17 May, 2012

Quote - The Wind Through the Keyhole (Dark Tower 4.5) by Stephen King


I'm making my way through King's newest in the Dark Tower series (and release-wise), The Wind Through the Keyhole, and had to share this quote.
"What's America?"
"A kingdom filled with toy-loving idiots. ..."
At over halfway through I'm really enjoying this installment. It's not my favorite, books 2 through 4 are some of my all-time favorite books making them hard to beat, but it's great nonetheless. Also, I haven't read the last 3, so I can't comment on how they compare.

5 comments:

Kathryn said...

I liked that quote, but it was completely out of place in context, and it took me out of the book for a few moments.

Ryan said...

I loved that quote too. Definitely a memorable one.

Teaser...My review of The Wind Through The Keyhole goes up tomorrow

Bryce L. said...

@Kathryn - It was a bit of a throw off, but I love the mystery of Mid-World and how it's related to our world.

@Ryan - Looking forward to it. This is easily becoming a favorite series of mine. Books 2-4 are already some of my all-time favorite books.

Portugal said...

The best thing about The Wind through the Keyhole to me is that the book doesn't change anything, but it adds much. It bridges the gap and fills in that missing time, establishing a more cohesive flow between books 4 and 5, while offering Dark Tower junkies like myself another glimpse into King's fantastic creation with stories of Roland's past. I don't know if I'm alone here, but I was looking for more of Roland's back-story than I got when Wizard and Glass was published. I loved the story of his ordeal in Mejis, but I thought the flashback would have a wider scope, that it wouldn't be mostly concentrated on one summer from his youth. The stories within Wind through the Keyhole open up that past with rich storytelling that helps flesh out Roland's early years and negates the concern of what the stakes will be for him and his current ka-tet. As others have noted, we know all of the characters are safe, so a worry going in was, what is there to provide suspense? Once you get lost in Mid-World's past, that concern will fade and the joy of experiencing that magical world only presented in tantalizing fragments in the other Dark Tower novels (except DT 4, of course) will set in. Wizard and Glass proved that flashbacks like these can be thrilling even if you know the characters will survive. They're great fun, allowing King to delve into the history of Mid-World and the forces that shaped Roland's personality. The Wind through the Keyhole is, for me, a welcome addition to Tower lore.

Bryce L. said...

@Portugal - Well said. The storytelling in Wind is superb and for me, who has yet to read the rest of the DT books, I don't have any problems with lack of suspense. :)

Wizard and Glass was my favorite in the series (and one of my favorite books anyway). I wouldn't mind if King keeps going back to Roland's past for years to come. Thanks for commenting.