BHUD: KING RETURNS TO DARK TOWER

Well, goddamn. While I generally hate mid-stories like this--they often can wander into fanfic territory--I still love this series. Yes, even the last book, with all its faults, still hits the big notes strongly enough to keep me going.

Now, if we could just book Ron Howard from the film adaptation...

Oof. This doesn't look good. He's going back to mess up the good ones. Why Steven? 

I might be able to get behind this, because now that I have ZERO investment in how Roland's quest turns out or the fate of any of the characters, I can just enjoy a stand-alone in this world.  After all, I'm the one guy who counts WIZARD & GLASS as my favorite of the entire series, so this one might work for me.   

Yep.  I'm 100% with Ratty here.  I'll read it and probably enjoy it, but--damn--I'll hate myself for doing so.

I read through book 3 but then 15 years passed.  I would like to move on the the 4th book but am concerned that I might need a refresher.  Is it a book that I can just jump into or should I reread the 3rd book?

Other than the original, Wizard and Glass is probably the easiest and most accessible in which to dive.  It's more or less a standalone story that requires very little knowledge of the overarching narrative up to that point.  Essentially, it's the adventures of Lil' Roland and his Gunslingin' Pals.

Wouldn't hurt to reread all three books, but it's one of the most standalone of the bunch. It's basically Roland's origin story (which, by the way, is something I really would have liked King to write more of--if you're going to give us more Dark Tower, Steve-o, go back and fill in that gap, please. Jericho Hill, mothafucka.)

(And yes, I know, the comic goes there, but I wasn't hugely impressed by the comic. I want it from the man himself.)

I don't mind this news as it seems the book will serve mainly as a way to expound on Mid-World's history.  I'm not surprised that talks regarding a film adaptation inspired him to revisit the world.  An author must really love a fictional world for it to stick with him for decades.

Also, while we're talking stand-alones, the Roland short story about "The Little Sisters" in Everything's Eventual is still on of my favorite Dark Tower-related things King has written. 

"The Little Sisters of Eleuria", right?  Yeah, that's a good one.

Despite the obvious change in quality later in the series, I still consider myself a fan of the world and these characters, so I'm in.  Plus, King has been pretty solid with his recent output, so I'm optimistic for this.  Very cool!

Alright, not in the mood to slog back through the first 3 so I'm going to give Wizard and Glass a go.  If I'm totally lost, I'll just read the plot for the first 3 on Wikipedia!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Photosuperstar 

Alright, not in the mood to slog back through the first 3 so I'm going to give Wizard and Glass a go.  If I'm totally lost, I'll just read the plot for the first 3 on Wikipedia!

The old trade paperbacks used to have a "Story So Far" recap at the beginning of each volume.  Not sure if newer printings kept that.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by dajuice7 

I don't mind this news as it seems the book will serve mainly as a way to expound on Mid-World's history.  I'm not surprised that talks regarding a film adaptation inspired him to revisit the world.  An author must really love a fictional world for it to stick with him for decades.

Actually, King mentioned this book as a possibility well over a year ago, so Howard's adaptation doesn't really have much to do with it.................especially since the first film (if it happens) won't hit screens for another two years.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Prankster 

Wouldn't hurt to reread all three books, but it's one of the most standalone of the bunch. It's basically Roland's origin story (which, by the way, is something I really would have liked King to write more of--if you're going to give us more Dark Tower, Steve-o, go back and fill in that gap, please. Jericho Hill, mothafucka.)

 

(And yes, I know, the comic goes there, but I wasn't hugely impressed by the comic. I want it from the man himself.)

The man himself had a lot of input into the comics and have given them his full blessing, so it's probably all you are going to get.  That said, Ron Howard has already stated that if things go well you can expect the second season of the TV to cover the backstory from W&G and the comics..............and if things go really well the TV series might continue after the final film and fully flesh out Roland's pre-"The Gunslinger" history.  If that occurs, you'll get your wish for a more fleshed-out background.  If not........................we're stuck with the comics.

I'll definitely read this, and I'll enjoy every second of it.

In point of fact, the comics were/are penned by Robin Furst.  She is King's personal assistant and the author of the official Dark Tower compendium... which is not to say the comics are worth a damn per se.