Jonathan Kent's Blog, page 7

Wizards & Glass - Where the Dark Tower really took off!

It's a strange comment to say that my favourite book series of all time 'took off' from the fourth book on wards. In no way am I dismissing the first three and in no way am I saying the following three books are any better. What I mean to say is that as a reader 'Wizards & Glass' was the novel where it all started to make sense. It was the novel in which Stephen King knew where he was going.

Book 1 'The Gunslinger' was released in 1982. I liked the imagery, but it was a short tale without any great resolution. Book 2 'The Drawing of the Three' released in 1987 was much stronger and I loved the fish out of water stuff as Roland (sort of a gun-toting King Arthur) found himself totally ill prepared for our modern-day world.

Book 3 'The Wastelands' released in 1991 was another great addition to the series, but I got the impression that a lot of the story (especially the Jake Chambers sections) were the author attempting to write some wrongs from books 1 & 2. It ended on a fantastic cliffhanger where our hero's were trapped in a maniacal computerised mono-rail and riddling for their lives. And then we had to wait.

Six years of waiting in fact to see what happened to our merry band of five (including Oy the Billy-Bumbler) and was it worth the wait? You bet!!

I learnt pretty early on that the continuing story of our fabulous five was purely going to be a framing device for Roland's back story and this is what drew me in. Parts of this story were hinted at in 'The Gunslinger', but to have this backstory fully fleshed out into a full novel was just what the doctor ordered.

Fresh from winning his 'guns' in a right of passage, a fifteen year old Roland along with his friends Alain and Cuthbert (character of the series?) are sent west on a seemingly mundane counting mission to the region of Mejis and more specifically the sea town of Hambry. Along with uncovering a plot to bring the downfall of the central region of Gilead, Roland also finds the love of his life in the form of one sixteen year old Susan Delgado.

It is this relationship, so beautifully written and realised which is the heart of the book. Roland, a boy that should be ruled by his head, let's his heart take over; much to the distress of his travelling companions. As Cuthbert and Alain desperately try to get Roland to see sense, The Big Coffin hunters - lead by the disgraced gunslinger Eldred Jonas who himself is under the control of the war-mongering John Farson - are working on a way to make these interfering boys 'disappear'.

It all comes together in a glorious fantasy/western showdown and ends with not one, but two gut-wrenching revelations.

The Dark Tower series for me stands out as 'THE' fantasy book series. So rich and detailed are all the stories, but it is this fourth book where the potential is matched by the words. Books 5, 6 & 7 released in quick succession in 2003 & 2004 round off the series in style. Something that wouldn't have been possibly without the legend and history being fully realised in 'Wizards & Glass'.

A definite must read.

JK...


Wizard and Glass

The Waiting Room - An experiment in keeping it short

I finished my first novel 'Homecoming' towards the end of 2016. I always intended it to be just a one off stand-alone novel to prove to myself that I could actually write a cohesive story. Obviously the jury is still out on that one! but as I was completing the story I realised there were many more tales I wanted to tell about this strange world I created called 'Shael'. I had a really strong outline for the second book in the series called 'Meadowbank' which in a roundabout way starts off where the first novel finished. I also have books 3 & 4 pretty much mapped out.

I knew 'Meadowbank' was going to be a much longer novel than 'Homecoming' with multiple characters and I was excited about the scrapes I was going to put them through, but for some reason I wasn't quite ready to get started.

Christmas 2016 was fast approaching and rather than plunge straight into a project that would take me months to complete, I thought I would test myself and write a short story over the festive period. I have always been intrigued by novelists that write short fiction and the way they can wrap a tale up in such a condensed format. I wanted to know if I could do the same....

The fruits of my labour were this short called 'The Waiting Room'. I think it holds together OK and not to give too much away, it is a subject matter that fascinates me.

If you get a chance, check it out.

Happy reading!!

JK...

The Waiting Room: A short story fantasy thriller

Passengers the movie - pleasantly old fashioned

I approached this movie with a little trepidation. Hollywood blockbusters tend to be somewhat bland and over reliant on special effects rather than story. With two of the current 'hottest' A-listers cast in the lead (Jennifer Lawrence & Chris Pratt) it could have been a huge yawn-a-thon.

Instead, despite it's futuristic setting (120 year mission to re-populate another planet) what we have is a pleasantly old fashioned story. Chris Pratt is on top form as he spends the first half of the movie almost entirely alone (except for Michael Sheen in scene stealing form as an android bartender). I won't give anymore away, but he is then faced with a deadly dilemma - the likes of which you don't tend to see in big budget releases.

Lawrence Fishburn makes a brief appearance which moves the 'ship in peril' story-line along in the final act and the 'Titanic in space' tag is pretty accurate.

But all in all it looked and felt like a Hollywood blockbuster, but had an indie heart ticking away beneath and was all the better for it. Well worth checking out.

4/5 stars

JK...

Official Jonathan Kent Facebook page

Hi all, here's a link to the Official Jonathan Kent Facebook page. Come like the page and join in with all the cool discussions...

https://www.facebook.com/jonathankent...

Cheers

JK...


Homecoming: A modern day horror story

The Waiting Room: A short story fantasy thriller

Phil Collins - Not dead yet, but a sour taste in the mouth.

** spoiler alert ** When it came to music, I think I was quite a late bloomer. I was 14 when I first heard a piece of music that prickled my interest. I also know the exact place. It was late summer 1987, we were returning from a family holiday in Majorca (my parents, my elder sister and younger brother). I can't remember too much of the actual holiday, but what I can remember is disembarking the Monarch airways plane at Gatwick airport. As we exited the plane an epic piece of music was playing over the planes speakers. Apart from 'that sounds cool' I thought no more of if. Then about a week later the same piece of music seeped it's way upstairs from our lounge stereo. I rushed downstairs and my dad was playing a cassette tape recorded from the radio of Genesis live at Wembley stadium (including radio presenter interruptions - the done thing in the day). The song was 'The Brazilian' an instrumental track from their last album 'Invisible Touch'. My dad wasn't particularly enamoured but I was hooked.

Over the next few months I set about finding out more about this band and brought every album I could find in the local second hand music shops. Be it Phil Collins era or Peter Gabriel era, it didn't matter. I had found a BAND, and for me it has always been THE BAND. I followed all of the band members solo careers and have read every book written on them. I also have a clear memory of buying their final album We can't dance (not including 1998's Calling all Stations - also excellent) and the single 'No son of mine' receiving regular airplay on Radio 1! Those were the days...

So it was with a mixture of excitement and trepidation that I approached this biography from Phil Collins. I pretty much knew the history of the band and his solo career and the majority of the first half of the book follow the familiar story threads I knew; Joined an established band as a young drummer; took over as lead singer when Peter Gabriel left; Genesis got bigger; solo career launched after 'Face Value'; got really big; sold out stadiums; won an Oscar and then popularity waned during the 1990's. All of that is here and described in a cheery breezy manner. There is some great nostalgia - especially for his band mates Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks - and some very frank memories of his failed relationships.

This is where I started to struggle. The whole book is written with the same breezy, cheeky chappie nature which is fine for the rose tinted memories of his music and career. But when he talks about his broken marriages, alcoholism and the effects this all has on his children, it is still with this breezy tone. As if to say 'this is me, this is what happened, get over it'. He does take the time to apologise for these actions, but for me these passages on his personal life begin to grate and after finishing I am left with a sour taste in the mouth. It will never take away the enjoyment I have of the music, but rather than setting the record straight, it kind of confirms a lot of the bad press he had during the late 1990's.

There are some great funny moments, and these usually revolve around his attempts at a film career. Be it left on the cutting room floor on 'A hard days night' and 'Chitty, Chitty, Bang, Bang', or a clearly ego driven Dustin Hoffman cutting his scene in 'Hook' to barely a few seconds.

What does also come across is the great warmth he has for his close musical friends; Eric Clapton, Robert Plant, Sting, George Harrison and the singer he replaced in Genesis, Peter Gabriel. Unashamedly he admits to being a complete workaholic - moving from album to tour to producer with barely a break in between. It does show the stark reality of what it takes to maintain a high profile career and the impact it has on your friends and family.

It is a good book and it does shed some more light on parts of his life I wasn't so familiar with. The music was (and will continue to be) great. But unfortunately the sour taste still remains.

Not Dead Yet: The Memoir

The Crown - Netflix original series

Absolutely fascinating Netflix original show called 'The Crown'. I watched all 10 episodes over the last three nights and it's incredible to believe the royal family actually allowed this to be filmed.



It follows the story of a young Princess Elizabeth (a spot on Claire Foy) in the final months of George VI's reign and her subsequent succession to the throne. The pressure this then has on her family and in particular her relationship to Prince Philip (Matt Smith) is shown in a 'warts and all' setting that is very rare.

Mixed with political shenanigans with an ageing Winston Churchill (an excellent John Lithgow) being usurped by a younger Anthony Eden and the way parliament tried to manipulate the crown for their own benefit.

There is also a very sleazy turn from the abdicated Prince Edward. Longing for the crown he stepped away from and desperate for an income to support his lavish lifestyle.

Very hard hitting, but well worth a watch.

JK...

On writing - The book that inspired me the most...

I read this book in one sitting on a long haul flight from Orlando to London in 2005. More than any book I have read, this one got me into writing myself. It could have been a 'look how great I am' review of Stephen King's career, but it wasn't. In fact it was quite the opposite. It taught me sentence structure, creating atmosphere and generally just letting the story tell itself.

If anyone is thinking about writing a novel, you should check this out first.

One thing I did take away was his 'Don't bore us, get to the chorus' approach - if the story is worth telling, then tell it, cut out the waffle that doesn't help the story.

Great read

JK...
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

Homecoming - My first novel

I have a confession to make. Apart from a few short stories and blogs, I have never tackled anything as complex as writing a novel. I love books and I love reading, but the thought of actually writing one seemed far too much for a mere mortal like me. I had ideas by the bucket loads, but actually getting them written I thought was beyond me.


And then my life changed...

Nothing dramatic, but in September 2016 I found myself out of work for the first time in 27 years. The decision to leave work was entirely my own as I could see the years ticking by and I wasn't prepared to do another 27 unfulfilling years.

So I started writing. And writing. Before long I had written over 200 pages of a story that I thought hung together. I shared it with a few friends who told me to publish it. But I still wasn't convinced. Who really wanted to hear an odd fantasy story of a chubby family man travelling between worlds and being chased by the physical manifestation of his fathers inner demon?

I mean, I liked the characters. I thought David was a little like me (frustratingly naive). Katy (smart put-downs) and Lily (Yoda sage) were the Ying and Yang that could finally wake David up to what he was up against and in Dex I had a villain that literally lived to cause misery.

So at the end of November 2016 I closed my eyes and clicked that 'publish' button. My book was out there for the world to see...

I hope you like it and I hope you come back to find out more about the weird and wonderful world of 'Shael'

Thanks for reading

JK...

Homecoming: A modern day horror story

Treachery - a Dark Tower graphic novel review

**spoiler alert** This is the third Dark Tower graphic novel following Gunslinger Born and The Long Road Home. If you know the source material, then you will know this story is based on a few pages from the fourth novel Wizards and Glass.

The story is embellished somewhat to fill in the blanks in the narrative and works all the better for it. You get to learn more about John Farson and his plans to bring the downfall of Gilead. You also get to learn how Roland, Cuthbert and Alain's trip to Hambry has set his plans back.

Some horrific scenes and double crossing that set up the rest of the series. Well worth a read and as always the artwork is first class. If you are looking to fully immerse yourself in Mid-World, then these DT graphic novels are a great place to lose yourself......

The Dark Tower, Volume 3: Treachery

Gunslinger Born graphic novel review

I am not a great fan of graphic novels or comics, but I am a fan of Stephen King and The Dark Tower so I thought I would bite the bullet and give it a go.

This is basically a re-telling of Wizards & Glass (the fourth full Dark Tower novel) with a little of the backstory from The Gunslinger (the fist novel). It tells the story of Roland, Cuthbert and Alain, sent west on a naughty boy errand to the out-lying region of Mejis (think a fantastical western Mexico). There in the town of Hambry they discover a conspiracy that could have a huge effect on the world they know. It is also where Roland (still only a child himself) finds the love of his life in the form of Susan Delgado.

The imagery is fantastic and when I re-read Wizards & Glass it was the images from this graphic novel that came to mind.

The following volume's (The Long Road Home & Treachery) are not so tied to the source material as they are only merely mentioned in the original novels, but this one is a great way to start. Familiarity with the originals whilst setting up the rest of the series.

Stephen King, Dark Tower & Marvel all combined - what is there not to like?

The Dark Tower, Volume 1: The Gunslinger Born