Lives near the Chernobyl contaminated zone, and feeds on unwary human visitors.

I am an avid reader and this post is a tribute to my latest literary discovery – Stephen King’s The Dark Tower saga. It consists of seven novels, and took him 22 years to complete – but completed it he did, unlike some other fantasy epics. I was hugely annoyed (ok, and sad too) when Robert Jordan died just before finishing the last book in The Wheel of Time; But anyway, that’s a different story.

The Dark Tower is completed, and it is by far the biggest and most epic work by King. The Gunslinger, which is book one of the saga, really grabbed my attention. It was exciting, epic, and a wee bit scary. I’m completely in the dark as to how the story develops beyond that first novel, so my musings here don’t apply to the whole saga.

What really strikes me is the insane mixture of genres. King puts our Gunslinger in a setting reminiscent of the American Old West and indeed the protagonist himself is very typical of that environment. However, it quickly becomes evident that there is something sinister and supernatural at work – it ain’t no cowboy movie :-). There is a certain priest, rather Satanic and ungodly in his behaviour. He is the source of certain rotting individuals, but I won’t reveal more because that spoils the fun. Suffice it to say he’s not a good guy.

Just when you feel it’s clear where things are going, the book unveils a deeper layer of reality. It appears in bits and pieces, in the memories, dreams, and idle musings of our Gunslinger. As the novel progresses this alter reality becomes very extensive, it gives an epic ring to the story. Individual events connect and start to make sense. You get a really good picture of the past of our hero, what drives him, what’s likely to happen next… past and present merge. Very crafty. There are no lovely elves, and just about one magical forest, but still it feels like epic fantasy. Plus the guns.

This is King we’re talking about, so be prepared for an oppressive read. Our Gunslinger is faced by a desolate world, idiotic,  fanatic enemies. Blood and guts are surprisingly scarce, without being totally absent. There’s a fair dosage of horror. There is also a secondary character, which comes to show just how much of an anti-hero is the protagonist. Pretty hard choices and no real happy end – or perhaps I’m wrong? You’ll have to read it and decide for yourself.

Great book.

This is my version of a psychic octopus; See the hi-rez version.

On the other side it says “How quickly the pleasant days have passed” :-)