Finished my first book of 2017, King's massive tome of a story, The Stand. Took me about a month to read, which is pretty fast for me considering I only really read on my commutes.
Anyway, I really enjoyed it for the most part. The book certainly feels bloated (I read the uncut edition), and it feels meandering during certain parts of Book I and during the
in the middle. While I enjoyed a good majority of the characters, some of them never quite developed in any meaningful way. Frannie, for example, started off really interesting and compelling but by the end I couldn't stand her.
The ending of course is a love-it, hate-it deal, and while I didn't quite fall solidly on either side of the spectrum, I did think it felt somehow rushed or abrupt. The whole book is full of sudden, inexplicable phenomena, so it isn't necessarily unfounded, but after a while you want solid answers, you know?
Thinking about jumping into Way of Kings next. At this rate, reading all these large-ass books, I'll be lucky to read a dozen this whole year.
EDIT: I do find it funny that one of my favorite and most memorable chapters of the book (Trashcan Man and the Kid) was one of the ones cut out from the original release.