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Lord Curufinwe |
Steven King - the dark tower |
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Did anyone read that? Its not about Tolkien, but this seemed to be a good place to post. Im currently at book 5 and I think the last time I was reading books
like that and wanted to go on with it, was indeed when I read Lotr 1000 years ago. So recommendations all over the place.
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Maeglin Black |
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Easily my favorite books of King's and one of my favorite sagas ever. I love high fantasy, but there was something about the apocalyptic cowboy aesthetic
of the Dark Tower that just totally drew me in (the AMAZING characters help, Flagg is such a great villain, and Roland is just pure manly badass). Even cooler
is that many of his books have direct ties to the series, as though it's the lynchpin of the entire King universe. Related books:
The Stand Eyes of the Dragon Everything's Eventual (the short story "The Little Sisters of Eluria" is a tale from Roland's younger days) Insomnia Things start to get really abstract in book 6, but stick with it. The last book is non-stop drama and action. My favorite of the lot was probably book 4, but they're all amazing. I'd be glad to keep discussing it with you as you progress! |
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Lord Curufinwe |
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Yes I know I read the sisters of eluria before the saga, because my sister told me to do so. And knowing many other books, I was also interested in the Flagg
connection. Eyes of the Dragon was a good book too. Before I read that, I thought Steven King only writes horror books, but fantasy is also something hes very
good at.
I never thought that cowboys will interest me in that kind of way, but Roland is indeed a pure manly badass. We could learn much from him. The saga also makes you think about our world and our technology a lot. What if there is something like an accident and all goes away. Sometimes I catch myself looking at some computer thing and think: what would Roland say about that? hehe. DONT WASTE PAPER! There were many parts I liked so far, I liked the Blaine the Mono part very much, because I always liked trains and the vision of a hypersonicspeedtrain was great. There is also some metalgroup, I dont remember which one, that was writing lyrics about the saga.
Last Edited By: Lord Curufinwe
03/16/09 15:51.
Edited 2 times.
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Maeglin Black |
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Lord Curufinwe wrote:It seems that only King's most hardcore fans are aware of how good The Dark Tower really is, because, as you say, he is known as a horror man. I've read the entire saga twice now and talking about it with you is making me want to read it again. Have you got the regular paperbacks, or did you manage to get your hands on the trades/hardcovers with the paintings? Blaine the Pain was one of the most insanely tense sequences I've ever read - I can't begin to imagine how pissed off people must have been when book III ended on such a harsh cliffhanger. The speed, the crazy shit they were seeing outside, the riddles...and that was their reward for barely getting out of Lud alive (argh, just remembered Tick Tock; what a cool fucking villain)! Humanity is always so caught up in what it can accomplish that it never stops to think if it should, and Roland's world is a scary example of what that kind of ambition can bring about. Like you pointed out, the books made me think about how much we take for granted here in the 21st century. I mean, the first thing Roland notices in our world is how much paper there is - that seems like a simple thing, but if we lost the ability/knowledge to manufacture it, it WOULD become a commodity more valuable than gold. I'm sure he would look at computers the same way he views all technology they find on their journey: mild curiosity tempered by decades of caution. There is wisdom in that approach...it's unfortunate so few come to the same realization. I think it was Demons & Wizards that did an album about The Dark Tower; "Touched By the Crimson King" or something like that. |
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Lord Curufinwe |
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Maeglin Black |
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Insomnia certainly was an interesting take on the Grim Reaper, wasn't it? It made me immediately think of psychics that claim they can see people's
auras, and how they're always a variety of colors. Perhaps somewhere out there, three little doctors really are snipping our lives short behind the scenes
- hell, I'd buy that before I conceded there was an invisible man in the sky that knows what I'm doing every second of every day.
I totally agree with you about Ticky's end in book IV, especially after King had gone through so much trouble to have Flagg show up and offer him a chance at revenge (to which Tick Tock answered with The Trashcan Man's token phrase in The Stand; "My life for you!"). He was so fucking deadly in Lud, and Roland shot him down like he was nothing in the glass palace (granted, Roland is perhaps the deadliest man on any level of the Tower, but still). Wasted potential for sure, but there are other dangers to come. To answer your question, it's never made completely clear, but Roland has been alive FAR longer than an ordinary human should be able to live, and many of the things he talks about, from the Fall of Gilead to the Battle of Jericho Hill happened a LONG time ago (this includes the deaths of Cuthbert and Alain), which means a huge stretch of time has passed between the adventure in Mejis and the events depicted in The Gunslinger. Also, when he catches up to Walter (The Man In Black) in the Golgotha and they hold palaver at the end of book I, decades and possibly even centuries have passed when he wakes up and finds Walter's skeletonized remains - enough time that even he, who seems to live outside the flow of time, looks noticeably older. Remember, because the beams are failing and the Tower is in danger of collapse, time flows differently in Mid and End-World, and as you'll see later on, not just for him. |
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Lord Curufinwe |
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Ah yes I forgot about the palaver time skip. And meanwhile I have read on in the book and Roland said himself that it was like 1000 years ago.
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Maeglin Black |
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I've read the entire series twice, and there's still a lot of stuff I don't understand (especially in book VI). Stories about time travel and
parallel realities have a way of tiring out my imagination at times, haha. Have you checked out Robin Furth's guide to the series?
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Lord Curufinwe |
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Yeah I have that guide too. Now after the fourth book I think I can read the first guide. (they are split in two here). But so far, there were not really many
weird things that I really needed to know to understand it.
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Maeglin Black |
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Haha, nice pic. I was inspired to change mine to something more Dark Tower-related, too. Nerd high five! *slap*
Yeah, the first 5 books are pretty self explanatory (though I did have some initial trouble with the re-appearance of Jake in book III), but shit starts getting really weird and metaphysical in the last two books, especially book VI, and there are a LOT of characters to keep track of in book VII. It's good that you already read Insomnia, it will help later on. I went back and read that and Black House (which also plays a rather large part in fleshing out the mythos) after finishing the Dark Tower, which made things a little more confusing. |
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Lord Curufinwe |
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*slap* Yeah I thought you will like it
Alright, when I come to those parts I'll let you know. |
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Maeglin Black |
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On a related note, JJ Abrams (the creator of Lost and Cloverfield) optioned the movie rights to The Dark Tower a while back. I think the only way they could
get it right is if they took the Harry Potter route and did a film for each book. I'd be curious to see if there's a market for R-rated
fantasy/sci-fi/western/horror/etc.
I have to admit certain
sequences would be pretty epic if done right on film (Roland blowing away every last person in Tull, the lobstrosities, Susannah taking down Shardik, the
gateway demon of Dutch Hill, Lud and Blaine, Roland vs. Flagg in the emerald palace). They'd better not fuck up the casting, though...no "Dane Cook
as Eddie Dean" bullshit. And the soundtrack had better be all Earth, all the time:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oLCHiEHuE4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TddY_s4GHg
Last Edited By: Maeglin Black
03/23/09 04:51.
Edited 1 times.
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Ungolianth |
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Hehe bad casting can really destroy the best of storys.. Its quite tragic a few times :P
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Lord Curufinwe |
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Hm I remember posting a reply here. I said those songs would definitely fit well. It has to be a more dark and raw movie, not the LotR jolly mordor scenes all
the time
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Maeglin Black |
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Lord Curufinwe wrote:Haha, agreed. It would HAVE to be R-rated (or whatever the European equivalents may be), if they pulled any punches with the violence or sexuality, it would totally fuck up the tone of the story. It's supposed to be dark and gritty - Mid World is a nasty place! And as Ungolianth pointed out, bad casting would totally destroy it before it ever got off the ground. Too bad Clint Eastwood is so old now, he would have been an ideal Roland. |
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Lord Curufinwe |
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aye
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Maeglin Black |
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Still reading Wolves of the Calla?
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Lord Curufinwe |
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oh yes. Im past the middle now, but the interesting part is yet to come
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Lord Curufinwe |
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im almost finished "song of susannah" by now, but honestly there was not one moment I found the story complicated or non-understandable. Too bad the
last two books are so thin
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Maeglin Black |
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Lord Curufinwe wrote:I was fine with the origins of Mordred, as convoluted a process as that was. I was fine with Father Callahan's multi-dimensional travels through a thousand Americas. It was Stephen King's appearance in the story that absolutely baffled me. Is Stephen King, serving The White, fighting the forces of chaos and The Red using fictional characters in a story he's receiving from a god? Is he merely keeping a record of something happening on another level of the tower? Does that mean everyone we've met in the various realities are elements of King/Gan's story? Is that why his reality was the "keystone" reality? laksjdf;alskdlkafjsd;flksjdfs;dlkfjasd;lkfj
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Lord Curufinwe |
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I really didnt care about that point. Maybe because everything that was going on, was for me at least something thats not completly away from my own sight on
the universe, gods, parallel worlds. I think it really doesnt matter, what was influencing what. Because the higher thing is more important. On the worlds
everything is connected, but the white is the most important. Imagine having a dream, that comes true, except the dream can also influence you (king). If the
keystone reality is just because of him, is a good question, but i think thats not so important, because every other person is as equal important, and Im not
even sure if King himself really thought about it. Thats something like believing in a religion, everyone can see it different and discussing about it will
bring no point, so he just left it over to the reader IMO.
Last Edited By: Lord Curufinwe
05/07/09 14:26.
Edited 2 times.
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