Name: Celeste Richardson's review of The Dark Half by Stephen King
Item: The Dark Half
Rating: 5
Author: Celeste Richardson

Stephen King

Written by the author of CARRIE, 'SALEM'S LOT, THE SHINING and CHRISTINE, this novel features Thad Beaumont, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author who has developed a lucrative thriller-writing alter ego named George Stark. He stops being fun so Beaumont wants to kill him.

The Dark Half

Stephen King returns to the Dark Tower in this second mesmerizing volume in his epic series. Roland of Gilead has mysteriously stepped through a doorway in time that takes him to 1980s America, where he joins forces with the defiant Eddie Dean and courageous Odetta Holmes. A savage struggle has begun in which underworld evil and otherworldly enemies conspire to bring an end to Roland's desperate search for the Dark Tower. Masterfully weaving dark fantasy and icy realism, The Drawing of the Three compulsively propels readers toward the next chapter.
(back cover)

The Drawing of the Three

Laura Ladwig

Celeste Richardson

Creating George Stark was easy. Getting rid of him won't be... The sparrows are flying again. The idea - unbidden, inexplicable - haunts the edge of Thad Beaumont's mind. Thad should be happy. For years now it is his secret persona 'George Stark', author of super-violent pulp thrillers, who has paid the family bills. But now, Thad is writing seriously again under his own name, and his menacing pseudonym has been buried forever. And yet... the sparrows are flying again, and something is terribly wrong in Thad Beaumont's world.

wild, as expected since the beginning. read it so fast, so incredible consuming and fascinating. stephen king has an amazing mind, one of a kind. 

Larissa Campos

"The dark half"

Stark

5 von 10 Punkten

Stark an sich, war ein interessanter Charakter, genau wie Alan. Aus Stark hat man aber so gut wie nicht gemacht. Gerne hätte ich gelesen, wie Thad darüber denkt, dass dieser Mann ein Teil von ihm sein soll. Für Stephen King hat dieses Buch große Bedeutung, da er hier Richard Bachmann beerdigt, dennoch hätte ich mir für ihn eine bessere Geschichte gewünscht, in der mich der Hauptcharakter mehr interessiert.

Justin Staack

Robin Furth

Peter David

Der Revolvermann

Der dunkle Turm

6 Punkte
Die Zusammenfassung von Glas fand ich zu kurz. Die zusätzlichen Geschichten um Arthur Eld sind gut gelungen und passen in die Welt von Roland.

Song of Susannah (The Dark Tower, Book 6)

5 Punkte
Für mich wurde Susannah charakterlich zerstört. Es gibt keinen wirklichen Grund sich nicht gegen Mia aufzulehnen. Zu beginn weiß man schon, wie es endet. King versucht hier eine billige Ausrede nach der anderen zu benutzen. Ich bin schwer enttäuscht davon, zumal ich Susannah sehr mochte (zum Glück rehabilitiert sie sich größtenteils im letzten Band wieder, trotz ihrer letzten Szene).

Roman

Wolfsmond

Nach dem Tod des Mannes in Schwarz zieht Roland, der Revolvermann, auf der Suche nach dem dunklen Turm weiter durch die nachapokalyptische Welt, in der er blutige Spuren hinterlässt. Seine Zukunft ist ungewiss. Doch wie aus den Tarotkarten des Mannes in Schwarz zu ersehen war, werden ein Mann mit Namen äDer Gefangeneä, eine Frau namens äHerrin der Schattenä und eine dunkle Gestalt, die schlicht der Tod Rolands ist, eine Rolle darin spielen. - 2. Teil der Saga vom ädunklen Turmä und Fortsetzung von äSchwarzä.

Drei / aus dem Amerikan. von Joachim Körber

Gemeinsam mit seinen neuen Gefährten Eddie und Susannah setzt der Revolvermann Roland seine Suche nach dem mysteriösen Turm fort.

Tot / aus dem Amerikan. von Joachim Körber

Der Dunkle Turm

Schwarz

The next-to-last novel in Stephen King's seven-volume magnum opus, Song of Susannah is at once a book of revelation, a fascinating key to the unfolding mystery of the Dark Tower, and a fast-paced story of double-barreled suspense.

To give birth to her "chap," demon-mother Mia has usurped the body of Susannah Dean and used the power of Black Thirteen to transport to New York City in the summer of 1999. The city is strange to Susannah . . . and terrifying to the "daughter of none" who shares her body and mind.

Saving the Tower depends not only on rescuing Susannah but also on securing the vacant lot Calvin Tower owns before he loses it to the Sombra Corporation.

Enlisting the aid of Manni senders, the remaining ka-tet climbs to the Doorway Cave . . . and discovers that magic has its own mind. It falls to the boy, the billy bumbler, and the fallen priest to find Susannah-Mia, who in a struggle to cope -- with each other and with an alien environment -- "go todash" to Castle Discordia on the border of End-World. In that forsaken place, Mia reveals her origins, her purpose, and her fierce desire to mother whatever creature the two of them have carried to term.

Eddie and Roland, meanwhile, tumble into western Maine in the summer of 1977, a world that should be idyllic but isn't. For one thing, it is real, and the bullets are flying. For another, it is inhabited by the author of a novel called 'Salem's Lot, a writer who turns out to be as shocked by them as they are by him.

These are the simple vectors of a story rich in complexity and conflict. Its dual climaxes, one at the entrance to a deadly dining establishment and the other appended to the pages of a writer's journal, will leave readers gasping for the saga's final volume (which, Dear Reader, follows soon, say thankya). 
(from the flap)

Song of Susannah

Patrick Book

This book has the thickest pages I’ve ever seen in a mass market novel. It’s like they printed it on a collection of card stock or book of carpet samples. Just holding this book up for the amount of time it took to read 400 pages gave me carpal tunnel syndrome. I read for too long one night and the goddamn thing dislocated my thumb.

The final installment in the epic series completes the quest of Roland Deschain, who works to outmaneuver the increasingly desperate acts of his adversaries and confronts losses within his circle of companions.

The Dark Tower

The Dark Tower VII

It’s been such a long time coming it wasn’t likely to ever please anyone, but the last third felt extremely rushed a d the Red King section is dreadfully anticlimactic. But my sense of accomplishment is enormous!

From the Flap:

Roland Deschain and his ka-tet are bearing southeast through the forests of Mid-World, the almost timeless landscape that seems to stretch from the wreckage of civility that defined Roland's youth to the crimson chaos that seems the future's only promise. Readers of Stephen King's epic series know Roland well, or as well as this enigmatic hero can be known. They also know the companions who have been drawn to his quest for the DarkTower: Eddie Dean and his wife, Susannah; Jake Chambers, the boy who has come twice through the doorway of death into Roland's world; and Oy, the Billy-Bumbler.

In this long-awaited fifth novel in the saga, their path takes them to the outskirts of Calla Bryn Sturgis, a tranquil valley community of farmers and ranchers on Mid-World's borderlands. Beyond the town, the rocky ground rises toward the hulking darkness of Thunderclap, the source of a terrible affliction that is slowly stealing the community's soul. One of the town's residents is Pere Callahan, a ruined priest who, like Susannah, Eddie, and Jake, passed through one of the portals that lead both into and out of Roland's world.

As Father Callahan tells the ka-tet the astonishing story of what happened following his shamed departure from Maine in 1977, his connection to the Dark Tower becomes clear, as does the danger facing a single red rose in a vacant lot off Second Avenue in midtown Manhattan. For Calla Bryn Sturgis, danger gathers in the east like a storm cloud. The Wolves of Thunderclap and their unspeakable depredation are coming. To resist them is to risk all, but these are odds the gunslingers are used to, and they can give the Calla-folken both courage and cunning. Their guns, however, will not be enough.

Wolves of the Calla

Maybe the most western one since the first one, in a fun way. But also backs into some potentially sketchy territory in the epilogue. But that’s a problem for another book!

Wizard and Glass

It’s so long and it’s kind of silly in small ways but it’s also surprisingly impactful and provides an extremely well-drawn story inside a story. The best of the series, I think.

With The Waste Lands, the third masterful novel in Stephen King's epic saga, The Dark Tower, we again enter the realm of the mightiest imagination of our time. King's hero, Roland, the Last Gunslinger, moves ever closer to the Dark Tower of his dreams and nightmares--as he crosses a desert of damnation in a macabre world that is a twisted mirror image of our own. With him are those he has drawn to this world, street-smart Eddie Dean and courageous wheelchair-bound Susannah. Ahead of him are mind-rending revelations about who he is and what is driving him. Against him is arrayed a swelling legion of fiendish foes both more and less than human. And as the pace of action and adventure, discovery and danger pulse-poundingly quickens, the reader is inescapably drawn into a breathtaking drama that is both hauntingly dreamlike...and eerily familiar. The Waste Lands is a triumph of storytelling sorcery--and further testament to Stephen King's novelistic mastery.
(back cover)

The Waste Lands

3.5 ⭐️. Despite its absurd length this series works so well as a continuous story, flowing so well from chapter to chapter while maintaining mood and tone. This one covers a lot of ground and maintains the tension and excitement of the previous chapter, but like it suffers from unnecessary repetition; if you’ve made it this far you’re in for the whole ride, we don’t need excessive reminders of what’s come before.

Since the publication of THE GUNSLINGER in an exclusive limited edition, this extraordinary novel has gained near-legendary renown. Now finally, this Plume edition, complete with the Michael Whelan illustrations, brings the work to the author's millions of fans.

This heroic fantasy is set in a world of ominous landscape and macabre menace that is a dark mirror of our own. A spellbinding tale of good versus evil, it features one of Stephen King’s most powerful creations—The Gunslinger, a haunting figure who embodies the qualities of the lone hero through the ages, from ancient myth to frontier western legend. His pursuit of The Man in Black, his liaison with the sexually ravenous Alice, his friendship with the kid from Earth called Jake, are part of a drama that is both grippingly realistic and eerily dreamlike, an alchemy of storytelling sorcery.

Complete in itself, THE GUNSLINGER is the first novel in an epic series, THE DARK TOWER, that promises to be Stephen King's crowning achievement.
(back cover)

The Gunslinger

When I was around 10-12 years old I tried reading a few King books; my dad had literally all of them I think, and my sister seemed to like them. The big ones never really hit for me; I gravitated to the Bachman collection and this. It’s short, for one thing, which he too often isn’t, but it also offers enough story, background, and action to keep you hooked while also laying an incredible amount of mystery and groundwork for the endless goes to come in this series.

Matt Eaves

Horror illustrator Glenn Chadbourne offers an illustrated version of the poem Stephen King first wrote about the Dark Man in college after he envisioned a faceless man in cowboy boots, jeans, and a denim jacket, forever walking the roads.

The Dark Man

tori 👻

Randall Flagg is a really memorable character

Tobias V. Langhoff

Oh, Discordia. I finally got back to The Dark Tower after almost a year off, and I didn't care much for this entry. It's OK, I liked parts of it, I gave it three stars, but all the criticism from the previous book is doubly valid here.

The book is, as usual, needlessly verbose. There are entire plot points that are unnecessary. For example, why did Roland and Callahan need to go back to Cal Tower to get the deed? Why couldn't that have been taken care of the last time they saw him? It added nothing but bulk to the story.

The main plot of this book was not as engaging as the ones in the previous books, but that's not surprising. All the previous books have had one self-contained main plot in addition to the overarching journey towards the tower, and I'm one of those who liked them (even the extended flashback in book four), but I understand that in the penultimate book, the main plot needs to be a bit more of a cliffhanger that ties into the overarching plot. It just didn't grab me as much.

There are lots of great parts of this book too, though. Although King is very wordy and pulpy sometimes, he can also be poetic and literate, and this book had that sprinkled inbetween every chater. I also very much liked the short flashback to Odetta's past, and the small hints of lore from Discordia.

I didn't hate the controversial part where King himself appears in the book. I think it was handled just fine, perhaps even more tactfully than I had anticipated.

I've enjoyed this series, but not loved it, I think. This book was probably the weakest yet. I'm looking forward to the next and last one, and maybe looking forward to being done with the series, just a little.

Stephen King is so verbose. This book, and several of the others in the series (especially the second one), could probably be half the length if King for a change tried to show, not tell; to make things implicit instead of explicit; and to skip re-telling the readers what we already know just because some other character doesn’t yet. It’s just his writing style, I suppose, and I do like his style even though I often feel that he’s treating me like a roont.

Like the previous book in the series, this one also feels like a side story, although the main plot progresses a little more this time around. Our heroes depart from their journey to help a small village with a wolf problem, and there’s a new game of figurative Castles (Mid-World’s equivalent to chess); this time we see an adult Roland lay plans and execute them, and although now he’s decades (or centuries?) older and with a new ka-tet, this book is structured very similarly to the last one.

Also like in the previous book, although not to the same extent, a bulk of this book consists of a flashback. This time not to Roland’s past (although there is a short one from there too, where we finally learn more about Jericho Hill), but to Father Callahan’s life after the events of 'Salem's Lot, which (apart from being a good book) is pretty much required reading before you read this one, I’d say; it’s basically a prequel to a whole subplot here.

We get some more lore and glimpses of the ancient world that came before Roland’s Mid-World, which is the favorite part of the universe King is weaving here. Well, universes, obviously. We trot along on some interdimensional highways through different whens and wheres here as well, and get to visit good old New York again. Although it can sometimes be maddening how slowly the main plot of this series progresses, it does in a way make the malevolent forces more powerful when they’re revealed to slowly. We still don’t know who the Crimson King is, but his tendrils infiltrate our Wall Street too.

I also wish I’d read a few other books before this one (I thought I’d did my homework), although they’re not as required, as far as I can gather. The Low Men are mentioned pretty extensively in Callahan’s flashback, and they appear in several other stories that I think I have to pick up now before I read the next volume (along with a couple of other ones). I recently did some research on what Stephen King books to read in connection with The Dark Tower, wrote up this list, and am currently working through it. I’m especially glad I decided to do it this way, since near the end of this book, we start to delve into meta-fictional territories. It’ll be interesting to see how that works out.

Although I was anxious to see how George Guidall would fare as narrator (this is chronologically the first audiobook in the series not to be narrated by the great Frank Muller, who gets a heartfelt mention in the book’s afterword), I was pleasantly surprised. He does a great job and I needn’t have worried.

THE WASTE LANDS is the third volume in Stephen King's epic Dark Tower series. The Dark Tower is now a major motion picture starring Matthew McConaughey and Idris Elba. In the third novel in Stephen King's epic fantasy masterpiece, Roland, the Last Gunslinger, is moving ever closer to the Dark Tower. Roland has altered ka by saving the life of Jake Chambers in New York. Now they exist in different worlds, paradoxically sharing memories. Roland, Susannah and Eddie must try to draw Jake into Mid-World then follow the Path of the Beam through an urban waste land to the Dark Tower. Pursued by the Ageless Stranger, Roland and his friends cross a desert of damnation in this macabre new world as revelations begin to unfold about who - and what - is driving him forward. JOIN THE QUEST FOR THE DARK TOWER... THE DARK TOWER SERIES: THE DARK TOWER I: THE GUNSLINGER THE DARK TOWER II: THE DRAWING OF THE THREE THE DARK TOWER III: THE WASTE LANDS THE DARK TOWER IV: WIZARD AND GLASS THE DARK TOWER V: WOLVES OF THE CALLA THE DARK TOWER VI: SONG OF SUSANNAH THE DARK TOWER VII: THE DARK TOWER THE WIND THROUGH THE KEYHOLE: A DARK TOWER NOVEL

(Volume 3)

The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands

Now we’re talking. After the first book The Gunslinger (which is an un-King-like mythical and surreal western) set the stage for the series, and the second book The Drawing of the Three (which was far too long and meandering for my taste) introduced the main characters of the series, this third book finally advances the plot, which was timely.

I often feel that King’s books feel like they live their own life. They seldom seem completely planned from the beginning; plots unfold in a natural and sometimes surprising way, to both reader and, I assume, the author. (I haven’t read ON WRITING yet, so I don’t know if that’s true.) This is usually not problematic, but with certain books in the Dark Tower series it feels weird. The series is supposed to have evolved in King’s mind for decades, and the plot itself is presented as a prophetic and deterministic turning of the wheel of Ka. It doesn’t always feel that way. It’s hard to explain, but I can at least say that I think King had some issues with the pacing of these books.

The first book is impeccably paced, in my opinion (even if it has some other issues). The second book was way too long, and in many places boring. King has never been one for writing succintly; parts of the book, like in the previous one, feel too drawn out, but it’s better. Some pacing choices felt very odd to me, such as how Jake goes out on more than one wandering of the street to find his door, but later parts of the book insist that this is extremely important (the vacant lot he found on one trip), so I will trust King on this one. This book has more action scenes and is more exciting overall, at any rate. It even ends on a cliffhanger. This book heavily reminded of The Stand, in many ways: The plot, the pacing, the framing, Lud, and just the general feeling of the story.

We finally return in force to the post-apocalyptic science fiction undertones we gleamed somewhat in the underground passages of the first book. Learning more about the lost history of the world is the main thing that makes me want to read on. More lore is hinted at concerning the Tower as well, of course, but it’s still kept firmly in the mythical backdrop.

I partly listened to this book as an audiobook (The Waste Lands), like I did with the previous one. When reading the last book I didn’t immediately love all of Frank Muller's delivery, but since then I've listened to his fantastic rendition of Moby Dick, and now he’s my favorite audiobook narrator. (An interesting piece of trivia: In this book, a class mate of Jake who's only mentioned once in passing is called Nathaniel Hawthorne, which is also the name of an author from Salem whom Moby Dick was dedicated to! Ka. King has read Moby Dick; he talks about it in the preface to 'Salem's Lot.)

I don’t know what I’ll do after I’ve read the next book, Wizard and Glass, which was his last Dark Tower audiobook before he sustained a tragic head injury. (I recently discovered that he actually did a recording of the original version of The Gunslinger, before it was revised after his accident. I plan to acquire it and read it at some point.)

At any rate, Muller gets a lot more to work with in this book. He’s really hit his stride with the voices of Roland, Eddie and Oy especially, and Susannah and Jake are fine too. He voices the numerous old people appearing in this book very well, and King’s written dialects come over nicely. My favorite voice of his here, though, is Blaine. The staccato, milky smooth delivery is perfectly unsettling.

All in all the strongest entry in the series so far. Probably a 4.5. I’ll start on the next (and final one with Muller) right away.

As I read this book I also stumbled upon The Dark Tower Music Project. First of all, as a young babby who never listened to ZZ Top, 
  Lud: The God Drums
 was useful for me. Secondly, the track 
  Blaine
 is simply fantastic progressive rock inspired by my favorite character in this book.

After resolving the cliffhanger at the end of the previous book The Waste Lands (and seeing a little more of Blaine, one of my favorite characters, although I didn’t think the end of that storyline was perfectly executed) and a small detour into aspects of The Stand’s plot (a book I recommend reading before this), the bulk of this book mostly consists of a lengthy flashback into Roland’s past, which we got glimpses of in the first novel of the series.

This is probably the slowest book so far in the series. It’s not bad, but I’m glad I didn’t have to wait 6 years to read it and then 6 more years to read the next installment, like the poor first time readers did. It’s focused in plot and story, but long-winded; it trots along on a snail’s pace, Ka (like the wind) slowly building up to a storm of confrontation. The tension is very drawn out. It is, at times, a little boring.

That’s not to say that it’s a bad book. The first book established the world, the second introduced and characterized the main cast, the third kickstarted the plot and explained some of the lore, and in this book we finally get to learn more about Roland’s past and motivation. It’s a change of pace from the previous book, but then again, each book is a change of pace from the one that comes before it so far.

The flashback portion fleshes out a story that was introduced in The Gunslinger; that of Roland’s original ka-tet from his teens. This includes his first love, which is tenderly written. (The same can not be said about the erotic parts.) This story is incidentally also told in the graphic novel The Gunslinger Born, a nice adaptation.

I’ve always been intrigued by the Mid-World of Roland’s youth and its lore, and we learn some things about it here. The world actually reminds me of the setting of Trigun; an alternate, post-apocalyptic version of Mexico or perhaps New Mexico, with cowboys and derelict oil fields and modern technology that nobody knows how to use. There’s also magic, of course, and smoke-like portals between worlds called “thinnies”, also featured in The Mist, make appearances.

And near the end a lot of parallels to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz are made. Apart from the ones that are (very explicitly) stated, I realized that the field of blood-red roses that are elsewhere said to be surrounding the Dark Tower looks much like the expanse of the field of poppies in the classic 1939 film.

Even though it’s not my favorite so far, this book holds a special place in my heart – it’s the final audiobook in the series narrated by Frank Muller, before he had a tragic accident and George Guidall took over the reins. I’ll give him a fair chance, but nobody can replace Muller for me. I’ve mentioned it before in other reviews, but I really recommend his narration of Moby-Dick. (Also, for super fans: Guidall narrates the first book in the series, because it was released in a revised edition in later years, but Muller did actually narrate it first. His narration is hard to find, but it does exist.) In this book, Muller has more range than in previous books; the lisping half-wit Sheemie, the quavering voice of Eldred Jonas, the mad cackle of Rhea the witch, the happy go lucky joker Cuthbert, and of course the return of the calm and psychotic Blaine as well as Eddie’s New York accent. All masterfully delivered. I’ll miss you, Frank.

Lara Engle

20 pages of action with 900 pages of exposition. Too much! I don't mind a long book and I usually love a long Stephen King book, but this one needed to pick up the pace. I did like most of Father Callahan's storytelling, but it wasn't exactly important for this story. Two books to go before my quest for the dark tower is done.

Despite its pacing issues, this book earns four stars based on its flashes of greatness. Specific scenes stand out and the lore of the Dark Tower is significantly built in this installment. We get moments of King gore, but the real terror is in the desperate lives of those trying to live in a decaying mid-world. They barely manage to subsist. Their lives are nowhere near that joy we would consider to be truly living. Roland and the rest of the Ka-Tet are owning their power and saving the world. (We hope.)

I'm a little conflicted about this one. The story was great, the mythology was cool and multilayered, and the connections between mid-world and our world seemed just right. But ... it's just too long! The story needed some serious tightening up. As always, the imagery and emotion is right on track, but in this one the plot was plodding. I was so relieved to return at the end to Eddie, Susannah, Jake, and Oy.

And seriously, you're in Kansas, so you have to go Wizard of Oz?! Ugh. Predictable and annoying.

Not my favorite of the series, but it's the sixth out of seven, so I had to read it to get to the end. It starts tying things together and gets us set up for the big finish, so it does the job. But it drags and feels a little clunky in the exposition. I saw that many reviewers did not like the meta author intrusions, but I thought they were fun reality benders. That's the sense of whimsy and magic that's been missing for a while in this series. When you have a story that's essentially an old west knight errant rounding up his gang to defeat Sauron, you need parts that admit it's a little absurd and invite you to wink and come (commala) along for the ride. This series is the masterwork that ties King's universe together and I could see myself rereading at least once or twice. It really sucks you in.

The Dark Tower is the pentacle of Stephen King’s magnum opus, and I’ve been terrified to get to it. King isn’t known for nailing his landings, and this one is especially controversial. I was afraid that, after reading 8,781 pages, or 3,951,408 words, on my long road to the Tower, I would be left feeling woefully disappointed, and as if I had wasted my time. I’m here to tell you that, thankfully, that isn’t the case. After reading the final pages of The Dark Tower I can safely say that this is my favorite completed series of all time. I’ve never read anything else like it. The only series that I think will eventually surpass it is Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archives, but it will be well over a decade before that is completed. In the meantime, The Dark Tower stands alone among completed series for me. As it should.
“The road and the tale have both been long, would you not say so? The trip has been long and the cost has been high... but no great thing was ever attained easily. A long tale, like a tall Tower, must be built a stone at a time.”

  There will be some vague spoilers here, though I’ll not mention any name save Roland’s. I simply don’t know how else to discuss a final book in a series so large. Skip to the end or turn back now if you wish to go into or continue this series knowing as little as possible.

“Battles that last five minutes spawn legends that live a thousand years.”
A sense of foreboding permeated so much of this novel. And the foreshadowing King kept dropping did nothing but further whet my appetite to know what was actually going to happen. As things finally wrapped up and came to a head, he made sure to tell readers, again and again, that there wasn’t going to be a happy ending, and that very few of the characters I had so grown to love would make it to the end of the line. Even with all of the warnings, I was still enraged and devastated repeatedly. But isn’t it the mark of a good story, when you’ve become so attached to characters that you rage and mourn when you lose them? 
“Do any of us, except in our dreams, truly expect to be reunited with our hearts' deepest loves, even when they leave us only for minutes, and on the most mundane of errands? No, not at all. Each time they go from our sight we in our secret hearts count them as dead.”
I’ll not mention any character by name, save the Gunslinger himself, by King wrung out a surprising amount of emotion from me over the course of this book. There was a Communion scene, a Last Supper of the Ka-tet, if you will, that I found incredibly poignant and wonderfully moving. The religious imagery was beautiful and somehow appropriate. The foretold breaking of the Tet was unspeakably devastating, but I found myself so proud of each character and how they faced down their deaths. I was reminded of the movie Young Guns; they all went out in a blaze of glory, as gunslingers should. They stood, and were true, and no more could possibly have been asked of them.
“You needn't die happy when your time comes, but you must die satisfied, for you have lived your life from the beginning to the end and ka is always served.”
The character development of Roland since his first appearance in The Gunslinger is astounding. And that’s not something that I really noticed as the series progressed. It hit me all at once, a little over halfway through this novel, in a moment that echoed and answered and recast a moment from that first installment. This was one of the moments were King’s storytelling shone the brightest, even in the midst of devastation. We so often view him as a pulpy writer, because of the types of stories he tells and the frequency of his publication. But he is truly gifted in his craft, and this entire book really displays his brilliance. The ways in which he was able to tie together so many little details from so early on in the series proves how deft a writer he is, in my opinion. There were still issues, of course: his villains remain wholly evil instead of multifaceted; his pop culture references and slang become quickly outdated. And I’m still on the fence about how he portrays women and people of color. But overall, King is an incredibly gifted storyteller who has worked hard to develop his craft, and The Dark Tower is a perfect example of exactly what the man can accomplish with words. I’m in awe.
“Even if the torture stops, I’ll die. And you’ll die too, for when love leaves the world, hearts are still. Tell them of my love and tell them of my pain and tell them of my hope, which still lives. For this is all I have and all I am and all I ask.”
I love King’s voice, especially when the narrator makes himself known, and that was done with especially great aplomb in this book. It gave a Dickensian feel to the novel, reminiscent of the voice I so enjoyed in Black House, which King co-authored with Peter Straub. But in The Dark Tower , that voice is distinctly and only King’s own, which was made doubly fascinating to me by the fact that King himself is a side character in the story. I know this was a controversial decision, but I felt that it leant an incredible power and reality to the story. Since the idea of the Tower has so dominated King’s mind and writing for so many decades, it only makes sense that he would include himself in the narrative, if only to explain his obsession.
“Because talent won't be quiet, doesn't know how to be quiet," he said. "Whether it's a talent for safe-cracking, thought-reading, or dividing ten-digit numbers in your head, it screams to be used. It never shuts up. It'll wake you in the middle of your tiredest night, screaming, 'Use me, use me, use me! I'm tired of just sitting here! Use me, fuckhead, use me!”
The Dark Tower itself didn’t disappoint. It was distressingly atmospheric, if that description makes sense. It felt so tangible that I found myself more than a little creeped out. And I have a new appreciation for roses after having read this series and witnessed their power in the story. It will be a long time before I can look at a rose without seeing it as potentially magic. Actually, I hope that never changes. Anything that causes you to see magic in reality is worth holding onto. But I digress. The Tower was beautifully disturbing, repellently compelling, and utterly mysterious. I better understand Roland’s drive after having laid eyes upon it.
“and so will the world end, I think, a victim of love rather than hate. For love's ever been the more destructive weapon, sure.”
It still completely blows my mind that King got this entire world and series from spaghetti Westerns and a narrative poem written in 1855. I’ve read and reread Robert Browning’s “Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came” multiple times throughout my journey with this series, and I’m baffled by how King got this massive story from a poem that is 204 lines, or around 1,700 words, long. And I’m not sure I’ll ever look at Clint Eastwood or watch a Western the same way again. They will forever embody the Gunslinger who so grew on me over the course of his long, arduous journey.
“And will I tell you that these … lived happily ever after? I will not, for no one ever does. But there was happiness. And they did live.”

  If you’ve been skipping ahead to avoid spoilers, you’re safe now. Here is where I wrap up my thoughts and bid goodbye (for now) to the Tower.


I can’t believe that I’ve finally reached the Dark Tower. It’s been a pretty incredible journey, and is certainly one that I’ll never forget. There are characters I grew to love along the way who I truly believe will always stay with me. This last installment in the series ran me through the gamut of emotions. I was amused, frightened, moved, enraged and devastated. I know the ending is highly controversial, and that many people despise it, but as I neared the final line I broke out in chills so strong they were painful. Was it a perfect ending? Of course not. But I do strongly believe that it was the right one. Ka is a wheel, after all, and so the story goes on. The Tower abides, and so will this story, forever, in my heart.

Long days and pleasant nights, friends.

You can find  this review and more at Novel Notions.

When I first read The Gunslinger, I wasn’t a fan. But I was determined to get past that first book, because I know King views The Dark Tower as his magnum opus and I really wanted to at least try to read that. Then I got to The Drawing of the Three and fell in love it. I couldn’t help but think that it would be the highlight of the entire series for me, but then I read The Wastelands. And Wizard and Glass. And The Wind Through the Keyhole. And I’ve loved them all just as much. Wolves of the Calla was no exception. I would have never thought that a western-horror-fantasy would become one of my favorite series of all time, and yet here we are. If King doesn’t drop the ball in the last two books, this will have quite possibly been the most epic literary experience of my life.

Roland and his Ka-Tet find themselves in Calla Bryn Sturgis, a small town in Mid-World that is raided by Wolves once a generation. And that time is upon them again. But the Wolves to raid for money, or supplies. They raid for children. Twins are far more common in the Calla than singletons, as they call them, and one twin from each pair, between the ages of three or so and puberty, will be taken. They aren’t kept forever. Oh no. They’re returned. But they come back broken. Roont, if you will. When Gunslingers come to town, will the Calla finally stand and fight for their children? Or will fear of repercussions keep them docile?

I found the Calla and its inhabitants plenty interesting, but I was always fascinated when New York came back into the picture. King made his own multiverse before the MCU popularized the idea. I’ve been taking the scenic route to the Tower, which means that this was book number 22 on my journey instead of number 5. I’ve loved seeing how he manages to connect everything. This is the Cosmere for horror fans. Interconnected series and worlds were why I loved Ted Dekker so much as a teen, but I’m almost positive he had to have gotten some of his inspiration from King. I feel like so many of the fandoms I love with my entire heart owe King at least a nod or something. The connections he has built into his novels are mind-blowing, and I can’t wait to see how he ties things together at the end of the main series. Even if he doesn’t stick the landing, as he is prone to do, the journey itself will have been worth it. But I really, really hope he sticks the landing.

If you haven’t yet read ‘Salem’s Lot and ever intend to do so, I strongly recommend you read that before you get to this installment of The Dark Tower. Enough of the plot is summarized here to spoil that novel completely. Also, my having read ‘Salem’s Lot made Wolves of the Calla feel even richer and more special than it would have otherwise. As did my exposure to Hearts in Atlantis. There was more depth and meaning because of that prior knowledge. And, towards the end, it even tied in Black House, which is one I almost skipped because I wasn’t sure it was necessary. It even laid the groundwork for 11/22/63, which was one of the first King novels that I truly loved. 

There were references to Harry Potter, Star Wars, and even Marvel comics. The nerd in me, the super-fan who loves nothing more than an intellectual Easter egg hunt, was thrilled by this. And I know that some Constant Readers hated the way King wove himself into the end of the series, but I personally was elated. This level of meta-fictionalization and fourth-wall breaking made me absolutely ecstatic and ridiculously excited.

I have tandem-read every installment of this series since The Gunslinger. Listening to the audio while reading along is simply the most immersive reading experience I can imagine. This is the first I’ve listened to that wasn’t narrated by Frank Muller. I was sad not to have his wonderful voice in my ears, but he was in a terrible motorcycle accident before he could record this one. King dedicated the book to him and donated all of the proceeds from the audiobook to Muller’s family, which I thought was lovely. Guidall did a good job stepping into some huge shoes that he couldn’t quite fill, and I’ll listen to the final two with him, as well, but Muller gave Roland his true voice.

Is this a perfect book? No. Absolutely not. There are things about King’s writing that are problematic or bring-worthy, and those characteristics were present in this book. I can see the flaws. But did I subjectively care? Not a bit. The experience of reading Wolves of the Calla was, like almost all of its predecessors, a 5 star one for me. I loved it, and was excited and deeply invested the entire time I was reading it.

Only two steps remain on my journey to the Dark Tower, and I both can’t wait for that final climb and am nervous that I’ll be disappointed with what I’ll find. Much like Roland and his Ka-Tet, I suppose. These characters have won my heart in spite of all their flaws, and I’m with them to the end of the line.

You can find  this review and more at Novel Notions.

Song of Susannah is the penultimate installment in King’s magnum opus, The Dark Tower. And though I still wouldn’t consider it a bad book by any means, I do believe it’s the weakest in the series since The Gunslinger. That being said, I still very much enjoyed my time in this world and with these characters. I was absorbed the entire time, and the tension was palpable. Even when King isn’t at his best, there’s something about his writing that just sucks me in and won’t let me go, even after I’ve read the final pages.
“In the Land of Memory the time is always Now.
In the Kingdom of Ago, the clocks tick... but their hands never move.
There is an Unfound Door
and memory is the key which opens it.”
First, let’s talk about what didn’t work for me in this particular installment. The way King writes women isn’t my favorite. Something about it gives me the ick. I feel like he’s not at all sexist or racist, and yet there are unintentional undertones of both in his writing. This is something that I try to overlook, as I’m so enraptured by the stories he tells, but it’s hard to do so when so much of this particular book is coming from the perspective of a black woman. Another drawback to this installment, at least for me, is that the ka-tet has ben divided in three. This division gave the entire novel a disjointed feel that books 2-5 did not suffer. I missed the camaraderie of the group as a whole.
“Anger is the most useless emotion… destructive to the mind and hurtful to the heart.”
Now, onto the things that I did enjoy. King is killer (no pun intended) at capturing a particular time and place in our reality, which he’s done multiple times over in Song of Susannah. Most of the action takes place in our world across various times and places, and I never had any trouble remembering where and when we were in the narrative. He’s also brilliant as his characterizations. While his handling of Susannah was problematic at times, overall all of the members of the ka-tet, from Roland on down to Oy, are fantastically well fleshed-out and are very sympathetic. I’ve come to care tremendously about all of these characters, whether they’ve been around for one book or all of them. King also did a great job with the horror elements of this book, specifically in the final quarter. Which I’m sure surprises no one. And the action was propulsive, as always.
“When you came right down to it, how did anyone know they weren’t a character in some writer’s story, or a transient thought in some bus-riding schmoe’s head, or a momentary mote in God’s eye?”
Beyond here lie mild spoilers, so proceed at your own risk. They’re spoilers that I was aware of before even starting my Dark Tower journey, and were actually one of the reasons I was excited to read the series, but if you want to go in totally blind, skip the next paragraph.

In this book, Stephen King introduces himself as a character. The hutzpah of this man, to not only writing himself into the story but make himself its creator even within the pages. It’s a level of meta that could have backfired horribly. And did, with many readers. But not with all, and not with me. I love all things meta, so this decision on King’s part appeals to me deeply. My favorite part of this entire book was the inclusion of the Coda at the end of the novel, which gave us some of King’s journal entries as he wrote the series. I can’t wait to see what role he plays in the final installment.
“The wind blows and the story comes. Then it stops blowing, and all I can do is wait, same as you. They think I'm in charge, every one of them from the smartest of the critics to the most mentally challenged reader. And that's a real hoot. Because I'm not.”
End spoilers.
“Pain rises. From the heart to the head pain rises.”
I can’t believe we’re coming to the end of the road. Song of Susannah was my 23rd read out of 24 on my journey to the Dark Tower. The end is so close I can almost smell the Rose. I’m ready to see the gang all back together again, and to join them on this final leg of their quest. King has crafted something truly special with this series, and with the ways in which he’s tied in so many of his other works. I just hope that the final reveal is worthy of all the buildup.

And the award for creepiest train in all of literature goes to…
“Don't ask me silly questions
I won't play silly games
I'm just a simple choo choo train
And I'll always be the same.

I only want to race along
Beneath the bright blue sky
And be a happy choo choo train
Until the day I die.” 
Stephen King has had a place among my favorite authors for 3 or 4 years now. But over the span of this book and its predecessor, The Drawing of the Three, he’s edging remarkably close to becoming not just one of my favorite authors, but my hands down favorite. Right now he’s in a three-way tie with Brandon Sanderson and Nora Roberts, but Wizard and Glass might actually change that if it holds a candle to The Waste Lands. I’ve heard that the back half of the Dark Tower series pales a bit in comparison to the first 4 books, so I’m trying to keep my expectations low, but this is shaping up to be my favorite series of all time.
“The wheel of ka turns and the world moves on.” 
The Gunslinger was fine the first time I read it, and I enjoyed it more the second time around. I loved The Drawing of the Three almost immediately, and that love never wavered throughout the course of the novel. But The Waste Lands is one of my favorite books I’ve ever read. I’m not saying it’s one of the best books I’ve ever read, as I’ve been fortunate enough to consume some absolute masterpieces. King’s prose doesn’t quite measure up to masterpiece quality. There are imperfections here. But for sheer enjoyment value, for its ability to keep me so invested that I had a difficult time focussing on real life, for its insistence on invading my dreams even after I had read its final pages, this book just wins. I was never less than completely entranced. The plot was astonishingly intricate and never lagged. I was never bored for a single second.
“See the turtle of enormous girth, on his shell he holds the earth. If you want to run and play, come along the beam today.”
I’m always amazed by the myriad of intricate ways in which King references his own work. Some are small and incredibly subtle, while others are evident to even those who haven’t read a lot of his backlog. And the self-referencing should seem haughty. It doesn’t. Instead, it makes everything King has ever written come across as purposeful and intentional and premeditative. I have mad respect for this, and I think it makes his stellar stories even more enjoyable, as they build on one another. I’m a huge lover of Easter eggs in stories. It’s why I love Marvel and Sanderson’s Cosmere, and it’s why I’ve come to adore King’s work. And it’s exactly why I’ve chosen to take the much longer, circuitous route to the Tower. I’d love to just blast through the main series, but I’d love even more to pick up on as many of the little references to his other works that King has interwoven into the story as I possibly can. This will more than likely lead to me reading his entire body of work over the course of a decade or two, and I’m completely okay with that. 
“In the end, all things, even the Beams, serve the Dark Tower. Did you think you would be any different?”
The central cast of The Waste Lands completely won me over. I love each member of this ka-tet with every fiber of my being. And I can’t discuss a single one of them because, as with John Gwynne’s work, even mentioning certain character names could potentially spoil some important plot points. But also as with Gwynne’s work, I’m making an exception for an animal companion. Oy the Billy-Bumbler is an absolute darling, and I’m amazed at King’s ability to craft such a unique and lovable creature. I need one. Not want. NEED. I will say this about the central cast; they have all grown tremendously since each of them was introduced into the narrative. There’s so much character development in this series that it’s unreal. And their relationships with each other have experienced just as much transformation. It’s been truly wonderful to observe.
I do not aim with my hand. He who aims with his hand has forgotten the face of his father. I aim with my eye.
I do not shoot with my hand. He who shoots with his hand has forgotten the face of his father. I shoot with my mind.
I do not kill with my gun. He who kills with his gun has forgotten the face of his father. I kill with my heart.
I have no idea where the wheel of Ka will take these companions. I would say that I can’t wait to find out, but I also know that King has no problem killing off his darlings and I’m terrified of what might lie ahead. But the need to know is fierce, and I’m incredibly excited to continue my journey to the Tower. And I can’t wait to see how more of King’s other works tie into it.

Long days and pleasant nights, friends.

You can find  this review and more at Novel Notions.

“The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.”
So begins what Stephen King considers his magnum opus, The Dark Tower. The line above is among the most well known opening lines in modern literature, and it perfectly sets the tone for the rest of the short novel. This first installment, The Gunslinger, is the only book in the series I’ve read before, and I knew I needed a refresher before I dove any deeper into The Dark Tower. While The Gunslinger isn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination, with areas that drag and a last quarter that goes too hazily ephemeral to maintain an emotional connection, it’s a fun and very original introduction into what I’ve heard is an incredibly powerful and unique series.
“I do not aim with my hand; he who aims with his hand has forgotten the face of his father.
I aim with my eye.

I do not shoot with my hand; he who shoots with his hand has forgotten the face of his father.
I shoot with my mind.

I do not kill with my gun; he who kills with his gun has forgotten the face of his father.
I kill with my heart.”
I don’t know about the rest of the series, but this book is an odd mix of high fantasy, Western, and contemporary fiction. King was first inspired by a Robert Browning poem, “Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came”. He wanted to somehow marry this concept to The Lord of the Rings and Spaghetti Westerns, and I definitely think he accomplished that objective. I love the fact that there are multiple worlds, but that they’re hidden, mysterious, little known and borderline inaccessible. What I love even more is the knowledge that so many of King’s other books will be referenced in some way throughout the series, and that The Dark Tower and its characters either make appearances or are somehow loosely connected to each and every story King pens. In the Afterword to Wizard and Glass, the author himself says: “I have written enough novels and short stories to fill a solar system of the imagination, but Roland's story is my Jupiter--a planet that dwarfs all the others . . . a place of strange atmosphere, crazy landscape, and savage gravitational pull. Dwarfs the others, did I say? I think there's more to it than that, actually. I am coming to understand that Roland's world (or worlds) actually contains all the others of my making…” Wild, right? I think any dedicated follower of an author or television series or movie franchise or band or any other form of entertainment love to look for Easter eggs, hidden references in a book or movie or song to other of their favorites from the same artist or creators. Whether it’s Marvel movies or Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere, this search for hidden connections is one of my very favorite things. And I think that, in some small way, King helped launch this trend.
“Go then, there are other worlds than these.”
Ted Dekker had to have been inspired in large part by this book when writing Showdown, which was one of my very favorite novels as a teen. Showdown is a Christian speculative novel, thrilling and suspenseful and dipping in and out of the horror genre. Marsuvees Black had to have been created in the Man in Black’s image as rendered in The Gunslinger. From the Western feel to the town that goes down in flames, from whacked theology to the innocent sacrifice to the knowledge that other worlds are waiting just beyond the veil, the two books have an incredible amount in common. Showdown almost seems to both ask and answer the question “What if The Gunslinger had less weird sex and more Jesus?” The Gunslinger came on the scene 24 years before Showdown was published, and I don’t see how on Dekker could have written his book without first being inspired by King’s work. Not that I think Dekker in any way ripped off The Gunslinger; on the contrary, I think he paid homage to it very well. I also think that his decision to link all of his books in someway to his central series, The Circle, was in part inspired by King. All of that to say, I love that King inspired another of my favorites whose works have touched me deeply over the course of my life.
“Yet suppose further. Suppose that all worlds, all universes, met at a single nexus, a single pylon, a Tower. And within it, a stairway, perhaps rising to the Godhead itself. Would you dare climb to the top, gunslinger? Could it be that somewhere above all of endless reality, there exists a room?…’
To say a little about the book itself, I really liked The Gunslinger. It lost me a bit at the end, as many of King’s books tend to do, but the journey was enough to make up for the lackluster conclusion. I think that King tends to try to shoot for something too expansive and cosmic in his endings, but he doesn’t always manage to pull it off. Regardless, I love the feel of this book. The vastly different settings, the fantasy realm of Roland’s past, the arid Western-inspired desert of his present, and the contemporary real-world setting described by another character came together to make up a truly unique story. I also love how the worlds cross over in places, namely through song. The idea that a song like “Hey Jude” can bridge worlds is lovely and thoughtful. The last leg of the Gunslinger’s journey might leave me cold, but Roland himself is a wonderfully compelling enigma who I came to care for very much. I’m eager to see where his journey takes him next.
“They were close to the end of the beginning . . .”
I know that The Gunslinger is the tip of the iceberg that is King’s Dark Tower. As I plan to take the long road by reading the suggested novels from the rest of his catalogue so as to get the most out of the experience, I know that I’ll be on this journey for a long while before I finally reach the Tower itself. But oh, how I’m looking forward to the climb. 

Long days and pleasant nights, my friends.

You can find  this review and more at Novel Notions.

You can find this review and more at Novel Notions.

There will be light spoilers in this review, but I tried to keep them on par with what would be revealed by the synopsis of the book. There was simply no way for me to review this while keeping every detail concealed.

King crafted something both horrifying and utterly fascinating from his frustration over the loss of Richard Bachman. For those who aren’t familiar with Bachman, he was King’s pseudonym, under which he wrote Rage, The Long Walk, Roadwork, and The Running Man before accidentally outing himself in his fifth publication, Thinner. This little book was conceptually more in line the stories for which King was already well-known. When a bookstore employee, who was a big fan of King, scored an advanced copy of Thinner, he did some digging and became convinced that King and Bachman were one in the same. King decided to get in front of the news and gave said reader a one-on-one interview, in which he admitted to the world that he was indeed Richard Bachman. This resulted in more sales for his Bachman books, but King was unhappy with the loss, feeling certain that Bachman had been developing his own voice and would soon have generated success and a loyal fanbase without the addition of King’s name to the byline. Regardless, Bachman was now dead, though King would eventually publish a few works under Bachman’s name “posthumously.” 

King’s experience with the loss of his Bachman pen name is unequivocally the inspiration behind The Dark Half. Here we have a situation that is somewhat the reverse of the real life story. Thad Beaumont is a literary novelist whose name is fairly well-known and who has been recognized by prestigious groups of intellectual award givers as deserving of recognition, though he has never really sold well with the general public. George Stark, Thad’s pseudonym, is the more popular author of the two, publishing bestselling crime novels to overwhelming approval from the general public. Stark’s true identity has recently been discovered and, instead of giving in to blackmail, Thad decides to simply reveal himself to the world and retire Stark permanently. Unfortunately for Thad, Stark isn’t going anywhere without a fight. Brutal murders are committed, and irrefutable evidence leads to Thad being found guilty as sin. There’s only problem; Thad did not commit these crimes. They were perpetrated by someone with whom Thad once shared a body and a mind and a pencil clutching in a hand. The existence of this someone is a physical impossibility, and yet it’s true all the same.

I love the personification of ideas that have populated our stories since before we knew how to write. Here King took the concepts of an evil twin, a brain child, and a pseudonym and created something appalling and malevolent and, most horrifying of all, real. King did a wonderful job of taking these little idioms that litter our language and breathing some sort of cancerous life into them. There is a scene at the beginning of the book, when Thad is just a sick kid on an operating table, that was one of the most horrifying visuals I’ve ever read, and it’s definitely going to stick with me. 

Speaking of horrifying, this book is exactly what twelve-year-old me always expected to find when I eventually read my first Stephen King book as an adult. The Dark Half is cluttered with graphic details of violence and gore that could incite nausea within even the strongest of stomaches. These details are laid out with a maniacal amusement that is just as disturbing as the bloodbath itself. The description of the antagonist is one of the most sickening things I’ve ever read. Now, none of these are complaints, mind you. As I said, this is what I expected from King when I was a child, though I’ve actually gotten far less of it than I anticipated as I’ve read his work. In my opinion, this book is quintessential King, the literary equivalent of a campy, ultra-gory B-movie.

Okay, a couple of random things I liked. I really enjoyed the idea of sparrows as psychopomps, and the large role they played in the story. A sparrow seems like such a benign bird, certainly not ominous like a crow or raven or buzzard. However, a large enough grouping of any creature can be terrifying, as King demonstrates perfectly here. The importance placed on twins also intrigued me. I’ve always been interested in twins because my father is an identical twin, so the inclusion of twins in a story always piques my interest. Also, I loved the inclusion of Alan Pangborn, Sheriff of Castle Rock. While I read Needful Things first, which features him as one of the main protagonists, Alan is first introduced in The Dark Half. I found going back and reading about his life before the events of Needful Things incredibly interesting, and I think filling in my knowledge of a character I already cared about dramatically increased my enjoyment of this book. This is one of the few instances where I am actually thankful that I read something out of order. Unfortunately, Alan was the only character I really cared about. Neither the protagonist nor his wife were especially likable, whereas the antagonist seemed more like a caricature of evil than an actual person.

There were some parts of the book that were slow and meandering, and I think that the book would have benefitted from some editing of these areas. If it were shorter and sharper and presented the story at a breakneck speed, I honestly think that this book could have been a classic of the horror genre. But while it wasn’t perfect, The Dark Half was seriously fun. If you’re looking for something scary and so blood-soaked that it edges into cheesy, this book is totally for you.

Celeste Richardson &
The Dark Half by Stephen King

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Celeste Richardson &The Dark Half by Stephen King

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Celeste Richardson &
The Dark Half by Stephen King