The Wind Through the
Keyhole by Stephen King, The Dark Tower #4.5
Join Roland Deschain, gunslinger from Gilead that was,
knight errant of a decayed civilization, as he and his companions journey
towards the distant Dark Tower. Leaving behind the Emerald City, they are
confronted by a starkblast, an icy, terrifying storm that stops them in their
tracks. Roland begins to spin a story.
The Wind Through the
Keyhole awaited book that ties in between the excellent Dark Tower series of
Stephen King. The Dark Tower originally made up 7 books and was finished in
2004. I am, as some of you might know, or read about, a huge fan of The Dark
Tower series. When the word came out that there would be a tie-in book in the
series, I will confess I did a little dance. Once again returning to this
magnificent world? Who wouldn’t want to do that?
Now I did have a very small
reservation. The Dark Tower books do closely follow up on each other and I was
worried that writing a book in between the existing volumes would lead to a bit
of an awkward hasty introduction and perhaps a rushed and rough ending. As a
writer you do have to pay close attention to what both has been told prior and
how the series continues. Because you cannot introduce something that has no
reference in it or that won’t be followed up if it is important. Stephen King
chose his spot carefully placing The Wind Through the Keyhole in between The
Wizard and the Glass and The Wolves of the Calla. And looking back, I do not
know why I was so worried in the first place. When you are in the hands of
Stephen King, you are in the hands a master storyteller.
Following up after the
events of Emerald City, Roland Deschain and his band companions, his ka-tet: Eddy Dean, Odetta Holmes, Jake
Chamber and let’s not forget Oy the billy-bumbler find themselves again in the
Path of the Beam guiding them towards the Dark Tower. Roland’s, sole purpose
and answer to everything. However as they are making a passing, Oy starts to
behave weird and this behavior, is linked with the approaching of a starkblast.
The starkblast, as our companions soon find out is a terrifying, ice storm with
gale force winds. Roland and his ka-tet
have to seek immediate shelter. These events were all planned to create the
entrance into The Wind Through the Keyhole, as when they finally have a
shelter, Roland starts to spin a story…
The whole concept of The
Wind Through the Keyhole was an amazing experience. There is not one story
being laid out to you, no there are actually three different stories. The first
story follows Roland’s ka-tet, though
this part is only shown at the beginning and the ending of the book. The second
and third storylines are both part of Roland’s storytelling during the
starkblast. The second story goes back again to the younger years of Roland,
taking place after the events in The Wizard and the Glass. This story is titles
the “Skin-Man”. The third story is actually a story within a story. In the
first two storylines the reference of The Wind Through the Keyhole is
mentioned, Roland tells this story when he is actually spinning the story of
the Skin-Man. I hope your still on track here. This layered approach was
executed carefully as expected by Stephen King. On the whole this story within
a story really made you feel like you were pulled into the book itself.
I purposefully haven’t read
any reviews of The Wind Through the Keyhole, in order to preserve the whole
experience so that I could totally immerse myself again in the world of the
Dark Tower. I’ll try not to reveal to much of the different storylines but for
a specific reasoning I do think it is important to mention briefly what it is
all about. Like I mentioned the first storyline centers around the younger
Roland who just got back from the events of Mejis (the Wizard and the Glass),
and is send out by his father Steven to investigate the possible appearance the
a Skin-Man, Roland is accompanied by Jamie DeCurry in this task. This story
leads towards a more supernatural horror theme, not something really in
reference towards the Dark Tower series, but rather more in the lines of some
of Stephen King’s other works. However on the whole, you have the backdrop of
Mid-world and within this the horror aspect did work out well. Mid-world is
strange, with grotesque creatures, mutties and the like. The third story, the
Wind Through the Keyhole, which shares the title of the book, felt like a fairy
tale. This story centers around a young
boy Tim Ross, whose father is killed by a dragon and now Tim and his mother
Nell, need to find resources to pull through, but this does not go without a
few struggles. As I mentioned this part feels like a fairy tale and you have
some great elements that make this part of the story just magnificent. Just for
starters you have the Covenant Man, Maerlyn and of course a dragon, Tim going
on an adventure to set things straight, could this be the origins of the Gunslingers?
And let’s not forget the introduction of some from the Northern Central
Positronics!
In the end The Wind Through
the Keyhole is more than an amazing read. Whether you are just starting or if
you have read the earlier books already. It can either be read in the lines of
the series or as a perfect stand-alone. The Wind Through the Keyhole allowed me
again to indulge myself in the surroundings of mid-world but with a definite
twist. This book is not a full 100% in the lines of the original Dark Tower
series. Showing more of a horror-themed and a fairy tale kind of approach, some
might be put off by this but I found this giving it a much more unique spin to
one of his classics. Lifting the Dark Tower series to a new level for me. The
Wind Through the Keyhole is a definite key success, in Stephen King’s Magnus
Opus of The Dark Tower.