Lilja’s final words about The Gunslinger - Revised Edition
Even if you have already read the original version of The Gunslinger, you will want to read this one. Not only is there a better flow in the book now, but you also get more information about a lot of things. So, in other words, get it now and start reading!
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The Dark Tower – Concordance, Volume 1
Posted: October 10, 2003
Stephen King’s The Dark Tower Concordance, Volume 1 must be one of the longest titles of a book in a very long time. I will therefore call it The Concordance from here on out. Please don’t let the long title scare you though. It’s a really superb book—if you’re a Dark Tower fan like me, that is. If you’re not, this is probably not the book for you.
Originally, The Concordance was done just for Stephen King himself. He was to use it when he wrote Wolves of the Calla, Song of Susannah and The Dark Tower to avoid errors when it came to people’s names and places. King did, however, feel that it was so good that he wanted the author, Robin Furth, to publish it.
If you have ever seen Stephen Spignesi’s book The Stephen King Encyclopedia you know what kind of book this is. While Spignesi listed all the places, things and people in all of King’s books, Furth does the same with just The Dark Tower books. She takes it a bit Furth(er) though. She also lists languages, maps and holidays from the series. Since it was originally intended to be used only by King, it is incredibly detailed and has information about everything you could ever want to know…except the conclusion of the tale. This is (as the long title implies) the first volume. There will also be a second volume, but that one won’t be out until November 2004 when the last book is out.
So, this is a book to look things up in. It’s not the type of book that you read from cover to cover even if you could do that or wanted to. I imagine that it’s directed to the really hardcore King fans out there and not the average reader, even though they also could have use of it from time to time.
One thing that I found very nice about The Concordance was that Furth has separated the original Gunslinger and the revised one that was released earlier this year. She lists things from both editions with a comment that clears up what was in the original and what has been changed for the revised one. Good job!
What about negative things about The Concordance? Are there any? Well, there are some, even though they aren’t big ones. Some pages look like they are overcrowded with information, which makes them somewhat difficult to read. Maybe it’s just me who isn’t that used to reading these types of books, but some of the pages could have used a bit more space between the lines, if you ask me. I was also hoping for a few more maps. As it is now, there are only three, which isn’t much considering all the places Roland and his ka-tet have been to in the first four volumes.
Another thing I hope for is that when both volumes one and two have been released, there will be a single volume. Why? Well, I imagine that there will be a great deal of things, places and people that appear in both, say, books three and six. Will they then be mentioned in both volumes or just in one? Will you have to first look in volume one and then volume two to get the whole story, since nothing from books five through seven are revealed in volume one? Lots of questions, and I guess we’ll have to wait and see. What’s certain is that volume one is out now and a second volume will be out in November 2004.
Lilja’s final words about The Dark Tower – Concordance, Volume 1
If you’re a die-hard fan of The Dark Tower series you should definitely get The Concordance. If you think the books are a good read, but nothing more, you should definitely consider getting The Concordance. If you haven’t read any of The Dark Tower books and don’t plan to, don’t get The Concordance. In other words, most of you should go out and get this book right now!
Oh, one last thing. If you haven’t read the first four parts in the series you should read them before you read The Concordance. Otherwise, things might be spoiled for you…and we don’t want that to happen, do we?
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The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla
Posted: November 3, 2003
So, it’s finally here: the fifth installment of The Dark Tower…six years after Wizard and Glass was released. Luckily, it will only be about nine months until installment six is in our hands.
The plot of Wolves of the Calla is that Roland and his ka-tet are asked to help the folks at Calla Bryn Sturgis to stop the Wolves from stealing their children. Every twenty (or so) years the Wolves come for one child in a set of twins. The children are later returned “roont,” stupid and destroyed. They grow to abnormal size and they die early.
The problem is that the Wolves seem impossible to kill and they have weapons that the folks of the Calla don’t. It seems like an uneven battle until Roland and his ka-tet find the wolves’ secret…
In Wolves of the Calla we also get to meet Father Callahan (notice the similarities between his name and the town’s name) from ’Salem’s Lot. There is quite a lot about Father Callahan and about what he has done since ’Salem’s Lot in the book. It’s interesting to read, though, so it’s no problem. Callahan is also woven into the bigger plot when King places him at the waystation in The Gunslinger (book one).
Something that plays a really big role in Wolves of the Calla is Black 13. This is one of the glass balls that make up The Wizard’s Rainbow that is mentioned in Wizard and Glass (there, Reah of the Coos has one of the glass balls, not Black 13 though). Black 13 is the most powerful of them all, and it makes Roland and the others go todash. To go todash means that they travel without going through a door, but enter other worlds like ghosts. The gang returns to New York around the time Jake finds the rose (book three).
We also get to meet Andy the Messenger Robot. This is a robot that has survived through time and now mostly runs errands, tells the folks of Calla their future and sings songs. I say mostly because Andy has one really important task. He is the one that tells the folks of the Calla when the Wolves are coming…
Besides the battle with the Wolves, we also learn more about Susannah’s pregnancy (which we got a hint about in book three) and, as usual, the book ends with a cliffhanger. The questions after reading Wolves of the Calla are many, and hopefully they will be resolved in the next book.
King also provides some interesting background information to the story in general in Wolves of the Calla. We get to know a bit more about what happened to Roland’s childhood friends. Wolves of the Calla also ties a lot of the early events together, and it feels like King is making an effort to make all five of the books feel like one story; it’s done in a superb way. I really like it!
As usual, King is also adding in connections to himself and other books.
On the menu at The Manhattan Restaurant of the Mind, King himself is mentioned as one of today’s specials. King said he would be a character in the series and this might be it, but there may also be a lot more of King in the upcoming books. My guess is that we will see more of Stephen King as a character in the two last books but…as I said, that is just me guessing. There is also mention of ’Salem’s Lot as a book by none other than Stephen King.
Further connections to King’s work are:
Claudia y Inez Bachman is now the author of Charlie the Choo Choo. She is, of course, the wife of the late Richard Bachman. Low Men, Regulators and Big Coffin Hunters are also mentioned.
Lilja’s final words about The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla
After reading Wolves of the Calla I feel that this is one of the strongest books in the entire series. I know, I know, that is how you feel about most books just after you have read them, right? But I have a feeling that this time it’s true. Wolves of the Calla is a really strong book and probably one of King’s best ever.
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The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla (audio)
Posted: December 10, 2003
I have just finished listening to the audio edition of Wolves of the Calla. I
t’s a really long book. It’s on twenty-two CDs and the running time is twenty-six hours. In other words, make sure you stock up on batteries for your Walkman before you start listening to it!
I think George Guidall does a great job reading Wolves of the Calla. There has been some criticism of his reading on the Internet and he has often been compared to Frank Muller, who is considered to be the King audiobook narrator. I must say that I don’t really think that is fair, either to Frank or to George, because they really have two different styles when they narrate a book. They are both really good narrators in their own ways and can’t be compared.
As I said in the review of the book version, Wolves of the Calla is one of the best parts in The Dark Tower series so far, so the book is pure joy listening to. It’s rather interesting (and totally logical) to find that “read” has been changed to “listened” in the audio edition, like when (in the forward) King (or in this case, George) says that if you haven’t “listened” to the first parts you should do that first. In the book edition, it’s if you haven’t “read” the first parts. As I said, it’s totally logical, but I never noticed it before now.
King himself reads the afterword to the book, and as far as I understand, that isn’t how it’s usually done. In my experience it’s the narrator who reads the entire book, including foreword and/or afterword. Having it read by King himself is an extra treat. I have said it before, and I know that not everyone agrees with me, but King has a voice that works really well on tape.
Lilja’s final words about The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla (audio)
Some years ago I hadn’t listened to many audiobooks, but now I almost always read the book and listen to the audio version. I find it really nice to have someone tell me a story, and I’m getting really hooked on audiobooks. So, if you’re not that familiar with audiobooks, give them a chance. You might find yourself hooked like I did. It’s not a bad thing to be hooked on something. If you’re going to try it you might as well start with Wolves of the Calla. It will be hard for you to find a better book to start with, that’s for sure!
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The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah
Posted: June 1, 2004
Song of Susannah starts where Wolves of the Calla ends. You really feel like King wrote them pretty much back-to-back. The Mannis are helping Roland and his ka-tet to open the door in the Cave of the Voices so that they can find Susannah and Calvin Tower. Jake, Callahan and Oy are sent to New York to try and find Susannah, and Eddie and Roland go to Bangor where Tower is with his friend, Aaron Deepneau.
In the book there are three parallel stories. In one, Susannah and Mia are struggling to keep the baby from arriving too soon. Mia wants to get to the right place before the labor starts, and Susannah wants to go the other way.
A turtle plays a big role in Song of Susannah. One thing that got my attention is that King refers to it as “skolpadda,” which is the Swedish word for “turtle.” At one point a person called Mathiessen Van Wyck (a Swedish United Nations diplomat) tries to get the turtle from Susannah. I don’t know why King is using the Swedish name for “turtle,” and it may not mean anything to the story, but since I’m Swedish it’s kind of funny. By the way, Mathiessen Van Wyck is not a Swedish name; don’t know why King chose to call him Swedish?
The second story is about how Jake, Callahan and Oy try to find Susannah and save her. Upon arriving in New York they learn that 2 Hammarskold Plaza is now built on the vacant lot where the rose was/is.
The last story is about how Roland and Eddie go after Tower and Deepneau. They end up in what they believe is the world closest to the Dark Tower: Bangor, Maine; July 9, 1977. Here they find out about something called “walk-ins.” A “walk-in” is a person who just shows up from nowhere, probably like when they arrived from Cave of the Voices. They also run into a fellow named Stephen King…
We all know who King is and what his relation is with The Dark Tower series, but I don’t think even he imagined that what happens in Song of Susannah would happen when he started the series.
The book ends with a fictional (at least, I think so) journal by King that goes between July 12, 1977 and June 20, 1999, which has a rather surprising ending.
This time I also got a chance to look at the illustrations, and I must say that even though they are quite different, they are really good. I especially like the one called …Ka Comes To Me.
Lilja’s final words about The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah
Personally, I think it feels a bit strange that King is a character in the story. I’m torn between what I think about it. One part of me thinks it’s pretty neat and another part of me doesn’t like it at all. I guess I’ll have to wait for the last part (only three more months) until I decide for sure…
One thing is for sure though. The wait for the last part will be pure horror! The end of Song of Susannah really sets the tone for the last part. I’m really dying to see how it will all end!
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The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah (audio)
Posted: July 7, 2004
Once again I have listened to a King book on audio CD, and once again I’m surprised over how much I like it. It always gives an extra dimension to the book after reading the actual book. I still haven’t listened to a book before I’ve read it, but that is simply because I have always gotten my hands on the books before the audios. It would be interesting to listen to a book and then read it…but then I don’t think I can pass on a new book by King long enough to wait for the audio. (Clarification: The book and audio are released on the same day, but as a reviewer I get ARCs before the actual book’s release.)
Once again, it’s George Guidall who reads the sixth Dark Tower book, Song of Susannah, and as usual, he does a good job. Song of Susannah is on twelve CD’s, which is shorter than Wolves of the Calla (twenty-two CD’s), and is a fairly fast listen at only fourteen hours.
As usual, Guidall reads the book well, and contrary to what many others believe, I think that he does the different characters very well. He even brings Oy to life for me, and that says a lot. Besides portraying the characters well, I think he has a soft and nice voice that is very well-suited for narrating books; I guess it’s no coincidence that he has recorded more than eight hundred novels.
Song of Susannah is somewhat of a “middle-book” in the series. Even though there are many interesting plotlines and some really important events, it’s not getting us that much closer to an ending and/or the Tower. It’s more like a build up for the final one, released on September 21 (King’s birthday). (More thoughts on the story itself can be found in my review of the book.)
The only thing to do now is sit back and wait for September 21 to arrive. Then, once again, I’m going to take out my Walkman, insert the first CD of The Dark Tower 7, put on the headphones and sit back and enjoy the ride with King and Guidall as my guides…
Lilja’s final words about The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah (audio)
OK, I know that many of you don’t like the audiobooks, but believe me, I have had some really interesting mail from people saying that after listening to audiobooks (some copies won through this site) they are hooked on books on tape (or CDs) and will continue to listen to them. So, in other words, give it a chance. You won’t regret it.
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The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower
Posted: September 22, 2004
How do you review a book you don’t want to reveal anything about? A book you are scared to death that you will ruin for anyone who hasn’t read it yet? Well, I’m going to give it a try.
The book I’m talking about is, of course, King’s last part in The Dark Tower series, entitled The Dark Tower. Never has there been so much fear of reading spoilers for a King book before its release than now. And I understand why. After all, I didn’t want to know anything before I read it. This is the end of a tale that has been in the making for more than thirty years…
In The Dark Tower we get the conclusion of Rola
nd’s journey to The Dark Tower. Does he reach it? Do the people who travel with him reach it, and if so, do all of them reach it? The questions before reading this book are numerous, and I’m happy to say that most of them get straightened out.
In this book there is almost more action than in the first six combined. This book has everything. There is fighting, there are old friends and enemies as well as new. Good things happen and bad things certainly happen. And, of course, you get the ending of the tale!
As I said, this is where The Dark Tower saga ends. This is the last book in the series, and my guess is that the ending will be discussed as well as argued about between the fans for quite some time. Not that it should come as a surprise to anyone. No matter what ending King would have written there would have been people who liked it and those who didn’t. Personally, I love it. The Dark Tower saga couldn’t have ended in a better way. That is all I dare say about it.
If you haven’t read the fist six parts you should go out and get them ASAP. If you have read them…you’re ready for the last one—the ending.
Lilja’s final words about The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower
This is one of King’s best books to date. Of course, you’ll need to have read the first six books to appreciate it, but if you have, you are going to just love it. If you haven’t, you should go out this instant and get all seven parts!
Someone told me that the best way to review this book was to simply say, “GO OUT AND READ THIS BOOK!” so that is what I’m going to do…GO OUT AND READ THIS BOOK!
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The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower (audio)
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