The Dark Tower series

[dawnde]

When I first entered the dark tower world I was amazed. :eek2: It is a truly incredible act of imagination. Are there any more books to be added to the series is what I'm wondering? I thought I saw something the other day but I was in a hurry and can't remember the title.

[Moderator]

If you mean any full-length novels to be added after the 7th Dark Tower book, then there's nothing set to be published in the near future. There have been additions to the series in the form of the Dark Tower comics released by Marvel which have been authorized by, but not written by, Steve.

[Lily Sawyer]

Ms. Mod, I just read your link to how The Dark Tower series references several of Mr. King's previous works...very interesting, given that I haven't read the Tower series yet.

There was one thing that caught my eye:

"Jake sees elves peering from beneath peaked green caps with strange, sly smiles on their faces in the wallpaper on the house on Dutch Hill. "

-I know exactly what Mr. King's inspiration was: those creepy Annalee dolls and Christmas ornaments. This is what I imagine those elves in the Tower books to look like:

http://www.annaleegallery.com/product.html?t_q=502308

-Knew you'd sleep better tonight knowing that.

[arowhena]

I have a question.
Is there or is there not a relationship between C.S. Lewis’s unfinished story “The Dark Tower” and Stephen King’s “Dark Tower” series?
I read only part of “The Gunslinger” about twenty years ago, put it down and never picked it up again.
I recently read C. S. Lewis’s “The Dark Tower” and something gelled in my brain that I’ve seen “something” like this before. And in my mind’s eye I recalled King’s “The Gunslinger.”
Anyone?

[Moderator]

It wasn't a factor for Stephen that I've ever heard or seen him mention. His inspiration came from "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came" by Robert Browning and The Lord of the Rings.

[arowhena]

It wasn't a factor for Stephen that I've ever heard or seen him mention. His inspiration came from "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came" by Robert Browning and The Lord of the Rings.


Thanks, this has bothered me for some time. I went and bought “The Gunslinger, “and will read it over the next few days. Afterward, I’ll reread C.S. Lewis’s “The Dark Tower.” I’ll let you know what I find. Perhaps I’ve imagined a connection. We will see.

[plgordon]

We have been teased for a couple of years with rumors of a movie!!

[arowhena]

<quote>We have been teased for a couple of years with rumors of a movie!!</quote>

I hope not.
I’ve never understand why we in the United States insist on sullying good writing by making it into movies.
Is it to attract those that cannot read? If so, I say it’s damn poor reason.

[McKinney]

I am currently reading these books. I am on the third one and I enjoy them a lot. I was suprised that Stephen King would make a series of books but I am glad he did.

[cjconover]

I would love a epic movie to the Dark Tower series. But it could never be the same as the books. I don't know if you read Harry Potter but some much was left out. good movies IF you never read the books. The castle was different and among other things that where not the same it each movie. Now if it could be done LOTR style, I am in. :biggrin2:

[arowhena]

Well, I read the Gunslinger (new version) and my answer is not there. I enjoyed the book and so I am now forced to read the next book to find what I’m looking for (I’m going to stick to the new versions. I like the drawings).

Using the hawk as a weapon (by throwing it), Steven King has used this before (or again depending the timeline of his writing). Bobby Garfield throws a duck at a pervert in “Low Men in Yellow Coats.” Also, in the same story (“Low Men in Yellow Coats”) the character of Ted Brautigan mentions the Gunslinger and his closeness to the tower.

[arowhena]

I think a movie of this magnitude would be incredibly difficult to follow and understand. My only criticism with the “Gunslinger” is that there are too many “flashbacks.” I can already tell (without knowing anything about the other books) is that this story is complex and the only way to get something like this into a visual genre (and do it well) is through a miniseries (“The Stand” was done this way).

[JohnDalglish]

Well, I read the Gunslinger (new version) and my answer is not there. I enjoyed the book and so I am now forced to read the next book to find what I’m looking for (I’m going to stick to the new versions. I like the drawings).

Using the hawk as a weapon (by throwing it), Steven King has used this before (or again depending the timeline of his writing). Bobby Garfield throws a duck at a pervert in “Low Men in Yellow Coats.” Also, in the same story (“Low Men in Yellow Coats”) the character of Ted Brautigan mentions the Gunslinger and his closeness to the tower.

Hi

Aye, read on, and DON'T open any DT threads!

'Low Men in Tellow Coats' is a DT story and it's possible you may meet Ted Brautigan again. And the Low Men.

But PLEASE don't risk any spoilers!

Long days and pleasant nights

[gniknehpets]

I second what John said! Don't go there! Stay away from all DT threads until you're finished with the whole series as there are spoilers everywhere. You are in for the ride of your life. I laughed, wept and threw the book on the floor in anger but I am in the middle of reading the series for the 3rd time. It is one of the greatest adventures ever written. Enjoy!

[Ben E Gas]

I think a movie of this magnitude would be incredibly difficult to follow and understand. My only criticism with the “Gunslinger” is that there are too many “flashbacks.” I can already tell (without knowing anything about the other books) is that this story is complex and the only way to get something like this into a visual genre (and do it well) is through a miniseries (“The Stand” was done this way).

I loved 'the stand' novel, but the miniseries fell far short. If 'the dark tower' is done that way I hope it is on HBO or some network that doesn't have to cut all of the adult themes out.

[friend of Oye]

Making a movie of the "Tower' would be empty just like Lord of the Rings. Though excellent movies not even close to the depth and texture of the books. I'll treat Tower like I do LOTR, pick it back up and re-read every 4 or 5 years.

friend of Oye

[The Darkening]

We have been teased for a couple of years with rumors of a movie!!

THAT would be something special indeed!

[randallFlaggfan1]

I did not realize that C.S. Lewis wrote a story entitled, The Dark Tower.

[blunthead]

I did not realize that C.S. Lewis wrote a story entitled, The Dark Tower.

According to Wikipedia, Lewis is credited with an unfinished novel titled The Dark Tower (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dark_Tower_%281977_novel%29).

[arowhena]

Yes. C.S Lewis also wrote, in my opinion, what must be the bloodiest horror story ever, “That Hideous Strength.” If you ever get the chance read Lewis’s books known as the “Space Trilogy:” “Out of the Silent Planet,” “Perelandra,” and “That Hideous Strength.” These books have an ingenious twist – which you won’t figure out until the last few chapters of “Out of the Silent Planet.” Keep an open mind, I say.
The chain bookstores are currently selling this series – I guess because of the success of the Narnia movies. But they are probably completely unaware of the content. Naked men, naked women, murder, idolization to a severed head etc… Really, great stuff!:grinning:
Personally, I think “Perelandra” is the most inventive book written in the last century.

[arowhena]

On another note, I’m half way through the “Waste Lands.” I’m intrigued by the use of Shardik. It seems an odd reference; though I recognized it immediately. I guess now, I’ll have to dig that book out of my attic!

[arowhena]

Okay fellow gunslingers, I got issue…
When I read I read in temporal mode -- that is to say I like to know where I am and when I am. And here I am, early fall, sitting on my back-deck finishing the last few pages of “The Waste Lands” and I just want to yell: “BLAINE YOU’RE GOING THE WRONG WAY!”
I first noticed this oddity in “The Gunslinger.” However, that oddity was supported in “The Drawing of the Three,” so I decided that it was simply a quirk of Mid-World and not a mistake by the author or his editors (God forbid!)
Which way is Roland following the Man in Black? South-East. What ocean does Roland find himself on? The Western Sea. The Beam, from its Portal, defended by Shardik, goes where? South-East.
Therefore The Tower is, presumably, South-East of Roland, his Ka-tet, and the reader’s position. This means that we are all North-West of The Tower.

If you walk south-east from any position on the globe you will never find yourself on a “western” ocean unless that is the oceans proper name. Think about it!
And now the bunny-trail -- Lud to Topeka -- “…KEEPS FIRMLY SOUTHWEST – ALONG THE PATH OF THE BEAM…” (“The Waste Lands,” p.404, Plume (new edition) 2004)

Obviously I’m missing something. Maybe I’ll find out in the next book that Blaine really is taking them the wrong way (I don’t trust him either). Or Mid-World is so warped and old that the planet’s magnetic pole has reversed. Or maybe Mid-World is no longer ball-shaped but rather bowl-shaped instead. Maybe Mid-World is not even Earth but the mirror-image of Earth. Now that would explain the Western Ocean. But not Blaine – he would still be going the wrong way! But then, he’s insane -- right?

[Pucker]

You'll get no satisfactory answers to those questions here, arowhena, beyond "The world has moved on."

Folks hereabouts do not truck in the master's fallability.

It simply ain't addressed.

[arowhena]

You'll get no satisfactory answers to those questions here, arowhena, beyond "The world has moved on."

Folks hereabouts do not truck in the master's fallability.

It simply ain't addressed.


I’m sorry, but in the real world – saying “the world has moved on,” isn’t going to cut it. The real world is where we read about Mid-World, and so it should be addressed. And if it can’t be addressed here, at the authors own web-site, then where should it be addressed? As far as I’m concerned, if it’s broke then the master needs to fix it. Plain and simple!

It’s not about fallibility it’s about good editing. Are some writers just too good to edit? Are some publishers more interested in the money that comes from riding on a big-name author than making sure that they are putting out a good, high quality product?

In the documentaries section of the movie “The Lord of the Rings,” there is an interview with one of Tolkien’s publishers. The man said: when you receive a book written by an English Professor from Oxford University you don’t dare edit it.

That’s a shame I say, because both the “Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings” needed a good edit. The first chapter of the “Hobbit” comes to mind. And “The Lord of the Rings” is just too damn long! Boil me in oil for such sacrilege – but it is true!

So here are the facts: if you are travelling south-east to some point – then you are north-west of that point. And BLAINE, well he is just going the wrong way – and that’s all there is to it. Even the picture of Lud to Topeka is drawn west to east. Are these inconsistencies oversights or deliberate? That’s difficult to say after only three books read. I plan on reading the next book next month, so maybe I’ll get a better handle on it.

Don’t get me wrong. I am enjoying the story, but inconsistencies like this drive me bananas!

[krs72]

Back in 1989 I read " The Gunslinger " my first book by S. King and I was lost, I didn't know what to make of it. Then I read " The Stand " and I was blown away by it. I started reading the others like " Drawing of the Three " and " The Waste Lands " I've been hooked ever since . Each book adds another piece to the puzzle called " The Dark Tower ". My only regret is I haven't been able to keep up with his newer material since my kids been born .

[clouds]

I will be starting this series very soon, maybe a week or so (have to finish another book first). I recently finished The Talisman and Black House and am very much looking forward to The Dark Tower stories!!!

As for the comment regarding editing and directions and such... this is not uncommon. I have found similar issues in many books by many different authors. I have often wondered why editing is not taken more seriously; how could it be with the obvious mistakes in so many books? It happens in self-published books on up to major publishers. I am sure much goes by without readers even seeing it. In The Black House Fred is Judy's husband, Dale is the police chief (not Judy's husband); yet while Judy is having visions and seeing her supposed dead son's remains in her kitchen the text says that her husband- Dale, not Fred, is at work (in the story, Fred is clearly her husband). This happens another time soon after. I had to go back and re-read after a couple of pages because I knew it was wrong though it was subtle, I could have easily missed it. It doesn't always detract from the story, I just find it ridiculous.

[Connie Reader]

I’m sorry, but in the real world – saying “the world has moved on,” isn’t going to cut it. The real world is where we read about Mid-World, and so it should be addressed. And if it can’t be addressed here, at the authors own web-site, then where should it be addressed? As far as I’m concerned, if it’s broke then the master needs to fix it. Plain and simple!

It’s not about fallibility it’s about good editing. Are some writers just too good to edit? Are some publishers more interested in the money that comes from riding on a big-name author than making sure that they are putting out a good, high quality product?

In the documentaries section of the movie “The Lord of the Rings,” there is an interview with one of Tolkien’s publishers. The man said: when you receive a book written by an English Professor from Oxford University you don’t dare edit it.

That’s a shame I say, because both the “Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings” needed a good edit. The first chapter of the “Hobbit” comes to mind. And “The Lord of the Rings” is just too damn long! Boil me in oil for such sacrilege – but it is true!

So here are the facts: if you are travelling south-east to some point – then you are north-west of that point. And BLAINE, well he is just going the wrong way – and that’s all there is to it. Even the picture of Lud to Topeka is drawn west to east. Are these inconsistencies oversights or deliberate? That’s difficult to say after only three books read. I plan on reading the next book next month, so maybe I’ll get a better handle on it.

Don’t get me wrong. I am enjoying the story, but inconsistencies like this drive me bananas!


Saying a book is long and it's a sacrilege isn't truth, it's opinion. Some people think IT was took long, but in my Opinion, I could've read for another couple hundred pages...but I'm a glutton, I suppose.
And that is the truth.

If time is elastic, the world breaking down, its pretty safe to assume that the world's polarity has shifted, and more than once. The name of the Western Sea could very well be it's given name and not a directional one. Or it could be at one time that Sea was in the west and things, time, the old ones, magic...all of the above, could have changed that.
The world IS moving on.
And that is the truth.

~I see you very well.

[Connie Reader]

Also, when Jake and Roland are on the handcart under the mountains they come upon a switching station and a sign that says "Track 10 to the surface and points West".

[CCAL]

Connie:If time is elastic, the world breaking down, its pretty safe to assume that the world's polarity has shifted, and more than once. The name of the Western Sea could very well be it's given name and not a directional one. Or it could be at one time that Sea was in the west and things, time, the old ones, magic...all of the above, could have changed that.
The world IS moving on.
And that is the truth.
I agree Connie, Sk is constantly reminding us that the world is moving on therefore distance and even time is moving on as well. One has to accept this fact or simply close the book & go on to something else. This is SK's "truth" in this weirdly wild world. The beams, the beams-its the breakers in action.It is Ka.

[arowhena]

Sometimes the most obvious reason isalso the correct reason.

It may simply have been a mistake (or aseries of mistakes) and the editor either failed to question these errors or didn’tdare.