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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
How To Read Stephen King's The Dark Tower Series If You're A Fucken Masochist #3:
You could read this entire short story collection. I remember most of it being very good when I first read it several years ago. But for the purposes of this chronology, there are two short stories in this book that are important to the Dark Tower Chronology.
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1. The Little Sisters Of Eluria
During my writing about [b:The Stand|149267|The Stand|Stephen King|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1213131305s/149267.jpg|1742269], and coming back when I talk about The Gunslinger (I read it in my originally intended order, and started to write about it before composing this entry), I mention that I don't enjoy Stephen King's relationship to religion, particularly Christianity. It's usually exhausting, as he over-examines the importance of that particular Childrens' Book Club For Frightened Bigots.
And yet, "The Little Sisters Of Eluria" (from his short story collection, Everything's Eventual) is, at its heart, a story about using the symbolism of Christianity to overcome evil. And I like it. I don't love it. But I like it more than Mother Abigail's role in The Stand.
Like most of The Gunslinger, this is a Western motif with just a tinge of fantasy. Gunslinger finds a ghost town, but it's not as it seems. It's the premise of a thousand movies that my father watches on cable. It's also mercifully brief at sixty-six pages (throw a pinch of salt over your shoulder and show the sigul of the evil eye).
Because it's short, and because I never intend to give plot recaps or spoilers, I'll simply say that this is a better introduction to Roland than [b:The Dark Tower|31365357|The Dark Tower|Stephen King|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1470559296s/31365357.jpg|46575], not because it's better written, but because it's significantly briefer, and I think it's important to get a glimpse of Roland now before we take another, also very brief, detour to see how The Dark Tower interacts with our world.
-------------------------
2. Everything's Eventual
I was expected to go to college right out of high school, so I did. But after one terrible semester, I moved back home...ish. I say home...ish because I moved into a condo that my mother owned but did not live in.
I immediately enrolled in the community college near me, and started a series of odd jobs: an after school program, managing a CD store, managing a liquor store, stage managing in a local theater, waiting tables, teaching swimming lessons. I had various spheres of friends who I would occasionally intersect into Venn Diagram parties that were sometimes epically fun, and sometimes just resulted in an epic cleaning project.
I never knew precisely what I was doing, but I always ended up doing something that I found interesting. And apart from a one-day stint as a telemarketer, I never felt morally repulsed by what I had to do for money.
"Everything's Eventual", the title story from this collection follows a high school dropout from his life working a menial job to a morally quagmirous job that allows him to live a comfortable life on his own.
It's not a horror story. It doesn't have a Western or apocalyptic motif. You might wonder how this ties into The Dark Tower at all. Trust me. You will see this character again. Eventually.
Unlike in [b:The Eyes of the Dragon|655707|The Eyes of the Dragon|Stephen King|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1395678142s/655707.jpg|3083085], I don't insert this book into the chronology purely because the character shows up later. I think this is a solid story, and it's tonally different from everything that's come before it, and anything you're going to see for a while.
If you've ever been young, unsure of what you were doing in your life, and had an opportunity that seems to good to be true dropped into your lap, you will likely identify with a portion of this story. If you haven't, you can probably at least understand being young and doing a questionable job for money. Though, hopefully, not to the extent of Dinky's job.
You could read this entire short story collection. I remember most of it being very good when I first read it several years ago. But for the purposes of this chronology, there are two short stories in this book that are important to the Dark Tower Chronology.
-------------
1. The Little Sisters Of Eluria
During my writing about [b:The Stand|149267|The Stand|Stephen King|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1213131305s/149267.jpg|1742269], and coming back when I talk about The Gunslinger (I read it in my originally intended order, and started to write about it before composing this entry), I mention that I don't enjoy Stephen King's relationship to religion, particularly Christianity. It's usually exhausting, as he over-examines the importance of that particular Childrens' Book Club For Frightened Bigots.
And yet, "The Little Sisters Of Eluria" (from his short story collection, Everything's Eventual) is, at its heart, a story about using the symbolism of Christianity to overcome evil. And I like it. I don't love it. But I like it more than Mother Abigail's role in The Stand.
Like most of The Gunslinger, this is a Western motif with just a tinge of fantasy. Gunslinger finds a ghost town, but it's not as it seems. It's the premise of a thousand movies that my father watches on cable. It's also mercifully brief at sixty-six pages (throw a pinch of salt over your shoulder and show the sigul of the evil eye).
Because it's short, and because I never intend to give plot recaps or spoilers, I'll simply say that this is a better introduction to Roland than [b:The Dark Tower|31365357|The Dark Tower|Stephen King|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1470559296s/31365357.jpg|46575], not because it's better written, but because it's significantly briefer, and I think it's important to get a glimpse of Roland now before we take another, also very brief, detour to see how The Dark Tower interacts with our world.
-------------------------
2. Everything's Eventual
I was expected to go to college right out of high school, so I did. But after one terrible semester, I moved back home...ish. I say home...ish because I moved into a condo that my mother owned but did not live in.
I immediately enrolled in the community college near me, and started a series of odd jobs: an after school program, managing a CD store, managing a liquor store, stage managing in a local theater, waiting tables, teaching swimming lessons. I had various spheres of friends who I would occasionally intersect into Venn Diagram parties that were sometimes epically fun, and sometimes just resulted in an epic cleaning project.
I never knew precisely what I was doing, but I always ended up doing something that I found interesting. And apart from a one-day stint as a telemarketer, I never felt morally repulsed by what I had to do for money.
"Everything's Eventual", the title story from this collection follows a high school dropout from his life working a menial job to a morally quagmirous job that allows him to live a comfortable life on his own.
It's not a horror story. It doesn't have a Western or apocalyptic motif. You might wonder how this ties into The Dark Tower at all. Trust me. You will see this character again. Eventually.
Unlike in [b:The Eyes of the Dragon|655707|The Eyes of the Dragon|Stephen King|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1395678142s/655707.jpg|3083085], I don't insert this book into the chronology purely because the character shows up later. I think this is a solid story, and it's tonally different from everything that's come before it, and anything you're going to see for a while.
If you've ever been young, unsure of what you were doing in your life, and had an opportunity that seems to good to be true dropped into your lap, you will likely identify with a portion of this story. If you haven't, you can probably at least understand being young and doing a questionable job for money. Though, hopefully, not to the extent of Dinky's job.
Riding the Bullet
I’d forgotten how good this collection is. Scary stuff in here, and some of his best work... and I’m a lifelong fan.
I’d forgotten how good this collection is. Scary stuff in here, and some of his best work... and I’m a lifelong fan.
I’ve read several collections of King’s short stories and really enjoyed this one! Stories such as Riding the Bullet, Autopsy Room Four (this one was the scariest by far for me), and the Man in the Black Suit were standouts for me. Some of the ones I enjoyed less include The Death of Jack Hamilton and LT Theory of Pets. I was surprised to enjoy The Little Sisters of Eluria given I wasn’t a huge fan of the first Dark Tower Book. After reading that short story however, I might give the series another try.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was my first foray into Stephen King and I am looking forward to reading more.
DNF at 45%. Just could not finish it. Some good stories but I prefer his longer ones where he can actually build up the worlds. These seem to have too little of information for me
De verhalen waren weer interessant, maar ik vond de eerste keer dat ik dit boek las toch leuker, heeft denk ik vooral met het element van de verrassing te maken. Sectiekamer 4 vond ik namelijk nu niet zo bijzonder.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a collection of "scary" short stories. I'm not a big short story fan, but I did enjoy reading a few of these. My favorite was the scariest one I've ever read, "1408," which is actually the plot of a recently released movie. It's not particularly gory or bloody, but as a psychological thriller, it's intense!