I just finished these eight books two nights ago. I found out about Wind Through The Keyhole while reading The Waste Lands so I was able to insert the book where it belongs.

And we will be talking spoilers, so if you haven't read the books - don't read the post.

Roland and his ka-tet certainly had quite the journey. There are so many elements I don't have space or time to delve into here.

I will say Wizard and Glass made everyone take a breath and slow down a bit. The pacing is much slower, almost painfully so, in that one. And it's an interesting sidestep from the overall tale, being a love story.

The ending of The Dark Tower VII was heartbreaking on many levels. Oy giving up his life the way he did, and same with Jake sacrificing himself for Stephen King. Susannah finally calling it quits and heading to another reality. Then - will she and Eddie and Jake figure out their previous lives together? It's implied that Oy will somehow show up, too; all in this Gary Hart 1980s earth.

Patrick, the boy from Insomnia, heads back into mid-Earth, not to be heard from in the books again, and without his tongue. I felt bad for him.

Roland finally reaching his goal, then being pushed into his quest again was shocking. King said it was the right ending. And I suppose in some ways, it is. What else would Roland be doing in the tower, were it his final journey there? (And the implication is that now that he has the Horn of Eld, that this one will be his last journey.) Would he be absorbed into Gan and find a peaceful and eternal Todash; a good version? Would he find his nirvana, his heaven, his bliss?

One thing I sorta disliked, a little bit, was just how easily the Crimson King was done off, except his eyes. It felt a bit too easy, a bit too convenient. Roalnd's biggest struggle was himself, really. And Walter.

So, who read the series? Thoughts? Let's talk.

ShellyMcG said:

I stopped reading after the first paragraph because I want to read these books. I've had them recommended to me constantly but I haven't gotten around to them yet. It just seems like a big investment. Plus, I've seen the movie and I hated it.

NO SPOILERS IN THIS REPLY:

I've watched The Dark Tower and it's about 2% like the books, and I think the only used the last two. It was a bomb for a reason. I hope they try again with a series - one season for each book, generally.

The books are worth the effort. There is a short story, The Little Sisters of Eluria that takes place before The Gunslinger, and another book Wind Through The Keyhole which is stand-alone, but should be read between books 4 and 5. If you're gonna do it, do it all.

It is an investment, and I would recommend audiobooks if you're into that. It helped me get through everything quicker. I vowed that 2022 would be my Dark Tower year. I'm finishing up the Sisters book tonight, and also listening to The Talisman.

Just a note, not a spoiler: When you get to Wizard and Glass expect the pace to slow down. 90% of it is a flashback to when Roland was a teenager. The pacing is much slower, and it will feel like molasses at first, after the faster pace of the earlier books (especially The Waste Lands). But it's a love story of sorts, and well worth the time to get through it. The pace picks right back up with Wolves of the Calla.

Maybe 2023 is your year for The Dark Tower. All things serve the beam, after all.

PS I had read Hearts in Atlantis, and Insomnia before this and I'm glad I did (although I had no idea I should). Because Insomnia is where the main villain shows up first, as well as a couple of other people. And the characters in Hearts are partially in Dark Tower as well. Of course the SK universe is vast, but referencing The Low Men (from Hearts) and Ed Deepnau (Insomnia) could make more sense for you. But not required reading at first.

Apparently, Salem's Lot plays a part in TDT as well, but I'm going to rest on all things Tower while I get through The Talisman, then circle back to it.

Wait till you see who shows up in book 6, though. (Teaser)

TrivialPursuit said:

ShellyMcG said:

I saw an interview with the guy who directed Doctor Sleep where he said that his dream project was The Dark Tower but instead of doing what they did with the movie, his version would be a straight up adaptation of the novels. But he wasn't sure if that would be a series of movies, a TV show or a mixture of both.

Mike Flannigan. Yeah, he's good. He did The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor (the latter of which is a take on Turn of the Screw). Hill House was stellar front to back.

I saw that interview, and I'd trust him with the adaptation. Hollywood would really have to invest in a series of movies like that, but if it was done right with the right folks onboard to keep the storyline intact and the quality level up to par, it could be the next Harry Potter (just without the transphobic source-author part).

And don't worry about having seen The Dark Tower. You'll forget about it once you start the books. I didn't mind Idris Elba being cast as Roland, but Roland is clearly someone more like a crusty Clint Eastwood (which feels redundant to type "Crusty" and "Eastwood" in the same sentence), or type.

TrivialPursuit said:

ShellyMcG said:

My cousin is a big fan of the books and has always said she wants Timothy Whats-his-name from Justified to play Roland. Although she wants him in everything to be fair . Having never read any of the books my own personal vote, based on what little I do know, would go to the guy from No Country For Old Men. Can't remember his name now and I'm too lazy to Google it. *Josh Brolin

Timothy Oliphant I believe? He'd been good. Josh Brolin could be a backup plan for sure.

I feels like a stretch, but the character of Susannah could be played by Uzo Aduba, because how she is early on could be something Aduba could pull off easily, I think.

Oddly, I think Laverne Cox could do it, too. But a more unknown actress should do it, really. Let the lead be a name, but the others could be lesser known folks. That's especially true for a young actor for the Jake Chambers role. Or any of them as kids.

Eddie Dean could be played by Noah Centineo, Jason Cerbone, or Paulo Costanzo.

TrivialPursuit said:

8 books! I hate that shit. Do one book.

2freaky said:

8 books! I hate that shit. Do one book.

Doesn't work that way. Can't fit all that into one book.

ShellyMcG said:

Mike Flanagan, director of Dr. Sleep, has officially signed on to make a new Dark Tower TV series for Amazon. Apparently the deal is for 5 seasons and two movies. I'm not sure on all the details as yet. I just sent the news and rushed here to post it because we had literally just been talking about this happening last week and now it seems it's official. Fingers crossed he does the books justice. And it looks like I picked the perfect time to buy these books before they are plastered with artwork from the show.

Yep, you better get to reading, or listening to the audiobooks.

This is great news, though! I don't expect to see any of it for a couple/three years. It's a LOT of material to sort out. The one book that's mostly a flashback romance I suspect may be a movie, or dispursed throughout the series. We shall see!

TrivialPursuit said:

I've finished The Talisman. That was a heck of a ride. This was King's era of being on drugs, so not too surprised with a lot of it. I don't know Peter Straub's prose or style, but the book felt like you couldn't figure out who was writing what part. Although, there were moments when it felt not like King, and other moments that were very much King's prose.

One reviewer pissed on everything, saying King would go off track four or five times throughout. I thought - it's a fucking quest. They're on a journey. You travel from New Hampshire to California in an alternate universe, or even this one - mostly on foot or hitching rides, and see how many stories you gain along the way!

Black House is the sequel and I've started that.

I looked at my Goodreads yearly reading challenge. Except for Miriam Margolyes's memoir, This Much Is True, I've read all Stephen King this year. It's been a great year for reading.

Also, I can't help but see a lot of parallels between The Talisman, and The Dark Tower series. I think King had only written The Gunslinger two years prior. But many elements in The Talisman end up in The Dark Tower series, fully formed or slightly altered. But the real tie in comes, apparently, in Black House, and the connection was allegedly prodded by Straub to King, telling him to make it part of that multiverse. So retroactively, The Talisman has now become part of that universe, too.

If you read my review of The Talisman, you will find elemental spoilers, but not plot point spoilers.

On my short list is Matthew Perry's memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing. And King's Salem's Lot, since it ties in with The Dark Tower, but I won't say how.

PJMcGee said:

I read The Talisman when it came out and was surprised in that I was more emotionally invested in the characters than in any other King book. It made me think that maybe Straub was the better writer, tho I never did get around to reading any of his books.

Yeah, I sorta wonder how much Staub finessed things, only because King was high at the time. He was still producing incredible novels. Cujo, Carrie, The Shining, etc.

Also, as far as investment in characters - what did you think about Richard Sloat? People have called him whiny. Wolf was the big brother type everyone wants and needs. Sloat's father almost feels like a precursor to someone like Randall Flagg, the Crimson king, etc.

PJMcGee said:

I read The Talisman more than once, but the last time was probably 30 years ago. Beyond becoming attached to Wolf, I can't say much for what I thought about individual characters. I do know that Flagg appears in The Stand, years before The Talisman.

Yeah, The Stand is where R.F. first appeared. I only see minor parallels with R.F. in people like Morgan Sloat, but if it was R.F., King would've said so at some point.

PJMcGee said:

Yeah, as much as King tried to tie stuff together, not every evil older guy is Flagg.

Exactly, nor was anyone putting that out. Just the level of shittery from Sloat was akin to something Flagg would try. I'm actually kinda glad Flagg wasn't in this. It stood on its own without that. And Flagg wasn't around enough to be filtering into other things by 1984 anyway. Sloat could easily be Flagg's cousin. haha

Everyone: Join us on our 2023 book reading thread: https://prince.org/msg/100/469477