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Roland, Jake, Susannah, Eddie, and Oy- bound together in a quest for the Dark Tower. Their quest was considered to have been finished nine years ago with the publication of the seventh volume, titled The Dark Tower. Although only Roland made his way to the Tower, the series finale made for an exciting read, and it is a fitting capstone to a fascinating and thrilling series.

... Except it's not the final book. Last year, King wrote and published another book chronicling the quest for the Tower. Although published eight years after the The Dark Tower, it acts as a sort of bridge between the fourth book, Wizard and Glass, and the fifth book, The Wolves of the Calla.

I can't wait to read it. I absolutely love the characters, even though this time I know what their fates are. Eddie will still be shot to death, Jake will still be run over by a van, Susannah will still abandon the quest for New York, Oy will still die protecting Roland from Mordred, and Roland will still climb the Dark Tower, only to be sent back to the beginning of the series.

It will be awesome. Why not? It's a Stephen King novel... It's guaranteed to be good.

Long days and pleasant nights,
Neal

Review: The Dark Tower VII- The Dark Tower

      Alright... It's over. I hate finishing good series, if only because I love living along with the characters, and finishing means I can't be with them anymore (almost sounds insane, right?). My life, since spring break early this year, has been nearly dominated by Roland, Eddie, Jake, Susannah, and Oy. I'm honestly wondering what it'd be like not reading about their adventures- because they have been such a constant force in my life. Anyway, how do I begin reviewing this 1000+ page book?

      Let's start with the positives. I could go on and on. The character growth among these five is stunningly amazing- even Oy, despite being a dog/raccoon- type creature (called a billy-bumbler). Of course, Eddie is my favorite character by far... His jokes were timely and awesome, and brought an element of hilarity to bad situations. The fulfillment of Roland's dream, laying his eyes on the Dark Tower, was great. Roland's being thrown back to the beginning of the series is a concept I find fascinating, and has me thinking. How many times has he been through the journey? After Susannah's, Eddie's, and Jake's reunion in New York, will they appear in Roland's next journey? Is the Crimson King still trapped as a set of eyes on a balcony of the Tower, or is he back in action? Have the Beams been permanently saved, or will Roland have to stop the Breakers again? Will Roland have to face off with Mordred again? The questions go on and on.

      Here come a few things that set me off a bit. One, I feel like that with the amount of energy put into the fact that Mordred was this sort of evil guy that would help destroy the Tower (or Roland), his death seemed a bit quick and inconclusive to me. I almost felt a bit let down by the fact that he posed so much of a threat throughout this book, yet he didn't really hinder Roland and friends much at all (except for the huge sidequest he caused, in Song of Susannah, but that's another book). Two: I'm still not sure how I felt about the inclusion of lightsabers  (Although those were in Wolves of the Calla), exploding snitches, and all the pop culture references that were put in to move the plot along. (Hey Jude is popular in both worlds?) I'm left wondering whether King had lost inspiration at these parts, or was trying to tie our world and Roland's together.

      All in all, I loved the series. I have it up there with Lord of the Rings as a series (although there's no way King matched the extensive background that Tolkien put into Middle-Earth). Might I add how coincidental it is that I finished the series on the nineteenth of November? (The number nineteen is a big plot element throughout the series.)

Long days and pleasant nights,
Neal

Eddie Dies! (Dark Tower Spoiler Alert)

      If you haven't guessed through my previous posts, I am a huge Stephen King fan, and I'm reading the final book of his Dark Tower series, titled The Dark Tower. My absolute favorite character (I mentioned this in another post) is Eddie Dean, an ex-heroin addict from Co-Op City, in New York, New York. Drawn into Roland's world from the New York of 1987 through the use of 'doors' that transcend time and space, he is initially wary of Roland, and in fact attempts to kill him for not letting him through another of these 'doors', as he is suffering from heroin withdrawal and wants a 'fix'.
      Over time, though, Eddie does accept Roland as 'Dinh', high speech for leader of their 'Ka-tet', a group brought together by 'Ka', an equivalent of destiny or fate. Through their adventures, and my reading of these, I have fallen in love with Eddie (not in a weird way). With his attitude towards life, and his often- hilarious jokes, puns, and timely references to pop culture (up to 1987, the year he's from), I've come to view him as someone not just from a book, but a friend walking with me on the path of life.
      Unfortunately for all, readers and Ka-tet members alike, during the battle of Algul Siento, Eddie took a bullet to his head. His death was not sudden, but slow and drawn out. thankfully, though he did get a final word in to Susannah, Jake, and Roland before he stepped into the void.
      I think I've said enough- I don't want to reveal too much.

Long days and pleasant nights,
Neal

Literature By Character

      In this post I'll list out some of the characters I've loved the most throughout my readings. They won't be in any particular order, just a general list of my favorites.

• Eddie Dean (Dark Tower series, Stephen King)- I really like Eddie for millions of reasons, but mainly because he has such a dark past to him, yet he's such a purely awesome and hilarious person... and I feel like if I would have acted much like he did had I been put in all the bizarre situations that Roland put him through. 
• Samwise Gamgee (The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien)- He's such a great, loyal friend who never leaves Frodo's side. Of all the characters in LotR, I've always identified with him the most, with all the motivations that drive him.
• Johannes Verne (The Lonesome Gods, Louis L'Amour)- He's well-read, he's sure of himself, and there's something definite about him that I identify with. I genuinely wanted to see what he would do next.

       Yeah, it's a short list... I'll make another post when I think of more.

Long days and pleasant nights,
Neal