The Stand Question

[Joelcmj]

Hello all, I’m reading all Stephen King books in publication order. I’ve read Carrie, salems lot, the shining and next is rage then night shift.

Next on the list after them is the stand as you are probably aware but here is my question, I have only the uncut so I’m aware it’s been updated to the 90s in bits and more tie-in to the dark tower compared to the cut version.

Should I read The Stand Uncut and complete after night shift or skip and move on to The Long Walk and read The Stand after The Dark Half as this version was published? I know it’s pretty silly but I want to feel authentic reading how Kings writing has changed over the decades and I don’t feel like reading two versions of The Stand!

What makes more sense in relation to the dark tower and the king multiverse? Should I read The Stand after Night Shift or the Dark Half?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Vince W]

I tried to read the uncut The Stand earlier this year and it was a DNF for me. Endless exposition and boring. I’d go for the shorter version but I’ll never try again as I don’t rate King at all.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

I've read both versions of The Stand and I do feel his editor had more of a handle on things than King and the original is the better read - but there are things in the uncut that are interesting. I'd read the original version first and then, only if you love it, you could pick up the uncut in the order of when it was published. But, honestly, unless you love the book I don't think it adds enough to bother.

 

[BAYLOR]

I read The Stand almost 40 years ago . It was the very thing id ever read by Stephen King. I was captivated by the book Its one of those once you starter rising it you can't put it done books. When the extended version came out, I was tempted to get it but, decided not to.

 

[Rodders]

I've only ever read the uncut version and it is in the top ten of my favourite books. Although i can see when you're coming from with regard to the editing, i felt the expanded version really let me get close to each of the characters as i knew them so well. Every death was really felt and at the close of the book, i had to say goodbye to all of them. I've read it three times, i think.

I love IT for the same reason.

 

[Dave]

I've only read the uncut version. It is extremely verbose. However, I see where you are coming from, because at the moment I am about halfway through reading The Dark Tower series of books, and wouldn't have wanted to have missed all the connections there are to The Stand.

I'm not sure of your idea of reading all King books in publication order. I'm reading The Dark Tower in the suggested order, which is the 'chronological arrangement of events'. Reading them in order of publication would be very confusing.

 

[AE35Unit]

That's the book I'm up to next in my King chronology. I only have the uncut version. Not looking forward to it to be honest

 

[Matteo]

I read the original version (borrowed from a friend) shortly after it came out, in ppk, and devoured it. Then, after the expanded version was released I bought and read it again.

It dragged so much it was almost a DNF.

His editor had the right idea.

 

[thornCrab]

My opinion has always been to read the original, then if you really like it go on to the uncut when it crops up again when you hit the 1990s, but it doesn't really matter that much. If you like the uncut, you can always go back to the original if you're curious.

That said, I'm a weirdo who has overanalyzed King's bibliography and agonized over the 'best reading order'.

There really isn't one, but be chary with Holly Gibney/Bill Hodges and the Castle Rock and Derry stories... there are spoilers for past works within.

As a fairly extreme example, The Body (collected in Different Seasons) has a reference to IT (within its side story Stud City), a reference to 'Salem's Lot, a reference to Graveyard Shift (collected in Night Shift), a reference to The Shining, and a reference to Cujo all within 20 pages or so of each other.

The reason there's an IT reference is because he published Different Seasons while he was working on IT, and included the reference as a promotional tool for IT by including a throwaway couple of lines in one of his very early works (Stud City) which was repurposed into a side story in The Body.

 

[Steve Harrison]

I read the original every five years or so, as it’s one of my favourite novels, and was written during what I consider King’s golden years. Perhaps the rewrite is an improvement, but I don’t like his work from that later period so I’m hesitant to risk spoiling the experience.

 

[AE35Unit]

As a fairly extreme example, The Body (collected in Different Seasons) has a reference to IT (within its side story Stud City), a reference to 'Salem's Lot, a reference to Graveyard Shift (collected in Night Shift), a reference to The Shining, and a reference to Cujo all within 20 pages or so of each other.

Hmm I'll have to re-read The Body now! (Was made into Stand by Me of course, a great film too)

 

[BAYLOR]

With regard to this is particular Stephen King novel . We all know where we Stand.