Okay, confession: I first came across this book languishing in the window sill of a 6th Grade classroom’s pathetically valiant attempt at starting a little library.
Our little middle school library at The City School Capital Campus, Islamabad didn’t allow such fare for our little brains back then (hence, valiant) but the fact that this and a couple of other books were the only worthy contributions to the cause (hence, pathetic) prompted me to my first ever act of book thieving. Yeah, me. Hey, I was liberating it.
Anyway, that copy got lost somehow (somebody else borrowing without permission, perhaps?). This copy was gifted to me by my Abbu on his return from Karachi in 2012. I promptly reread it to tatters.
The Stand, set in the American Midwest, has this deliciously baleful post apocalyptic atmosphere that immediately draws you in. The momentum never lets up and you find yourself rooting at times for the villains not the heroes. Committees and town meetings? Give us a dictator who can get the lights back up, for God’s sake.
True World-building is a tricky thing to manage for any writer. To my mind, no one does it better than Frank Herbert (Dune) but Mr King does a pretty good job here with The Stand but there are times when you will find yourself checking Instagram or Whatsapping with your buddies.
My favourite parts of the book are the ones where Stu Redman and Glen Bateman discuss their situation and what the future could hold for humanity. Another highlight was Randall Flagg, who in my humble opinion got the worst deal as a villain since Bobba Fett. Not cool, Mr King.
I’ll be honest, unless you’re a die-hard Kingsman you’re going to have a tough time with this one. I mean, look at it! 1100 pages 😂 Sheer joy for me but not recommended as a starter to Mr King’s otherwise fantastic bibliography.
Favourite line(s): No one can tell what goes on in between the person you were and the person you become. No one can chart that blue and lonely section of hell. There are no maps of the change. You just come out the other side.
Or you don’t.
music: entire Jakob discography
The Doctor Reads 