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Dt5,6,7 and King

edited November 2004 in Dark Tower
*Mostly a lurker, but I've been away for a bit. Got through a good chunk of Bev's book and realized I had to get away from the DT series. Besides, I was following the Red Sox.



I don't know if this has come up in some discussions or not, but I think the storyline as a whole suffered from the 3 straight books coming out in the last year or so.*



So let's just throw this out there to discussion-land:



Does anyone else think the last 3 stories needed more physical time between them? I think the pattern King originally established between his first 4 pieces was TOO LONG, but that down-time was something he needed as an author.



I feel the last 3 don't work as well as the initial 4, because he had no "reflective" time. I like certain parts of the last 3 books, but overall they don't really work for me.



I also think "lost outline" or not, that he used the between years to change concepts and ideas, like most writers do. But I have an issue with the last 5-6 years worth of SK.



That's the part I started to write about, but then I crashed. I had this whole thing about going back to On Writing (which I loved) and how that was the last good thing he wrote. Of course it's MHO, but seriously---



Dreamcatcher, I couldn't even get through my standard "re-read a year later if I hate it" guide.



Black House, should have been so much more. I try to think of positive things, but sadly the part that sticks out is --Jack Sawyer forgets his teenage journey, like Roland at the very end of DT7. What the heck is with this forgetful past crap?



From a Buick 8, aka the worse thing with SK's name on it, I gave my book away for free, didn't even do the year later re-read.



Everything's Eventual, I like some of the pieces, but even the DT story (LSOE) is not good DT. Note, I have no concept of the 14 stories and how they play into this timeline of King's downhill spiral.



Everyone has ups and downs. The Red Sox won 8 straight playoff games, unheard of. Our buddy King?



King has been in a slump IMHO and I think DT suffered from it.





What say you?

Comments

  • Totally disagree.



    The last three books mimic life.  You spend years trying to reach something and then when it gets close, things happen very quickly.



    Also disagree on Black House. I found it a much stronger book than Talisman. It had some great characters as well.



    I also quite enjoyed From a Buick 8. It is written from the perspective of a person who has suffered loss. If you have not experienced that then the book will not resonate with you.



    Looks like we are at opposite ends of the spectrum. :o
  • I liked Froma A Buick 8 also, and think it it closer to King's earlier works than anything he has written recnetly.



    I wasn't overly keen on Talisman and Black house, but I lay that down to not liking Peter Straub books. I just can't get into his style of writing at all.



    I think as Lou mentioned, things change, and the last three books were bound to be different in conceptualisation than the previous four, and for me, King has written a fantastic end to a fantastic series, and whilst liking all of the DT books, Wolves is one of my favourites :)



    I can totally agree with bruce in that king has rather than written some bad books, has written books that didn't grip or interest me. Gerald's Game and Dolores Claiborne once fitted into this category until I began rereads on them and then they grew on me and developed into wonderful stories.



    Desperation/Regulator's for me are his lesser works, they are just books that do absolutely nothing for me.
  • I think it's interesting to see King mature as a writer throughout the course of the series
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