Stephen Kingis obviously best known for his work within the horror genre, butthe popular author has actually written several novels and short stories that don’t adhere to this style at all, switching things up completely. One of these books isThe Stand, a post-apocalyptic adventure that follows a group of survivors that have banded together into factions after a weaponized influenza destroyed the rest of human civilization. It’s one ofKing’s best non-horror stories, though it does include some scary scenes to keep tensions high.
The Standis widely regarded as one ofStephen King’s best books, though it’s not the typical kind of story that the author is known for. It doesn’t include the supernatural hauntings, demonic creatures, or looming atmosphere of his usual horrors, but that’s arguably why it works so well: everything is tonally different, and that keeps the reader on edge from start to finish. However,Stephen King often comes under fire for not allowing his books’ endings to quite live up to the stakesthat he creates in the middle - andThe Standis no different.
The Ending Of The Stand Is Underwhelming After Stephen King’s Setup
He Sets The Ending Up So Well, But Fails To Fully Deliver
The main problem withThe Stand’s ending is that it’s fairly abrupt and doesn’t quite resolve all the tension that has been gradually building up since the first page.King always does a great job of asking fascinating questionsand getting the audience curious about his well-written mysteries, but he’s not always able to pull all the threads together in the final few pages.The Standsuffers from the same problem, as he asks countless questions throughout the story that are either never answered or simply dismissed as something the reader literally never could have figured out.
6 Stephen King Books That Could Actually Use Sequels
From the fate of Jerusalem’s Lot to Ellie Creed’s upbringing, some of Stephen King’s best books could use a sequel so readers can get some closure.
The Standis famously connected to King’sDark Towerseries, and many fans have been able to explain certain aspects of the former’s ending (such as the blue lightning and Flagg’s potential resurrection) using evidence from that series - but that’s not how a standalone novel should be resolved. Additionally,the entire ending of the book is adeus ex machina- that is, a literary device that seemingly comes out of nowhere, without explanation, and fixes everything. It’s an unsatisfying way for such a complex novel to end.
Stephen King Should Have Traded The Stand’s Ending For A Sequel Story
There Was Plenty Of Room For This Great Story To Continue
However, if Stephen King was struggling to bringThe Standto a fulfilling ending, the author could have easily continued the story into a sequel. The reason thatThe Stand’s ending feels so rushed and emptyis that there’s so much material left over that simply never gets resolved - this should have been a clear sign that there’s still room for this story to expand and breathe, rather than forcing it into an undeserved end.
The author is usually great at keeping concepts open-ended so that he can return to them in the future, but he clearly had no intentions of that here.
There was no need for Stephen King to makeThe Stand’s endingso final and definitive. The author is usually great at keeping concepts open-ended so that he can return to them in the future, but he clearly had no intentions of that here. Perhaps he’d already mapped out Randal Flagg’s journey inThe Dark Towerand wanted to shift his focus there instead, but even without Flagg,there’s still an entire post-apocalyptic world that could have been explored in a sequel.
Why A Sequel To The Stand Would Work So Well
It’s One Of Stephen King’s Biggest Missed Opportunities
The reason a sequel toThe Standwould have been such a smart idea is because of how thematically rich and socially relevant the original is. There’s so much going on, from King’s astute observations on the nature of humanity, the inherent battle between good and evil, and the order of natural selection, thatit seems like such a waste to confine it to a single story.
The Stand 2could have included a sizable time jump to avoid any narrative repercussions on the original’s ending, flicking to the future and exploring how this dystopian society has evolved and changed from the one under Flagg’s control.Stephen King famously struggles with endings, and the reason is that he’s so ambitious as a writer. It’s both his biggest strength and his greatest flaw: it allows him to forge incredible stories packed full of ideas, just likeThe Stand, but his unadulterated creativity makes it difficult to pull all these fascinating concepts together in the end.
The Stand
The Standis a post-apocalyptic dark fantasy novel by Stephen King, first published in 1978. The story revolves around the aftermath of a deadly pandemic, with survivors aligning under either good or evil forces, led by Mother Abagail and Randall Flagg, respectively. The novel has been adapted into two miniseries (1994, 2020), comics, and has inspired songs. The novel is widely acclaimed and remains one of King’s most significant works.
