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jenhurst's review against another edition
3.0
I mean this wasn’t a bad book but i just didn’t really see the point. After loving wizard and glass, I was really disappointed with this book.
aceinit's review
4.0
A simple but solid tale set in a time and written in a style that will take the reader back to the before the garbled craziness that began with Wolves of the Calla. (Wolves, for me, was a turning point in the series when it went from being a remarkable opus into a rapidly-deterioriating trainwreck…but that’s a tale for another day).
The Wind Through the Keyhole is an interesting look at Roland’s world, and a coming-of-age tale that, in many ways, parallels Roland’s own youth. But those looking for a tale about Roland or his ka-tet run the risk of being disappointed.
Though the events take place shortly after the conclusion of The Waste Land and the real-time story of Wizard and Glass, Roland, Eddie, Susannah, Jake and Oy only frame the central narrative, and feature in it very little. The story-within-the-story, featuring Roland and Jamie DeCurry and taking place shortly after Roland's youth as shown in Wizard and Glass is a second frame story. The real hero of this novel is a boy named Tim Ross, and his tale—as told by Roland—dominates the narrative.
At first, I was disappointed by this. I had, after all, bought a Dark Tower novel and went into it with expectations of a Roland-centric story. However, once I put the initial disappointment of seeing how much of the book was devoted to Tim aside, I found it a fast and enjoyable tale, very reminiscent of earlier installments, particularly Wizard & Glass.
Readers who weren’t fond of Wizard may not care much for Keyhole either, but I, for one enjoyed this volume thoroughly, and hope to see more like it in the future.
The Wind Through the Keyhole is an interesting look at Roland’s world, and a coming-of-age tale that, in many ways, parallels Roland’s own youth. But those looking for a tale about Roland or his ka-tet run the risk of being disappointed.
Though the events take place shortly after the conclusion of The Waste Land and the real-time story of Wizard and Glass, Roland, Eddie, Susannah, Jake and Oy only frame the central narrative, and feature in it very little. The story-within-the-story, featuring Roland and Jamie DeCurry and taking place shortly after Roland's youth as shown in Wizard and Glass is a second frame story. The real hero of this novel is a boy named Tim Ross, and his tale—as told by Roland—dominates the narrative.
At first, I was disappointed by this. I had, after all, bought a Dark Tower novel and went into it with expectations of a Roland-centric story. However, once I put the initial disappointment of seeing how much of the book was devoted to Tim aside, I found it a fast and enjoyable tale, very reminiscent of earlier installments, particularly Wizard & Glass.
Readers who weren’t fond of Wizard may not care much for Keyhole either, but I, for one enjoyed this volume thoroughly, and hope to see more like it in the future.
boyfouronetwo's review
3.0
I LOVED the Dark Tower books. LOVED them! So naturally I was a bit suspicious when this came out. As a true fan I couldn't NOT read it and I'm glad I did...but I could have lived my whole life without reading this "addition" and been happy. I totally get that the author felt there was more material to add but this just felt more like an afterthought and didn't contribute to the overall story in any way (for me).
peterkeep's review
4.0
I loved the Dark Tower series (as a whole -- I didn't love each book individually) so I had some mixed feelings going into this. I was excited to read a bit more about Roland, Susannah, Eddie, Jake, and Oy, but I also didn't want to read it and be "done" with this series again. I knew this book didn't feature the main characters a ton, so I was a bit unsure about how it would all go down.
It's the classic story within a story within a story. Overall, there's really not a lot happening in the book. It's short, and there are three stories being told, so two of them end up being pretty short. Which is totally good with me. I like that the main ka-tet's story didn't move too much, since I don't want to change anything from the rest of the series (of which this takes place in the middle somewhere). The second-level story is interesting and cool and gives some more backstory to Roland's weird childhood, so that was good to read. I like the little bits of Roland's teenage and 20-something years that we get to see throughout the series, so I felt at home in the second story.
The third story took me a bit to get into. Maybe it was because of all of the switching of stories, or my busy schedule, or that it just took me a bit to get interested, but it is what it is. Somewhere in the middle I started enjoying it a lot, which was my reaction to [b: Wizard and Glass|5096|Wizard and Glass (The Dark Tower, #4)|Stephen King|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327946510s/5096.jpg|750558] as well. It's a nice story that fits in the world, adds some fun perspective, and is pretty creative/doesn't seem to redundant. The conclusions of all three stories take place pretty quickly, and I thought that everything was nicely wrapped up. Roland and the gang head to the Calla and keep on their quest for the Dark Tower, but the little pit-stop they make here is enjoyable and memorable.
It's the classic story within a story within a story. Overall, there's really not a lot happening in the book. It's short, and there are three stories being told, so two of them end up being pretty short. Which is totally good with me. I like that the main ka-tet's story didn't move too much, since I don't want to change anything from the rest of the series (of which this takes place in the middle somewhere). The second-level story is interesting and cool and gives some more backstory to Roland's weird childhood, so that was good to read. I like the little bits of Roland's teenage and 20-something years that we get to see throughout the series, so I felt at home in the second story.
The third story took me a bit to get into. Maybe it was because of all of the switching of stories, or my busy schedule, or that it just took me a bit to get interested, but it is what it is. Somewhere in the middle I started enjoying it a lot, which was my reaction to [b: Wizard and Glass|5096|Wizard and Glass (The Dark Tower, #4)|Stephen King|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327946510s/5096.jpg|750558] as well. It's a nice story that fits in the world, adds some fun perspective, and is pretty creative/doesn't seem to redundant. The conclusions of all three stories take place pretty quickly, and I thought that everything was nicely wrapped up. Roland and the gang head to the Calla and keep on their quest for the Dark Tower, but the little pit-stop they make here is enjoyable and memorable.
samcurler13's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
beethatasitmay's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
donatello's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
hinesight's review
5.0
King can flat tell you a story. I loved it; I wish there was a series of stories (a Gilead version of the Tales of Beedle the Bard, sort of) tied in with Roland's youth and the Tower mythology, so that this book could be about five times as long as it was.