The people of Calla Bryn Sturgis live in a border land, on the southern arc of Mid-World with the perennial darkness of Thunderclap and End-World on their eastern horizon. Almost every birth is a twin birth, and once a generation, riders masked as wolves come from Thunderclap to harvest one of every twin child and send them back "roont" - all intelligence gone, most of their humanity taken away, doomed to short, painful lives of darkness and ignorance. The townspeople want to resist, but they are powerless against the wolves' brutal weapons. But there is also news of another group coming from the west, a group of gunslingers...This book grabbed me from page one and did not let go. Granted, it is to some degree a version of The Magnificent Seven, which King acknowledges in his afterword. But it is a lot more than that, since, in true Dark Tower fashion, it mixes in Arthurian legend, science fiction, fantasy, metafiction, and (of course) a little bit of horror. The characters are engaging, the stories are rich with detail, the culture of this border town is recognizable yet unique. As Roland, Eddie, Susannah, and Jake seek to stand for those who can't, they also uncover a magic that could help them on their quest - if they can resist its dark lure...
Though I was at first hesitant (and I still maintain The Gunslinger is a miserable way to begin things), I've come to quite enjoy the amalgam of styles, genres, and stories that make up this bold American epic. King masterfully employs the many disparate elements to make his story exciting, emotional, and truly entrancing. I can't wait to see how it ends...
Arbitrary rating: 4.5 out of 5 dark lures
