ktxx22's review against another edition
5.0
Soooo good!!! Easy read. Exciting and kept right in line with the story, as well as the style of writing as Wizard and Glass which I loved!!
domproc's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
abogges1's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
tms98's review against another edition
4.0
Het nieuwste deel van de Dark Tower dat past tussen delen 4 en 5. Tijdens een Stark blast heeft Roland de tijd om een verhaal te vertellen, waarin hij een verhaal verteld, kortom storyception alom in dit boek. Het sprookje waar de naam van het boek op is gebaseerd is weer een zeer mooie van de hand van Stephen King en maar lichtjes van mindere aard dan Eyes of the Dragon.
liamkeith's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
ndenitto's review against another edition
5.0
It's been years since I finished the original seven Dark Tower novels, and I didn't realize how much I missed the world of Roland Deschain.
This book is a story-within-a-story-within-another-story. I get the sense that King got the idea for this fantasy novella called The Wind Through the Keyhole, but didn't think it would work unless he framed it in the world of The Dark Tower. The book begins with Roland, Jake, Susannah, and Eddie venturing towards Calla Bryn Sturgis (between books 4 and 5) and weathering a devastating storm known as a Starkblast. To pass the time as the storm rages, Roland tells a story from his teenage years as an early gunslinger investigating a "skin-man" in a nearby town. The skin-man changes shape to unidentifiable beasts and tears people apart, leaving the town terrified of leaving their homes at night. A young boy, Bill, is the only surviving witness of the latest slaughter and might be able to identify the culprit. While they await the judgment day, young Roland tells Bills the story of The Wind Through the Keyhole to ease his mind. This is a fantasy story that Roland's mother used to read him as a child. TWTTK tells the tale of a boy named Tim whose father is killed by a dragon (or was he?). The father's best friend marries Tim's mother, and turns out to be an abusive dick. After his mother is blinded by a vicious beating, Tim sets off in the Endless Forest to seek the wizard Maerlyn, whose presence was hinted at by a mysterious Man in Black.
All three of these stories are terrific. TWTTK is a feat of whimsy mixed with hope and heartache. The Skin-Man is a good mystery with some terrifying imagery. The Starkblast is a delightful framing device that gives us enough of the four main series characters to make us feel welcome to the world again.
This book is a story-within-a-story-within-another-story. I get the sense that King got the idea for this fantasy novella called The Wind Through the Keyhole, but didn't think it would work unless he framed it in the world of The Dark Tower. The book begins with Roland, Jake, Susannah, and Eddie venturing towards Calla Bryn Sturgis (between books 4 and 5) and weathering a devastating storm known as a Starkblast. To pass the time as the storm rages, Roland tells a story from his teenage years as an early gunslinger investigating a "skin-man" in a nearby town. The skin-man changes shape to unidentifiable beasts and tears people apart, leaving the town terrified of leaving their homes at night. A young boy, Bill, is the only surviving witness of the latest slaughter and might be able to identify the culprit. While they await the judgment day, young Roland tells Bills the story of The Wind Through the Keyhole to ease his mind. This is a fantasy story that Roland's mother used to read him as a child. TWTTK tells the tale of a boy named Tim whose father is killed by a dragon (or was he?). The father's best friend marries Tim's mother, and turns out to be an abusive dick. After his mother is blinded by a vicious beating, Tim sets off in the Endless Forest to seek the wizard Maerlyn, whose presence was hinted at by a mysterious Man in Black.
All three of these stories are terrific. TWTTK is a feat of whimsy mixed with hope and heartache. The Skin-Man is a good mystery with some terrifying imagery. The Starkblast is a delightful framing device that gives us enough of the four main series characters to make us feel welcome to the world again.
bigbear73's review against another edition
1.0
I...just can't. I got a third into this one and had to quit it. I was bored, and dammit, I miss Roland the Gunslinger.
I might come back to it later, but it feels like a waste of time to me right now.
I might come back to it later, but it feels like a waste of time to me right now.
portlandcat's review against another edition
4.0
My favorite Gunslinger novel so far, very well done.
diaryofthebookdragon's review against another edition
4.0
Fair warning: I am a Stephen King and Dark Tower series fan, so this review will hardly be objective, but I will try. :)
If someone would ask me to describe this book in two words, it would be: Storytelling Inception. :D Yes this is a story in a story in a story and as usual the core of the novel (the third story) is the best.
It all begins with the ka-tet we all know and love. We hang out with them for about 10-15% of the book, but we will not learn much new here, it's just a setting for a Roland to tell his friend another story about his start as a gunslinger.
I don't know about you, but I loved these back stories in previous Dark Tower books. As Eddie sums it up, Mid-World is "mysterious yet strangely hilarious" and the same can be said about his history.
Roland tell us about murders he is sent to investigate by his father. (That's another 30% of the book.) The story is solid and although there are not many unexpected twists, it keeps your attention and is interesting. Also, we have a chance to glimpse a little bit more of Roland's personality and feelings after his mother's murder.
And then we get to the real jewel of this novel. While waiting for murder suspects to arrive, Roland tell to a little boy witness a story The tale 'Wind Through the Keyhole' that his mother used to tell his when he was a boy. This story is 50-60% of the book and it has it all: mystery, magic, dragons, fairies, murder. And another cool North Positronic device. I don't know how to start talking about it without spoiler, so I won't.
So, if you are a Dark Tower series fan and you would like another glimpse into the mysteries of Mid-World, read this book. And you would probably want to re-read the whole series again, just like me. :)
If you haven't read first 4 books in Dark Tower series, I would not recommend reading this book. Although they advertise it as a stand alone novel, there are a lot of references to the previous events and some thing that are just skimmed here, are explained in previous books. But if you like fantasy and you are looking for a something different (like bad-ass cowboy main hero), give [b:The Gunslinger|43615|The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower, #1)|Stephen King|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1309288354s/43615.jpg|46575] a try, I think you will not be disappointed.
This review is also posted on Amazon and my blog.
If someone would ask me to describe this book in two words, it would be: Storytelling Inception. :D Yes this is a story in a story in a story and as usual the core of the novel (the third story) is the best.
It all begins with the ka-tet we all know and love. We hang out with them for about 10-15% of the book, but we will not learn much new here, it's just a setting for a Roland to tell his friend another story about his start as a gunslinger.
I don't know about you, but I loved these back stories in previous Dark Tower books. As Eddie sums it up, Mid-World is "mysterious yet strangely hilarious" and the same can be said about his history.
Roland tell us about murders he is sent to investigate by his father. (That's another 30% of the book.) The story is solid and although there are not many unexpected twists, it keeps your attention and is interesting. Also, we have a chance to glimpse a little bit more of Roland's personality and feelings after his mother's murder.
And then we get to the real jewel of this novel. While waiting for murder suspects to arrive, Roland tell to a little boy witness a story The tale 'Wind Through the Keyhole' that his mother used to tell his when he was a boy. This story is 50-60% of the book and it has it all: mystery, magic, dragons, fairies, murder. And another cool North Positronic device. I don't know how to start talking about it without spoiler, so I won't.
So, if you are a Dark Tower series fan and you would like another glimpse into the mysteries of Mid-World, read this book. And you would probably want to re-read the whole series again, just like me. :)
If you haven't read first 4 books in Dark Tower series, I would not recommend reading this book. Although they advertise it as a stand alone novel, there are a lot of references to the previous events and some thing that are just skimmed here, are explained in previous books. But if you like fantasy and you are looking for a something different (like bad-ass cowboy main hero), give [b:The Gunslinger|43615|The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower, #1)|Stephen King|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1309288354s/43615.jpg|46575] a try, I think you will not be disappointed.
This review is also posted on Amazon and my blog.
urbanall's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0