Quote:
Originally Posted by Dr. Drib
Yes, the first version [1978] was, indeed, just a bit shorter. King mentions that the original edition - as he originally wrote it before it was edited by Thompson - had some excess 'fat' trimmed from it, in addition to how it first begins. I can't remember how much material was restored (20,000 words ?), but it starts out (for example) in a completely different way.
The Stand, now, is the complete and uncut edition.
|
I read both versions, though decades apart. So I couldn't say whether one was better than the other.
I do remember when I first read The Stand, I wasn't sure what to think of it. I have this one:
The description was short and wildly off base. Ultimate horror?
This was before the miniseries adaptation or the internet. The Stand was just another Stephen King book, one that didn't (yet) have a movie. I thought it was going to be a horror story, like Christine or The Shining. Honestly, for a while there I was just annoyed with the book.
That cover though, I still really like it.