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Summary
Summary
For those discovering the epic bestselling Dark Tower series for the first time--and for its legions of dedicated fans--an immensely satisfying stand-alone novel and perfect introduction to the series.
In The Wind Through the Keyhole , Stephen King returns to the rich landscape of Mid-World, the spectacular territory of the Dark Tower fantasy saga that stands as his most beguiling achievement.
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.
King began the Dark Tower series in 1974; it gained momentum in the 1980s; and he brought it to a thrilling conclusion when the last three novels were published in 2003 and 2004. The Wind Through the Keyhole is sure to fascinate avid fans of the Dark Tower epic. But this novel also stands on its own for all readers, an enchanting and haunting journey to Roland's world and testimony to the power of Stephen King's storytelling magic.
Author Notes
Stephen King was born in Portland, Maine, on September 21, 1947. After graduating with a Bachelor's degree in English from the University of Maine at Orono in 1970, he became a teacher. His spare time was spent writing short stories and novels.
King's first novel would never have been published if not for his wife. She removed the first few chapters from the garbage after King had thrown them away in frustration. Three months later, he received a $2,500 advance from Doubleday Publishing for the book that went on to sell a modest 13,000 hardcover copies. That book, Carrie, was about a girl with telekinetic powers who is tormented by bullies at school. She uses her power, in turn, to torment and eventually destroy her mean-spirited classmates. When United Artists released the film version in 1976, it was a critical and commercial success. The paperback version of the book, released after the movie, went on to sell more than two-and-a-half million copies.
Many of King's other horror novels have been adapted into movies, including The Shining, Firestarter, Pet Semetary, Cujo, Misery, The Stand, and The Tommyknockers. Under the pseudonym Richard Bachman, King has written the books The Running Man, The Regulators, Thinner, The Long Walk, Roadwork, Rage, and It. He is number 2 on the Hollywood Reporter's '25 Most Powerful Authors' 2016 list.
King is one of the world's most successful writers, with more than 100 million copies of his works in print. Many of his books have been translated into foreign languages, and he writes new books at a rate of about one per year. In 2003, he received the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. In 2012 his title, The Wind Through the Keyhole made The New York Times Best Seller List. King's title's Mr. Mercedes and Revival made The New York Times Best Seller List in 2014. He won the Edgar Allan Poe Award in 2015 for Best Novel with Mr. Mercedes. King's title Finders Keepers made the New York Times bestseller list in 2015. Sleeping Beauties is his latest 2017 New York Times bestseller.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
King returns to the Mid-World of his Dark Tower series in this gory but hopeful set of nested tales. As gunslinger Roland Deschain and his companions quest toward the Dark Tower, Roland tells a story of his early days as a gunslinger, hunting down a murderous shape-shifter on a rampage. Within that tale is a fairy tale Roland tells to a young boy about Tim, a very brave boy tricked into a dangerous quest by an evil man. Tim's adventure is pitch-perfect, capturing both the feel of Mid-World and the perilous nature of a fairy story. Its placement within the quest works beautifully, and it propels the story of the shape-shifter and the child who holds the key to its identity. Even those who aren't familiar with the series will find the conclusion both satisfying and moving. This gripping novel is sure to put King back on the bestseller lists. Agent: Chuck Verrill, Darhansoff & Verrill. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
The bestselling novelist scales down his literary ambition with a return to the Dark Tower series. Though King has expanded his thematic terrain and elevated his critical reputation in recent years (11/22/63, 2011 etc.), he remains a master of fantastic stories spun from a very fertile imagination that seek to do nothing more (or less) than entertain. Some readers might be surprised at this return to the narrative that King had apparently concluded with the massive The Dark Tower (2004), the seventh book in the series. Yet rather than extend and revive the plot in this installment, he mines a seam from earlier in the series, suggesting that "this book should be shelved between Wizard and Glass and Wolves of the Calla...which makes it, I suppose Dark Tower 4.5." He also makes a point of reassuring readers new to the series that they can start here, that the novel can be understood as a stand-alone title (with just a little contextual background, which he summarizes in a couple of paragraphs). Short by King's standards, the novel draws inspiration from tales of knighthood and Old West gunslingers, as its story-within-a-story (within a story) details the rite-of-passage heroism of Roland Deschain, who saves a terrified boy in Mid-World from a shape-shifting marauder. "These tales nest inside each other," explains Roland at the outset, as he prepares to recount a story through which its characters drew courage and inspiration from a story. If it weren't for the profanity which liberally seasons the narrative, it could pass as a young adult fantasy, a foul-mouthed Harry Potter (with nods toward The Wizard of Oz and C.S. Lewis). It even ends with a redemptive moral, though King mainly concerns himself here with spinning a yard. Will more likely serve as a footnote for the many fans of the series than a point of entry to expand its readership.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* King's return to Mid-World, the alternate-reality setting of the seven-book Dark Tower saga, should gratify those who read the whole megillah, those who didn't, and those who never started it. It slots in between DT IV and V, Wizard and Glass and Wolves of the Calla, and like the former, it's mostly an extended flashback to saga-hero Roland's early days as a gunslinger. Roland and his three companions must ride out a starkblast, a huge north wind that kills birds on the wing and topples whole forests with its polar breath. Roland whiles the wait away by recalling the time he had to eliminate a murderous shape-shifter ravaging a far-flung mining community. Relating that exploit entails telling an older story about a boy in a remote lumbertown whose dad is killed by a dragon, or so says his tree-cutting partner, who later convinces the boy's mother to marry him and resumes drinking. If Roland's youthful adventure is a better western-style exploit than Wizard and Glass and it is 11-year-old Tim Ross' quest for justice, which peaks during another starkblast, is the peer of such fantasy-adventure classics as Ruskin's The King of the Golden River, Macdonald's The Princess and the Goblin, and dare one say it? The Hobbit. This is King at his most beguiling and most literarily distinguished. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: The Master's return to a series fans have loved will bring readers into the library in droves.--Olson, Ray Copyright 2010 Booklist
Library Journal Review
King returns to the "Dark Tower" fantasy saga with this enchanting and entrancing stand-alone gem that doesn't require knowledge of the previous entries. For series devotees, this book casts a bit of insight into Roland Deschain's past. For novices, the story is a fascinating and timeless tale about a boy's courage to avenge his father's murder and his mother's abuse, both at the hands of his stepfather. VERDICT This universal story is filled with magic, courageous acts, love, and terror. King does a credible job of narrating his own words. Recommended to King's fans, especially "Dark Tower" lovers. [The Scribner hc was described as "a fairy tale so dark as to put the Brothers Grimm to shame.... with enough action, suspense, and even poignancy to fill a much larger work of fiction," LJ Xpress Reviews, 4/13/12.-Ed.]-Gloria Maxwell, Metropolitan Community Coll.-Penn Valley Lib., Kansas City, MO (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.