Stephen King Fans discussion
Buddy Reads
>
2014 DT Buddy Read: #4.5 / #8 - The Wind Through The Keyhole
date
newest »
newest »
«There's nothing like stories on a windy night when folks have found a warm place in a cold world.» I'm firing ahead with this one. First time I've read it in sequence after DT IV. Interesting to be able to think of the ka-tet's relationship together as a direct continuation of Wizard & Glass instead of post DT VII when they already had all that time to grow together.
Hi, I just joined this group today and saw this thread for a buddy read for this book. This is my first time reading the series, so I have no idea what's ahead of me after this book. But I'm really enjoying both the series and this book so far.
Hey welcome aboard, Donna. Glad to hear you are enjoying and that the population of Tower junkies is ever expanding!Reading DT 4.5 in sequence now, it actually does fit...! (well languagey stuff aside that only came into the series from Wolves onwards, ya ken.) There's lots of references to Gabrielle and Susan which help this to continue on from W&G nicely.
Although if I was reading the series for the first time and went back to back with DT 4 and 4.5 I'd probably be fed up with backstory and be dying for some substantial progress along the path of the beam already. xD
Thanks for the welcome. And forewarned is forearmed, you might say, when it comes to this book. I knew that it wouldn't be advancing the story so much as adding depth to Roland's background, so I had no expectations of it beyond that. And I'm usually a very patient reader which most of King's readers are, I should hope. Besides, Roland took years to get to the tower. I can certainly wait one more book's worth of time to get there myself. :)
Good mindset to have. How are you finding the series and how did you discover it? I take it you read the revised version of The Gunslinger, so how has it been being initially faced with all that jargon that disappears during the next few volumes? (taheen, algul siento, the 'do ya' way of talking, etc)
In The Wind Through the Keyhole its interesting to notice Roland referring to Young Bill as 'the boy.' Brings shades of Jake to his character. Also, first person storytelling by Roland! Amazing.
I'm liking the series so far. Though I didn't expect the western atmosphere to continue throughout it, thinking it would be more of a traditional fantasy series. But that's fine with me. I'm a longtime reader of King's, but I just started reading more books classified as fantasy recently, so that's why I thought I'd give the series a try. I actually started it by reading Eyes of the Dragon first. Have you read it or Little Sisters of Eluria? I haven't read the latter one. And I read the original version of The Gunslinger because that's all that my library had to offer. It was a pretty tattered copy. :) So I have no idea what the updated version is like. You must have read both versions, I'm assuming. Which did you like best? But back to this book--I think Bill, Tim, and Jake are all cut from the same cloth, mirroring one another in this book about courage against all odds. And to me, King's voice shines through Roland's voice as storyteller, as King's distinct and incredible voice always seems to do, no matter which characters he speaks through.
Yeah I've read both Eyes of the Dragon and Little Sisters of Eluria. I won't pretend I've read all of SKs library but I've read all of the (main, anyway) DT related stuff. You've probably read ALOT of DT connected novels if you're a Constant Reader. :) Little Sisters is good - its set prior to when we come across Roland at the start of The Gunslinger.Speaking of, I'm glad to hear ka led you to the original version of The Gunslinger and I'm even more glad you stuck with the series after reading it! The revised version is an 'easier' read but in my opinion the way he revised it is a bit... heavy handed. :(
Heavy handed as in too much foreshadowing or something else? Maybe if I get ambitious, I'll give that version a look. But so many other books are calling my name in the meantime, including more of King's, such as The Stand. Talk about an ambitious read in my future. :) But I just finished Wind Through the Keyhole last night. Spoiler alert! I really liked the ending when we learn what was in the letter Roland's mother left for him, giving and asking for forgiveness. I thought that was a very powerful moment that I can't imagine not knowing about until after the final Dark Tower book 7. I'm glad to know this information earlier on in the series, knowing it must have given Roland some comfort. There were a few good gross out moments in this book, too. Just enough for me. I'm on the squeamish side. :) But I was wondering about the high speech symbols at the end and if the spoken words were recognizable or something foreign sounding to us without King "translating" it for the reader.
I am trying to catch up with you guys (20% done with Wizard and Glass right now). Any idea of when you'll be planning on finishing this book and moving on to the next?
Hi, Stephanie. I finished the book two days ago. There's no hurry to discuss it. Whenever you're ready. :) I don't know about anyone else's timetable on reading the next books in line. As for me, I might take a break like I've been doing, which is reading one book every two months or so.
The little palaver between the boy and the Covenant Man is so reminiscent of the gunslinger and the MiB. Well the part where they eat to begin with anyway. The actual palaver bit is their own. Reading this one a bit slower than I did volumes I-IV as its my first reread of it and want to let it sink in as I devoured it first time round. How you girls (and any one else?!) finding it?
I enjoyed the book overall. I could have done with a little more of the skin-man story because I found it interesting and wanted to learn all about the shape-shifting element and the person who was affected by it. As for the story that Roland told Bill, I kept thinking how it was a strange choice for Roland's mother to use it as a bedtime story for him in his youth. I think it would have kept a child awake with fear or excitement, or produced nightmares. What do you think the purpose or moral of that story was? Was Roland's mother trying to prepare him for his own quest when the time came? I thought it was interesting how elements concerning the Tower were incorporated into it.
Okay when Roland talks about "The Throcken and the Dragon" and an old story like it, is he reffering to The Eye of the Dragon? I haven't read it but I saw it in the bookstore and the dragon on the cover had green eyes I'm p sure. Sometimes reading King makes me feel like I'm missing something all the time oAo. I should try to read things close to publishing order after I'm done with dt...
I'm going through the first pages and after all I think you might be right. The eye of the Dragon is sitting in my library, and I haven't read it either, so I can't be a hundred percent sure. My first impression is that something is off. I don't know, I'm reading the book in italian, whereas the other four installments of the saga I read them in both languages. Might be King, or might be the translation, but something seems a bit off, with the dialogue especially...
hmm I'm not sure.. I didn't think that "gobble o'clock" was up to Eddie's usual standard of funny but that's all. Maybe it is the translation..anyhow I'm off to bed now (I'm in nz if u wanna know timezones) I'll be reading again tomorrow!
haha wow! Okay today I read up to where The Wind Through the Keyhole story begins and I'm enjoying it. I think I might finish this book quicker than any dt book so far! (mostly because I have a ridiculous amount of free time but hey). Okay some thoughts: has Jamie been mentioned in the previous books or he is a totally new character? I'm eager to learn more about him, since I still don't know much at all (surely by the end of the book we'll know his entire family history - that's King's style right :p). Also the skin man is a p darn scary villain! Particularly what was said at Serenity (greatly enjoyed the prioress btw) grossed me right out.. Also this Young Bill kid...I wonder if we'll get a repeat (prepeat? can that be a word) of Jake in the first book...I guess I don't have an optimistic outlook on the people in Roland's past . . .
I reached the beginning of The Wind Through the keyhole story and so far I'm liking it. This book repeats the setting of Wizard & Glass, with Roland gotten into a parlay with his ka-tet, but it's a good thing, because if there's something we need in the DT saga is more information on Roland's Gileas past. Jamie I'm pretty sure has been at least mentioned as a part of the first Roland's group of friends/ka-tet, but hasn''t been developed as a character...
I love the importance placed on storytelling in Midworld, and I love the fact that King gets a chance to flaunt his (extraordinary) talents as a short story writer in this book. I have nearly finished the wttk story now, and I do have to say this is NOT the kind of story my mother would have read to me as a child...but it is Roland, so I can believe it.
Hi, I'm John and I'm new to Good Reads. I find myself reading a little bit of everything these days. I just finished Old Man and the Sea and then I started CUJO.
Totally agree that every snippet of info we get about Mid-World/ Roland's past is like gold dust. Jamie de Curry was definitely mentioned in prior volumes, btw. Haha, you're right, The Wind Through the Keyhole isn't a fairytale we'd get in our world. Maybe Roland spiced it up a bit for his adult audience in his retelling...?
John wrote: "Hi, I'm John and I'm new to Good Reads. I find myself reading a little bit of everything these days. I just finished Old Man and the Sea and then I started CUJO."
Hey, a fellow DT junkie I hope?!
My work/study schedule is pretty busy so I'm not going at full speed. I just realized that the book as a russian doll structure, and I just reached the beginning of the Wind Through the keyhole tale. So far I'm enjoying the book, it's nice to get a glimpse of Jamie's personality...
I kind of got who this Covenanter fella might be.. :)
I like your idea of Roland spicing it up, Stevo! What do you think of the wind through the keyhole story so far, Andrea?
Between yesterday and today I caught up with my reading and I finished the book. Have you finished either? Anyway, talking about The Wind Through the keyhole tale, I can say that I liked it very much. It has a great ending, heartfelt and beautifully written...My only regret is that it eats the most part of the novel...
yeah I finished it a while ago. I agree, especially since we didn't learn anything about Jamie! (maybe I'll have to wait). I really enjoyed both stories, though, and I'm already eager to start the next book (Salem's Lot first though!!)
You're doing it right. I've done it backwards, in fact I got to Salem's Lot just a few months ago, years after I finished the DT saga. You're gonna love it....and yes...Jaime, other than he's a kid of few words and has a quite sharp mind, we don't get to know very much else...
Setting up the thread for the Buddy Read discussion.
Remember to mark all spoilers, ideally with the page number/% or chapter or something to let people know where you are in the book.