Makes me think of the story Steven King told about getting a letter from a fan, sometime around book 5, explaining that she was over 90 and begging him to tell her how it ended, because she didn’t know if she’d live long enough for him to finish the series. He had to decline, explaining that he simply didn’t know yet, and wouldn’t know until he wrote the last page.
It’s oddly heartbreaking, as she probably didn’t; it took him 22 years to complete the series, all told, and 6 or 7 years from her letter to the culmination of the story.
The first one is mostly vibes. There’s not a ton of good story meat in it, and it’s pretty short. Book 2 really gets going though, and book 3 is just wild. Once you get to Wolves of the Calla, though, it’s really gonna test your patience.
My favorites for fiction would be Neal Stephenson,Roger Zelazny, Fritz Leiber, Ursula Le Guin, Stephen R. Donaldson, Charles Bukowski, Iain Banks, Frederick Pohl, Glen Cook, Jim Butcher
Ups and downs; like I said, written over a dozen years, the styles vary, and there’s some consensus that there are a couple which are “the best,” and a couple which aren’t. However, if you didn’t like the first, it’s probably fair to say you probably wouldn’t much care for the rest.
It’s because they’re not horror, and SK is known best for his horror. I do think he’d said, at one point, that TDT was the most meaningful series to him, and the fact that it forms an umbrella reality encompassing all of his other stories - sometimes featuring characters from his other novels, is significant.
That said, I’m not a King fan; I don’t much care for horror, so his money making genre isn’t very compelling for me. But I did get super-into The Dark Tower. It’s up there among my favorite works, despite the ending.
Makes me think of the story Steven King told about getting a letter from a fan, sometime around book 5, explaining that she was over 90 and begging him to tell her how it ended, because she didn’t know if she’d live long enough for him to finish the series. He had to decline, explaining that he simply didn’t know yet, and wouldn’t know until he wrote the last page.
It’s oddly heartbreaking, as she probably didn’t; it took him 22 years to complete the series, all told, and 6 or 7 years from her letter to the culmination of the story.
Anyway, your thought reminded me of that.
OP is referencing the Dark Tower series for those who didn’t know.
Which, while they are quite good, they feel like the least “Stephen King” of his novels, even the bachman books.
I read the first book and had absolutely no fucking clue what was happening. Do they get better? I feel like I needed to be doing cocaine at the time.
The first one is mostly vibes. There’s not a ton of good story meat in it, and it’s pretty short. Book 2 really gets going though, and book 3 is just wild. Once you get to Wolves of the Calla, though, it’s really gonna test your patience.
I enjoyed them but as I recall it stays weird. I’m into that, though. My favorites are mostly pretty weird.
I like weird! Mind sharing your favorites?
My favorites for fiction would be Neal Stephenson,Roger Zelazny, Fritz Leiber, Ursula Le Guin, Stephen R. Donaldson, Charles Bukowski, Iain Banks, Frederick Pohl, Glen Cook, Jim Butcher
Ups and downs; like I said, written over a dozen years, the styles vary, and there’s some consensus that there are a couple which are “the best,” and a couple which aren’t. However, if you didn’t like the first, it’s probably fair to say you probably wouldn’t much care for the rest.
It’s because they’re not horror, and SK is known best for his horror. I do think he’d said, at one point, that TDT was the most meaningful series to him, and the fact that it forms an umbrella reality encompassing all of his other stories - sometimes featuring characters from his other novels, is significant.
That said, I’m not a King fan; I don’t much care for horror, so his money making genre isn’t very compelling for me. But I did get super-into The Dark Tower. It’s up there among my favorite works, despite the ending.
Yeah, thanks. I meant to reference it.
It could have been better, but I was OK with it. I didn’t hate it like many people did; I just thought it could have been better.