The Dark Tower thread

[BigJim]

Okay, there's gotta be a ton of you guys out there who love this saga, right? Let's hear about all your likes and thoughts of everything remotely even Dark Tower

There's gotta be some of ya out there, I'll set my watch and warrant on it.


C'mon peeps, let's hold palaver. 😀

 

[crydun]

I just sent one of those books to the thrift store. read the back cover and wasn't impressed. Loved Rose Red though!! and Big Jim!!!

 

[nytoetapper]

I just got the most recent book. Seems like 2 more to go. Roland friggin rocks!!! I can't wait to wade through it.

 

[BigJim]

I just sent one of those books to the thrift store. read the back cover and wasn't impressed. Loved Rose Red though!! and Big Jim!!!

Rose Red? What's that?


Which book was it Crys? There's five currently published and a couple more waiting in the wings.

The 5 out now are The Gunslinger, The Drawing Of the Three, The Waste Lands, Wizard And Glass and Wolves Of the Calla

 

[crydun]

Rose Red? What's that?


Which book was it Crys? There's five currently published and a couple more waiting in the wings.

Rose Red is a movie that Stephen King made based on a novel by this parapsychologist. It's really good.

The Dark Tower book I was referring to was "The Drawing of the Three"

 

[BigJim]

The Dark Tower book I was referring to was "The Drawing of the Three"

Ah, I see. I think they're best read in order really.



When I first became aware of them, it was because my uncle lent me the first two. I read them and was a bit disappointed with the ending. Of course it was only the ending of the second book. I was only about 16 at the time I think and I didn't realise there were any more till I saw a copy of The Waste Lands in my local library.

I enthusiastically asked them for the fourth book in the series, only to be told it wasn't published yet! Two years or so later and the fourth one emerged and another couple or three years further on, the fifth one comes out. 🙂 Next one is due early next year, it's called Song Of Susannah. The seventh and final one is due later in 2004, titled (rather predictably) The Dark Tower. Possibly in that book Randall Flagg/John Farson/Richard Fry/The Crimson King/total and complete snotrag will finally move into the clearing at the end of his path.


I can't wait!!!

 

[Ayla ny]

my number one complaint about The Dark Tower series is that book #5 is taking so stinking long to get into my greedy little paws! my favorite so far was The Wizard and The Glass. just loved the story of a young Rowland.

read the series quite a few years ago and then reread the entire thing a couple of years ago. may start it a third time (before delving into the newest ones) when I’m done with the book I’m reading now. always seem to pick up something new. one of the many things I love about the series is that, if you follow King’s other works, there are so many subtle references to The Dark Tower. Hearts in Atlantis has tons. I also happen to think that travlin’ Jack (from The Talisman) and Thomas (from Eyes of The Dragon) will end up finding themselves in the final battle for The Dark Tower.

Rowland is such a cool character. if I ever figure out how to do that twirling bullet/hypnotism thing... a lot of people are gonna be in biiiiig trouble. 😀

 

[BigJim]

The sad thing is that I find most of the rest of Stephen King's books mind-numbingly boring. The two exceptions were The Tommy Knocker's and The Stand. I won't get to know about all the other character's he makes reference to, because the books send me to sleep.

 

[Ayla ny]

ps I found a very short Dark Tower story King wrote for a compilation of stories by great fantasy writers called Legends. the story was called Little Sisters of Eluria. it was an unexpected and exciting find for me.

which of his other books have you tried reading? have to say that if you love The Dark Tower then I think you may be trying the wrong ones. I am willing to bet that Dreamcatcher would be right up your alley. WAY better than Tommyknockers.

 

[nytoetapper]

King's books

Insomnia was good, and Dreamcatcher, while waaaaay gross, was an interesting read. But like Jim, I was blown away by the saga of Rowland (who in my mind looks much like younger Clint Eastwood).

The Stand remains my favorite. I can't wait till this story is all told. But it's been so long since I finished Wizard and Glass that I have to reread all the books before I start the fifth.

If any who post to this thread have finished the fifth book, please no spoilers...

 

[BigJim]

I've been following Roland, Susannah, Jake, Eddie and Oy for about 10 or 11 years now. Firstly I only had the first two books and then I found the third in a library, only to find the fourth hadn't been written yet. Then it came out a couple of years later AND THEN Stephen King nearly killed himself in some car crash. I was on tenterhooks for totally selfish reasons. I wanted the bugger to live because I'd have hated to miss the end of the saga. I finally got to read Wolves Of The Calla last week and await #6; Song Of Susannah in the early part of next year. #7 The Dark Tower will follow in November or December of 04.

After I've read #7 it's going to feel kind of sad, because it'll all be over and I'll have to look for another quest to follow.

 

[Ayla ny]

I always thought that Clint Eastwood was the personification of Rowland. I fell in love with him (Eastwood) in Outlaw Josie Whales and he sprang to mind when I read The Gun Slinger too. Rowland was quite a bit younger than Clint is now tho... but I am hard pressed to come up with someone else who would be so perfect for the role.

 

[drew70]

I've been following the Dark Tower series since the release of The Gunslinger. Seems like there was a long dry period between books III and IV that lasted a good ten years or so. This latest book is definitely up to par in my opinion. I noticed one cool thing in the opening credits where it lists all of Stephen King's writings. The books that are Dark Tower related are listed in bold, and there are a lot of them. One such book listed in bold was Rose Madder. I scratched my head at that, because I can't think of anything Dark Tower related, unless that world in that picture is related to Midworld somehow.

 

[WraithTickler]

I ended up picking up the Dark Tower books midway through November and finished them before Thanksgiving. Loved them. My brother's been reading them for years and recommending them to me, but I've foolishly avoided listening to him. I'm done with The Waste Lands and over Christmas break, I'm going on a King marathon- It, Insomnia, Talisman and Black House, Hearts in Atlantis, the Stand, and Salem's Lot, not to mention giving Eyes of the Dragon a re read (that was first King book, read waaay back in the 4th grade). After that, I'm moving on to books four and five. Of the three, I've really enjoyed the Waste Lands and I'd have to give my favorite character (short of Flagg) to Blain the Mono, though Roland and Eddie are great too.

I know Flagg is going to be getting his come upance (Though I think the Crimson King is a being seperate from Flagg. I get the impression he is more of a servant). I know Dennis and Thomas will be involved in that somehow, but I'm not sure if it'll go to those two or Roland to deliver justice.

 

[Double T]

Childe Roland to the dark tower came

As a certified Kingophile, having read practically everything he's written, even as Richard Bachman, I am shocked and dismayed to learn that Wolves of the Calla is out, and I didn't even know it! I love this saga, and am headed to Amazon.com right now!

 

[Admiral Trouser]

"The Man in Black fled across the desert, and the Gunslinger chased him."

Quite possibly one of the best opening lines I have ever read.

For me, the first book is the one that stands out, and will appeal to anyone interested in simply reading a well-written book, since that is indeed what it is: Its images are bueatifully stark and bleak, expansive and desperate, full of charecters and places and customs that you only ever half understand. It was one of King's first forays into a fantasy setting, written long before his more successful novels, and the freshness in his style and ideas is a far cry from his more recent, and stilted offerings. After book 1 the series became yet another standard King novel, and for all its granduer these later episodes feel hollow, although Wizard and Glass had a superb opening chapter: Rowlands tirade against the petulant Blaine had me grinning from ear to ear 🙂

Still, I'm a fan of the series overall, and I'm looking forward to seeing everyones favourate Randal steal the show from whoever the true Crimson King is 😉

AT

 

[Ayla ny]

I know Flagg is going to be getting his come upance (Though I think the Crimson King is a being seperate from Flagg. I get the impression he is more of a servant). I know Dennis and Thomas will be involved in that somehow, but I'm not sure if it'll go to those two or Roland to deliver justice. [/B]

WraithTickler, do you have a copy of Eyes of The Dragon? someone told me that at the end, Thomas "will not forget the face of his father" (a Gunslinger line if there ever was one) and that his father's name was Rowland! I have a bad habit of loaning out books and then forgetting who I loaned them to, and am dying to know if this is right. I can't remember!

 

[BigJim]

"The Man in Black fled across the desert, and the Gunslinger chased him."

I hate to be a picky twat (actually that's a complete lie, I love it) but it's

"The Man in Black fled across the desert, and the Gunslinger followed."😀

 

[BigJim]

Re: Childe Roland to the dark tower came

As a certified Kingophile, having read practically everything he's written, even as Richard Bachman, I am shocked and dismayed to learn that Wolves of the Calla is out, and I didn't even know it! I love this saga, and am headed to Amazon.com right now!

What distresses me about his writings as Richard Bachman, is that the world he describes in The Running Man is one that ours seems to be rapidly evolving into.

 

[BigJim]

I always thought that Clint Eastwood was the personification of Rowland. I fell in love with him (Eastwood) in Outlaw Josie Whales and he sprang to mind when I read The Gun Slinger too. Rowland was quite a bit younger than Clint is now tho... but I am hard pressed to come up with someone else who would be so perfect for the role.

Roland seems to be about 35-40 at the beginning of the first volume, but seems to have aged dramatically in the last few books. Of course he does apparently age 10 years overnight after catching Walter at the end of the first book.

 

[Admiral Trouser]

BJ, I paraphrased. I figured no-one would be that picky/twat-like 😉

Anyway, I've kinda let my King-reading slip recently, been concentrating on The Secret History (superb book, read it asap)....who the hell are Dennis and Thomas?

AT

 

[BigJim]

I was just wondering that. I've never heard of them either. 😕

 

[WraithTickler]

You'll have to read Eyes of the Dragon for details. It's a bit of a book for younger readers, and a quick read. (Though not as quick as an Andrew *rimshot* )

It's been ages since I read the book and unfortunately I don't have a copy on hand. Thomas' father was a Roland, but not the same one in Dark Tower. The book ends with saying how Flagg was pursued and confronted by Dennis and Thomas eventually, but it leaves it as how that was another tale for another day.

When I started reading the Dark Tower series it was the new re-releases which have been slightly edited and revised a bit (Gunslinger especially I understand) and I haven't read the originals. Somewhere in Drawing of the Three, Roland mentions how he once came across a demon in man form named Flagg in his chase of Walter, and how a Dennis and Thomas were grimly going after him. Of course I also have a suspicion Walter and Maerlyn are a few more of Flagg's various incarnations too. It'll be interesting to see how this sorts out.

 

[TMF Jeff]

I just finished Wolves of the Calla a few weeks ago and really loved it. I thought the last two books were a little limp, especially the one that was all about Roland's youth because the actual journey to the Dark Tower was barely advanced at all (I wasn't surprised to learn that King was addicted to methamphetamines during that time.)

But Wolves is outstanding in my opinion. I thought it really moved the story along and it kept my attention completely riveted. It's not a small book and I read it in about two days.

One thing I thought was funny in Wolves was the way Stephen King novels were mentioned in the book. King obviously has a very high opinion of his own cultural impact, and he cannot conceive an alternate universe in which his novels have not been written 🙂

 

[Ayla ny]

I LOVED the story of Roland’s youth (for some reason my fingers keep wanting to type Rowland). it went a long way toward explaining why he is SO much the ‘lone wolf’ type and how he can keep his eye on the prize no matter what is happening. even to those he loves. like when he dropped Jake. his entire life was preparation for being able to do just that kind of thing and go on. it was a story all it’s own, that part of Wizard and The Glass.

Jeff, without giving too much away... does Wolves tie into the wolves in The Talisman? that was such an incredible book and I would love to read what the characters in it are up to now.