like a chore. It’s like digging a hole, moving onto the next, and turning ‘round to see that the wind’s blown dirt right back into the first.
When the wind isn’t blowing, you can dig so much deeper.
Each character navigates alone, or in pairs, the world into which they’ve been plunged. This is a lonely world, where nearly everyone is killed by man-made disease while some mysteriously lucky few with natural immunity survive. Science is unable to determine what sets apart the lucky ones, other than (dreams) unusally high nighttime brain activity. This exposition is super interesting, and the slow-then-fast, normal until you wake up and everyone’s dead, spread of a super flu is written superbly.
The story quickly moves beyond “survive-the-apocolypse.” It becomes an exploration of good-versus-evil, as characters choose their side and come to terms with the reality that only one side will survive. The dreams were such a cool aspect of the story: the mind is perhaps the only place we alone occupy, where we get to take our stand.
My only complaint, therefore, was that the dreams more-or-less disappeared as soon as everyone got to Boulder. I suppose that the dreams stuck around for as long as they needed to, to bring together the main characters.
Thanks for reading, and when you read The Stand, let me know what ya think.
With love,
-Ryan.