Thursday, June 27, 2013

Changes In Stephen King's The Stand 1978-1990 Overview

It took twenty posts and half a year, but I managed to go through most of the changes between the original and revised versions of The Stand by Stephen King.  But in case anyone doesn't want to get that detailed, here is a handy list of the major changes:

1) There are eight new chapters:  11, 12, 14, 17, 20, 31, 33, and 38.

2) Two old chapters get split into two.  Old chapter 11 becomes new chapters 13 and 15, and old chapter 37 becomes new chapters 46 and 47.

3) Most of the chapters get expanded, some significantly.  Many new scenes are introduced, and old scenes are often more detailed and lengthened.

4) All of the chapters get fiddled with, sometimes down to very small levels such as changing the punctuation.

5) King provides a new preface.

6) Dates are often changed in the novel.  For example, the story is now set in 1990.

7) Cultural references are often updated.  For example, Howard the Duck becomes Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

8) New characters are introduced such as Mark and Perion, and old characters get much more characterization.  For example, The Wolfman's story is explained (he's The Kid).

9) King chooses some different song quotations and adds quotations from poet Ed Dorn to the beginning and end of the book.

10)  The beginning and end of the book are changed with new scenes.

11) Illustrations by Berni Wrightson are included.

5 comments:

  1. This was great work, Fred. Was this done for fun, as part of another project, or just for the heck of it?

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  2. Thanks! I'm glad you liked it! I was just curious about the changes, and it snowballed from there. Someone could probably get a journal article out of comparing the various versions of The Stand though!

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  3. Muchas gracias, es informaciĆ³n muy interesante. Saludos desde Chile.

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  4. This book (which I adore and have read dozens of times since I discovered the original edition in middle school) came up in a Facebook discussion. I mentioned that Stephen King had released an uncut edition and pulled a 'George Lucas' on the book, which caused me to google 'harold lauder candy bar', which eventually led me here. Great job compiling the changes between the various editions - thanks!

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  5. Thanks! I wish he had done the expanded cut while keeping it set in the 1970s. That would have been the perfect edition.

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