Wolves At The Door

The ka-tet dine with their perspective employers, feeling out the sharecroppers and the mysterious Father Callahan and learning that Thunderclap is somewhat of a dead zone populated by the wolves. When Eddie excuses himself to take a dump in the woods, he discovers Andy is quite the stealthy robot. Startled while still squatting, the gunslinger has a couple of questions for the apologetic machine—the most troubling of which regards the wolves: “... how do you know when they’re coming?”

The normally genteel machine turns haughty, “What’s your password, sai Eddie?” Turns out the bot is restricted from divulging this information under directive nineteen (there’s that damn prime). So, I’m making the call early: Andy is in cahoots with the wolves. Agreed? Of course, I’ve come to not trust any machine with a North Central Positronics, LTD label.

Here's a link to follow for the rest of my article on Stephen King's Wolves of the Calla.

Reading...

I'm eighty-six pages into Stephen King's WOLVES OF THE CALLA (2003). It's part of his epic The Dark Tower series and influences for this entry include THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (1960) and SEVEN SAMURAI (1954). Biggest shocker is a character from King's SALEM'S LOT (1975) makes a return and looks to be an ongoing character.

Well, anyway, that's why I'm up at 4:26 a.m.

“You know my name..."

Here's a sample of my latest article (and excerpt) on WIZARD AND GLASS:

Back in town, Jonas learns an emissary from John Farson has arrived and goes to meet him. The encounter startles Jonas, but, perhaps even more us the reader.

Jonas whirled on his heels, suddenly feeling old and slow. Standing there was a man of medium height, powerfully built from the look of him, with bright blue eyes and the rosy cheeks of either good health or good wine. His parted, smiling lips revealed cunning little teeth which must have been filed to points—surely such points couldn’t be natural. 

[…]

“You know my name; I would know yours.”

“Call me Walter,” the man in black said, and the smile suddenly fell off his lips. “Good old Walter, that’s me. Now let us see where we are, and where we’re going. Let us, in short, palaver.”

Communication Breakdown

I've had almost zero internet for two weeks, and after several days of junkie withdrawals I found myself reading more of the daily newspaper which was a '17 goal, but on the downside my television viewing spiked. Not quality TV, mind you, but binging on fatuous comedy shows. Biggest issue has been not connecting with all my fellow Bloggers, though hopefully by week's ends I will be able to make the rounds.

In the meantime, if you get a moment, here's my latest article on Stephen King's Wizard and Glass.

The Drawing of the Three

Thank you for joining me on a journey of Stephen King’s The Drawing of the Three (1987), the 2nd book in The Dark Tower series. Several of us have just finished a trek through The Gunslinger (1982), which originally was a collection of short stories, later bound together, effectively capturing a world certainly familiar to us—Wild West background set to modern pop tunes—but stirring nightmarish images where time is out of mind and people displaced in various purgatories. The main protagonist, Roland Deschain of Gilead, is obsessed with locating the Dark Tower, so he shadows the man in black, who seems to have answers when confronted, though they are obtusely revealed with a turning over of Tarot cards. The man in black explained that Roland has caught the attention of his superior, who remains unknown, taking an interest in Roland’s endeavors.

With Stephen King's chapters getting a little strange, the plan is to read a section a week (about 100 pages), and each Tuesday we will meet to discuss major themes, motifs, and reactions. Make sure to bookmark the HQ page for the schedule and links to all of the chapter discussions as they go live! This chapter sees Roland wandering across a different kind of desert but, this time, without a known purpose—that is, until he happens upon a door. Join us in the comments for a lively discussion of the start of The Drawing of the Three through The Prisoner, Chapter 2: “Eddie Dean.”

Chapter 5: The Gunslinger and the Man in Black

Roland finally catches up with the man in black!

The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger, Chapter 3

I’ve been thinking that Jake’s safety is hanging by a thread. First, we know that he has died in our world when the man in black pushed him in front of a moving car, and then he just happens to be residing, a little too conveniently, at that way station when Roland came along. King writes that Roland feels love for the child but his Captain Ahab obsession for the Dark Tower—well, let’s just say, I don’t see this eleven-year-old slowing down Roland from his goals.

More of my thoughts on chapter 3: The Oracle and the Mountains at Criminal Element. Hope you stop over there and join in the conversation.

The Way Station

My reread of  The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger, chapter 2 is now live.

In Search Of...

My search for The Dark Tower begins...

The Gunslinger

Beginning September 6, I’ll be doing a reread of Stephen King’s THE DARK TOWER I: THE GUNSLINGER (first published in 1982, significantly revised in 2003) for Macmillan’s Criminal Element blog. This will a be a chapter a week review (every Tuesday) and it’s a whole lot more fun if I can get some other readers involved—if you don’t have a copy I’m sure most libraries carry one. I will do a write-up of each chapter and in the comments, hopefully, you can add to my piece with your own thoughts.

There’s a 2017 film on the way starring Idris Elba as Roland/The Gunslinger and Matthew McConaughey as the Man in Black who Roland pursues. So the reread is a good way to get on board and re-familiarize yourself with the story

.

Stephen King Discusses Short Stories

Stephen King raising money for heating bills

Stephen King has a pretty good idea of what's scary, and the author is telling residents of his home state of Maine that freezing is one of them.

Click here for full story.

Herman Wouk Is Still Alive

The latest from Stephen King at the Atlantic.

Thanks, Sandra.