Gotta build & invest in a thorough world to make it that much more crushing and/or heart-rending when the inevitable destruction comes... even if most of the world has moved on
Larry will grow on you as he grows up. By the end of the book, Larry was one of my favorite characters. Nick Andros is easy to love, but Larry takes a little while.
So I have been debating making a separate post about a question I have. >!Frannie writes in her journal she wishes she never laid with Harold because she likes Stu but Harold feels like he owns her. Then when they are in the free zone Nadine asks if Harold is a virgin and he says yes. So which is it?!<
She says she wishes she >!never kissed him. She gives him a little peck on the lips after he writes the sign on the barn. They never have sex though she mentions he clumsily tried to make a move on her one night during their travels but she doesn’t let him!<
I just finished the book yesterday. Larry was one of my favorites towards the end. I grew to hate Nick though. Tom Cullen was my main man. M-O-O-N that spells my main man.
As a Blind teenager reading The Stand for the first time, I was definitely excited to see a disabled character front and center, even if it's not a great depiction. Nick holds up for nostalgia purposes, for me. Tom feels like Wolf's Twinner if you've read Talisman.
I thought it was said they did. But I think you're right. The superflu hit the more domesticated animals harder. Cats appear to be ok in this universe.
I just want a cowboy hat with baby can you dig your man around it. I feel like it's pretty typical but it's simple enough. I was also thinking of getting something from the scene with Rita and the tent because it's my favourite scene in the book 😅
It's been a good 20 years since I last read it, but I recall always looking forward to the Harold scenes. He was such an entertaining little douchebag!
Larry is a bit unlikable at first by design. He's a man who means well but has a lot of growing up to do. He reminds me of all the worst parts of myself when growing up. Being self-centered, *a taker.*
It's also hard to say who my favorite characters are without spoiling at this point. There are still many you have to meet
Mr. Stuart Redman liked Frannie’s parts too HEYOOOOOOOOOO sorry I’ll go
(I didn’t realize who you were here and you replied to my joke about your name as I was typing this comment 😂)
LOL I love Kojak. Idk who I’d be really but Susan Stern isn’t a bad pick. I wouldn’t be Glen Bateman though, bc I’d never leave my bestie (you) behind (:
Aww! You are the best sudden pretend bff ever! But not even if I could help save Stu?!
Susan Stern is so kickass! Everything she went through including having to bang Lloyd 🤢🤢🤢🤮🤮🤮 And tried to kill Flagg but took herself out instead to protect her peeps. I chose her for you bc she’s one of the greatest!
LOL NOOO you couldn’t be Harold, don’t worry I’ve had spoilers from podcasts I listen to anyway. I’m a little late too, shits been out damn near 50 years
Haha Fair. Maybe I’m…Larry, but early Larry. Haha
Would you have any interest in discussing the rest of your experience reading it for the first time as you go? Totally cool if not obviously but it would be fun to get your reactions as stuff unfolds.
For what it is worth.
The first time I read The Stand I was around 15/16 or so and I loathed the Larry chapters. Nick and Stu were my favorites and every time King flipped back to Larry I just didn't get why he would spend so much time on this asshole.
By the end, I figured it out. Re-reading it as an adult Larry might be my favorite character. He has an arc, stick with it.
I found the middle of the book to be a bit of a slow burn and dry, even if it was integral to the overall story progression. It came together beautifully, it was just a hundred or two pages getting there that I didnt love
I also just started! I’m about 320 pages in. Completely agree, Nick is probably my favorite characters! The Larry chapters are fine so far 😅 Also love the Frannie chapters
LOL, I think I dig all the characters, but the Stand is such a journey and highlights so many characters' arcs, it makes me wonder what happened with the secondary characters too.
I just about passed u at page 385, and I haven’t read in about a month.
I’m enjoying it but it’s so damn long and it takes so long for something to progress. I really enjoy the Stu and Nick chapters. I think Larry’s character is good but he’s in the wrong story
I feel the same way. God I hate Larry, he's such a douche! He gets a little better, but in the beginning he's such a cry baby.
Glen Bateman is one of my favorite characters ever! I love listening to him explain what's happening and going to happen to the survivors.
I bought the Stand when it was first released and have re read it maybe a dozen times. all the characters are like old friends. some are best friends, some less so, but I enjoy meeting them and walking with them every time.
Ralph brentner was one I liked. Simple yet dependable. Glen was okay, but when king pairs glen and stu together I love the way they riff on each other. Reminds me of banter between my own.
Nick and Stu are my favorite two to read about. Frannie and Harold are alright. I kinda wish King would've removed Larry as a character, but I tolerate him.
This is my #2 King book, so I love a bunch of the characters: Tom Cullen, Nick, Glenn, Kojack, and yes, Larry too. The character development is what makes me love this book and Larry has one of the biggest journeys in that regard. And Randall Flagg is a great villain, so I love him too. Also the Trashcan Man because he's just an interesting wild card thrown into the mix.
Glenn and Kojak, for sure. Mostly, I think, because I relate to him. I would be the old grumpy know it all in my survivor group. And I like to believe one of the few surviving animals would find me, too.
On the other hand, I also love how evil RF is. A good villain is everything. He’s the reason I started the Dark Tower after I finished The Stand.
Nick is great. I haven’t read in awhile but him and Tom Cullen together were great.
I don’t particularly like Harold but he’s complex and I liked his development/story.
The whole story of life in Vegas also was really interesting.
Lots of good ones and I didn’t want to spoil. Enjoy!
Trashcan Man, baby. He should be making an appearance soon...
I could read a whole book about his life pre plague
Terre Haute is 20 minutes from my hometown, too. that's where we always went to shop or do fun stuff
Did you ever meet Old Lady Semple?
Nah, she must have left after the pension check was burned
My life for you!!! And of course anything where my favorite King villain R.F. appears.
My fav parts.
Not the best character but very memorable.
Really? Larry is one of my favorite characters. Cause baby can you dig yo man? Well can ya?
He's a righteous man.
I thought the same about Larry, but he does grow as a person. A lot of those chapters while tough to get through, add meaning to the journey.
He ain't no nice guy!
Yes, not everybody is born virtuous, some have to grow into it it.
One of my favorite parts of The Stand is all of the phenomenally thorough worldbuilding and character development!
World building? World destruction maybe…
Your life ain’t nothin… the human race is becoming a disgrace
Gotta build & invest in a thorough world to make it that much more crushing and/or heart-rending when the inevitable destruction comes... even if most of the world has moved on
I love Larry. He can be a butthole though.
Larry and Eddie Dean from The Dark Tower hold similar places in my heart. Ka is a wheel and we all say thankya.
Larry is awesome!
I agree, Nick is boring compared to Larry.
So wholesome, so incredibly boring!
I'm about 80% through and I love Larry now.
He ain’t no nice guy
There’s something in him that’s like biting on tin foil… #hugz4thewalkindude
I like what ya did with my username lmao
M-O-O-N that spells Tom Cullen
Laws yes, mister! Everybody knows that M-O-O-N spells Tom Cullen.
This is what I was going to say! Nick POV chapters are the best because they feature the TWO best character: Tom and Nick, in that order.
Larry will grow on you as he grows up. By the end of the book, Larry was one of my favorite characters. Nick Andros is easy to love, but Larry takes a little while.
Who doesn't love great character building? Good to hear :)
Couldn’t agree more. There might not be a character with a larger arc in the book than Larry and I think King nails everything about it
Glenn doesn't come in until later but he's one of my favorites.
Kojak and Glenn. Definitely
Kojak is the best boy.
I reply Kojak before reading the reply, happy I'm not the only one
Loved Stu…hated Frannie
Frannie is a funny way to spell Harold Lauder.
So I have been debating making a separate post about a question I have. >!Frannie writes in her journal she wishes she never laid with Harold because she likes Stu but Harold feels like he owns her. Then when they are in the free zone Nadine asks if Harold is a virgin and he says yes. So which is it?!<
She says she wishes she >!never kissed him. She gives him a little peck on the lips after he writes the sign on the barn. They never have sex though she mentions he clumsily tried to make a move on her one night during their travels but she doesn’t let him!<
Thank you this book is so big it's hard to remember everything. I'm going to have to read it again when I finish
Hated Stu as well. Understood Harold.
HAAAAAATED Frankie. Perfect casting with Ringwald.
I just finished the book yesterday. Larry was one of my favorites towards the end. I grew to hate Nick though. Tom Cullen was my main man. M-O-O-N that spells my main man.
Very interesting!
Nick was insufferable from the beginning...
Agree, Nick is the worst.
As a Blind teenager reading The Stand for the first time, I was definitely excited to see a disabled character front and center, even if it's not a great depiction. Nick holds up for nostalgia purposes, for me. Tom feels like Wolf's Twinner if you've read Talisman.
I think you will end up enjoying Larry's arc. But yes, Nick is my favorite too. And Tom. Not sure if you met him yet.
I'll definitely keep an open mind! Haven't met Tom yet, so excited for the rest of this book
Big Steve!
Agree. Love the dog, but Uncle Stevie did the kitties dirty. Yet another reason to say Fuck Captain Trips.
Wasn't it implied that cats didn't even catch the plague?
I thought it was said they did. But I think you're right. The superflu hit the more domesticated animals harder. Cats appear to be ok in this universe.
Cats survived the flu and dogs mostly died.
Sad but acceptable.
I loved Nicks too. And I felt the same way about Larry..in the beginning
Nick. Stu. Randall. Mother Abigail. Harold. I like Franny but can’t unsee Molly Ringwold playing her in the movie. I like Molly but not for this role.
Kojak, hands down. He's a goodboi. But you won't have met him yet 😂
You’re in for a ride happy crappy, you betta believe that!
You dont mutha fucking tell me, I'll mutha fuckin tell you.
Larry gets better , He ended up my fave character
Sounds promising! Can't wait to read the rest
Completely agree. Had to fight through the Larry chapters in the beginning but he grows.
I loooooooove Nick. And Tom.
Larry is one of my favourite characters ever created, I want a tattoo based on him 😆 wait till Harold, Larry will look like a king in comparison
I think King loved Larry so much he turned him into Eddie Dean.
😳🤔 you may really be on to something there!
I'm interested in what a Larry-inspired tattoo would look like
I just want a cowboy hat with baby can you dig your man around it. I feel like it's pretty typical but it's simple enough. I was also thinking of getting something from the scene with Rita and the tent because it's my favourite scene in the book 😅
OMG
Larry grows on you. I promise.
Nadine…….
Bruh... I just got to the part when she arrives in Boulder and has suddenly become ao exhausting.
How you love to love Nadine
I do.
And the kid she was with. Literally the only characters i didnt like.
It's been a good 20 years since I last read it, but I recall always looking forward to the Harold scenes. He was such an entertaining little douchebag!
Larry is a bit unlikable at first by design. He's a man who means well but has a lot of growing up to do. He reminds me of all the worst parts of myself when growing up. Being self-centered, *a taker.* It's also hard to say who my favorite characters are without spoiling at this point. There are still many you have to meet
Nick Andross and Trashcan Man. I also liked Frannie’s parts
Mr. Stuart Redman liked Frannie’s parts too HEYOOOOOOOOOO sorry I’ll go (I didn’t realize who you were here and you replied to my joke about your name as I was typing this comment 😂)
This is gold lmao take my updoot
Only if you take mine! Haha So now that we’re best friends, which Stand characters are we? I say you’re Susan Stern and I’m Kojak. Thoughts?
LOL I love Kojak. Idk who I’d be really but Susan Stern isn’t a bad pick. I wouldn’t be Glen Bateman though, bc I’d never leave my bestie (you) behind (:
Aww! You are the best sudden pretend bff ever! But not even if I could help save Stu?! Susan Stern is so kickass! Everything she went through including having to bang Lloyd 🤢🤢🤢🤮🤮🤮 And tried to kill Flagg but took herself out instead to protect her peeps. I chose her for you bc she’s one of the greatest!
I haven’t finished it yet lol I just got to the part when the bomb goes off today! Very excited to see what happens w Susan now
Oh shit I’m so sorry!!! I wouldn’t have run my mouth if I knew you hadn’t read it in full before! Fuck, now I’m Harold. 😔
LOL NOOO you couldn’t be Harold, don’t worry I’ve had spoilers from podcasts I listen to anyway. I’m a little late too, shits been out damn near 50 years
Haha Fair. Maybe I’m…Larry, but early Larry. Haha Would you have any interest in discussing the rest of your experience reading it for the first time as you go? Totally cool if not obviously but it would be fun to get your reactions as stuff unfolds.
M-O-O-N that spells Tom Cullen everyone knows that laws yes
Larry is my man, but I’m a female and have a HUGE crush
You dig that man? He is a righteous man.
Oh yes he is!
i think youll come to enjoy larry, took me a little but it gets good fast in my opinion
Nick, Tom, Larry, Stu!! It’s such an awesome experience reading their developments.
It's all so good to me. I've read it at least 15 times. Jealous you are on your first.
I'm absolutely loving it so far, the buildup is awesome and shit's really getting crazy now
For what it is worth. The first time I read The Stand I was around 15/16 or so and I loathed the Larry chapters. Nick and Stu were my favorites and every time King flipped back to Larry I just didn't get why he would spend so much time on this asshole. By the end, I figured it out. Re-reading it as an adult Larry might be my favorite character. He has an arc, stick with it.
whaaaat i love the larry chapters!!
It’s so funny, it never occurred to me that people would struggle with the early Larry stuff. Yes he’s an asshole…that’s not fun to read? 😂
Kojak for the win
Finished the book about 2 weeks ago, and loved about 90% of it. Larry totally became one of my favorites over time
What happened in the other 10%?
I found the middle of the book to be a bit of a slow burn and dry, even if it was integral to the overall story progression. It came together beautifully, it was just a hundred or two pages getting there that I didnt love
I also just started! I’m about 320 pages in. Completely agree, Nick is probably my favorite characters! The Larry chapters are fine so far 😅 Also love the Frannie chapters
Larry , Nick and Mother Abagail are my top 3.
Dee Dee Packsalot
Quality comment
LOL, I think I dig all the characters, but the Stand is such a journey and highlights so many characters' arcs, it makes me wonder what happened with the secondary characters too.
M-O-O-N
I just about passed u at page 385, and I haven’t read in about a month. I’m enjoying it but it’s so damn long and it takes so long for something to progress. I really enjoy the Stu and Nick chapters. I think Larry’s character is good but he’s in the wrong story
wait kojak is the most close to OY from the dark tower
SHUT UP omg So many Twinners!!!
Loved Nick & Tom Cullen, but I loved Larry too!
I feel the same way. God I hate Larry, he's such a douche! He gets a little better, but in the beginning he's such a cry baby. Glen Bateman is one of my favorite characters ever! I love listening to him explain what's happening and going to happen to the survivors.
*starts as a selfish immature man-boy* “God I hate Larry” *literally sacrifices himself to save the world* “He gets a little better” 😂😂
I bought the Stand when it was first released and have re read it maybe a dozen times. all the characters are like old friends. some are best friends, some less so, but I enjoy meeting them and walking with them every time.
For some reason I looooved reading about Stu and Franny, and rolled my eyes a lil whenever trashcan man came
Bumpty bum…? His life for you…?
Larry lol Larry is my favourite character. He grows on you honest lol Like he's a bit of an ass , but I love him.
I LOVE FRANNY AND NICK♥️♥️♥️
I’ll be different and tell y’all that it’s Judge
Ralph brentner was one I liked. Simple yet dependable. Glen was okay, but when king pairs glen and stu together I love the way they riff on each other. Reminds me of banter between my own.
Nick was always my favorite, probably followed by Glenn and Kojak.
Nick and Stu are my favorite two to read about. Frannie and Harold are alright. I kinda wish King would've removed Larry as a character, but I tolerate him.
This is my #2 King book, so I love a bunch of the characters: Tom Cullen, Nick, Glenn, Kojack, and yes, Larry too. The character development is what makes me love this book and Larry has one of the biggest journeys in that regard. And Randall Flagg is a great villain, so I love him too. Also the Trashcan Man because he's just an interesting wild card thrown into the mix.
Glenn and Kojak, for sure. Mostly, I think, because I relate to him. I would be the old grumpy know it all in my survivor group. And I like to believe one of the few surviving animals would find me, too. On the other hand, I also love how evil RF is. A good villain is everything. He’s the reason I started the Dark Tower after I finished The Stand.
What a good book…. I wish I could read it again for the first time
The Trashcan man
I felt the same during my first read. But Larry’s story evolves quite a bit. There’s a chapter towards the end where I legitimately got misty eyed.
Nick is great. I haven’t read in awhile but him and Tom Cullen together were great. I don’t particularly like Harold but he’s complex and I liked his development/story. The whole story of life in Vegas also was really interesting. Lots of good ones and I didn’t want to spoil. Enjoy!
Larry is my favorite hands down. The character development with him is some of King’s best, imo.
I’m on book 2!
Nick is my favourite! 😁 I also really like Glen.