stephen king's "cameo" **SPOILERS**

[cricketchirps]

I am hoping that SK will possibly read this, however...I just felt the need to say this:

I know you do a cameo in most of your movies...very cool I might add, however a cameo in your book?

It seems to me that you think that "us" your "constant readers" would not be able to make the connections all on our own....you had to spell it out for us....BORING. It ruined the awe and wonder of Roland's world when he came face to face with you sai King. I am re-reading the series again after many years of it collecting dust on my shelf. I was with you until the end of Wolves of the Calla, but it seems you lost your train of thought, figured you had to end it somehow, and added in unnecessary text to make the book longer. If you take out all the lame comments about Roland twirling his fingers to hurry up, you loose at least a chapter right there!

If all your books are truly connected somehow, make us work for it! Make us figure it out!!

Please don't write to write....write because you have the passion to make that Gan come forth from your navel and write true!

Thanks,
"Constant Reader"

[blunthead]

I did not got get an impression of sK losing anything of the DT story, and found the character of Stephen King an inspired surprise and idea dealt with in a unique way. I love the idea of an author appearing in his own work. It was interesting and humorous to read how sK sees and thinks of himself, or at least his choice of it.

I think the last thing sK needs to do is add text for its own sake; I certainly never got that impression either.

While understanding some CRs will not enjoy some sK works, I still think some us don't yet have the stamina required to enjoy finishing those works. Then we feel frustrated and unfairly blame him. That's just what I think.

[JohnDalglish]

Hi,

Welcome to the MB, and keep posting!

Yes, And What Blunthead Said IMO

But it does divide opinion, personally I think it's great!

Long days and pleasant nights

[GNTLGNT]

Seriously? You missed the entire concept of his "cameo"...but I won't belabor you with the details, coz they're just "lame"...

[dsurrett]

I'm not sure if this would be considered a spoiler, but King's appearance in the latter DT books is much more than a cameo. Keep on reading, as usual with his seemingly random characters and events, he brings it all together. You have to think of the DT series as one long book.

[cricketchirps]

i've read the series in it's entirety before. it's just this re-read that has gotten my feathers ruffled...why exactly, i can't say, but felt the need to express it.

[sam peebles]

I actually agree with cricketchirps. Having Stephen King in the story really pulled me out of Roland's universe, it definitely didn't sit well with me. Also agree about the twirling the finger thing. He seemed to cry a lot, too, and his language changed to the archaic Thee's and Thou's. I understand the necessity of character development, especially over seven long books, but Roland from Wolves was a far cry from the same Roland from Wizard and Glass. And the entirety of Wolves seemed like a shaggy dog story in comparison to the anticlimactic ending. It started off strong, and then just fizzled out...

[Daniel Lee Severn]

I thought that his cameo in DT and the reason for it enhanced the entire series and all of his works thereafter. It made complete sense to me, The Dark Tower is a series beyond comparison. No other author would have the ability or the balls to write like SK, with the exception of maybe Straub, of course, Straub is a unique writer in his own right.

[bluesology]

I get why some readers don't like King's addition as a character in the series. I'm certainly not one to tell anyone that they should or shouldn't like something. To each their own. But I take exception with the argument that King gave up on the story, or that he was being lazy or was trying to make the writing easier for himself. The story that was written between books five and seven was extremely complex with multiple divergent narratives taking place on multiple planes of existence. Just the work it had to take to keep all of that straight was impressive in my opinion.

I think that part of what contributes to this was how quickly the last three books came out compared to the first four. I think it made the last books seem more rushed - or that King was just trying to get the series done. Maybe if the books were released over a shorter period of time at more regular intervals, like the Harry Potter books for example, maybe people wouldn't feel this way as strongly about WOTC, SOS and TDT.

And as for the finger twirling comment - I get where you're coming from but my experience had been that repetition of phrases and descriptions is King's style - he does it all over the place, not just in the Dark Tower books.

[Aericanwizard]

Unfortunately, due to some loose-lipped friends, I knew that Sai King would appear in the later novels (luckily, I stopped talking to them about the Tower before they could spoil the ending ). At first, I felt very much as cricketchirps did. But as I got to think about it, Sai King has been writing himself into his books for years, all the way back to Ben Mears in Salem's Lot and Jack Torrance in The Shining (I can't remember a writer in Carrie). Furthermore, it actually drew me closer to Roland's Story, because the Tower was in control of a world so much like ours. Just like Eddie had his uncanny deja vu moments in Topeka, I felt that this world was like mine, but not quite the same. I'm sure it was cathartic for Steve to write comically about his accident, and to joke that the Crimson King was out to get him, but to me, it upped the uncanny, and started my spine tingling; if the Crimson King had minions in a world that was on a level of the tower that must be near-adjacent to mine, was my world safe?

And as for Roland's finger thing, I loved it (I sound like a raving sycophant, but trust me, I don't love everything about King's novels or even the Tower). Everyone has these little mannerisms that they do, often subconsciously; the fact that Roland did this over and over and over made him a little bit more real to me. I've recently found myself doing the same thing (the twirling finger) when I find myself impatiently waiting for something to finish, and if I catch myself, I can't help but smile.

Long days and pleasant nights.