Sunday-11:30am

Warning: Rant on Stephen King!

Spent the day reading yesterday and got into the last/seventh book of The Dark Tower series. So disappointed and annoyed with Mr. King. He has had his entire adult life to put this series together! He talks like this is his best work ever (even within this series!). I was expecting a decent story--something along the lines of Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, or Stand By Me. It has been going downhill since book three, IMHO. By the end of book six--Mr. King had put himself into the story as a young author, met two of the main characters in this series (but was hypnotized to forget them), made it clear that he doesn't really "write" his own books (they are kind of "given" to him by forces outside of himself), and killed himself off. It was like getting the apology before you even read the ending.

I got maybe a fifth of the way into the final book and King had turned one of the last interesting plotlines into a big old spider--reminiscent the pathetic, ridiculous ending of It--which I hated. Yes--he has kind of included references to his other books and titles of his own books and even himself in the last half of this series (as a drunken, chain smoking young writer). He has always had this fight between good and evil or the darkness and the light--but he always lets evil or darkness prevail in the end. I can only hope that the light wins for once at the end of this series--it would be the only saving grace, as far as I'm concerned. But, I have tremendous doubts about that. A good guy preacher was able to hold back the monsters and vampires calling on the power of the light--I became hopeful--but he was only able to hold them off briefly. The light failed the preacher and he was eaten--so I am expecting his typical "you might have gotten the upper hand this time, but evil remains lurking and waiting to get you" ending. I am more and more disappointed as I read and the series continues to go downhill for me. The parts that were keeping me reading--many have gone by the wayside already. I am skimming as fast as I can now.

Unless there is a huge turnaround in the last book here (which I sincerely doubt after King wouldn't even claim authorship to his own books in this series and it has sunk to being totally overloaded with his monsters and vampires and insects), I make a public vow to never open another Stephen King book again or watch another Stephen King movie. I regret that I was ever shocked and pleased to learn he had written Shawshank Redemption and that I have kept my hopes up for years and wasted time reading most of his books. All that talent--such a waste. But then--he says he never actually created any of these stories. Twas just a passing muse with talent, then?

For those of you who love his books with the tons of gore and the monsters and the things chasing you and the wild, crazy, unrealistic, horror endings--this appears to be just a very, very, very, very long drawn out version of his typical evil monster books. You'll love it! But it is not the something completely different from his other books as it was originally presented. Unless I am surprised by the end of this last book....I'll let you know. Right now--I am thoroughly annoyed and let down--and I am not even finished yet.