moderate Dark Tower spoilers here

[sab]

Thanks to christhetoken, who told me to do it ages ago, (because, naturally, he has the copyright on this idea and anyone anywhere who's followed this advice has done so unwittingly at the will of one Token), I've started Stephen King's Dark Tower series.

I'm listening to The Gunslinger on tape in the car. So, yesterday.

Terrible, terrible dreams last night where I'm on vacation with the Gunslinger, Nort, Allie, and Rob Morrow, and I've got to keep Allie from saying "nineteen." Terrible, awful, ambienated dreams where conversations like "how many players are there on a baseball team?" or "how old were you when you got your first car?" kept coming up, and to make matters worse we were lost in the woods, and mostly Rob Morrow wasn't a vegan anymore.

Terrible dreams.

And then this morning coming in to work I got the next chapter, where Allie's already dropped the codeword (off camera!) and the Gunslinger blows her brains out.

It was way more frightening, and somehow way more satisfying, in my dream.



(I had the same experience with the remake of Planet of the Apes, by the way.)

Comments

[lenadances.livejournal.com]

I've started Stephen King's Dark Tower series.

You, too? Hooray, I'm not the only one who's never read them! I'm currently on the third book, and these are not bad, not bad at all.

[iamsab.livejournal.com]

You've held out this long and you *live* with that aforementioned Token.

I don't feel nearly so neglectful now. *g*

[se-parsons.livejournal.com]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who dreams of the Gunslinger and oddness. Mine are sadly very Mary Sueish in that I get to be a gunslinger, too, and kill the baddie minions of the (SPOILERS). But then, I can usually see myself as a hardcase killer sort, so... Stephen King does things to my brain, which is why I ration out his books.

[wearemany.livejournal.com]

i recall planet of the apes in similar fashion, though i think it was more the timing of when we saw that, right?

[lenadances.livejournal.com]

Well, up until now I was able to say "Look, there's no way I'm going to start reading an unfinished series if I know going into it that King is going blind and might not make it to writing the end." Now he's written the last books so that argument is for naught.

On the up side, you and me-- since we haven't had the years of pondering what might happen next, between books-- will probably end up perfectly satisfied with the finished product as it is. Hooray!

[iamsab.livejournal.com]

I think you are probably exactly right. All I can remember are the nightmares anyway.

[iamsab.livejournal.com]

How'd I not know Stephen King was blind? Going blind?

Also, why would going blind prevent him from finishing the series?

[lenadances.livejournal.com]

He's got mascular degenerative disease, which actually my grandma has, also (but nowhere near as bad at this point, and she's 81). I vaguely remember hearing about this off his website while we were watching Rose Red and Kelly and I were hiding behind pillows because, well, we do that when we're frightened of the TV. (Token has a picture somewhere. It amused him greatly.)

Based on what I've heard of his method of writing, it doesn't sound like he'd do well rattling it off verbally to other people. But mostly, I assumed going blind would prevent him from writing because he'd said that he was going blind and was going to have to stop writing. I suspect it may be something of an excuse-- he seems to have been treading a bit of water lately.

And honestly, I think he'll get bored within five years and figure out some way to get a hand in again.


Incidentally, I spent half of yesterday trying to think of words to put on this Trippi icon. I'm stuck. Any thoughts?