The Wind through the Keyhole by Stephen King

[Adam]

On their road to the Tower, Roland and his Ka-Tet of gunslingers find themselves trapped by the onset of an icy storm called a Starkblast. To pass the time, Roland tells them a tale from his youth about the time he faced a skinman and an even older legend of a boy caught in a Starkblast of his own.

Read for a book related to inclement weather

Book 4.5 of the Dark Tower cycle. Fits between Wizard & Glass and Wolves of the Calla.

I’m a major Tower Junkie and I’m currently moving through my latest Tower kick, side tangents and all. I’ve read this one before back when it first came out, but this is the first time I’ve read it in chronological order. The general consensus is to read it separate from the series unless you feel like getting bogged down immediately following the dead halt that was the previous book. That is a very valid concern, but, maybe because I went through the audiobook read by sai King himself, it really didn’t feel that way to me.

The start of the story is a little rough, and coming off the back of Robin Furth’s excellent graphic novel series, it did feel less than canon when Roland started bring up his past, but the story gets going properly, it really takes off. Once you’re into the second layer of nested storytelling where young Tim braves the enchantments of the wicked Covenant Man and sets out on his quest, it becomes hard to put down.

It’s a nice slice of additional Dark Tower lore with a handful of cameos from Stephen King’s usual wandering rogues gallery. Worthwhile if you’re a fan of the series and can’t quite let it go. Hefty spoilers for Wizard & Glass, but aside from that theoretically possible to read as standalone.

[Misty]

I just finished this one a couple of days ago. I read through The Dark Tower series last year, but I didn't read this one. I had started the series before, but I never finished it. I decided to go ahead and read them in order of publication. I just didn't get to this one until this year. I also listened to the audiobook with King reading. I've listened to several books that he's narrated, and while he doesn't have the trained actor voice of the other narrators, I find it very intriguing to listen to him read his own books. I feel like we're getting a true interpretation of the book - he emphasizes what he thinks is most important, he puts the emotion that he wrote into the characters.

I was completely invested in Tim's quest. My only disappointment with the book is that we didn't get more of Susannah, Eddie, Jake, and, of course, Oy, the most awesome Billy-Bumbler. I wanted more of their story.