A Worthy Song as the Tower Approaches (The Dark Tower: Song of Susannah v. 6 - Stephen King)

Member Name: marandina

Product:	The Dark Tower: Song of Susannah v. 6 - Stephen King
Date:	27/01/06 (133 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Some vivid, imaginary villains

Disadvantages: Plot is a little thinner than some previous installments

The fact is I've been reading Stephen King's magnum opus, The Dark Tower series, since it first started back in 1982. A set of seven books, the epic series revolves around the gunslinger, Roland Deschain and his gang of four or ka-tet, in their quest to save the Dark Tower. The four include: Eddie Dean, Susannah Holmes, Jake Chambers and his strange pet, Oy. This curious combination of former drug addict, legless and now wheelchair-bound, black woman and young boy are brought together in the second volume “The Drawing of the Three” to help Roland in his quest to save the Dark Tower.

In order to do this they must travel through perilous lands to get to End-world and stop the Dark Tower from being destroyed or else it could signal the end of the Universe as we know it. Standing in the way are the forces of evil led by The Crimson King otherwise known as Randall Flagg, Walter the Man in Black (although Walter may merely be a servant of The Crimson King - it's not that clear so far) and any number of other aliases.

With this being the 6th book in the set then if you are reading earlier books or intend to make a start on the series then I'd recommend turning back now and not reading on. It's almost impossible not to impinge on any of the previous story lines when reviewing "Song of Susannah" and I wouldn't want to spoil anything for anyone.

Right....…OK....still with me? Phew.

"Song of Susannah" naturally carries on where the previous instalment, "Wolves of the Calla" left off. Susannah Dean has escaped the final showdown with the wolves and by using the magic of *Black thirteen (the strongest of all the Wizards Glass's, Black Thirteen is said to represent the Dark Tower itself. It has the power to send someone todash or into the todash darkness for an eternity in a pitchblack hell) she escapes into the world of 1999 New York to have her baby. This is no ordinary baby; held captive by the elemental Mia, Susannah shares her body with the demon that is determined to give birth to her child. Planning to call him, Mordred, Mia knows that the child's destiny is to kill his father, Roland of Deschain.

Meanwhile, Eddie and Roland use the door in the cave back in Calla Bryn Sturgis to return to Maine, New England. The door is a portal between worlds and with the help of the magic of Henchick of the Manni they duly return to conclude the purchase of a plot of land/book store in New York that is closely linked with the Dark Tower and its fate. Unbeknown to them, when they arrive back in 1977 Maine, gangsters who want to coerce the owner into selling the plot to them, await their return, armed with guns and intent on stopping them from buying Calvin Tower's plot by killing them.

I must admit to enjoying this book more than the previous effort "Wolves of the Calla". This seems to fly in the face of popular opinion as most folks prefer the Wolves instalment but I thought that the 5th book in the series was too long and at a more reasonable 430 pages, this King tome seems more compact and has a quicker pace about it as a result.

The story stands up as the odyssey unfolds which is due credit to the author and his editing team (in the main, Chuck Verrill) as it would have been easy to stray from the beaten track in terms of continuity. The cross-referencing to other King stories continues in earnest with a number of references to the low men and vampires from other books like “Salem’s Lot” and “Hearts in Atlantis”. In “Song of Susannah”, the author takes things on one stage further by including himself in the story and I’ll leave it to the reader to explore those bizarre furrows that Stephen King ploughs by using such a significant self-reference.

The fact that King is widely read shines through in his books in general and here again, the homage to both Richard Adams’ “Shardik” and Arthurian legend in the shape of the impending birth of Mordred. According to legend, Arthur slept with his half-sister Morgause, not knowing they were related and, as a result, Mordred was born. When Arthur discovered the whole truth, in an attempt to kill Mordred he had all children born on the day of Mordred's birth set adrift. Clearly, the legend influenced King enough to use the name and draw a direct parallel with that story and his own updated version. There may even be a subliminal notion that the legend has something to do with the insidious goings on with the children from the Calla Bryn Sturgis (the children of the Calla are kidnapped by wolves every 23 or so years in the previous book, "Wolves of the Calla", and returned as gibbering wrecks to their families) and this volume makes their intended fate much clearer.

Whilst the main protagonists continue to develop in character, I really liked the clearer depiction of the demon and devil followers of The Crimson King i.e. the low men and other insidious ghouls. The visual image of an open wound in their foreheads full of blood but not bleeding is both graphic and original and really brings home the macabre feel of the villains as well as contrasting with the sci-fi elements that King weaves in to the tale.

I also particularly enjoyed the epilogue. This is a series of diary entries spanning the time period July 12th, 1977 to June 20th 1999. Whilst reflecting the ups and downs of writing some of the earlier Dark Tower books over that period of time, Stephen King’s journal takes the reader through a series of snapshots that reveal bits and pieces about the thoughts behind the Dark Tower series and several other books whilst reflecting on his home life. On several occasions, King mentions his love of drinking, smoking and other vices more soft drug related and it’s that vulnerability that comes through that makes the epilogue so endearing and fascinating to read.

As far as more negative criticism goes then the overall plot is a little thinner than some of the other books in the series. However, I still enjoyed the ride. This effort is distinctly shorter and all the better for it but the inclusion of King himself along with the cross-referencing to other King works still runs the risk of being slightly arrogant or at least construed by some as being so. I’m not sure how effective laying the book out in a sequence of stanzas is or how much the rhymes using the colloquialism "commala" is either but at least the writer is trying something different so hats off for that.

“Song of Susannah” is a horror/fantasy book that blends nicely with the rest of the Dark Tower series. If you like King, you’ll like this. If you like fantasy/horror then this won’t be the best you’ve ever read but, chances are, you’ll still enjoy it. So overall, recommended if you are a fan of the genre but with the rider that you need to decide whether you are reading it as one of the series or decide to start at the beginning with the first book “The Gunslinger”. I’m not so sure that “Song of Susannah” works as well as a stand alone experience as “Wolves of The Calla” might for some.

With just one book left to go then I’m looking forward to finally finishing the sequence. I polished off "Song of Susannah" in under a fortnight so I'm straight into the final book "The Dark Tower" and eager to savour the finale.

I hope you decide to try the Dark Tower series too!

Thanks for reading

Marandina

*"Wizard and Glass" is the 4th book in the series and explains more about Black Thirteen.

ISBN ~ 0-340-82718-1

Published by Hodder and Stoughton

The hardback comes with some beautiful colour illustrations by Darrel Anderson.

Original price £20 although you will get better deals via Ebay and Amazon etc.

Summary: Write up of book 6 of 7 in the Dark Tower series