Book Review: The Stand by Stephen King

  Can I tell you a personal secret? Whenever I read the Old Testament, I've always feel God was very harsh. Ok, before anyone jumps in and starts to give me a whole theological lecture about interpreting the Bible in light of the New Testament, so on and so forth... Please, relax, I ain't saying God of the Old Testament is evil, unjust or anything. I am just saying God is harsh in the Old Testament, and some of the things he did in the Old Testament are frightening, and some of those stories are very dark. Furthermore, if you read the last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation, it paints frightening images about the end time. Now, please relax again, I ain't saying the Bible is wrong or whatever, I am just trying to say, if the Bible is a story about God and his creation, then I think the story of Christianity is as dark as it is bright. So what does this have to do with the book I will be reviewing today? Let me explain.

Stephen King wrote a lot of books. Some people regard The Stand as the best book King has ever written. This book was first released in 1978, but King released an “uncut” version of the book in 1992. The uncut version of this book (the one I am reviewing), is an epic tome at 1300 pages. The Stand is a post-apocalyptic, sci-fi/fantasy/horror novel. I think The Stand is basically the book of Job + the book of Revelation, set in a post-apocalyptic world. Stephen King himself calls this book, the dark tale of Christianity. If what I have said in this introduction has grabbed your interest, then feel free to continue reading this book review.

Synopsis:

The year was 1990. In a secret facility, the US government experimented with a killer virus. After an accident, an employee from the facility escaped into the world, a mass epidemic broke out. This virus, nicknamed Captain Trip, wiped out 99 percent of people in the world in weeks. Only 1 percent of humans were immune to this virus and survived. The survivors divided into 2 factions; some follow a 108 year old women, a Moses/Noah like figure known as Mother Abigail, who was told by God (yes, THE God, from the Bible) to gather and lead the forces of good. While some survivors followed and gathered around a menacing, powerful, and mysterious man, known as the Dark Man. He is an anti-Christ figure who represents the forces of evil. This is the ultimate showdown between good an evil, set in the post-apocalyptic world. This is the final stand...

What I think about this book:

The Stand is essentially, the book of Job + the book of Revelation wrapped up in sci-fi/horror elements. It is very well written. King's narrations are descriptive and vivid, creating a post-apocalyptic world that is haunting, empty and bleak, but not devoid of sparks of life. Stephen King is a good storyteller. In this book, he weaved the fabrics of this tale together, by structuring the book in 3 parts: The first part of the book focused on how a man-made virus wiped out most of the human race, deadening the human civilization. In the first part, readers are introduced to more than a handful of characters, most of whom died from the virus just readers began to like them. Their sudden deaths create a despondent, haunting feel which authenticates the vibe of an apocalypse in session. I deeply enjoyed the first part, because it feels like a well orchestrated, disaster movie.

The second part of the book focuses on how the survivors gradually divided into 2 factions. The forces of good led by a Moses/Noah like figure called Mother Abigail. And the forces of evil led by a mysterious, anti-Christ like figure called The Dark Man. In this part, we follow a handful of characters and their journeys to their respective factions. The characters are depicted richly and dynamically. Stephen King brought his readers on a journey to explore the thoughts and feelings of his characters. Seeing their struggles, understanding their motivations, and exploring how a global catastrophe and its aftermath deeply affects them.

The third part of the book tells the story of the final confrontation between good and evil. This is where the heroes finally made their stand before the villain, The Dark Man. I think this part is mostly well written, but I also find the ending to be deeply problematic. Without spoiling anything, let me just say the story has a deus ex machina ending, and I found it unsatisfying. It felt rushed and unexplored, a let down after I spent 2 weeks reading the first 1100 pages of this book. Having said this, I still think The Stand is an excellent, and powerful book. I have read a few books written by Stephen King, my personal favorite is 11/22/63, but The Stand comes very close to 11/22/63.

One cannot read The Stand and miss out the interesting, theological premise behind this story. Stephen King calls this book, “the dark tale of Christianity”. To be honest, I have mixed feelings towards this dark tale of Christianity. First of all, I like how Stephen King used story exposition, to explore the aspects of God and the Bible, and King is offering an interesting perspective in this book. I won't tell you what it is, I think it is for the would-be readers of this book, to read it for themselves and come to their own conclusions. But my opinion is that I like what Stephen King is trying to say in this book. Some will disagree with my opinion if they have read this book, and that is fine.

However, what I did not like about this story, is that it used stereotypical portrayals that people who are inclined towards science/technology, logic, and reasoning are more likely to be deceived by the devil, and turn against God. In The Stand, the anti-Christ figure, The Dark Man, was described as “the last magician of rational thought”. In this story, the people who followed and gathered around The Dark Man, were described as the science/technology oriented people. Where God's appointed leader of good, Mother Abigail, was described as a music/art loving person. This is an unfair, gross stereotype! This kind of stereotype is one of the reasons why I despise C.S Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia.

Despite these stereotypes, what makes The Stand bearable (and likable) is that at the end of the day, King appears to be saying: While we may find God of the Old Testament and the end time to be a harsh character, but He is still better than the gods we invented for ourselves. For example, in this book, the god of technology.

I think Stephen King made a valid point there, and I can nod in agreement.

Thank you for taking the time to read my book review. Until next time. Happy reading!

P.S. The Stand contains numerous amounts of gore, swearing words, and some sex scenes. It may upset sensitive readers.

Movie Review: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Here is an interesting fact. Some scientists (such as Professor Joseph Jordania), have been researching the origins of the human language, intelligence, speech, and choral singing. During these researches, scientists have discovered, while it is possible to teach apes, chimpanzee, or monkeys to communicate using the sign language to answer questions. However, they are yet to observe these animals asking questions. As a result, some scientists suggest, that perhaps the difference between human and animal intelligence, is that we, homosapiens, can ask questions.

I don't know if “asking questions” is the what separates the human from animal intelligence. This seems to be an a very interesting, ongoing research. Nonetheless, these results inevitably raise further questions and speculations, such as; 1) Who asked the first question? 2) What was that first question, and 3) Why was the first question asked?

Food for thought, heh?

Anyway, interesting facts aside, I am not here to talk about the great ape language. This is a movie review. Although the movie I will be reviewing today, seems to touch the researches I mentioned above on the tangent. Either way, I will like to review a very well made movie, one that I believe is worth watching. It is a prequel to the 1968 sci-fi classic, The Planet of the Apes. It is also a sequel to the 2011 blockbuster movie, Rise of the Planet of the Apes. The movie I will be reviewing today, is called “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”. Let's have a look.

Synopsis:

Following the events from Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Decades has passed, since the apes broke free from the control of humans. The apes have built a community of their own, living in peace among themselves. The humans however, suffered a catastrophe at near extinction level. An experimental virus was accidentally let loose, wiping out almost the entire human race. The world as human knew it, was no more. The survivors were scattered, seeking ways to re-establish their former way of life.

Meanwhile, both the apes and the humans have little love for each other. However, it has been years since any form of contact was made between humans and apes. The apes, have come to believe that all humans are extinct.

The status quo changed as the coming of the spring wind, when a group of humans appeared in the territory belonging to the apes, rousing a dormant unease and tension between the two species. If not dealt properly, this could sprung into a raging wind, blowing and carrying a scorching bush fire, devouring everything in its path. What will be the fate for the humans, and the apes? Will there be peace? Or are these 2 species destined to obliterate each other?

What I think about this movie:

I think Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a solid movie. This movie exceeds its predecessor in almost all areas; from storytelling, cinematography, special effects, to audio engineering. The story in this movie is very well written, and masterfully executed. The story flows at a good pace. The pace is fast enough, and contains enough thrills and suspense to keep the audience at the edge of their seats, but the pace also leaves moments for the audience to explore the background, the characters and their world, and comprehend the motivations of both the heroes and the villains in this film.

The special effects and cinematography are shrouded in excellence. The CGI generated apes were detailed, and so realistic that their facial expressions fully conveyed their emotions in vivid liveness. The brilliantly generated CGI apes, and their facial expressions, further enhanced the emotional impacts in several important scenes. I watched this movie in 3D, sometimes it is worth paying the few extra dollars to see a movie in 3D, and sometimes it isn't. Unfortunately, I do not think there is a need to see this movie in 3D. There are not enough “pop outs” or “depth” in the 3D version of this movie, and 30 minutes into the movie, I completely forgot I was even watching a 3D movie. Therefore, I think watching a normal, 2D version of this movie, should lead to an equally satisfying cinematic experience as its 3D counterpart.

The main strength of this movie, in my opinion, is the story. This story successfully portrayed a hypothetical conflict that is not entirely foreign to the conflicts in our own world. In this movie, neither the humans nor the apes are portrayed as simple, straight villains or heroes. The story shows both parties are equally as guilty of elevating a pre-existing tension, until a violent, tragic clash explodes, causing irreplaceable losses on both sides. This cemented a self fulfilling prophecy where both parties are destined to war against each other, until one side is completely wiped out. However, in wars, there are no victors, only survivors who mourn the losses. It is at this moment, the realization dawned that a movie such as this, is not playing a new song with a new message. Its chords and lyrics has been played and sung very often, but we have the tendency to forget this song. This is a song about surrendering the eagerness for self defense and hatred, and seek mutual understanding as a way forward instead.

I think Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is worth watching. Very rare do we see a blockbuster movie that is so well balanced in every way. It is entertaining without being dumb, and thought provoking without being intrusive. I would like to see how this story will develop at the next turn.

Book Review: The Many Deaths of the Black Company by Glen Cook (The Black Company omnibus #4)

“Soldiers live. He dies and not you, and you feel guilty, because you're glad he died, and not you. Soldiers live, and wonder why.”

                                                   -Glen Cook, Soldiers Live

The Many Deaths of the Black Company, is the 4^th and final omnibus of The Black Company series. It collects the last 2 books in The Black Company series; Water Sleeps and Soldiers Live. In this omnibus, the story of the Black Company crescendoed to a spectacular conclusion. Let's have a look.

Synopsis:

It has been 14 years since the core members the Black Company were trapped, and buried in stasis beneath the Glittering Plain. The leadership of the Black Company is now in the hands of Sleepy and Sahara, who, together with the surviving members of the Black Company, conceived a laborious plan to free their former comrades. In the meantime, the ancient cult of Kina lurks in the shadow, working tenaciously to bring the evil goddess back, which would trigger the end the world.

Among the labyrinthine plots and subplots, is the chaotic sorceress Soulcatcher, and her general Mogaba, a brilliant general who turned traitor against the Black Company because of his pride. These old nemesis of the Black Company have seized control over the city of Taglios, and they are determined to completely wipe all traces of the Black Company, and the cult of Kina from existence. Can Sleepy and Sahara succeed in freeing their old comrades, then stop the cult of Kina before the evil goddess returns?

Water sleeps, the hour of regroup for the Black Company's regroup seems imminent. Solders live, but how many will survive the final conflict, to mourn for the loss?

What I think about this book:

First of all, I think the books collected in this omnibus are a lot better than the books in the previous omnibus, The Return of the Black Company. Unlike the volumes in the previous omnibus, the narrations here are clearer, and presented with cohesion. The story unfolded at a natural pace. Despite the author's minimalist style of writing, the writings are clear and effective. The characterization has always been one of the main strengths of The Black Company series. Here, the characterization stepped up a further notch (or two), breathing life and warmth into the characters.

Water Sleeps is narrated by Sleepy, who became the new captain and annalist for the Black Company. Admittedly, there isn't a lot of action in Water Sleeps. The story mostly revolved around Sleepy and the surviving members, and their journey to free their trapped comrades, all the time avoiding detection by their enemies. The most interesting aspect of Water Sleeps, is the role played by Sahara in the story. Sahara is the wife of the company's standbearer, Murgen, who was among the company members trapped beneath the Glittering Plain 14 years ago. Sahara worked tirelessly and meticulously with Sleepy on their plans, because she wishes to free her husband. Sahara is also tasked to bring up and mentor their child, Tobo. In the 14 years, Sahara has aged tremendously, the beauty from her youth has faded. However, her husband has not changed because he was trapped in a stasis. This creates a certain variable in their relationship, if she can succeed and free her husband. Meanwhile, their son, Tobo, entered the rebellious teenage years, adding further complexities into the tension. Sahara's part in Water Sleeps brought a very interesting dynamic into the story.

In Soldiers Live, Croaker returned as the narrator of the story. It seems fitting that good old Croaker returned to his old role, in the final book to the series. Unlike Water Sleeps, Solders Live moved at a relentless pace. Events took place constantly, as the story unraveled with unexpected twists and turns. The characterization in

Soldiers Live is illuminated with powerful writing, and masterful storytelling. Every character in Solders Live is portrayed vividly. In this story, the returning characters (both protagonists and antagonists) have aged, and they bring interesting perspectives to the story, as they reflected their pasts and dealing with the present. For example, one of the recurring antagonists in this series, is Mogaba. He was once a promising star in the Black Company, an embodiment of brilliance, courage, and skills. However, due to his pride, Mogaba turned against the Black Company. His act of betrayal destined him to a fate serving insane, and cruel masters for his entire career. In Soldiers Live, there are chapters focusing on Mogaba, exploring the mind of this brilliant general. Now older and more mature, Mogaba reflected his past and found only regrets. He wondered if his life's story could have being different, had he not succumb to pride in his early years. Yet, he also realized it was all too late.

In addition, Croaker and the Lady's (both severely aged) relationship is very interesting. I found their story to be extremely tragic. They struggled to come to term with the loss of their daughter, not because she has died, but because she was stolen from them since birth, and brought up by lunatics who turned her against her natural parents. The question of whether if Croaker and the Lady's daughter could be redeemed, is a constant tension in the story.

Overall, I prefer Soldiers Live to Water Sleeps. The characterizations are illuminated with powerful writings. The pace of the story is fast and cohesive. There are so much more to say about this book, and I don't think I am capable of discussing them all in this review. In the end, The Black Company series closed here (for now) with a spectacular, and powerful conclusion. After reading all 10 books, collected in 4 omnibus, I am truly glad that I have finally read this cult classic. These are good stories,with good characterizations, and very well written. They deserve to be visited, and revisited by both new and old readers. Especially if you are a fan of the grim, dark fantasy genre.

Book Review: The Return of the Black Company by Glen Cook (The Black Company omnibus #3)

“She is the darkness”

- Glen Cook, She is the Darkness

Many fantasy series suffer from “middle book syndrome”, especially the long ones. This is where the quality of the middle book(s) in a series starts to roll downhill. In most cases, the latter volume(s) usually recover some, if not most of what made the series great. It seems The Black Company series is not immune to middle book syndrome either. The third omnibus collection is titled “The Return of the Black Company”, and it collects book 7 and 8, their titles are Bleak Seasons and She is the Darkness. In my opinion, these 2 books are weaker than the previous installments in this series. Today, I will review this omnibus collection.

Synopsis:

With its devout followers, the secret cult of Kina lurks in sinister shadows. It's living legend, Narayan Singh, stole Croaker and Lady's infant daughter at her birth. Singh believed the baby girl would fulfill an ancient prophecy, which foretold the awakening of the evil goddess, Kina, from her sleep.

Croaker and Lady pursued Narayan Singh, wishing to exact revenge upon the man who stole their child away from them. Meanwhile, Croaker continued the quest of leading the Black Company back to its place of birth, the city of Khatovar. To do so, they would need to cross lands occupied by Longshadow, the last surviving Shadowmaster who controlled a large army, Longshadow harbored no love for the men of Black Company.

As the men in the Black Company entangled in a titanic clash against Longshadow's forces, the evil goddess Kina, stirred in her slumber, plotting her coming return to the mortal world with facades of cunning and deceits.

What I think about this book:

I have mentioned earlier, The Return of the Black Company, is an omnibus that collects 2 books, Bleak Seasons and She is the Darkness. In my opinion, I found the books collected in this omnibus to be weaker than previous books in this series.

In these 2 books, the narrator of the story (POV) switched to Murgen, the standbearer for the Black Company. Early in the story of Bleak Seasons, Murgen acquired a special ability where his soul could travel outside of his body while he slept. He called it “ghostwalking”. The story does not explain when, or how Murgen came to possess this ability. It remained to be a mystery throughout the story. This means the author intended to cloth the story in Bleak Seasons in a shroud of mystery. Unfortunately, instead of finding suspense in this method of storytelling, I found Murgen's narrations are disjointed, and I was submerged in mists of confusion as the story unfolded. This is because the scenery constantly changed from place to place in very disruptive manners whenever Murgen “ghostwalk”. This style of storytelling also impaired the pace of the story, making Bleak Seasons a very slow book to read.

However, things got better in She is the Darkness. This book recovered some of the best features in the Black Company series; the interesting political/military tensions, antagonists with complicated motives, plot twists, and depictions of morality floating in shades of gray. While Murgen is still the narrator (POV) here, but the storytelling is not as disjointed as in Bleak Seasons. The pace of the story cruised with more fluidity compared to its predessor. She is the Darkness also ended with a cliff hanger, an ending which arrived in an utterly unexpected way. I closed the book with an eagerness, a urge to find out how the story will unfold in the upcoming book.

In summary, I did not enjoy the books collected in this omnibus as much as the previous ones. Mainly because I found the storytelling in this omnibus too disjointed, making this book cumbersome to read. The disjointed manner of storytelling gradually improved in She is the Darkness, but the improvement was delivered too late to save the day. I think The Return of the Black Company is the weakest omnibus in this series, and I certainly hope this series is just suffering from the typical middle book syndrome, where the next volume will regain everything that made this series great. From this point, with high hopes, I will venture forth to read the next omnibus, it is titled “The Many Deaths of the Black Company”. Until the next time, happy reading!