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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
I should have read The Talisman first, so that's what I'm reading now.
i don’t remember the last time when i dnf a book (maybe i have neve done it) but this year has a lot of surprises. I usually always finish books, even the books i don’t like but here it felt like a torture. i read 17% and that’s enough. i can’t handle it anymore
7.16.25 - this is my second reading. Still love it. Love the connection to the Dark Tower. Love the characters. Love the story.
Long Journey to the Dark Tower–Stop 20: Black House
1.5 Stars
I think the biggest issue with both the Jack Sawyer novels is how morally simplistic they are. Good characters are kind and heroic; bad characters are conniving and evil. Rarely is there anything even close to in-between. Thus, nothing in either novel has anything more complex than “how will our hero get out of this one?” This is curious to me because The Eyes of the Dragon is often considered King writing for kids, but that novel is far more morally complex and better for it. Jack Sawyer spends far too long re-remembering his past, a plot device that I’m really sick of in fantasy.
The novel is also very badly paced. The main kid’s disappearance, the event supposedly driving the story, is basically ignored before the awkward second person narration has to forcefully remind the reader about him over halfway through the novel. That second person narrative is also one of my big pet peeves. I despise a patronizing narrator, and one that asks “do you happen to remember him?” or tells me that “Our hearts groan for a hero” is one that I don’t need. With how long this is, the second person narration really should have been cut for length because it adds nothing. However, one might think that these are merely the flaws from someone who hates this series. Note how I don’t assume that’s you reading this review… However, I found several of the flaws I noticed while reading mirrored in the positive review of one of my favorite writers.
I read Neil Gaiman’s 4-Star review after finishing Black House since I am actually interested in what people like about things I hate (and vice-versa). It’s interesting how Gaiman’s “quibbles” are my huge, glaring flaws and much of his review seems to be talking himself into liking it, but maybe I’m reading too much into it. Gaiman essentially makes much of how in-between genres much of this is, not unusual for King’s works, and the use of slippage as a theme, though I don’t think I’d say it’s as deep or interesting as Gaiman tries to make it. The idea that “things in general have just gotten, or will shortly get, worse” is just kind of most plots, isn’t it? Gaiman notes how weirdly perfect the characters are. This is basically my issue with the simplistic morality from earlier, and it basically prevents any of these characters from being dynamic. They can’t really do anything unexpected. Gaiman covers for this by noting the closeness in name to Bleak House, which is a book several characters are reading in the novel as well. I haven’t read Bleak House, but I have read several other Dickens novels and got my Master’s Degree in Victorian Literature, and I have to say that while the characters can sometimes be simple, the morality of the tale is usually highly complex. Great Expectations involves combating preconceived notions about criminality and wealth as indicators of moral character. The closest this novel gets is struggling to believe that an old man can magically commit crimes in a world where we already know magic exists… Gaiman glosses over the very real feeling that “ the characters feel like counters being pushed back and forth across a board” the the “final plot twist which smack[ing] less of inevitability than … checking off the last item on their to-do list.” Gaiman tries to argue that this is for pace while mentioning a section where King and Straub repeat plot points, a thing that happens very frequently. The characters run from checkpoint to checkpoint, unable to skip an appointment to save a dying man and spending way too long not flipping to the Territories or wherever because the plot says so. Our hero just doesn’t act on information given to him. It’s very frustrating. I don’t mean to say Gaiman is being dishonest, but I do think he’s being generous to some friends, and I appreciate him being candid about the novel’s flaws that I just can not get over.
As of writing this, King is threatening to finish a third novel in this series based on an outline Straub sent him, and I sincerely hope he doesn’t. I’d rather he write a thousand more Holly novels because she’s a far better character than perfect boy/man Jack Sawyer.
Dark Tower Connections: I thought this ended the storyline that grows from “Everything’s Eventual” (2002)
to “Low Men in Yellow Coats”, and I'm glad it doesn't because those stories deserved better than the “makes it easy” happy ending from this piece of crap.
Next Stop: From a Buick 8, a better novel that I desperately needed.
My Dark Tower Read Roadmap
a. “Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came” poem by Robert Browning
b. "The Dark Man" (1969 poem)
c. “Jerusalem’s Lot” (1978) [reread]
1. Salem's Lot (1975) [reread]
d. “One for the Road” (1977) [reread]
Skipped: The Stand (1990 revision) [recent read, didn’t enjoy]
2. The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger (2003 revised edition)
3. The Eyes of the Dragon (1984)
4. The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three
e. “The Mist” (1980) [reread]
f. “The Jaunt” (1981) [reread]
g. “Mrs. Todd’s Shortcut” (1984) [reread]
5. The Talisman (1984) [reread]
6. It (1986) [reread]
h. "The Reploids" (1988 short story in The Skin Trade)
Skipped: Needful Things (1991) [recent read, did enjoy]
7. The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands (1991)
8. Insomnia (1994)
9. Bag of Bones (1998)
10. Rose Madder (1995)
11. The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass (1997)
12. The Regulators (1996)
13. Desperation (1996)
14. The Dark Tower: The Wind Through the Keyhole (2012)
15. Everything’s Eventual (2002)
i. "Everything's Eventual" (1997)
j. "The Little Sisters of Eluria" (1998)
16. Storm of the Century (1999 published screenplay)
k. Storm of the Century (1999 television miniseries)
17. Hearts In Atlantis (1999)
18. The Plant (2000)
19. On Writing (2000)
20. Black House (2001)
21. From A Buick 8 (2002)
22. The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla (2003)
k. Kingdom Hospital (2004 television series)
23. The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah (2004)
24. The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower (2004)
25. The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger (1982 version)
26. Cell (2006)
27. The Colorado Kid (2005)
l. "Ur" (2009) from The Bazaar of Bad Dreams (2015) [reread]
m. “Mile 81” (2011) [reread]
28. Duma Key (2008)
Skipped: 11/22/63 (2011) [recent read, mostly enjoyed]
1.5 Stars
I think the biggest issue with both the Jack Sawyer novels is how morally simplistic they are. Good characters are kind and heroic; bad characters are conniving and evil. Rarely is there anything even close to in-between. Thus, nothing in either novel has anything more complex than “how will our hero get out of this one?” This is curious to me because The Eyes of the Dragon is often considered King writing for kids, but that novel is far more morally complex and better for it. Jack Sawyer spends far too long re-remembering his past, a plot device that I’m really sick of in fantasy.
The novel is also very badly paced. The main kid’s disappearance, the event supposedly driving the story, is basically ignored before the awkward second person narration has to forcefully remind the reader about him over halfway through the novel. That second person narrative is also one of my big pet peeves. I despise a patronizing narrator, and one that asks “do you happen to remember him?” or tells me that “Our hearts groan for a hero” is one that I don’t need. With how long this is, the second person narration really should have been cut for length because it adds nothing. However, one might think that these are merely the flaws from someone who hates this series. Note how I don’t assume that’s you reading this review… However, I found several of the flaws I noticed while reading mirrored in the positive review of one of my favorite writers.
I read Neil Gaiman’s 4-Star review after finishing Black House since I am actually interested in what people like about things I hate (and vice-versa). It’s interesting how Gaiman’s “quibbles” are my huge, glaring flaws and much of his review seems to be talking himself into liking it, but maybe I’m reading too much into it. Gaiman essentially makes much of how in-between genres much of this is, not unusual for King’s works, and the use of slippage as a theme, though I don’t think I’d say it’s as deep or interesting as Gaiman tries to make it. The idea that “things in general have just gotten, or will shortly get, worse” is just kind of most plots, isn’t it? Gaiman notes how weirdly perfect the characters are. This is basically my issue with the simplistic morality from earlier, and it basically prevents any of these characters from being dynamic. They can’t really do anything unexpected. Gaiman covers for this by noting the closeness in name to Bleak House, which is a book several characters are reading in the novel as well. I haven’t read Bleak House, but I have read several other Dickens novels and got my Master’s Degree in Victorian Literature, and I have to say that while the characters can sometimes be simple, the morality of the tale is usually highly complex. Great Expectations involves combating preconceived notions about criminality and wealth as indicators of moral character. The closest this novel gets is struggling to believe that an old man can magically commit crimes in a world where we already know magic exists… Gaiman glosses over the very real feeling that “ the characters feel like counters being pushed back and forth across a board” the the “final plot twist which smack[ing] less of inevitability than … checking off the last item on their to-do list.” Gaiman tries to argue that this is for pace while mentioning a section where King and Straub repeat plot points, a thing that happens very frequently. The characters run from checkpoint to checkpoint, unable to skip an appointment to save a dying man and spending way too long not flipping to the Territories or wherever because the plot says so. Our hero just doesn’t act on information given to him. It’s very frustrating. I don’t mean to say Gaiman is being dishonest, but I do think he’s being generous to some friends, and I appreciate him being candid about the novel’s flaws that I just can not get over.
As of writing this, King is threatening to finish a third novel in this series based on an outline Straub sent him, and I sincerely hope he doesn’t. I’d rather he write a thousand more Holly novels because she’s a far better character than perfect boy/man Jack Sawyer.
Dark Tower Connections: I thought this ended the storyline that grows from “Everything’s Eventual” (2002)
to “Low Men in Yellow Coats”, and I'm glad it doesn't because those stories deserved better than the “makes it easy” happy ending from this piece of crap.
Next Stop: From a Buick 8, a better novel that I desperately needed.
My Dark Tower Read Roadmap
a. “Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came” poem by Robert Browning
b. "The Dark Man" (1969 poem)
c. “Jerusalem’s Lot” (1978) [reread]
1. Salem's Lot (1975) [reread]
d. “One for the Road” (1977) [reread]
Skipped: The Stand (1990 revision) [recent read, didn’t enjoy]
2. The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger (2003 revised edition)
3. The Eyes of the Dragon (1984)
4. The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three
e. “The Mist” (1980) [reread]
f. “The Jaunt” (1981) [reread]
g. “Mrs. Todd’s Shortcut” (1984) [reread]
5. The Talisman (1984) [reread]
6. It (1986) [reread]
h. "The Reploids" (1988 short story in The Skin Trade)
Skipped: Needful Things (1991) [recent read, did enjoy]
7. The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands (1991)
8. Insomnia (1994)
9. Bag of Bones (1998)
10. Rose Madder (1995)
11. The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass (1997)
12. The Regulators (1996)
13. Desperation (1996)
14. The Dark Tower: The Wind Through the Keyhole (2012)
15. Everything’s Eventual (2002)
i. "Everything's Eventual" (1997)
j. "The Little Sisters of Eluria" (1998)
16. Storm of the Century (1999 published screenplay)
k. Storm of the Century (1999 television miniseries)
17. Hearts In Atlantis (1999)
18. The Plant (2000)
19. On Writing (2000)
20. Black House (2001)
21. From A Buick 8 (2002)
22. The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla (2003)
k. Kingdom Hospital (2004 television series)
23. The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah (2004)
24. The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower (2004)
25. The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger (1982 version)
26. Cell (2006)
27. The Colorado Kid (2005)
l. "Ur" (2009) from The Bazaar of Bad Dreams (2015) [reread]
m. “Mile 81” (2011) [reread]
28. Duma Key (2008)
Skipped: 11/22/63 (2011) [recent read, mostly enjoyed]
A follow-up to another beloved King novel, The Talisman. I was more intrigued by the Earthly story than the Territories one, I'm afraid.
And when it says stop reading...stop reading.
And when it says stop reading...stop reading.
I don't know what to say about this series. "The Dark Tower" series meant so much to me. Not only because of my father, but because I read this from the time I was a teen until I was 24. I was overwhelmed when the book came out and happily bought the hardback (it sits with the rest of the books in the series on my shelf). But as I read and read I realized that the ending of this book was not going to be a joy. Oh no, it was going to be pain, and it was going to undo a lot of things that came before and things that King had promised would be done. The ending with the warning will be one of the all time insults to readers that I can think of that an author has done to a reader.
And so, my dear Constant Reader, I tell you this: You can stop here. . .
Should you go on, you will surely be disappointed, perhaps even heartbroken . . . There is no such thing as a happy ending. I never met a single one to equal “Once upon a time.”
Endings are heartless.
Ending is just another word for goodbye.
I think that King went back and redeemed himself with "[b:The Wind Through the Keyhole: A Dark Tower Novel|15801262|The Wind Through the Keyhole A Dark Tower Novel|Stephen King|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1344401866l/15801262._SY75_.jpg|15678889]" but I still feel really bitter about the last book following our broken ka-tet. I should have known though since "[b:Black House|10607|Black House (The Talisman, #2)|Stephen King|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388263466l/10607._SX50_.jpg|1738813]" had me going that maybe King should not be doing series. That came out before this book and due to that I am going to review both "The Dark Tower" and "Black House" because King set it up that events that occurred in "Black House" would have some bearing on what occurs in "The Dark Tower." Spoiler alert, they do not align.
3 stars-"Black House" is the sequel to "The Talisman". I read the first book when I was 16 or so. It came out in the 80s, but I didn't get my first taste of King until my pre-teen/teen years. And for a while there I was reading his books out of order because I was sneaking from my dad when he was done with them, but not realizing that some books followed each other or were linked. "Black House" follows Jack Sawyer, our Jack who is now an adult and a retired detective living in L.A. Jack still dreams of the territories of his youth. However, now Jack is pulled back into that world when he realizes that a child that is kidnapped and so many others are linked to a killer who has ties to the territories.
So what I liked about this, King pulls the sequel more to the world of the Dark Tower. We hear about the low men in yellow coats. We read about the "breakers". We find out why one boy is so special and what the low men want/need him and other children for. We get Jack's former partner/mentor Speedy Parker who we find is somewhat similar to the "gunslingers" but is not. And we finally have Jack choosing where he wants to be.
I loved the writing in this, the dialogue, the ties back to the first book. I am not going to lie though, the book gets really really slow in the middle. To the point that a few times I found myself dozing off. I recall now that King started getting really verbose in his books and they just felt endless.
But what this book gives many Dark Tower fans or at least me was a hope that we were going to see some of these people in the final book. Especially because the Crimson King is mentioned.
3 stars-"The Dark Tower" just falls down. I think I knew it wasn't going to be what I hoped when we had a character who promised to be with Roland to the end decide to nope on out of there. It just went against the grain. King seemed hell-bent on including things from the Harry Potter world too which now of course read as terribly outdated. I know that King has been a fan of J.K. Rowling but he may want to edit some stuff out.
Roland is our constant in this and in the end I felt sad and letdown for him. It seemed like Roland is going to be made to pay in a constant spiral (or is he?) and I just felt tired by the whole thing.
And the Crimson King. The big bad we heard about through not only this series, but "Insomnia" and "Black House" and other books is just not even worth the hype. We get that mess with Mordred too and I really wish that King had restrained himself from that whole story-line.
I think what gets me is what was the point of Roland even continuing his quest. We read in "Black House" that breakers are gone so the Beam is supposedly safe. I guess Roland needs to stand there and sing his people's names. But it just felt like he had to go cause that was the way that King wanted things to happen. King including himself (or a version of himself) into this series will never sit right with me and it's beyond ridiculous.
Of course King ends things with his coda and does the whole you have to have faith and I went man you could have written a better book/ending.
And so, my dear Constant Reader, I tell you this: You can stop here. . .
Should you go on, you will surely be disappointed, perhaps even heartbroken . . . There is no such thing as a happy ending. I never met a single one to equal “Once upon a time.”
Endings are heartless.
Ending is just another word for goodbye.
I think that King went back and redeemed himself with "[b:The Wind Through the Keyhole: A Dark Tower Novel|15801262|The Wind Through the Keyhole A Dark Tower Novel|Stephen King|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1344401866l/15801262._SY75_.jpg|15678889]" but I still feel really bitter about the last book following our broken ka-tet. I should have known though since "[b:Black House|10607|Black House (The Talisman, #2)|Stephen King|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388263466l/10607._SX50_.jpg|1738813]" had me going that maybe King should not be doing series. That came out before this book and due to that I am going to review both "The Dark Tower" and "Black House" because King set it up that events that occurred in "Black House" would have some bearing on what occurs in "The Dark Tower." Spoiler alert, they do not align.
3 stars-"Black House" is the sequel to "The Talisman". I read the first book when I was 16 or so. It came out in the 80s, but I didn't get my first taste of King until my pre-teen/teen years. And for a while there I was reading his books out of order because I was sneaking from my dad when he was done with them, but not realizing that some books followed each other or were linked. "Black House" follows Jack Sawyer, our Jack who is now an adult and a retired detective living in L.A. Jack still dreams of the territories of his youth. However, now Jack is pulled back into that world when he realizes that a child that is kidnapped and so many others are linked to a killer who has ties to the territories.
So what I liked about this, King pulls the sequel more to the world of the Dark Tower. We hear about the low men in yellow coats. We read about the "breakers". We find out why one boy is so special and what the low men want/need him and other children for. We get Jack's former partner/mentor Speedy Parker who we find is somewhat similar to the "gunslingers" but is not. And we finally have Jack choosing where he wants to be.
I loved the writing in this, the dialogue, the ties back to the first book. I am not going to lie though, the book gets really really slow in the middle. To the point that a few times I found myself dozing off. I recall now that King started getting really verbose in his books and they just felt endless.
But what this book gives many Dark Tower fans or at least me was a hope that we were going to see some of these people in the final book. Especially because the Crimson King is mentioned.
3 stars-"The Dark Tower" just falls down. I think I knew it wasn't going to be what I hoped when we had a character who promised to be with Roland to the end decide to nope on out of there. It just went against the grain. King seemed hell-bent on including things from the Harry Potter world too which now of course read as terribly outdated. I know that King has been a fan of J.K. Rowling but he may want to edit some stuff out.
Roland is our constant in this and in the end I felt sad and letdown for him. It seemed like Roland is going to be made to pay in a constant spiral (or is he?) and I just felt tired by the whole thing.
And the Crimson King. The big bad we heard about through not only this series, but "Insomnia" and "Black House" and other books is just not even worth the hype. We get that mess with Mordred too and I really wish that King had restrained himself from that whole story-line.
I think what gets me is what was the point of Roland even continuing his quest. We read in "Black House" that breakers are gone so the Beam is supposedly safe. I guess Roland needs to stand there and sing his people's names. But it just felt like he had to go cause that was the way that King wanted things to happen. King including himself (or a version of himself) into this series will never sit right with me and it's beyond ridiculous.
Of course King ends things with his coda and does the whole you have to have faith and I went man you could have written a better book/ending.
A really good read- LOVED all the Dark Tower tie-ins in this one…but also a good stand-alone (albeit a sequel to The Talisman) storyline that kept me turning the pages.
Many years later, we revisit Jack, who is working as a detective. He's suppressed all memories of the Territories and is called in to help solve the case of the Fisherman, a cannibal serial killer terrorizing the small town of French Landing. It's a very different feel from The Talisman and almost seems like there are completely different characters. But things are tied in when the Territories come back into play. But ultimately, I feel like The Talisman didn't need a sequel and should have remained a standalone. I was bored and confused most of the time when reading Black House.
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
So glad I waited and read this after the Dark Tower!