Written after the series was completed in 2004, this slim little volume is almost like an intermission between Books IV and V. It actually tells three stories, each within the other, but the technique isn't distracting and is actually very well executed. The main framing story has Roland and the gang narrowly escaping a deadly storm called a starkblast. While waiting in their shelter, Roland tells two stories to pass the time.
The first story finds a young Roland sent to a mining town with his partner to track down a murderous shape-shifter. This story is an interesting mix of Western, mystery, and horror, with a little science fiction thrown in - very entertaining and suspenseful.The second story was told by the young Roland to a boy who survived one of the shape-shifter's attacks. It was a bedtime story from Roland's childhood about a boy named Tim. After his father dies and his mother marries an abusive drunk, he journeys north into wild territory to find the truth about his father's death and to help his mother, braving unknown creatures, malevolent relics, a starkblast, and a man who is trying to trick him into doing evil. Though it starts out as a very realistic story, it eventually gets into some fantastic fantasy, with delightful cameos from Flagg and North Central Positronics.
Another excellent read in this fascinating series. My only complaint: the "bedtime story" portion is easily the longest of the book, at around 160 pages, and it would take at least 2-3 hours to read to a child. Hope you're not too sleepy, kid! Also, it doesn't read like a bedtime story. It's more of a prequel to the Dark Tower series, written in the same style as the flashbacks from Wizard and Glass. It even has a few very heart-wrenching scenes of spousal abuse - part of the evil Tim is trying to cure. It's a good story, I'm just not sure I buy the genre label we're given.
Arbitrary rating: 4 out of 5 delightful cameos
Man, I definitely need to read this again. I don't even remember the North Central Positronics stuff!
ReplyDeleteDang, you do need to read it again! It is relatively brief - pretty much just everything after the Mud Men, up through Tim's starkblast - but it is quite enticing.
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