Roland Deschain and his ka-tet—Jake, Susannah, Eddie, and Oy, the billy-bumbler—encounter a ferocious storm just after crossing the River Whye on their way to the Outer Baronies. As they shelter from the howling gale, Roland tells his friends not just one strange story but two…and in so doing, casts new light on his own troubled past.
In his early days as a gunslinger, in the guilt-ridden year following his mother’s death, Roland is sent by his father to investigate evidence of a murderous shape-shifter, a “skin-man” preying upon the population around Debaria. Roland takes charge of Bill Streeter, the brave but terrified boy who is the sole surviving witness to the beast’s most recent slaughter. Only a teenager himself, Roland calms the boy and prepares him for the following day’s trials by reciting a story from the Magic Tales of the Eld that his mother often read to him at bedtime. “A person’s never too old for stories,” Roland says to Bill. “Man and boy, girl and woman, never too old. We live for them.” And indeed, the tale that Roland unfolds, the legend of Tim Stoutheart, is a timeless treasure for all ages, a story that lives for us.
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I’ve written about The Dark Tower series in earlier posts and those of you who follows me knows what a huge fan I am of the series and the author. I’ve been reading a lot of Stephen King lately but to be able to visit the universe of The Dark Tower once again was nothing short but amazing.
Some characters turn into a borrowed family as you read and you miss them after finishing the books. That is one of the reason why some of us turn back to read the same ones again and again.
I was thrilled to take a new dive into the world of Roland, Susan, Eddie, Jack and (of course) the Billy-Bumbler Oy. The Wind Through The Keyhole is said by the author to be book number 4,5 in the series but is also meant to be an alternative as a standalone novel. I do believe that it is enjoyable to new readers but not in the same way that it is to us who has read our way through the adventure already. It’s an amazing story within a story within a story and to me it was a long awaited reunion.
We get to meet the ka-tet on their way to Calla Bryn Sturgis, having to take shelter from a dangerous storm where Roland tells a story from his younger days that is captivating and a real page turner.
I do highly recommend it, but if you haven’t read the other books in the series I would recommend you start there. It’s an epic journey that I’ve never regretted taken and will probably take it more than once again.
If you would like to get your own copy of The Wind Through The Keyhole you can click HERE or the picture below:
Christina de Vries 