Big thanks to Ridge for sending me this wallet and supporting the channel! Here’s the site if you want to check them out! > ridge.com/BETTERTHANFOOD

@jamesgreen1166

2 жыл бұрын

@Better Than Food You should check out Robert mccammon’s swan song, that epic was everything Stand wasn’t and never got the fame it deserved.

@ryanmcwilliams8784

2 жыл бұрын

Jokes on you. You said I’d never have to buy another wallet after I bought my ridge. But then I lost it like all my other wallet. The circle never ends. My life for you.

I DEVOURED this book at a 15 year old and loved it. That was 10 years ago and I haven't read it since. My favorite part was the random chapter about people who survived captain trips but then almost immediately died accidentally.

@jakeraught4939

3 жыл бұрын

That part stuck with me as well lol

@pascalpiers3215

Жыл бұрын

What chapter was this? I read the book but don't remember this part, and now I'm really curious.

@erinkubat

Жыл бұрын

@@pascalpiers3215 it's in the beginning on the extended version!

@itsmartina9458

Жыл бұрын

"No great loss"

@pascalpiers3215

Жыл бұрын

@@erinkubat thanks!!!

Holy shit this is the most negative review I've ever seen from Cliff. Very refreshing to hear him tear into something for once, like REALLY disembowel a book. Had me ctfu

The way I like to think about it is, the world was not saved by God, it was saved by Trash Can Man, who was my favorite character. He was the element of Chaos, which can go either way.

@JuanMartinez-ib7mz

3 жыл бұрын

Trashy's an excellent character

Pet Semetary is my favourite King novel. And whilst King does go on tangents with his writing, I feel like people don't give him enough credit for all the fantastic stories he's created. There are seldom few authors that can boast a bibliography as strong and as consistent as King!

@wardm4

3 жыл бұрын

I always say that King is a good storyteller but a bad writer. And the best writer without a story is nothing but the worst writer with a great story is going to gain a lot of fans.

@JuanMartinez-ib7mz

3 жыл бұрын

@@wardm4 it depends on how you look at it. For me, I think of good writing as a clear and honest delivery of the story. When you have to go back and reread a sentence or a passage because you go "huh? what the hell is he talking about?": that's bad writing. Never happened to me with King. You may not like the lack of subtle themes, but there's certainly tons of allegories in his books.

@joemurray6522

3 жыл бұрын

@@JuanMartinez-ib7mz that’s probably because King writes at a 6th grade reading level

@JuanMartinez-ib7mz

3 жыл бұрын

@@joemurray6522 it doesn't matter to me unless the story is good. I don't read to learn how to write

I know that life is too short to read bad books, but I'm glad you did in this case, and I genuinely want to thank you for reading this just because of how entertaining the review was. In all seriousness, I think you've done a lot to make lots of people's 2020 just a little bit brighter and I hope you never stop doing what you do.

@marcelhidalgo1076

3 жыл бұрын

I agree. This review was hilarious to watch. I liked the change of tone. We need some laughs, especially in these times.

@fernandomercado5519

3 жыл бұрын

Paraphrasing Stephen King: bad books show you what NOT to do. like using the word Zest.

This one might be one of your most entertaining reviews so far

My favorite parts of the book were the committee meetings where they're just trying to figure out how to rebuild and get back to some sense of normalcy whilst also dealing with this guy who wants them dead for reasons unknown to them

Love the way your hat complements your mustache. Love your videos too. Merry christmas!

King thought of The Stand as sort of his American version of Lord of The Rings when it wrote it and has said that it's one of the most asked about books. If I recall he said in an Interview that people ask about the characters like Stu and Fran as if he was still in contact with them. That all said I remember reading this in my early teens and it was pretty amazing. I remember the plague spreading and people slowly dying, I remember Fran taken care of her dad as he died and having to dig his grave. I don't really remember the riots and stuff so much but I remember in the middle of the book he wrote about random people dying from some injury or another after he tells you their life story. I could never read it because that first have feels so depressing. He really makes you feel about characters and force you to watch them slowly die.

Have you read 11/22/63? It's probably one of King's best books in my opinion. Actually has a great ending too, which sadly, is pretty rare for King.

@irena7777777

3 жыл бұрын

My favourite too. Along with Green Mile and Hearts In Atlantis

@corycastleman6351

3 жыл бұрын

That one is my number 1

@corycastleman6351

3 жыл бұрын

IT being a super close number 2

Loved the book up until the ending. I know King is kinda known for having shitty endings, but jeez. A literal Deus Ex Machina saves the day really quick and kinda jarringly out of knowhere, and then it is over. Took a lot of the wind out of the sails of the stories progression and focus on the efforts of the characters up until that point just to have God come down real quick and finish the evil off. So anticlimatic.

@VHS_NEON

3 жыл бұрын

Yeah and Randall was pretty bad here compared to the dark tower. It's like in the stand he was just a beta version. he really didn't do all that much on screen. To a point where I thought that Harold was creepier than Randal.

@stephennootens916

3 жыл бұрын

Luckily Flagg lives in the end.

@CorbCorbin

3 жыл бұрын

Trash Can Man was the true hero all along. 🤪 And, how about the fact that Flagg is barely even slowed down after that “ending?” King always gets shit about his endings, even from big fans. His prose gets criticized by non-fans, and his long drawn out descriptions that aren’t needed. I remember in one book he takes pages to explain the cloth napkins used, with the thread count, and other monotonous factoids, just to make it more believable when a character uses them to make a rope.

@bradleymcdonald6273

2 жыл бұрын

So mother Abigail leaves on a trip alone in the wilderness, comes back dead but with enough life left in her to give a message "You four go walk over to Vegas" Aw yeah...

I thought that the TV series used "Don't Fear the Reaper" for the initial mass dying montage but my memory might be wrong. Anyway, that was MY soundtrack.

@JuanMartinez-ib7mz

3 жыл бұрын

yes, it was that one

thanks for being an adult.

Cliff good to see you finally figuring out the YT algorithm! Push those numbers up!

You’re a great singer! I’m in love with your channel. I hope you always keep going. You’re inspiring me to start a channel. Thank you so much for your videos. 💗

I don't know if this is too obvious, like I thought everybody literate has read it, but The Alexandria Quartet by Laurence Durrell (4 books) is one of my favorites. My Yule tip for you. Thanks for all you do! Merry Solstice!

Merry Christmas, Clif.

@BetterThanFoodBookReviews

3 жыл бұрын

Merry Christmas Clayton!

I know what you mean about the association with Crowded House's "Don't Dream It's Over" and the TV adaptation of The Stand -- Molly Ringwald and Corin Nemec aka Parker Lewis Can't Lose.

Been waiting for this one all year

As many people have reflected, it’s fascinating to see you do a negative review. After watched your show for a few years, I had come to believe you focused on the books that deeply impacted you. You are clearly searching for something with every book you read. It’s impressive. And that made this review of particular note. You really gave people who are learning how to read seriously a way to understand why some books are vital and others stand in the way of growth and the expansiveness of the universe. Cheers.

Loved this review.

are you ever going to finish ulysses?

@BetterThanFoodBookReviews

3 жыл бұрын

Yup, thanks for the reminder.

@stino9635

2 жыл бұрын

@Flynn, Christian good boy

I read The Stand back in 2015 during my Christmas break from college. Now to see five years later you reviewing it....masterpiece. Your criticism of this book is on point. I felt that the happy ending was ok, especially since I was reading a lot of post-apocalyptic novels that were very dark and pessimistic to some degree, so it was nice to see something optimistic. But man, this novel was over written and, now that I'm older, a bit cliched.

please do a review of one of the major Thomas Hardy novels, particularly Mayor of Casterbridge, or Far from the Madding Crowd

Not related to the video, but I'm so excited to watch your review of Gravity's Rainbow. I'm doing using the reddit group read to help me navigate it, and I've really been enjoying it.

I've been meaning to read this for a long time mostly because of your namedrop of the book in your The Plague review and was really hoping you would review it, and I'm not disappointed. Also if you see this PLEASE review Murakami.

Great review! I think another good title for this topic is Blindness (Ensaio sobre a cegueira), by Portuguese author José Saramago. A man waiting on a red light suddenly goes blind, but instead of seeing everything black, it all goes completely white, and it ends up being an extremely contagious blindness and shatters all the foundations of societies, showing us what could happen if it came to that extreme. Besides, the characters have no names, so that's interesting considering the theme.

The song at the beginning of the original miniseries was Blue Oyster Cult's Don't Fear The Reaper.

don't read many books these days but I do enjoy your videos.

Totally agree. When I read it years ago I loved the first half but lost me towards the end.

Still looking forward to a Sebald or Krasznahorkai review!

For me it was similar case with " the shining" promising first half and then dissapointing unfolding the closer to the end

Glad to see you again!

I just read The Man in the Black Suit because you mentioned it and you’re absolutely right about King’s weird style and the piss. It least in that short story I think it all congealed very well.

I had to take a break from reading it at least twice. Actually this method makes sense. I read the first part. Took a break. Let the memory settle. Read the next part. Now it made more sensible since I ceased to compare with the first part and felt less offended by the detours and the shapeshifted storyline.

One of your most sardonic review ever. Love it!

Have yet to go deep into Stephen King novels beyond Salem's Lot (I guess on the shorter end!) Somehow 400 pages into IT and I felt the thrills and imagination of it for sure but damn, it's a long slog at times too. Looking forward to this video though! Would love to see any favorites you have, Cliff, among more straightforward genre-defined novels/stories.

Hello Cliff, good to see you.

I remember reading this at 15 and loving it right up to the point where the pandemic is over. Put the book down and never picked it up again.

Nobody gonna mention the awesome Elvis Presley impression.

@BetterThanFoodBookReviews

3 жыл бұрын

You know I really appreciate that, thank you.

In addition to people pissing themselves, Kings also got a fixation witch shoving stuff up peoples asses. See Billy Summers, The Stand, The Library Policeman, The Shawshank Redemption, The Outsider, Rose Matter...

I own basically every single Stephen king book. And to be fair a lot of his craft especially his „world building“, creating atmospheric and believable worlds, is one of his strength. If you have the time do yourself a favor and read „11/22/63“ by king. If you haven’t done already. My favorite book because he describes the late 50s and early 60s in a very fascinating way. I felt „right therrrrrr“ and I also loved that there is a short section when he meets characters from the „IT“ novel, the main character living for short while in the depressing hell hole of „Derry“..No horror though. Just interesting story about decisions, destiny, time Travel etc oh and a romance I actually cared for.

Thanks for the review ^^ I met my girlfriend of 2 years because we were both reading this book. I read this through the rose tinted lens of "must devour anything related to The Dark Tower". Enjoy your take, thanks again!

I've read It in highschool and I loved It. But looking back I kind agree with your opinion on the book

Stephen is much better on set ups than endings

I'd like you to say to Randall Flagg's face that he is a LOWER demon? Tough but good review, appreciate your honesty, I love the book but your points are valid, I think a lot of people who went thru the journey of finishing the tome only want to see the good parts after spending so much time.

Hey Cliff, i've been a fan for years now. I just wanted to ask you if you've read any Graham Greene? I think you'd really like it.

Can I just say how strange it is that Stephen king changes dates in updated editions of his books?

I read this when I was 12. I think that's why I love it so much.

@glasswhisperer

3 жыл бұрын

Same. I've read it every single summer since. ❤️

I'm just here for the stylish Santa hat with a cheetah twist!

Based Cliff. This one was a treat!

Funny thing about King that I've noticed. The opening premise of the novel/series he's writing is usually much different than the rest of the book. Example; The Gunslinger is far and away the worst book in the Dark Tower series, myself finding it very boring and like an extended prologue than anything else. The Drawing of the Three, on the other hand, is where he really picks up with the various character dynamics and lessons Roland has to teach, and provides a rough outline for how the rest of the series is to go. I'd almost say you could skip The Gunslinger were it not for Jake's presence in it.

Thank you for this review. I'm not crazy after all!

Couldn't agree more with your review! IT is the superior King epic imo

@connorjames8203

3 жыл бұрын

They're both completely different, can't really compare them... both are great!

I don't know if anyone else here is mentioned it but the opening montage to the original stand miniseries is overlaid by BOC's 'Don't Fear The Reaper'... Don't Dream It's Over is play later in the film I'm pretty sure by Molly ringwald's character

I finished the book. I thought it was good but wanted thoughts on the symbolism. For instance whats the symbolism behind the ammulet with the key and the eye

I just finished this book 2 days ago. I'm a bit on the fence about how I feel about it. On the one hand, I really loved 'book one' on the other hand 'Book two' was disappointing overall. I wouldn't say I disliked it as much as you did. There was a lot that could have been cut. 'Book three' is thankfully shorter and considering where 'book two' came from it does get a bit better as the pace speeds up. I appreciate the review it was well done.

I always saw Flagg's anti-drug usage as a sort of political platform to make himself more attractive to his followers and to distract them from the truly heinous stuff going down. Kind of like how when Mussolini rose to power, he said that he would make all the trains run on time.

Except the ending I really loved the book.

Maybe you'd like to check out "Wanderers" by "Chuck Wendig". Starts from a similar premise, but with much more thought provoking story.

My biggest complaint with the book was there seemed to be this huge build up a grand showdown. Yet, that showdown never happened.... anticlimactic in my opinion

I read The Complete and Uncut Edition when I was in high school. It took me a year to get through the book. Once they got to the town, everything seemed to stop. There was so much that didn't need to be included in the book.

@AgentFlea

Жыл бұрын

Trashcan Man getting raped by The Kid wasn't necessary at all. Sure it explains how he travels around closer to Vegas, but still, many of better ways to explain that

I read this for the first time last year and loved it. But I also jumped in not expecting anything too deep for literature. But this is the kind of pulpy shit I like to read in between books like Blood Meridian!

@Redbeardedbadass

2 жыл бұрын

I like the deep literature too. What other books would you recommend. The Stand was good but I wish it were deeper.

For anyone who likes or desires to read something similar to 'The Stand' I've heard that Robert Mccammon's 'Swan Song' is worth the read. Of course it depends on preference but some readers believe it's better than 'The Stand'.

Harold Bloom was right about Stephen King.

@zharapatterson

3 жыл бұрын

Harold Bloom was human skidmark who was full of himself and liked the sound of his own voice, a narrow minded douche bag.

@Telly234

3 жыл бұрын

@@zharapatterson, but he was right about Stephen King. You may like this: kzread.info/dash/bejne/mIB2usdsqpzgqJs.html

Having the craic? Got a bit of Irish in you Cliff :)

Please review these two fantastic books, "Just Eat the Worm" and "Higher is calling" by Maxwell Adekoje. Thanks! Incredible read 📖 with massive nuggets for 2021. ❣

Just a question: if there is a multiverse with titles in same universe, if the whole population is wiped out how can other titles act as if everything is normal

Sounds like Michael Crighton might have done it better with The Andromeda Strain. I haven't read The Stand, but I've heard a lot about it. Based on your review, it almost sounds like the beginning and the end are from two separate books?

Fun fact Flagg is also the name of the antagonist in The Eye of the Dragon.

I really love this book, until King blew up my favorite character, and goes 'fuck it' for what turns out to be a massive chunk of novel. I feel like he did this with the entire Dark Tower series too, but I don't want to argue with people who love it. Stephen King writes bad endings in my opinion, but that's just me. Keep making these please; you were the only book review channel that delivered on KZread. It's great

@thewayfarer8849

3 жыл бұрын

@NoseKey Pretty great and detailed review there, you pretty much took the words right out of my mouth. It reminds me of the Metal Gear Solid games...dire need of an editor. How many pages could have been shaved, and that energy put into good plot resolution and firm character detail

my favorite book ever. I have close friends trapped inside those pages

@Lolipictures

2 жыл бұрын

I looove this book! Great story and great characters. 😎👍🏼

lol the beginning scene of the miniseries can't have been as memorable for you as you think. The song was "Don't Fear the Reaper", not "Don't Dream it's Over."

I agree man I usually never put a book down before I finish it but I did with this one. Way to many pages to read about boring characters and cheesy plot lines. Swan Song by Robert McCammon has a much better take it’s very similar to The Stand but better characters and a little darker.

I'm late, but I just finished the book today. God-damn, this one took me months to finish. Was just over halfway when I decided to spend the last few days finishing it up. I don't regret spending those hours on it, but I'm never doing it again. Won't go into too much detail, but I agree about Randall Flagg. The dark man didn't scare me at all. His constant grinning I found cringey, like it was supposed to be terrifying but just wasn't. Last point: my favourite character was Tom Cullen, so for him to be absent for such long periods in a book this long, it doesn't really make reading it again feel completely worth it.

So long and thanks for all the fish!

Since you read Montague Summers' The Werewolf, you should definitely try his History of Witchcraft and Demonology. Right up your alley since you're a Huysmans guy

When I was a kid I used to read terrible horror novels (Herbert, Masterton, Hutson) and King was a sort of bridge between trashy horror novels to better literature. Not read King in 30 plus years but he served a purpose.

16:44 - 16:52 I think that this quote summarize it pretty much

I'm trying to read this book but it was been on hold for months... A character that I really liked died, and the thing is so good versus evil, kinda boring. Let me see if your video gets me excited to continue the reading. ... Edit: I guess not hehe. The beginning is genius, like you said, the best part is the random people who are immune but die anyway due to the colapse of civilization.

I could not agree more with a review... I read this book because it was on the list of the books that influenced the tv show Lost... Even the drop in quality in the story is similar...

You had me until “random lesser servant of hell.” Like wait, what?

Just finished this tonight. My first Stephen King novel. Not happy. I went into it expecting to be underwhelmed and was pleasantly surprised...until I was underwhelmed...it's literally, "A Tale of Two Books", to condense it into 5 words.

The closest I’ve ever been to pissing my pants while reading was the end of “A Head Full of Ghosts” by Paul Tremblay. Definitely worth the read if you like being spooked from time to time.

Awesome review. I really enjoy the Dark Tower series, but anyone who has an issue with this review for that reason should try their best to judge _The Stand_ as the standalone novel it was always intended to be. This should go without saying, but you can't fall back on context provided by a subsequently-written legendarium to retroactively prop-up the cardboard-cutout characters in a book that was originally meant to stand on its own. Two-dimensional baddies can work well when the author is trying to portray them as a primordial force of nature, an inevitable cataclysm that can't be reasoned with, but, aside from the risk of wading into seriously cliched waters, King's Man in Black is clearly supposed to be more of a character than, for example, Sauron or Satan. Without the context provided by the Dark Tower books, which weren't out at the point of initial publication, the story devolves into what comes across as silly when compared to the first act of the narrative.

"And this is coming from the guy wearing this hat" got an actual "lol" from me so thanks for that haha. Also, I thought part of your shtick was no negative reviews? Was this the first one you have ever done? Not calling this out as a criticism, negative reviews are as valuable as positive ones really. I actually wouldn't mind hearing some negative opinions you may hold about more literary works.

Heartwarming 👀

Cliff wearing clout goggles while reviewing The Stand during a global pandemic. What a time to be alive.

Can you cover umberto eco especially fulcrum pendulum

I don't know how many of you have seen the trailer for the new The Stand show (or was it for tv movie?). Its supposed to have some reflections on the modern times since it was finished during covid. BUT what is really strange is that when the trailer shows the "sin city" Las Vegas they included some dancing, I suppose gay probably, guys dancing on stage in leather. It was very uncomfortable because there is nothing inherently wrong with people partying in leather. It may have made sense in the 90s The Stand show/movie. Anyone notice that part in the new trailer?

The thing with The Stand is that it's a part of a far greater narrative King constructed since he was a child literally impressed by Lord of the Rings. And that narrative is The Dark Tower. As a standalone it doesn`t work. But he was struggling for money, so he put it into a way too big novel for commercial reasons, building on his established fame.

The mini series with Gary sinise is good. I doubt I could handle a King book of this length. Stronger in his short story, although for mass.market genre horror, Richard Laymon is better. One critic said he's Stephen King without a conscience. It's true. Almost finished Huysmans' La Bas. The opening chapter is one of the best I've ever read. Will have to revisit Against Nature, and I just bought his first novel Marthe. Oh and I also just bought Batailles Eroticism, along with a book of the lives of Catholic saints. Tfw Catholicism is your lens for understanding decadence

OMG Cliff, I feel you there my man! I have such a complicated history with King. For the Stand I absolutely LOVED the first volume and HATED the second one. And in general my problem with King is that his stories are almost always way too long for no reason and his endings... Well you know this is a thing. But I give him a pass. Because he wrote The Dark Tower. Unlike many people I liked the ending. A lot. And the whole thing. A real clusterfuck. But a brilliant one. One of the best saga for me. So no matter how much craps he write I forgive him. And I always try to read him even if I'm most often disappointed. It's weird.

Every time you say horror I'm hearing something else!

Kind of a Christmas Randy Flagg vibe from this review.

You should read Clive Barker if you want more intellectual horror/dark fantasy.

Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry. Best western ever.

@nikkivenable3700

3 жыл бұрын

OMG! Yes!!!!!!

05:13

Fun fact: This was one of Foster Wallaces favourite books.