MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Opinions of reading The Stand 'The Complete & Uncut Version'

snipenekkid · 03-15-2009, 04:51 PM

In another thread Sparrow & JSWolf made mention of having read this novel. I am curious from those who read this or the original released version how you liked the 'Complete & Uncut' version of The Stand.

I never read the original released book but did enjoy the mini-series very much. I have had 'The Stand' on my to read list for a while but always with King books made into movies I found reading the books after to be a mixed bag. Sometimes the book has much more to offer and others it almost feels like the only reason the book was released was to leverage the King name and fans to generate extra cash because the book was the same as the movie or TV mini-series.

I will add I don't read a lot from King. Over the years maybe a half dozen or so novels. Exactly which ones I cannot recall, though Carrie obviously comes to mind as maybe the first King novel I might have read. The actual very first King story I ever read is one I will never forget as it left such a vivid impression. The short story was one he wrote for Playboy in the 70s. And all I can remember about the basic plot, a few specific bits here and there along with the fact that after reading the story, ponds made me feel creepy whenever I went swimming in them for about a year afterwards.

(I will not even mention what reading Jaws when I was about 10 did and still does to me when swimming in the ocean.) There was this pond with a floating dock or platform in the middle where one could swim out then relax in the sun for a while before swimming back. In this pond was some sort of entity that resembled a big black blob of 'stuff' with a taste for people. To my 13yr old mind it was very captivating as well as, scary in the way any story that folds in enough real life putting the reader's own life experiences into the story does.

And YES, even at that age I did enjoy the articles in the stack of Playboys I had secreted away. The level of the writing was actually excellent back then and exposed me to writers whose works I sought ever since. The nekkid girls did not hurt at all either, I just eventually considered them a delivery system for the articles and short stories. Face it once you have seen one nekkid girl in a magazine you have seen them all, and they all look pretty good.

Anyway back to The Stand. It would be interesting to hear from those who read both versions or even just the longer 'Uncut' version. There is one rather scathing review on Amazon in which the writer seems to take King to task for actually rewriting the work not offering the original version. Based on that review it would seem to justify the existence of editors in the novel writing process. Problem was that reviewer wrote four reviews on the site all about King works and all negative. So it is hard to tell if it was the reader or King himself who was bored with King novels.

I ask simply because I have seen and loved the mini-series and if the original novel was essentially the same content there is really no point in reading the original. But this 'Uncut" version has me intrigued, especially as I never knew it existed until the comments about it in the 'Longest ebook you have read and liked' thread.

03-15-2009, 04:51 PM	#1
snipenekkid Banned Posts: 760 Karma: 51034 Join Date: Feb 2009	Opinions of reading The Stand 'The Complete & Uncut Version' In another thread Sparrow & JSWolf made mention of having read this novel. I am curious from those who read this or the original released version how you liked the 'Complete & Uncut' version of The Stand. I never read the original released book but did enjoy the mini-series very much. I have had 'The Stand' on my to read list for a while but always with King books made into movies I found reading the books after to be a mixed bag. Sometimes the book has much more to offer and others it almost feels like the only reason the book was released was to leverage the King name and fans to generate extra cash because the book was the same as the movie or TV mini-series. I will add I don't read a lot from King. Over the years maybe a half dozen or so novels. Exactly which ones I cannot recall, though Carrie obviously comes to mind as maybe the first King novel I might have read. The actual very first King story I ever read is one I will never forget as it left such a vivid impression. The short story was one he wrote for Playboy in the 70s. And all I can remember about the basic plot, a few specific bits here and there along with the fact that after reading the story, ponds made me feel creepy whenever I went swimming in them for about a year afterwards. (I will not even mention what reading Jaws when I was about 10 did and still does to me when swimming in the ocean.) There was this pond with a floating dock or platform in the middle where one could swim out then relax in the sun for a while before swimming back. In this pond was some sort of entity that resembled a big black blob of 'stuff' with a taste for people. To my 13yr old mind it was very captivating as well as, scary in the way any story that folds in enough real life putting the reader's own life experiences into the story does. And YES, even at that age I did enjoy the articles in the stack of Playboys I had secreted away. The level of the writing was actually excellent back then and exposed me to writers whose works I sought ever since. The nekkid girls did not hurt at all either, I just eventually considered them a delivery system for the articles and short stories. Face it once you have seen one nekkid girl in a magazine you have seen them all, and they all look pretty good. Anyway back to The Stand. It would be interesting to hear from those who read both versions or even just the longer 'Uncut' version. There is one rather scathing review on Amazon in which the writer seems to take King to task for actually rewriting the work not offering the original version. Based on that review it would seem to justify the existence of editors in the novel writing process. Problem was that reviewer wrote four reviews on the site all about King works and all negative. So it is hard to tell if it was the reader or King himself who was bored with King novels. I ask simply because I have seen and loved the mini-series and if the original novel was essentially the same content there is really no point in reading the original. But this 'Uncut" version has me intrigued, especially as I never knew it existed until the comments about it in the 'Longest ebook you have read and liked' thread.