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Song of Susannah (The Dark Tower #6)

by Stephen King

3.92 · rating details · 24,909 ratings · 663 reviews

The next-to-last novel in Stephen King's seven-volume magnum opus, Song of Susannah is at once a book of revelation, a fascinating key to the unfolding mystery of the Dark Tower, and a fast-paced story of double-barreled suspense.

To give birth to her "chap," demon-mother Mia has usurped the body of Susannah Dean and used the power of Black Thirteen to...more

Paperback, 432 pages

Published April 5th 2005 by Scribner (first published June 8th 2004)

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Aug 24, 2011

Kemper rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: alt-universes, dark-tower, 2011-r, fantasy, time-travel, western, sci-fi, horror

“Would’ee speak a word of prayer first, Roland? To whatever God thee holds?”

“I hold to no God,” Roland said. “I hold to the Tower and won’t pray to that.”

Damn, I love that line. It so perfectly sums up Roland, his quest to find the Tower, what it’s cost him, and how he knows he isn’t done paying yet.

For years, it seemed like Dark Tower had been walking in aimless circles during the long breaks between the third, fourth and fifth books. We knew that King ...more

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Apr 16, 2007

taarak rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: Sci Fi and Fantasy Buffs

Shelves: robbarrettsaudiobookshelf

Steven King's magnum opus. I've given a short review of all the books below. Based largely on the strengths of books 1, 2 and 4, I rate the whole series of seven books a three.

On "THE GUNSLINGER" His first book in a very long series starts out well enough.

On "THE DRAWING OF THE THREE" Gotta chuk!? Gotta up-chuk!? Okay, not so bad but not as good as the first.

On "THE WASTELANDS" The series improves with fast-paced, difficult to...more

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Jul 28, 2011

Dan rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: western, plan-on-rereading-one-day, reread-in-2011, weird-western, 2011

The 2011 re-read:
Susanna/Mia uses Black Thirteen and flees to New York to have her baby. Roland, Eddie, Jake, and Callahan get the Manni to open the Unfound Door and end up in the wrong places. Can Roland and Eddie convince Calvin Tower to sell them the lot where the Rose grows? Can Jake and Callahan find Susannah before she has her baby?

Song of Susannah was my least favorite book in the Dark Tower series the first time through. Susannah has never been my favorite character...more

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Jun 19, 2008

Cindy rated it

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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Apr 30, 2008

Kara rated it

· review of another edition

The story wasn't bad, some of the new characters were interesting, but I cannot give it a higher rating because of the author himself.

Stephen King has indulged in the ULTIMATE form of ego stroking in this volume and it pissed me off. The plot could've been structured some other way to avoid what he's doing right now - you *can* adjust plot, much as it sometimes hurts to do so - and the fact that he went ahead and wrote what he wrote is annoying and... well, gross. It's gross.
...more

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Mar 09, 2009

Maureen rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, series

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Dear Stephen King,

Why oh why did you have to write yourself in the story? I understand that you like to indulge in a Hitchcock-like fashion by casting yourself in cameo, extra-like character roles in the movies based on your books. In my humble opinion, that is acceptable. Even when your name and book showed up on the menu board outside the Manhattan Restaurant of the Mind, I could buy it. But what possessed you to give yourself such a concrete and crucial role in the Dark Tower Sa...moreDear Stephen King,

Why oh why did you have to write yourself in the story? I understand that you like to indulge in a Hitchcock-like fashion by casting yourself in cameo, extra-like character roles in the movies based on your books. In my humble opinion, that is acceptable. Even when your name and book showed up on the menu board outside the Manhattan Restaurant of the Mind, I could buy it. But what possessed you to give yourself such a concrete and crucial role in the Dark Tower Saga? Roldan of Gilead bowing to you? How totally out of place with his prideful, self-assured character.

Beginning in Wolves of the Calla, and continuing in SOS, I started to get worried that all the characters were going to come to realize somehow that they never really existed in a world of their own. I wondered with uninspired dread if the ca-tet would find that they were never physically born, raised, educated, loved, hated, or respected. That there was no childhood in Gilead for Roldan, that Susannah was never the Odetta stalked and created by the serial killer, that Jake's never went crazy in his elite private school, or that Eddie never shot up smack with his selfish, foul, brother. With creeping disdain, I wondered if they would discover that they had no reality within their own fictional consciousness. I was prepared to be disgusted when they realized that all they were good for was entertainment for crotchety old men falling asleep on a lazy Sunday afternoons while watching the Gun Slinger episodes on the rerun Western channel.

In short, I felt wary of being cheated as an avid fantasy reader. Even though I understand, and appreciate, that there are no hard and fast rules to the science of the physical world in fantasy writing, you have to admit that there needs to be a consistent world, even parallel worlds, where the denizens adhere by their own set of magical, mystical truths. Doors to other wheres and whens, OK. Fictional, un-living, oblivious characters who are trapped in a series of stories, jumping from page to page, book to book, shelve to shelve? No Thank You!

After finishing Song of Susannah, and reading between the lines a bit, I am hopeful that it is not your intention to create an (anti)climatic moment where you will turn out to be "god and creator" of all in the final book of the series. And of course, I will read the Dark Tower. After all, I have already invested some of my life in six volumes of your series, your Magnum Opus...

I might have enjoyed the reader's journal entries at the end of your story if I could distinguish between fictional and nonfictional accounts. Maybe they are blended tales, but I don't really want to take my time to do the research to find out... One thing I will have to admit: It takes guts to kill yourself off in such a realistic way. That was a spooky touch. And, now that you are "dead" in the "real world" it gives me hope for the last installment.

Sincerely,

A Humble Reader

P.S. Another technique that worked; I will probably read Salem's Lot now as Father Callahan has piqued my interest.(less)

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Jan 19, 2008

Robert Beveridge rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: finished

Stephen King, Song of Susannah (Donald M. Grant, 2004)

It's quite ironic that, less than a year after announcing his impending retirement, Mr. King has graced us with one of the best pieces of writing he's put out in years (excepting "Blind Willie," one of the strongest stories of his career). After a string of books ranging from the mediocre (From a Buick 8, Wolves of the Calla) to the out-and-out bad (Dreamcatcher), during which, one can assume, King decided to hang up his h...moreStephen King, Song of Susannah (Donald M. Grant, 2004)

It's quite ironic that, less than a year after announcing his impending retirement, Mr. King has graced us with one of the best pieces of writing he's put out in years (excepting "Blind Willie," one of the strongest stories of his career). After a string of books ranging from the mediocre (From a Buick 8, Wolves of the Calla) to the out-and-out bad (Dreamcatcher), during which, one can assume, King decided to hang up his hat, we get Song of Susannah.

The sixth book in the Dark Tower series starts just after the end of Wolves of the Calla (so much so that the last sentence in Wolves of the Calla and the first sentence in Song of Susannah could have been part of the same chapter in the same book), and takes place over the next... couple of days? Time's getting weirder in the spaces between Mid-World and Earth. Roland's decline into age-related illness is speeding up, making the quest for the Tower more urgent. Callahan is now part of the crew. So's Mia, albeit in a different capacity. (One wonders, idly, why Roland didn't take Rosa with him, if he took Callahan.) And, in his own odd way, Stephen King himself, which became obvious about fifty pages from the end of Wolves of the Calla.

That last bit sounds cheesy, doesn't it? And it's hard to tell whether it is or not, really, until the final few pages of Song of Susannah. But to his credit, King paints himself as quite the dysfunctional deity, which was by turns amusing and horrifying (given the autobiographical quality of the scenes, which are mostly in-more-detail pieces of the self-abusive parts of hie life he detailed in On Writing). My final thought on it was that it probably could have been done better, but certainly could have been done worse (it blew Jonathan Safran Foer's overhyped and barely readable Everything Is Illuminated out of the water).

So the question is, why's Song of Susannah so much better than the rest of his recent books? It's not necessarily because he's writing in a different style (he had the outline in place when he wrote Wolves of the Calla, too), or because he's changed anything about the way he portrays characters and events. In fact, the only real change I can discern in Song of Susannah is that it's... shorter. Yep. King, who has been working without an editor who does more than token work since the complete and uncut version of The Stand sold eighty-seven trillion copies (and rightly; the editor who worked on the original version of the novel hopefully is picking cigarette butts out of a gutter now), takes a special moment to go out of his way to thank the person who's edited the last few Dark Tower books. Whoever she is, she's gotten it into gear and really started whipping King's writing into shape. Song of Susannah is better-paced, more tense, a lot more visual without losing that special King ability to draw characters and scenes in the space of a few lines, and, well, just overall better. He also adds in a new (to him, anyway) dimension here, with both Roland and Eddie sticking around Earth long enough for them to really smack into the wall of culture shock (usually, they've been making quick trips up till now for one specific thing, while this time they keep getting derailed in almost Luis Bunuel fashion), and King handles it with a gentle wit that's been missing from his novels for years.

The abbreviated scope of this novel, combined with the brilliance of "Blind Willie" from a couple of years ago, gives me some small hope that instead of retiring, King will focus on what got him noticed in the first place, the punch-to-the-gut short stories that showed King both being effective and working with an economy of words he's completely neglected for twenty years or thereabouts. But one way or the other, this left me salivating for the seventh Dark Tower book, and what might or might not come after. **** (less)

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Apr 17, 2008

Greg rated it

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Shelves: fiction, fantasy

As of this writing, I've just finished Song of Susannah and am about to start the 7th and final book in The Dark Tower series, and I'm scared. Not scared in a "oh, stephen king is scary" sort of way, but scared in a "maybe I should've listened to what everyone told me and stopped reading the series after book 5".

And really, I can't say I wasn't warned, but how the heck are you going to stop reading a fantastic book series after getting 5 books in, and knowing the...more

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Aug 30, 2007

Andrew rated it

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Shelves: fiction

If you want to read an amazing seven-book series of epic proportions where the main character is a gunslinging loner and he fights amazing crab-creatures and pulls people through magical doorways while on his way to save the entire universe, then stop reading this series at book 3; skip book 4 and read book 5 and imagine the ending for yourself.

Seriously though, Stephen King did a fantastic job of recovering this story after so many years of it sitting on the shelf--though book 4 wa...more

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Jun 19, 2007

Jason rated it

· review of another edition

I love the Dark Tower Series. However, this book really did seem incomplete. In the past all the books have had a beginning and end with a continuing story arc. Except for maybe Wizard and Glass. This one just felt like an unfinished story. Plus it took him so long to get this series completed, I'm going to have to go back to remember all the characters he refers to. I know he is trying to create a joining mythology for all of his fiction but I really wished he didn't bring himself into th...more

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Dec 21, 2008

Stacey rated it

Shelves: horror, western, fantasy-epic

I've enjoyed this series immensely, all the way up until this book. Now I am reading the last one just to see if he can straighten out the mess he made here. What was he thinking? This is the ultimate in mental masturbation an author can produce. I liked the parts Eddie and Roland right up until they left Tower, and I kind of liked the bits with Jake, but the rest? Crap. It's crap!

I know authors of serials sometimes put themselves in the story (Clive Cussler comes to mind,) but it's...more

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Aug 22, 2008

Josh rated it

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Shelves: novels

This is more like it! After the dreadful Wolves of the Calla, my expectations lowered dramatically for the rest of the series. This volume, however, makes up for lost time. We get another old-fashioned shoot out with Roland, and a whole lot of answers to longstanding questions about the world this series is set in. There are a few clunkers - Susannah taking over a listening station in her mind was a little weird, and I'm not terribly gung-ho about the surprise guest star that appears in thi...more

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Jan 05, 2011

Brian rated it

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Series: 5/1/2005 8/10

The Dark Tower series is Stephen King's magnum opus. It ties together a lot of his books. The gunslinger, Roland, is an interesting character and so is the world the series is set in. I've really enjoyed the early books, re-reading them many times. I thought the series ended kind of weakly though. But then again, it would have been difficult to live up to expectations.

For more info, check out:</b>
Official Stephen King page
Stephen King FAQ
Fan site
Dark Tower site
Dark T ...more

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Feb 28, 2009

Dreadlocksmile rated it

· review of another edition

Stephen King's novel "Song Of Susannah" is the sixth instalment of the seven part epic "Dark Tower" series. The novel runs for 427 pages out of the series total of 3712 pages. Unlike within the previous installations, the book does not include an introduction from King himself (Wolves Of The Calla delivered his last `argument'). However, the book does finish with a two page afterward. Again, the hardback version includes some full colour illustrations (ten in total), this tim...moreStephen King's novel "Song Of Susannah" is the sixth instalment of the seven part epic "Dark Tower" series. The novel runs for 427 pages out of the series total of 3712 pages. Unlike within the previous installations, the book does not include an introduction from King himself (Wolves Of The Calla delivered his last `argument'). However, the book does finish with a two page afterward. Again, the hardback version includes some full colour illustrations (ten in total), this time by Darrel Anderson.

The story begins directly from where the previous novel left off, throwing the reader once again into the mysterious world King has created. From the very beginning, the tale picks up a fast pace, setting down clever twists and turns for each one of the main characters we have followed closely throughout this adventure. With a similar construction of the storyline to that of "Wolves Of The Calla", the fragmented plot lines that gradually draw together is a lot tighter within this action packed novel.

King develops upon the character of Susannah's multiple personalities, bringing out further layers to their rich personalities. Whilst the three separate tracks of the story weave their way through the book, King takes his almost surreal angle of bringing in the real world by introducing himself as a major character within the book. This brings a whole new and original approach to the saga, which tricky as it sounds, works surprisingly well. In doing this, the Dark Tower series becomes a more involved and personal adventure for King.

The novel draws to a close with a chapter constructed from the pages of the character of Stephen King within his own novel. These fictional accounts detail the real life of the writer in a way that reflects the parallel world from the series. Confusing as it sounds, it does work very well, bringing all the previous books tighter together and linking them to our own reality.

All in all, I found this instalment into the "Dark Tower" series one of the most rewarding and enjoyable reads of all the books so far. Short as it is compared with the previous books, "Song Of Susannah" is rich in its storyline and cleverly ties in almost all of the previous events laying the ground for the final book to complete this epic journey. An absolute pleasure to read.(less)

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Jan 01, 2012

Ricky Ganci rated it

· review of another edition

The story starts to come together, and there couldn’t have been a more perfect time for it. The baby, the Crimson King, End-World, the wolves, everything starts to stitch itself together in a very satisfying and intriguing way. It was quite a cliffhanger, and I’m very thankful that I have the final novel right before me on the table. I don’t know if this one was my favorite or not, because they all make up one story—it may as well be one huge novel, for real. But as I start to become comfort...more

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Nov 21, 2011

Jac (For Love and Books) rated it

· review of another edition

I found that I loved this book for many of the same reasons other reviewers said they didn't like this book.

I really enjoyed the relationship between Susannah and her "personalities". I had resisted liking her character throughout the series, but I found in this book I finally felt the connection I had been looking for. Her story was great, it's difficult for me to really vocalize what I loved about her without giving away too many spoilers. But I think King threw some gre...more

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Nov 01, 2011

Joe rated it

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When I first started reading the book, I could not put it down for the first half. The second half of the book seemed to drag on and it was a chore to get through. I could not believe that Stephen King actually adds himself into his own story and has his own characters acknowledge him as their creator. It completely removed the entire fantasy aspect of the story for me and made me very conscious of the fact I was reading characters out of an authors head, and I therefore have lost enthusiasm for...more

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Aug 06, 2011

Paul Kowalski rated it

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After facing down the Wolves at the Battle of Call a Brynn Sturgis, Roland's ka-tet finds itself separated--though not yet broken--when Susannah is taken over by the entity known as Mia, and forced through (yet another) enchanted door, this one leading to New York City in 1999, where Susannah is to give birth to her and Mia's shared child in the not-so-tender care of the minions of the Crimson King. Whatever he may want with Mia's "chap" is unclear, but, whatever it is, it certainly i...more

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Jul 17, 2011

Bre rated it

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To borrow a Sai King word sling,I thought this book was pretty darn "unputdownable." If you haven't read the previous 5, save yourself a bottle of "Astin" and a mind blower of a headache, and start with the Gunslinger. We aren't at the Tower yet, but it feels closer all the time...glad I started this series after King had finished writing it, because I'd be mightily PO'ed if I had to wait for the seventh one to come out. Like King said in the journal, people are spoiled when ...more

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Apr 04, 2011

Angela rated it

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Shelves: permanent-collection

There's something about a crippled, black, schizophrenic, civil rights activist-turned-gunslinger whose body has been hijacked by a white, pregnant demon from a parallel world that keeps a seven-volume story bracingly strong as it veers toward its Armageddon-like conclusion. When Susannah Dean is transported via a magic door on the outskirts of Calla Bryn Sturgis (the scene of much of The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla) to New York City in the summer of 1999, the "demon-mother" who ...more

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Mar 29, 2011

Jessica rated it

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Now I love Stephen King. I have read almost all of his books, which is quite a task when you look at how many books he has written. The Dark Tower series are not necessarily my favorite, but, like any epic work like this, it is exciting to find out what happens next. They are on a quest, and with each book you learn more about how that quest will end and what new obstacles lay in their path.

This is book 6 of that series, and I must say, things have started to get a little too weir...more

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Dec 11, 2010

Jillian rated it

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Shelves: winter-break-10-11

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Excellent story, pacing, writing, and characters...as usual. But King loses a star for stooping to the most ridiculous self-indulgence I've ever encountered in a book.

In Wolves of the Calla, King not only introduced a character from another of his books (Father Callahan from 'Salem's Lot), but played with the concept by having Callahan discover a copy of the book and wonder about who this Stephen King guy was and why he knew all about his life. I thought it was clever and amusing, mo...more

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Aug 13, 2010

Jason rated it

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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Feb 19, 2011

Becky rated it

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Shelves: 2011, audiobook, dark-tower, fantasy, horror, multi-dimensional, reviewed, stephen-king, vampires

I've always really enjoyed this volume of the series, even though, as seems to be the case with many next-to-last books in a series, it's more of a set up to the end than it's own book.

But Song of Susannah is brilliant in that set up. I love the revelations that come from this book, about Roland, about the world, about the Tower and Ka and everything. We learn so much that will be important in this book, that it's surprising that the book is so short. Well... Short for King. The mas...moreI've always really enjoyed this volume of the series, even though, as seems to be the case with many next-to-last books in a series, it's more of a set up to the end than it's own book.

But Song of Susannah is brilliant in that set up. I love the revelations that come from this book, about Roland, about the world, about the Tower and Ka and everything. We learn so much that will be important in this book, that it's surprising that the book is so short. Well... Short for King. The mass market paperback is 542 pages. That's practically a novella in King's world.

I do enjoy the different perspectives of this book as well. Susannah and Mia on their own in New York; Roland and Eddie in Maine; Jake, Callahan and Oy in New York too, but separate. I love watching all of the gunslingers step into their places and show why they are the gunslingers that Ka chose. There are certain scenes in this book that give me chills to read because of this pride. The scene where Jake stands off against a NY cabbie (shows he's got cojones right there, no doubt); the scene where Eddie tells off Cal Tower and Roland sits back and lets him go to town, trusting his instinct and restraint and wit are the two I like most.

One of my favorite things about King's books are the insights that his characters have. I've read a lot of books, but I have never seen the like in other books. It's like... I don't know, a sort of window. To know not only yourself, but the world around you by instinct and intuition and to understand it is something that I could only hope to do. But King's characters (and not just in this book or series, but throughout all of his books) do this naturally. They know when something isn't right, or when the time is just right for something, or they know their own mind about decisions that others would think would make absolutely no sense. It's like King sees the world more clearly than I do, and I appreciate that he's able to write it so clearly that it's not annoying and know-it-all-ish, or worse, Deus ex Machina-ish, even when there is Deus ex Machina.

That probably makes no sense, but I'm not the writer here. LOL

Anyway, this book is great as a set-up to the finale, and I can't wait for the last book in the series, even though I have read it multiple times before. That's how good this series is. :)(less)

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Jan 16, 2011

Ross rated it

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Shelves: fantasy, fiction, owned, 2011

This has always been one of my favorite books in the Dark Tower series. The characters and goals are all well-established, so King allows his focus wander a bit, and toys with the cast and their quest. It includes one of my favorite showdown/gunfight scenes (just behind the showdown with the Wolves in Book 5) and the development of the Susannah/Mia duality and where it progresses fascinates me. Also, while some might find King's hubris on working himself into the novel distasteful, the meta n...more

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Apr 14, 2010

Tim rated it

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Ah Stephen, how I have loved thee. I followed you to face the Dark Man in The Stand, I went into the Derry sewers to face Pennywise the Clown in It. And so when I heard of an even BIGGER tale, I grew very excited indeed.

The trouble is, The Dark Tower Series was always precariously balanced between cool-surreal and just plain WEIRD. The Wolves of the Calla took a deep step into weird, and the Song of Susannah takes place almost entirely in that mystical country.

I'm sorr...more

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Nov 18, 2009

Rebecca rated it

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Recommended to Rebecca by: Sheila

Shelves: books-to-buy

Compared to the few couple of books of the Dark Tower cycle, this was short and to the point (and when you're starting to think of 400 pages as 'short,' you've clearly reached the point of no return). It wasn't my favorite so far, mostly because I find the extended Mia storyline kind of boring. Sorry.

I was okay with the way King wrote himself into the story; it didn't bother me as much as I thought it would. It was done interestingly enough, and with enough originality that I let hi...more

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Jul 26, 2009

Barry rated it

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SOS finally provides some long awaited answers to long-standing questions in the DT series, but unfortunately, the book felt like it lacked conviction. I felt the first 5 books were packed with the conviction that Mr King was behind and involved in the writing. SOS, however, feels more like Mr King held the material at an arms length when he wrote it and is merely trying to get through the book rather than wrestling with it and engaging with the story and characters.

I could sit here ...more

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Jul 30, 2011

Marit rated it

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Shelves: fantasy-sci-fi

Instead of tying up loose ends as the series draws to a close, this sixth book (out seven) adds another layer of mystery and suspense. The story breaks apart into multiple subplots where different pairs (or in the schizophrenic, possessed Susannah's case...trios?) struggle to find their way back to each other but stay on the the path of the Beam that will lead to the Dark Tower. Even the writer of the novels becomes embroiled in the quest for the Dark Tower as King himself appears as a character...more

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Oct 11, 2010

Sara rated it

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Recommended to Sara by: David Smith

Shelves: drastic-measures-volume-1, fantasy, series, current-fiction, the-dark-tower-series, library-book, 2010, vampires

Overall, I really liked this book. I got impatient, wanting to know what was going to happen to Susannah, but it dragged out through the whole book. By the time I was over it, she goes into labor- figures! Ironically, the one storyline that I wasn’t too interested in (Jake, Oy, and Father Callahan) was the only one that I am now looking forward to reading in the next book. Jake and Oy have quickly become my favorite characters, but was not that interested in them because of Father Callahan...to ...more

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About Stephen King

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Stephen Edwin King was born in Portland, Maine in 1947, the second son of Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. After his parents separated when Stephen was a toddler, he and his older brother, David, were raised by his mother. Parts of his childhood were spent...moreLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Stephen Edwin King was born in Portland, Maine in 1947, the second son of Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. After his parents separated when Stephen was a toddler, he and his older brother, David, were raised by his mother. Parts of his childhood were spent in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where his father's family was at the time, and in Stratford, Connecticut. When Stephen was eleven, his mother brought her children back to Durham, Maine, for good. Her parents, Guy and Nellie Pillsbury, had become incapacitated with old age, and Ruth King was persuaded by her sisters to take over the physical care of the elderly couple. Other family members provided a small house in Durham and financial support. After Stephen's grandparents passed away, Mrs. King found work in the kitchens of Pineland, a nearby residential facility for the mentally challenged.

Stephen attended the grammar school in Durham and then Lisbon Falls High School, graduating in 1966. From his sophomore year at the University of Maine at Orono, he wrote a weekly column for the school newspaper, THE MAINE CAMPUS. He was also active in student politics, serving as a member of the Student Senate. He came to support the anti-war movement on the Orono campus, arriving at his stance from a conservative view that the war in Vietnam was unconstitutional. He graduated from the University of Maine at Orono in 1970, with a B.A. in English and qualified to teach on the high school level. A draft board examination immediately post-graduation found him 4-F on grounds of high blood pressure, limited vision, flat feet, and punctured eardrums.

He and Tabitha Spruce married in January of 1971. He met Tabitha in the stacks of the Fogler Library at the University of Maine at Orono, where they both worked as students. As Stephen was unable to find placement as a teacher immediately, the Kings lived on his earnings as a laborer at an industrial laundry, and her student loan and savings, with an occasional boost from a short story sale to men's magazines.

Stephen made his first professional short story sale ("The Glass Floor") to Startling Mystery Stories in 1967. Throughout the early years of his marriage, he continued to sell stories to men's magazines. Many of these were later gathered into the Night Shift collection or appeared in other anthologies.

In the fall of 1971, Stephen began teaching high school English classes at Hampden Academy, the public high school in Hampden, Maine. Writing in the evenings and on the weekends, he continued to produce short stories and to work on novels.(less)

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“In the Land of Memory the time is always Now.
In the Kingdom of Ago, the clocks tick... but their hands never move.
There is an Unfound Door
(O lost)
and memory is the key which opens it.” — 9 people liked it

“A woman in love, is what. In my experience, they got their own laws.” — 2 people liked it

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Song of Susannah (The Dark Tower #6)

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