The Dark Tower by Stephen King
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I began my quest alongside Roland in September of 2010 with The Gunslinger. I was sitting in a hospital room with my husband who had suffered a terrible accident at work. I got an email from my local library on September 8, 2012, telling me that my reserved copy of The Dark Tower was ready to be picked up. Two years TO THE DAY of my husband's accident and the day I turned to page one in this entire series. Ka.
In this final installment, Roland and his ka-tet are broken apart, over and over. It's really quite devestating to read. Through all the loss and pain, we get to witness a bit of honesty, a bit of doubt, and a bit of love...all from the bold and single-minded Gunslinger.

I honestly can't say I loved the entire book. Some parts were pretty slow, as in the previous books. I can't say I loved more appearances by Stephen King. I, as a lot of other Constant Readers, found this to be too self-indulgent. After reading the Coda, I am content with his explaination. I can't say I loved the ending, because it was almost too unfair to be true.

I can say I loved the journey.

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Book Review: 'Salem's Lot by Stephen King

'Salem's Lot by Stephen King
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Not my favorite King novel, but I'm still kinda surprised I had never picked this one up. My main motivation was reading about Pere Callahan in the Dark Tower series...he figured in the latter half of this book pretty heavily.

I thoroughly enjoyed the author's forward, as I often do. I love hearing SK describe his childhood, the books he read growing up, and a book's backstory- why or how it came to be written.

So, the story itself-- vampires. Not much else to say. King sticks close to common vampire lore and kills off some likeable and sympathetic Not quite as creepy as I had imagined, but still a good read.

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Book Review: 11/22/63 by Stephen King

11/22/63 by Stephen King
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This almost qualifies as historical fiction, if it weren't for the classic supernatural SK bent. Published in 2011, this may be my favorite recent work from King.

Our protagonist Jake (King sure likes that name, huh?) is a humble schoolteacher who finds himself on a time-traveling quest to thwart the assassination of John Kennedy. Jake orginallly believes that each time he goes back to his "now", everything he changed during his time travel is reset- wiped out. As he becomes more familiar with the dubious rules of his "rabbit hole", he finds out this is not the case. The expected moral delimma about messing with the space-time continuum unfolds, and Jake is faced with the potential consequences of saving the woman he loves.

This book has the wonderful, spine-tingling weirdness of some of my other favorite King stories, like Duma Key and Rose Madder...characters you come to love...a bittersweet ending. SK fans and conspiracy theory nuts alike will enjoy this jaunt into the late 1950's and early 60's.

All that being said, there are some very passionate and eloquent reviews by fellow Goodreads members- I urge you to check them out!

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Book Review: Song of Susannah by Stephen King

Song of Susannah by Stephen King
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Being the sixth and next-to-last book in the Dark Tower series, I can only hope that some of the more mundane scenes in this comparativly short installment are simply a set-up for the final novel.

Song of Susannah has its good moments- Eddie and Roland's shoot-out when they cross over the Unfound Door, Jake's use of his strengthening Sight, and some of the Mia/Susannah internal conversations- but nothing great. Overall, the struggle between Mia and Susannah becomes strung-out and boring, without the benefit of any sort of conclusion about the "chap". At least not in this novel.

The insertion of King himself into the story is a point of contention for many fans- you either love it or hate it. I was mildly interested in the references to such an eventuality in previous books in the series, but when he was in the story as a fairly important plot event, I was disappointed. The Coda at the end of the book sorta makes up for it- it contains pages from King's journal that further explain his process emotions concerning the series' development.

As I still have to finish the series, I can't tell you if skipping this book will leave you lost or not. In my opinion, certainly the weakest of the Dark Tower books.

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Wolves of the Calla by Stephen King
My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Ahhh, Roland. We love you.

Those readers who have been following Roland and his ka-tet on their quest for the Dark Tower will be captivated by this fifth book in the series.

Where book #4, Wizards and Glass, has a ridiculous reference to the Wizard of Oz, in this story we encounter characters from and references to other King novels. Clever. Throw in light sabers and a bit of Harry Potter...that's how it goes on the Path of the Beam.

In this part of the series, our group of travelers comes across a village that needs their help to defeat the Wolves, who come and steal children. Being who they are, the group agrees and are rewarded with another dangerous and mysterious crystal ball.

In the midst of planning their defeat of the Wolves, Roland and his group travel around in time and space to protect the rose that Jake first saw in New York in the 70's.

Jake grows up more and more throughout this book- he comes across challenges that are different from, but no less sobering, than gunfights. Susannah's dangerous pregnancy continues and she begins slipping into another personality, Mia, who is the creature's mother.

As for Roland, he continually reminds us that he is gunslinger through and through. With little sentimentality and even less mercy, he leads his ka-tet through their task in the calla and on towards the Tower.      

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Book Review: Just After Sunset by Stephen King

Just After Sunset by Stephen King
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Friday the 13th...an apt date for a review of a Stephen King book, no? However, if you're looking for spooky and supernatural, this is not the best place to find it. Just After Sunset is a collection of (mostly) previously published short stories that cover a wide range of themes, including 9/11, the abduction of a single woman, revenge--but only occassionally the creepy sort of SK stuff I love.

That being said, there were a few stories I really liked, creepy or not. The longest story in the collection is called "Stationary Bike", about a man on a health kick who winds up somewhere unexpected on his exercise bike. Spook factor of about 2/5. "The Things They Left Behind" has a higher Spook factor but just didn't strike my fancy, even with (or maybe because of) the emotional ties to 9/11. My favorite title in the book is "N", which offers both a good dose of the supernatural and a good story.

Being a huge King fan, I was fairly disappointed in this collection. It's not one I would add to my bookshelf. But the man sure can turn a phrase...so it certainly isn't all bad, just not one of his better offerings.

“She ran out of her marriage the way a woman can run out of a pair of sandals when she decides to let go and really dash.” (from The Gingerbread Girl)

“She didn't see him at first. She was watching the dancers. Her color was high, and there were deep dimples at the corners of her mouth. She looked nine miles out of place, but he had never loved her more. This was Willa on the edge of a smile.” (from Willa)


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