Follow the Dark Tower imaginatorium

     It takes a certain amount of imaginatorium to create a world that is not our own within our own minds. It takes a greater amount of imaginatorium to situate readers into the world, to make it believable, to make it alive, and to make it be a place that we might want to reside. To praise Tolkien for Middle Earth may be beating a dead horse to an even greater death but the brilliancy and history that lies within the pages of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and all the companions to the stories suggest that Tolkien is a master of imaginatorium. But being a master and in control of the fate of a world brings with it great responsibility. It requires a thorough telling, finding stories within the world to keep people interested and to know enough about the world to find new imaginatorium to share.
     With all that being said, it's a rarity that I attempt to read an entire series in succession with no breaks in between to read other things. The Lord of the Rings may be one of the few series I have done that with and there were only three books to read. But the month of November led me to the Dark Tower series by Stephen King. My goal was to read through all seven books within the month. However, business overtook me and I only made it through three of them but even then, I could feel an overwhelming sense of needing to pull myself out of the series just for a time to take a breath.
     Now let me address the reference to Tolkien before I go much further. In the new forward written by Stephen King, he gives credit to Tolkien as an inspiration for him to write his own epic story of fantasy and as far as I'm concerned, what he set out to do, he accomplished. The Dark Tower series follows Roland, the Gunslinger, the last of his kind on an epic journey to the Dark Tower. Although he is  unsure of what he will find or really what lies for him in the Dark Tower, that is his quest to journey across the Mid World to the Tower. Along the way, he comes across companions, Jake, Eddie, and Susannah, who slowly make Roland's quest a quest of their own.
    Although I only got through the first three books, I will continue the rest of the series because I did enjoy it. The first book, The Gunslinger, follows Roland as he's chasing after "the Man in Black" while searching for the Dark Tower. The books brings about more questions than answers as Roland's past and his upbringing are addressed but yet not fully stated. As he journeys, Roland meets a young boy named Jake who becomes his companion before he is sacrificed along the journey. In the end, Roland meets with the Man in Black who essentially warns him of his future and what lies ahead. Book Two, The Drawing of the Three, introduces Eddie and Detta/Odetta to Roland, two people from our world who are mysteriously and magically drawn into Roland's world and come alongside him in the journey. The third,The Wasteland, is the continuing journey of the three to the Dark Tower as they draw closer and also regain a companion, Jake. How he fits back into the story is unique and clever and a spoiler I won't delve into it.  The third book ends with a cliff hanger and I'm look forward to seeing where the series leads.
      As a fan of fantasy, I appreciate authors who have created their own worlds and histories within that world. What was interesting about this series was the mixture of modern Earthly things and the fantasy aspect. Books, songs, and references from our world have seeped into Mid World, besides just the people who join Roland. King adds modern technology like trains, planes and robots to a world that appears more Old West than anything else. Stories from our world come alive and twist in Roland's world which allows for an interesting cross cultural, cross world meeting point.  The three companions enter Roland's world from New York City at three different times in history, each having some kind of connection to each other in various ways.
       King does an excellent job of making the books multi-layered, throwing in obstacles for the characters, and creating his own world in which these characters operate. I won't go into much more detail as to not give up valuable plot points. But the series is definitely worth a read. The first book I definitely found the least dense and also the most flowery. King, in the forward, even explains the pretend pretentiousness that he had when he began the series. The second book, although begins in Roland's world, spends more time in our world as we meet Eddie and Odetta/Detta for the first time and then the third goes back to spending most of the time in Roland's world but bumping into Jake's at the same time. The books do get increasingly more intricate as the characters intermingle and the world of Roland the Gunslinger opens up. For what it's worth, the first and third were great, the second one wasn't my most favorite although it's essential for the series and the plot.
         My introduction to Stephen King has only been through a few of his "lighter" horror novels so I was excited to read something that was more fantasy than horror. It is a different kind of series for Stephen King and certainly a great amount of imaginatorium emanates from it as well. It's is a series I would recommend. There is a bit of language for forewarning but the world is well worth a trip. I believe I've had more conversations with various people when I was reading them then I have had with many other books and conversations that others have started with me because they've enjoyed the series themselves.  Give them a read and join Roland the Gunslinger and his quest for the Dark Tower.

Next Month: Sequels. Mostly due to the fact that I want to continue with the Dark Tower series, there are several books I've read over the course of the year which are merely the first in the series. I believe it's time to dive back into some of the best imaginatorium series of the past year.

The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King
The Gunslinger
The Drawing of the Three
The Wasteland
 

Before there were computers imaginatorium

     It was a time before long before facebook overtook the world. It was a time before computers, mobiles, talking films and other such modern conveniences we know and depend on. It was before the American Dream was fully conceptualized and before the world had seen even one World War. But the authors who wrote before all these things understood some valuable truths. They wrote about life, about issues that invaded society and those issues still carry weight and relevance today. The fact that many of these works have survived over the years is a testament not only to the story, but also to their style of writing and their voice.
     The month of October became books written before 1900. This stemmed mostly from not being able to finish all the books I wanted during my Gilmore Girls month. Although I didn't get through a ton of literature, I ended up with three fantastic authors; Charles Dickens, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Victor Hugo.
     Despite having read Oliver Twist and A Christmas Carol, not to mention having seen dozens of different productions and adaptations of these works, I never read A Tale of Two Cities. The opening being as famous as it is, I was eager to dive in it. Understanding the depression that pervades much of Charles Dickens' other works, I assumed that A Tale of Two Cities would fall into the same category, which it did. The book takes on an epic scope, spanning across the two cities (surprise!) of London and Paris. We watch as Dickens takes us back and forth between the two cities as a trial unfolds, a revolution occurs and the happy endings of some characters are forever forgotten.
      I really did enjoy A Tale of Two Cities. I found it almost an easier read than Oliver Twist and certainly preferred it more as well. There is still a rather large cast of characters to follow. But it is a classic and one that does need to be read. If you only read one novel by Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities would be the one I pick.
       As A Tale of Two Cities spanned across time and across two cities, Les Miserable set me into 19th century France and spanned over a course of several decades as well. For the epic scope that Victor Hugo set for Les Miserable, I found it a rather easy read. The writing style, although dense with fabulous vocabulary, is not as convoluted as I expected. It has a more playful and inquisitive tone, almost as if Hugo wasn't quite sure where his characters were going to take him yet it helped guide the reader through the book. The book, although massive, is split into manageable sections as we follow the story through different characters' perspectives.
     Having seen the musical, I enjoyed reading through the novel that inspired it. I actually adored this book; the tales of Jean Valjean, Cosette, Fantine, Marius, and Eponine were fleshed out and expanded in a way that the musical obviously didn't allow. Eponine's character was not as strong as I expected her to be nor her interaction with Marius and Cosette as involved which was a bit disappointing. Yet, Hugo effectively displayed a human drama amongst a revolution. The revolution wasn't the center point but rather the characters, how they interacted and moved through life. It's not a story about war but rather about people who happen upon a revolution. With as popular as Les Miserable the musical has become in recent years, especially with the new movie coming out with Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean, I was eager to read the book. Ultimately, it's another book well worth a read and before you look at the 1000 page book and decide against it, there are abridged versions to choose from if the unabridged seems too daunting. 

      The other book I read this month was a Sherlock Holmes mystery. Recently, there has been an influx of Sherlock Holmes reboots; the movie with Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law as Holmes and Watson, the BBC series with Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman as the pair and the most recent rendition, Elementary with Johnny Lee Miller and Lucy Lui (not my favorite but it's pretty good all the same). As the mysteries of Sherlock Holmes clearly still resonant with our society, I was eager to read the stories in their purity as originally written by Sir Arthur Conon Doyle. I chose A Study in Scarlet which begins the story of Holmes and Watson when they first meet and become roommates. A murder unfurls as the quirky but brilliant Sherlock Holmes discovers just how the murder occurred and who the culprit was.       The story and characters are brilliant. Looking at Sherlock through the mind of Watson was fantastic. The reader is able to see the eccentricities of Holmes but also come to understand the scientific mind of Watson as well. Watson proves just to be as strong of a character and good counterpoint to Sherlock. This particular tale of Sherlock Holmes took an interesting turn with the back story of how the victim and murderer came to be in London I didn't really see coming. What was fabulous is the solving of the crime rest not on what our modern minds have come to rely on but purely searching out clues and using logic. I enjoyed being able to track with Holmes and allow the answer to the mystery to unfold. I'm excited to read more Sherlock Holmes tales as well. I loved the writing style and how Conan Doyle concocted the mystery and the answer, yet never lost sight of his characters, their banter, or how they operated within the world.

     When I was younger, I read books written before the 20th century because I thought it made me sound pretentious and smart. I doubt I always understood half of what I read but I knew that reading those sorts of novels were good for me. As I've gotten older, it's not about being pretentious, it's about learning and discovering the gems hidden in those sorts of books. There are human issues we're still dealing with, stories that are still being told today that were written over a hundred years ago. The writing is good, the stories are keen, and all well worth a read. Don't let a dense book or perceived uppity language scare you because ultimately these works are for the "common people". They were written for the people of everyday society, not the most educated. They tell the tales of the people on the streets, working, and trying to make a living. So discover the magic and ordinariness in the imaginatorium. I promise it will be worth it.

And next month: I attempt to make it through an entire series in one month. What that series is will be a secret until that posting. :) Happy Reading!

A Tale of Cities- Charles Dickens

A Study in Scarlet – Arthur Conan Doyle
Les Miserable – Victor Hugo