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
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