Book Review: The Stand

Even though I’m still learning how to do basic things, like turn on the oven here at my new hobbit hole I figured it was time to take a break from taking things out of boxes and put something down on paper.  Or on screen, or whatever it is we blogger folks do. 

Anyway, I read an incredibly epic book recently.  A book so epic in fact, that I’m still struggling to form a coherent opinion about the whole thing.  Truth be told, I finished the book, (the book is “The Stand” by the way if you couldn’t tell from the title of this post), about a month ago, but I’ve been steadily pushing it back in the review queue in favor of things that are easier to tackle.  Page-wise I’m pretty sure this is the longest book I’ve ever read, and time-wise, it took me longer to read than it usually takes me to read a Steven Erikson Malazan book, so in other words, the better part of a month.  Needless to say, between the reading of The Stand, and now, I’ve had lots of time to mull it over and think about the book and what it means. 

First off, my expectations were pretty high going in because from everything I’ve ever heard about The Stand, it’s said to be Stephen King’s greatest book.  So… a book by Stephen King, one of my favorite authors, and it’s supposed to be his very best. Yup, recipe for high expectations.  Yes, this one was good, but King’s best?  I’m not totally convinced.  Aside from this and his Dark Tower series, I’ve only read a half dozen or so of his other works so the jury is still out on that one.  Regardless, it was a book I struggled with at times. 

For those who haven’t yet read the book, The Stand takes place in the early 90’s when a brutal flu epidemic sweeps its way across the planet decimating ninety-nine percent of the population.  For the book’s sake, the focus is here in the States, and follows a variety of the survivors as they struggle to recreate some semblance of life in the aftermath of the great flu.  Before too long, two factions are formed, one rallying behind an old woman and congregating in Boulder, Colorado, and the other rallying behind Randall Flagg, none other than the Man in Black from King’s Dark Tower books, in Sin City, Las Vegas, Nevada.  The two groups seem to be at opposite ends of the good versus evil spectrum and some sort of final reckoning seems destined.

 

That’s a pretty basic breakdown of the plot and it does little to cover the variety of characters and relationships at play in The Stand.  King follows a number of the survivors by way of putting the reader right in their heads for an up close and personal look at their view of these life-altering and life decimating events.  There’s some very memorable characters in this book and King does a great job of making these folks come to life and feel like individuals despite the large cast of characters.  It was interesting how everyone’s past shaped how they acted and interacted after the flu outbreak, yet their pasts meant little to the other people they met. 

The basic concept behind the book (post apocalypse) is one that gets done over and over these days, and though it isn’t fair to judge a book published decades ago on the trends of today, I had a hard time not feeling like I was retracing my own steps in the sand.  I know that’s unfair, and I tried to quell those feelings, but there’s no doubt they played a role in my enjoyment of this book.  This struggle resulted in phases where my interest level in the book waxed and waned.  For book of this size, which is usually enough to make me steer clear, a lack of interest is nearly damning.  This is one are where the hype helped out, as I was compelled to keep reading, if only to just see what all the fuss is about.

  

Additionally, the characters were often more than enough to keep me forging on, and I was rewarded with some pretty great character arcs that led in some really amazing directions.  I found myself becoming pretty attached to a few folks, and looked forward to sections of the book where they played a role in the story.  The more stuff I read by King, the more I come to appreciate how great he is at character development. 

There was one quality about this novel that really bugged me the whole time I was reading though, and it’s that pesky aspect of representation.  I felt that the book would have been much stronger had there been a more diverse representation of the plague survivors.  I know that not every plague survivor was a white person, but there were a lot of times when it sure felt that way. Yes, there was definitely one key character who was a person of color, and one very central female character, and other character who was mentally differently abled, but aside from that, there were a lot of white dudes. Maybe this is a case where I’m wrongfully instantly assuming a character's whiteness because that’s my own perspective, but I never got the impression that the lion’s share of the characters were not white, heterosexual males.  Maybe that won’t take away from the story for others, but it did to some degree for me. 

I think the biggest take away I got from this reading experience is that there’s some important tie-in stuff related to King’s Dark Tower series.  Stuff that helped explain things I didn’t totally grasp when I read through those books over the past two years.  There’s some really obvious connections and some that I’m sure I missed too.  Still, it was cool that the books felt intertwined as part of large tapestry.

Overall, I can't say I was a huge fan of The Stand.  I think it has some great strengths, but as I mentioned above, there’s some weaknesses as well.  Most of all, I guess I just don't see what all the fuss is about over this book.  I wasn't really all that impressed.  I've definitely read stuff by King that is much sharper and more concise.  In the end, a good, strong book that for me missed the mark.

Grade: B-

Book Review: The Wind Through The Keyhole

Ok, sure, when news of this book came out, I wasn't exactly dancing the commala in excitement. In fact, I was a bit wary of the whole idea.  However, I slowly came around and decided to make this one a day-of-release purchase when it came out.  Well, I tried to do that at least, but my book store of choice was sold out of copies by the time I got there and had to wait two days for new ones to come in.  Woe is me!

Believe it or not, I survived that terrible ordeal and took it upon myself to devour this tasty morsel in as few sittings as possible.  Of course school and life conspired to make that dream shatter and I was instead relegated to scraping together all the tiny quiet moments in my life and turning them into Dark Tower reading moments.  In the end, the consumption arrangement didn't matter, because damn it, I was once again back in Mid-World with my old pals Roland, Jake, Eddie, Susannah and Oy, and I was willing to say a big thankee to Sai King for that.

The Wind Through The Keyhole is best described, as it has been elsewhere a hundred times over, as Dark Tower 4.5, meaning that it fits nice and snug between Wizard and Glass and Wolves of the Calla.  If you are new to the series, or just working your way through, and you get to read this one in sequence, I am pretty fucking jealous, because I think this book works best in sequence rather than as an add-on after one has read the whole series.  The reason I say that is because, with the whole series behind me, there was a bit less tension in this one than there could have been.  Still, this was a fun and entertaining addition to the Dark Tower series.

My favorite thing about this book is that it is a story-within-a-story-within-a-story.  I don't know why, but I love that kind of shit.  The novel begins with Roland and his ka-tet holing up in an abandoned town to wait out a brutal storm called a Starkblast.  While the weather rages on outside, Roland entertains the crew with a story from his gunslinging youth, titled Skin Man.

This story features Roland and his former ka-tet mate, Jamie DeCurry, as they travel to a distant barony to investigate a series of grisly killings that may be the work of a shape-shifter.  When they arrive in Debaria, Roland and Jamie encounter a town still reeling from the night's previous attack which left a score or more farmers, field hands, women and children dead.  Miraculously, there's one survivor, a young lad by the name of Bill Streeter.  Since young Bill is Roland's only and best  lead in finding the killer, he quickly puts together a plan to nab the skin-man.  The catch is, young Bill plays a critical role in said nabbing and in order to calm Bill's nerves before the big event, Roland tells him the story of The Wind Through The Keyhole, an origin story/coming of age tale of sorts for Tim Stoutheart, a legendary Gunslinger.

Though I enjoyed each of the three stories this book provides, my hands-down favorite was the title story itself, The Wind Through The Keyhole.  This is one of the finest works of storytelling I've had the pleasure to enjoy.  It felt like I was reading a classic fable or folktale as told by Stephen King...a very awesome experience.  This one had some great classic fantasy elements in it, complete with haunted forests, dragons, dark magic, and even strange little people that I pictured as a cross between oompa-loompas and brown barbaloots. (Probably not how King intended them to be imagined, but fuck it, I'm my own man.)  All this with some decidedly King-esque twists and mutations to old standards and you have one fantastic story.

Aside from The Wind Through The Keyhole portion of the novel, the rest of the book was borderline mediocre in terms of entertainment value...which is kinda strange given that The Wind Through The Keyhole story is the furthest removed from having a connection to the actual Dark Tower series.  The reason I didn't enjoy the other two portions as much boils down to the fact that I already knew what happens before and after those events; so there wasn't much tension to either story line.  That doesn't mean that I didn't enjoy this book, or that I didn't savor each new, fresh moment with Roland and his ka-tet, but this one lacked the power that a book possesses when the reader does not know how things will turn out. Don't get me wrong, the whole book is a good one, but for me, it suffered from being an after-the-fact addition to the main storyline.

All told, it was pretty sweet to back in Mid-World and I'm grateful for the opportunity for new Dark Tower material, especially stuff that didn't alter or change what had already come before.  The kicker is, this didn't really add anything to the story either and in no way feels essential to the series.  Sure it's a good book, but it could be taken completely out of the series and it wouldn't effect a damn thing.  You can't say that about any of the other books in the series, and I think that's where King faltered most. Sure, he slipped this one in nicely between books 4 and 5, but it doesn't really matter because he doesn't really do anything other than give some side story and fill in unnecessary details that we don't really need to know.

So...yes, I'm happy this book exists; purely because I'm a big fan of the Dark Tower books.  Yes, the book is a fun and entertaining read, and even has some extended moments of sheer brilliance, but for me, the book was lacking because it fails to be an essential addition to the Dark Tower series.  Solid, but not solid gold.

Grade: B

Dark Tower News

Thanks to Aidan from A Dribble of Ink for breaking the news!

From Stephen King's website:

Dear Constant Readers,

At some point, while worrying over the copyedited manuscript of the next book (11/22/63, out November 8th), I started thinking—and dreaming—about Mid-World again. The major story of Roland and his ka-tet was told, but I realized there was at least one hole in the narrative progression: what happened to Roland, Jake, Eddie, Susannah, and Oy between the time they leave the Emerald City (the end of Wizard and Glass) and the time we pick them up again, on the outskirts of Calla Bryn Sturgis (the beginning of Wolves of the Calla)?

There was a storm, I decided. One of sudden and vicious intensity. The kind to which billy-bumblers like Oy are particularly susceptible. Little by little, a story began to take shape. I saw a line of riders, one of them Roland’s old mate, Jamie DeCurry, emerging from clouds of alkali dust thrown by a high wind. I saw a severed head on a fencepost. I saw a swamp full of dangers and terrors. I saw just enough to want to see the rest. Long story short, I went back to visit an-tet with my friends for awhile. The result is a novel called The Wind Through the Keyhole. It’s finished, and I expect it will be published next year.

It won’t tell you much that’s new about Roland and his friends, but there’s a lot none of us knew about Mid-World, both past and present. The novel is shorter than DT 2-7, but quite a bit longer than the first volume—call this one DT-4.5. It’s not going to change anybody’s life, but God, I had fun.

-- Steve King

Pretty awesome news, but I'm a little bit torn.  Part of me is super excited that in the fairly near future I'll be reading new material with Roland, Jake, Eddie, Susannah, and Oy... a prospect that I thought was rather unlikely up until a few hours ago.   The other part of me sort of feels like, what is the point?  The series ended so well, and I don't see the sense in revisiting the characters mid-stream.  I'm always a bit skeptical of a writer/creator/artist revisiting or adding to old material.  Look how it turned out for George Lucas, and Dave Mustaine on the Megadeth remasters.  Hopefully Jamie DeCurry wont be the next Jar-Jar Binks.  I think there is less risk of that here, as there is a clear spot to insert the new material, and it likely wont mess with continuity or fudge around with what long standing fans feel is the essence of the body of work.  Either way, I'll be reading it. 

Review: The Dark Tower

A couple years ago I loaned my brother The Gunslinger and got him hooked on the Dark Tower books.  From there he plowed through The Drawing of the Three, and The Wastelands, surging ahead of my own reading pace with the series and foraging on into uncharted Dark Tower territory. Not long after he got the Dark Tower ball rolling, he had read nearly everything.  When he finished Song of Susannah and found himself with the end in reach.  Then he did something remarkable...he stopped.  Not wanting the adventure to be over, my brother has put The Dark Tower on indefinite hiatus and left Roland and his pals hanging there in limbo.

Well, time passed, and at my brother's urging to carry on with the series, I did just that and found myself in the same spot.  Like my brother, part of me wanted to put off the reading of this one a while longer, but like Roland Deschain, the central character in this series, I found the pull of the Dark Tower too overwhelming to resist.

It has been a long and incredible journey with Roland and his Ka-Tet.  I'm at the point now where I've spent enough time with Roland, Jake, Eddie, Susannah  and Oy that I sort of feel like they are my good friends.  However, after six long, and entertaining books I opened to the first page of this final story, dogged in my determination to reach the end and see what lies at the top of the tower.  The journey there isn't all roses either.  The first half of the book was a bit of a drag, but right at the half way point King picks up the pace and surges ahead...Maybe he started feeling the pull of the tower as well.  Either way, the sense that this incredible journey is coming to an end is powerful.

As much as I wanted this to be the perfect final book, it is not.  As I said before, it comes out of the gate slow, but it has some other problems as well.  I felt that at times King relied heavily on deus ex machina to get himself out of some jams.  I could be wrong about some of that as I haven't read all fifteen of the other King novels that tie in to this series, and might be missing some explanations.  I don't want to give too much big important stuff away but I will say that when some characters head towards the clearing at the end of the path, I feel like some go there too easily.

As much as Eddie, Jake Susannah and Oy are a big part of this series, the story has always been Roland's.  The journey has always been his, and like the other members of his Ka-Tet, I have always been willing to follow Roland up to the very end.  Without a doubt, Roland Deschain is my all-time favorite literary character.  For one, he is cool as hell, he can shoot fast and straight, and he don't take no guff.  But for me, what was most enduring was his slow change from the cold-hearted, emotionless killer to the loving, warm-hearted friend that he became.  I guess I was really taken in by how Roland learned to love again.  I know that might sound cheesy and mushy, but as cool as he was before, he was hard to relate to.  King made Roland not only someone who was cool and bad ass, but also a guy you'd follow to the death. 

My love of Roland made the ending to The Dark Tower all the more spectacular.  I gotta say that while King seemed to falter a bit in these later books, which weren't as good as say, the first four, he really, truly nailed the ending.  Simply said, the ending is perfect.  Does that mean I'm totally in love with the ending, and happy with the way everything turned out?  No. But I thought it worked so well, and fit just right.  I'll add that it also nearly brought me to tears.  I even get a little choked up thinking about it.

Ok, so now I've admitted to loving Roland, and nearly crying over a book.  That's probably as good a spot as any to call it a day. 

This certainly isn't the perfect fantasy series, there are certainly some flaws along the way, but to me it is those less than perfect bits that endeared this series to me.  If you haven't done so already, I strongly urge you to embark on the journey to the Dark Tower.  Sure, these books aren't for everyone, but for some of you, it might be just the right thing.  If you are like my brother, and have been holding off: DON"T STALL ANYMORE!  The ending is worth the journey.

The Dark Tower series will live long in my memory, and I'll likely revisit Roland and company someday down the road, but for now I'll just say 'long days and pleasant nights'.

Grade: A

Review: Song of Susannah

I apologize for the recent dearth of content. Bad plumbing, school, work and football playoffs have all joined forces to suck away my free time.  Fear not, I continue to read and pile up material for the blog.  So, without further time wasted let's take a look at the penultimate Dark Tower novel...


Right after the battle with the Wolves from Thunderclap, Susannah Dean, Gunslinger and member of Roland's ka-tet hightailed it to the Doorway Cave and traveled to the New York City of 1999.  Susannah unfortunately, isn't in complete control of her own body.  She has been possessed by a former demon named Mia.  Mia has made a deal with the Man in Black to give up her eternal life as a demon in exchange for being able to give birth to a baby and raise it for part of its life.  All Mia has to do is deliver Susannah's body to a restaurant called the Dixie Pig, and into the clutches of the Crimson King. 

While Susannah is battling mental demons in the New York City of 1999 the rest of her ka-tet must split up to make two equally important things happen.  The first task is to save Susannah, and the other involves traveling through inter-dimensional doorways to East Stoneham, Maine of 1977 and buy a Manhattan vacant lot from Calvin Tower. 

In a strange twist of fate, Eddie and Roland, who were hoping to rescue Susannah wind up in Maine, while Jake, Oy and temporary ka-tet member Father Callahan find themselves in New York City of 1999.

I read this book over the Holidays thinking it would be a great curl-up-and-read-for-a-day book, but I had a hard time getting fully into this one.  It was a little bit frustrating to see King go back to that whole Susannah-battles-with-split-personalities thing again.  I felt like I was revisiting material that has already been covered.  Roland, easily my favorite character of the series, played a smaller role in this installment, but the shootout he and Eddie get into is easily one of the most memorable and bad-ass scenes of the entire series.  I'm also always intrigued when an author inserts his or herself as a character into a work of fiction.  Reading King write about a 1977 version of himself was pretty cool, and a bit mind-bending given all the cross-world, space-time continuum stuff that goes on in this series.  

I think what was most frustrating for me in this book was the amount of teasing that went on, and the lack of forward movement towards the Dark Tower.  I don't want to spoil anything for readers who haven't gotten this far in the series yet, but goddamnit, there were some things in this novel that took up a shit load of pages, were a dominant factor in the last novel as well, and still didn't come to a close in this novel despite all signs pointing to that very thing happening.

 In a long series the author must tie up the lose ends so the series can come to a clean, well packaged finale.  It felt like that was one of King's aims here.  Aside from a bloody, fiery shoot-out, the East Stoneham, Maine story thread was a bit dull.  Really, how exciting can you make a real-estate deal?  Yeah, this was probably as exciting as they get, but still, not the best use of Roland and Eddie. 

 Maybe my expectations for the book were too high, but I sort of assumed, given that the goal of this series is to finally arrive at the Dark Tower, and given that the final novel is called The Dark Tower, that the ka-tet would at some point in the penultimate novel, uh, like head in that direction.  Ok, yeah, metaphorically they did make headway, and accomplished some (somewhat) important things, but I feel like less time could have been spent accomplishing the things that did happen, and more time could have been spent moving the story towards the finish line.

My feeling at the end of this was that the book came very close to the edge of a great climax, had the reader riding high on a wave of rising action that promised great things, and then stopped short, delivering a brutal cliffhanger ending that left me 1) cursing Stephen King for being such a damn tease and leaving me on the hook like he did at the end of The Wastelands. 2) Hungry for that final slice of gunslinger pie.  I mean, shit, there's no way I not finish this series now.  I gotta find out what happens next.  Overall, probably the weakest installment in the series, but magically, good enough to leave me thirsting for more.

Grade: C

Books of the Year

2010 was a pretty good year of reading for me. I managed to read a total of 35 books, which is a decent number for me, especially considering that I also read 50 graphic novels. The quality of the books I read was pretty solid, but nothing was completely mind blowing...On the other hand, there weren't too many books that were flat out terrible either. I don't normally get to read too many new releases, and this year was no different, as I only managed two 2010 releases, one that pops up on the list here, and Who Fears Death being the other. Looking back at a year's worth of reading makes me excited for reading in the new year. I hope to expand my tastes, and experience some new authors. Until then, my Top 5 reads from 2010:


#1: The Lions of Al-Rassan: Reading a Guy Gavriel Kay novel has become sort of a special event for me at this point. Before I even open the cover, I know that inside there will be a rich, imaginative world that isn't so unlike our own. I know that the story will be populated with memorable characters who come to life through strong writing and skilled character building. I also know that the story will likely capture my imagination and have me thinking about it even when I'm not actively reading the book. I really enjoy the immersion experience I get when reading a Kay novel. Then I start reading, and it is all those things and often more.

The Lions of Al-Rassan not only featured Kay's sharp writing skills, but what stood out for me was the setting. The lands of Al-Rassan represent the real-life Iberian Peninsula and Kay does a wonderful job placing the reader there. I guess you could argue that he's not creating an alternate world like other fantasy authors, so his job is easier, but he still needs to make a guy like me who's getting constantly drizzled on in Seattle feel like he's breathing fresh mountain air, or dumping desert sand out of his shoe. Kay did that for me here, and that true feeling of escapism is one of the great things about reading.

I also had the pleasure of meeting Kay at an author event in May, and I'm happy to say that he's a kind, intelligent and friendly guy (pun intended). It's always a bonus to know that that author you're reading is a good person.



#2 Little Brother: This book faced two difficult, uphill challenges before I even started reading it. The first challenge was that I don't normally read sci-fi. For some reason, I never find the imagined future that the author presents to be anything other than depressing. I hate reading a book and feeling like the future is going to suck. The second challenge is that I don't normally read Young Adult titles. No real reason there, just that I tend to stick to books written for an adult audience. Luckily, this book smashed through those obstacles like it was the Hulk. It helps that the book essentially takes place now and is has a techno-thriller feel to it. Second, it never once felt like it was a book aimed at a younger audience. This is most definitely a book that anyone can enjoy.

Little Brother does a fantastic job of being timely. The plot, which centers around a terrorist attack in San Francisco, is believable and scary. The results of the terrorist attack, the way the government reacts to it, the way it changes civilian life, and the way it changes the characters was very fitting given the circumstances. The book also struck on a common American narrative theme, that "if you put your mind to it you can do anything" ideal came into play as the main character, Marcus pitted himself against the Department of Homeland Security. The book is also is perfectly paced and very well written. The fact that it overcame my predilections and managed to add a few surprises make it a lock for the number two spot.



#3 The Judging Eye: (I'm counting this as a 2010 Release since that's when the TPB version I own came out.)
After fully loving the Prince of Nothing trilogy, I had high hopes for the first installment in the follow up series. This book didn't disappoint. The novel followed three main threads, and while each was compelling its own way, I was most intrigued by Achamian and the events of his story. Achamian is one of the only likable characters in the story, but what is amazing is that even though the other characters all inspire my hatred, they are skillfully written and great characters despite their lack of redeeming qualities. Bakker has a strong knack for putting the reader into the minds of his characters and giving the reader an idea of their motivations and desires. The result is that I get a bit creeped out by what I find there...but in a good way.

This book would probably make the list based solely on the strength of the Black Halls scene which is a modern homage to Tolkien's Mines of Moria. I knew at some point the shit would hit the fan, yet when it did, Bakker still managed to rock my socks off. Hands down my favorite reading moment of the year.


#4 Fevre Dream: I thought I was totally sick of vampires, but I found myself in need of a late Autumn horror read and I just happened to have this GRRM title sitting on my shelf. That it was a vampire novel, and that it was a non-A Song of Ice and Fire GRRM novel made me doubly skeptical, but Martin easily erased that skepticism in the early pages. The skills that make Martin a favorite author of mine are on display in this, one of his earlier novels. Robust characters, and expert world building brought the Mississippi riverboat life of the mid 1800's vibrantly to life. Add in a healthy dose of the supernatural where vampires aren't wearing eye-liner, and you've got a great vampire story.

The only thing keeping this from a higher ranking is that it was a bit lacking in Martin's trademark unpredictability that highlights the plots of his fantasy material. Still, a great read if you find yourself hurting for some GRRM while waiting, and waiting and waiting...


#5 The Wastelands: Stephen King's Dark Tower books were a very big part of my life in 2010. I read four of the seven novels this past year (Song of Susannah review forthcoming) and the series becomes more of a favorite with each installment I read. Looking back at my reviews, I noticed that even though I love each book, the grades they receive on my highly "consistent" grading scale don't necessarily reflect that love. Because I love this series so much, I think I hold the individual novels to a higher standard, and despite the series' strong, yet not overwhelming GPA, my Books of the Year list would be sadly lacking if I didn't include one Dark Tower novel.

Of the three I've reviewed, The Wastelands gets the nod here. In this novel the stalwart characters of the series, Roland, Eddie, Susannah and Jake come to the forefront. I've come to love each of these characters, flaws and all, and I can't wait, though I'm a little scared, to see what King has in store for them in the finale. Aside from fantastic characters, this book features a battle with a giant bear, more travel between parallel universes, and a deathly ride aboard a psychotic train. This novel is well written and a feat of sheer fantastic imagination.

Comic Quickies

American Vampire #6: The sixth issue of American Vampire is the first issue without the writing skills of Stephen King. King was only around for the opening run of five issues, and now it is up to Scott Snyder to merge the two story lines of Skinnner Sweet and Pearl Jones. This issue introduces a new character, Las Vegas chief of Police, Cash McCoogan. The whole issue essentially sets up this new character, and you get the sense that He'll be directly opposed to whatever kind of things the vampires have planned for Vegas.

Though the comic features some absolutely beautiful art drawn by Raphael Albuquerque, and some solid writing as well, I officially dropped this series following this issue. I think I am just sick of vampires, even ones that are bad-ass, and not sparkly. I never felt that feeling of being sucked in by this comic. A fair shot was given, but alas, no more for me.



Nemesis #3: Nemesis is another title I am sort of on the fence as to whether or not I'm in love with it. The difference though is this one is a 4 issue miniseries. Like most Mark Millar projects I've experienced, the focus seems to be more on style and glitz than form and substance. But damn does this book look good! McNiven is a great artist, and his work is greatly complimented by the great color work done by Dave McCaig. (It seems like whenever I notice how nice the colors are in a comic, they are done my McCaig.) Nemesis is truly a sight to behold. The prison fight in particular is fucking amazing.

Each one of these issues has left me excited for the next, and I'm particularly piqued for the final issue. I cant really predict where all the pieces will lie when it is all said and done, but chances are it will be a bloody, brutal gut wrenching finale.



The Unwritten #17: I'm not a regular reader of The Unwritten but there is no way in hell I can pass up the chance to read a Choose Your Own Adventure style comic! Without a doubt, this is the coolest single issue of a comic I've read so far this year. When I was a kid, I loved the Choose Your Own Adventure books. The concept is simple, yet pretty brilliant, and it is pulled of perfectly here.

On my initial read, I tried to make decisions that would lead the story in the most interesting direction, though not necessarily the decisions I would personally make given similar circumstances. By this decision making method, I felt like I read the story line that was meant to be delivered by the writers, Mike Carey and Peter Gross. I did finish up on the final page of comic after it was all said and done, which is a win in my book.

The great thing about this comic is that it could be read and re-read over and over, with different possible outcomes. Not a bad deal for $3.99. Worth checking out even if you don't read the comic regularly.



Skull Kickers #1: First off, great title for a comic! Not only that, but there is literally a Skull Kicking on the second page! The basis for this one is two mercenaries, their names haven't been mentioned yet, don't get paid for a job they did, and while attempting to make some money on a smash-and-grab job get tied up in something bigger than they expected.

The mercenary duo comprise of a hack first, ask questions later dwarf, and a tank-like human with a gun. Though it takes place in a medieval setting, no one seems to notice the oddness of that particular item. Skull Kickers is a fantasy-action comic through and through with a nice touch of spicy sassyness added to the mix. They managed to sneak in a penciler switcheroo mid-comic, but it is tough to notice as the art styles are quite similar. Solid debut overall, and one I'll likely continue to follow for a bit.

Review: Wolves of the Calla

The road to the Dark Tower is fraught with peril, and Gunslingers cant turn their backs on people in need.

The simple townsfolk of Calla Bryn Sturgis are in need of some gunslinger assistance. Every twenty years or so, the Wolves come out of Thunderclap and steal away one of each set of the town's twins. This may not sound so bad, but in Calla Bryn Sturgis twins are commonplace, and a single child is a rare occurrence. After half the twins are taken, they are returned months later, called "roont" (ruined) by the townsfolk, the kids are shells of their former selves,doomed to a short life, mentally empty, and destined to grow to a hulking size. The wolves are due to come in a month. Which of course is where Roland and the gang come in handy. The townsfolk want the gunslinger's aid, but while the gunslingers are trying to protect the town, they must also protect a single red rose that grows in a vacant lot in New York City. The rose is important as it's safety is mysteriously tied to the Dark Tower which Roland seeks.

To further complicate things the gunslingers face a few pressing personal issues that threaten to doom their quest for the Dark Tower.

Wolves of the Calla is one of the strongest Dark Tower books yet. The plot grabbed me early on, and doesn't really let go even at the end. King managed to juggle a lot of elements, yet the book flowed nicely and despite its length of about 750 pages, it didn't have more than a couple slow points.

The people of Calla Bryn Sturgis were an interesting group of folks. I really enjoyed a couple of the characters. The heavily conflicted Benjamin Slightman was an extremely "realistic" character to me, I felt like I could see things from his point of view, but I didn't approve of his actions.

The most important man the gunslingers meet in Calla Bryn Sturgis is Father Callahan. King fans will recognize this guy from 'Salem's Lot. Callahan has quite a story to tell of his life since the events of 'Salem's Lot, from vampire vision, to killings, to alcoholism, to his own death, and his travels in parallel earths...the guy has been through a lot. Somehow, he has wound up in the Calla, and he's got a powerful magical item hidden in his church.

Though in some ways the gunslingers helping the townsfolk seems like a side-quest, that really isn't the case. The overall plot thickens quite a bit, and King really ups the ante for the entire series. Everything is setting up nicely for an absolute gut buster of a finish and I can't wait to see where everything stands once the dust has cleared. I'm definitely hooked and I'm excited for the next two books.

After a couple of slower Dark Tower books, Wolves of the Calla is a pretty much a return to awesome. You really cant go to far wrong with a book that has gun fights, vampires, time travel, robots, lightsabers, demons, and Stephen King's deadly, explosive version of Harry Potter's snitch. There is a lot to love about Wolves of the Calla I really enjoyed this one from the start right up to the lightning paced finish.

Grade: B+

Review: Wizard and Glass

Wizard and Glass is the fourth book in Stephen King's epic fantasy/western/horror mash-up extravaganza. This book takes a major detour into the past and explores an adventure from Roland's youth.

The previous book, The Waste Lands ended with Roland and his band of friends in a tight jam, aboard Blaine, a highly intelligent, computerized super-train, locked in a riddle-battle. Picking up where the last book left off, King kicks the novel off with the conclusion of the riddle-battle. The little fellowship survives thanks to some off-color jokes courtesy of Eddie Dean. Once they disembark the train, they find themselves in 1980's Topeka Kansas. However, it is not the Topeka Kansas of Eddie's, or Susnannah's, or Jake's "when", but one that has been wiped out by a deadly influenza.

Once on the outskirts of Topeka, they camp near a dimensional hole called a "thinny". As they rest for the night, Roland tells the crew about his first experience with a thinny, thus kicking off the novel-within-a-novel.

Roland's story goes way back to when he was fourteen and had just won his guns, becoming the youngest gunslinger in history. He and his friends Alain and Cuthbert have been sent to the far off barony of Mejis, in part for their own protection, but "officially" to do some counting for the alliance which Mejis is part of. While there, Roland meets and falls in love with Susan Delgado, a young lady who is promised to become the "gilly girl" to the aged, and son-less Mayor of Mejis. Roland gets so completely caught up in his love affair with Susan that it clouds his reasoning and judgment for some time. Roland's distraction comes at the worst possible time because he and his friends have run afoul of three local thugs called the Big Coffin Hunters, and have also uncovered a conspiracy; one that involves the local upper-class citizens of Mejis supplying and fueling the military machine of John Farson, rebel leader and enemy of the Gunslingers. Oh, and add in a wicked witch, and a magical pink orb for good measure.

The story within a story portion of this book was a bit of a let down for me. I have come to really enjoy the characters of Roland, Eddie, Susannah, and Jake, and they were more or less side notes as the story of Roland's youth took up the brunt of this book. It's not that Roland's back story was not interesting; it was quite entertaining, and well written, but was such a deviation from the overall plot of the series that I was disappointed to see the book go in that direction.

My wants and desires aside, Roland's character gets further developed, and his unwavering motivation for the Dark Tower becomes a lot more clear, so the back story certainly had it's purposes. In the past, I simply accepted Roland to be a hard-ass because it seemed to be his nature, but now King has given a reason for him being so hard, and I do appreciate that. I think King has done a wonderful job of crafting fantastic characters for this series, and I appreciate the effort. Roland is fast becoming an all-time favorite character of mine.

Yeah, I would have liked to have seen more happen in the way of the quest, and I would have liked more from the main characters, but despite that, this is still a great novel. The events that take place in Mejis add another layer to this series, and build upon the history of Roland's world which has only been hinted at or glimpsed in the past novels. I will say that Wizard and Glass felt like a middle novel, so hopefully the next book will put things back on track.

Grade: C+

Review: The Waste Lands

The Waste Lands by Stephen King



The Waste Lands is the third novel in Stephen King's The Dark Tower series. This installment picks up soon after the events of the second novel and wastes no time getting rolling. The confrontation with a giant cyborg bear early on sets the tone for this novel. Initially, King focuses on three characters: Roland, the Gunslinger, and his companions Eddie, and Susannah, Roland's gunslingers in training. The three companions have been living in the woods, training, and recuperating from their adventures in the last book. Roland appears to be slowly losing his mind. His mind is torn between two realities, one where he let a young boy named Jake fall to his death, and another where the boy Jake still lives and is alive in New York City. (Time Travel and parallel worlds is crazy like that.)

However, thanks to the confrontation with Shardik, the massive cyborg bear, they discover one of the "beams" a barely visible ethereal beam that supposedly helps hold the world together and also leads to the Dark Tower, which is located in the center of the world. Given that finding the Dark Tower is their main quest, Roland and his pals start to follow the beam.

Meanwhile, in our world, the boy Jake, who is inadvertently causing Roland to lose his mind, is also going insane. He can clearly remember dying, but he is still alive, and now he's obsessed with finding a door that will lead him back to Roland's world. To get there he needs a key, and help/guidance from Eddie, (yes the same Eddie), and he needs to find the right door. While Jake is looking for the right portal, Roland, Eddie and Susannah are working to create a portal so that they can bring Jake across to their world. The entire scene of Jake's crossing is fantastic. King blends fantasy and horror elements and together they make the scene a standout part of the book.

Stephen King is one of my favorite authors, so my opinion may be a bit biased, but after reading the first three books, I really think the Dark Tower series is fantastic. It has elements of fantasy, science fiction, horror, and good ol' westerns...only the best, coolest elements from those genres too. The Waste Lands is a book that is always moving forward. Roland and his companions are constantly striving towards the Dark Tower, and while it might be easy for these books to come across as boring quest-style fantasy, it never felt that way to me. King works diligently at developing his characters, and moving the plot forward.

One thing I love about the Dark Tower books is that there are very little rules governing Roland's world. While in other alternate world stories, this could be really frustrating, I think it is one of the great qualities of the series. You truly never know what is around the corner for Roland and his companions, anything can happen to them, and chances are it will be a really shitty experience for them. King is willing to do all types of terrible things to his characters, and to me it is nice to know that there is no chance they will make it to the Dark Tower unscathed or unchanged.

Perhaps it is our shared homeland, Maine, but I feel like I connect very strongly to King's work. His characters come easily to life in my mind's eye, and his settings feel familiar to me. It could be that we share the same micro-culture and have had similar experiences; King lives about an hour from where I was born, and lived for 21 years. Whatever it is, when I open up a novel by Stephen King, whether it be a Dark Tower book, or something else, I am usually blown away. The Waste Lands was no exception. It kicked ass. It melds genres, and successfully incorporates cyborg bears, demon sex, a house that has a taste for human flesh, and a highly intelligent, yet loony, A.I. train named Blaine. So, yeah, awesome. Read it.

Grade: A-