The Wind Through The Keyhole

[uberreiniger]

So I just finished reading Stephen King's latest Dark Tower story, The Wind Through The Keyhole. I keep wanting to call it The Wind That Shakes The Barley (indeed I almost typed it as such just now,) after the Irish folk song, which through some machination of ka I have been listening to a lot lately. Thank you, Loreena McKennit.

Moving on, at first I was disappointed when I found out that the eagerly-awaited new Dark Tower novel was instead another "Story Time With Roland" novel. This disappointment was unjustified. You can see King's progression as a writer between Keyhole and the abysmally paced behemoth that was Wizard and Glass. I think it's one of the prettiest and most emotional stories that he has ever written. If you enjoyed the "fairy tale" storytelling voice he used in Eyes of The Dragon you see it emerge again here, but in what I felt was a more polished and refined form.

Dark Tower veterans might look at the newly-revealed episodes from Roland's past and feel like King is ret-conning a sentimentality into Roland that he wasn't capable of until he met his latest ka-tet. I think what King is doing, however, is very subtly showing how Roland's new friends have removed the layers of emotional numbness that have formed during his long and traumatic life and are allowing him to remember that there was, in fact, a time when he was a more nurturing person.

There was one tiny thing that bothered me. Perhaps folks who have read The Dark Tower I-V can help me out. So in this latest story, Roland tells us that "The Wind Through The Keyhole" is his favorite story from his childhood and that some of his fondest memories are of his mother reading it to him. He has every word of it memorized. But here's the thing: this supposed fairy tale includes the Crimson King, North Central Positronics, and it even mentions a Dogan which becomes important not too many days after this story takes place. Yet I seem to recall that when he starts encountering references to these things in his real life he seems not to know what they are. Now Roland will be the first person to tell you that he's actually kind of dumb, but this is sloppy even by his standards. When you're wandering a dying world in search of the nexus of all realities, finding names from your favorite bedtime story attached to things that are trying to kill you is something that would make even the slowest person sit up and take note. Am I remembering these encounters wrong or is there something more I'm missing? Keep in mind I haven't read Volume VII yet, so no spoilers for that please.

Anyway it's a good, exciting, emotional book. It's motivated me to resume the quest for the Tower again. I've even dug out my Gunslinger icon to prove it. Very trig, Mr. King. Very, very trig indeed.

Comments

[whiskeychick.livejournal.com]

Good to hear. It's on my "to read" list; but, since I own the book I have to get through the library stuff first. :D

[triadruid.livejournal.com]

Crimson King is almost certainly a retcon because CK isn't mentioned in any of the first books, BUT the graphic novel/comics make it sound like he was around from the beginning of the 'John Farson' nonsense, just not very publicly. That one I can forgive, but it's sloppy.

If I remember correctly North Central Positronics first shows up in the encounter with Shardik (early in Wastelands). I don't think he was surprised... looking up the passage he evinces no surprise, but doesn't give any backstory. "something from the latter days" he says, very matter-of-factly.

I admit I have no memory of Dogans whatsoever.

[uberreiniger.livejournal.com]

Actually I want to say that the first NCP artifact we see is the waystation water pump in The Gunslinger. Roland doesn't have much of a reaction to it. Also from The Gunslinger, the woman that leads the town he eventually wipes out is pregnant with a child she heavily implies is the Crimson King's. A dogan is encountered in Wovles of the Calla but it's been so long since I've read it I can't remember its role in the plot.

[cygny.livejournal.com]

I didn't even know there was a new Dark Tower book out. If you hadn't told me it was better than Wizard and Glass, I might not have tried it even. Maybe I'll put it on my to read list after all. Curious what you will think of the last book of the series too.