"Don't Ask Silly Questions, I Won't Play Silly Games..."

Since about the middle of summer, I've been reading Stephen King's The Dark Tower series. I've enjoyed it very much, and it has turned out to be more fun to read than Harry Potter, so much so that it is my official reason for not having read The Order Of The Phoenix yet. The *real* reason is I've forgotten what happened in the four Harry Potter books prior. Some may suggest I go back and re-read those four books, to which I say: "Bring on the movies!". And while I'm on that subject, has anyone else noticed that, in the early production stills from Prisoner of Azkaban, Emma Watson is starting to look really cute?

Er.

Yes, well, back to the topic. The Dark Tower is really good, and I'd recommend it to anyone who hasn't heard of it yet and doesn't mind diving into a good helping of fantasy/horror schlock. Yes, schlock. I mean, that's what it is... but it's *fun* schlock, so don't let that categorization deter you. Stephen King has created an interesting cast and constructed a fascinating world for them to do stuff in. He's also spun a pretty good quest yarn, so far, which is a good thing, since LOTR would have been much less interesting if all Frodo and Co. did was hunt mushrooms and listen to Aragorn sing. Thankfully, The Dark Tower's gunslinger and friends (or ka-tet as he calls them) do a whole lot more than shroom and sing. In fact, they don't hardly ever sing, which gives them a one-up on everyone's favorite elf-smitten hero.

I say 'so far' because, as many fans know, the full series hasn't been released yet. The Dark Tower series is something like 20+ years old now... the first book (The Gunslinger) came out in 1980 or thereabouts, and the fourth one (Wizard and Glass) in 1996. That's an awful long wait for fans for the series, which is why I count myself lucky to have only gotten into the books this year, the year that Stephen King has announced the last three books in the series are finished.

Yup! Book 5, Wolves of the Calla is out in bookstores, and both Book 6:The Song of Susannah and Book 7:The Dark Tower will be released next year. So if you are one of those poor folk who were kept waiting since Wizard and Glass came out six years ago, and you've been living under a rock since then, (and the first thing you did when you crawled out of that rock was find an internet connection and come to this site... um, good for you!) I'm letting you know that now's the time to jump back in!

"I do not aim with my hand.
He who aims with his hand has forgotten the face of his father.
I aim with my Eye.
I do not shoot with my hand.
He who shoots with his hand has forgotten the face of his father.
I shoot with my Mind.
I do not kill with my hand.
He who kills with his hand has forgotten the face of his father.
I kill with my Heart."
--The Gunslinger's Catechism, by Stephen King