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Any Dark Tower fanatics out there?


rhud1979

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So Stephen King's "Dark Tower" series has always been an obsession of mine. I've not really tried out the comics per se, but I've read the entire book series at least 4 times, along with all of his other stories that somehow tie in to it.

 

So this may be old news for other fans, but I just simply didn't know about it... Apparently there is finally a legit movie version in the works. I am a combination of stoked and nervous. Stoked because I think if they do it correctly it could easily be one of the best movies (or more likely series of movies) ever to hit the screen. Nervous because the chances of them nailing it are just not that great. But here's hoping...

 

The nerves mainly come because 1) King's stories so rarely adapt well to film, and 2) The scope of this story is... well, big. It will take an incredibly well put together production and a very high budget to do it right... and at this point I have no idea if either of those things are in the cards.

 

Either way, I'm excited to see where this goes. If the film(s) fall flat, I'll always have the books to fall back on... But if they somehow manage to really capture the story... Man, I hope they do. :rockon:

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I've been meaning to read this series for the longest time. There's a good majority of Stephen King's books that take place in the same universe and I love spotting all the Easter Eggs he throws into them. The town from Stephen King's IT "Dairy" shares the same forest as the Town from Tommyknockers. Insomnia is set in the same town as IT but more modern day, and though I haven't finished reading the book supposedly has a scene with a balloon floating out of the sewer (which is horrifying since the clown is supposed to be dead). I can't recall but one of the books has a house with the exact same wallpaper as one of the houses from IT. One of his books has a treasure hoard that's found and a saxophone belonging to one of the Dark Tower characters in it, and my favorite Easter Egg, that the creature from Stephen King's IT was originally FROM the Dark Tower and was banished for being too evil.

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Yeah, he really does manage to write inside that universe a lot, or at least he used to. I always pick up one of the books and re-read it at least once a year, and sometimes I commit to the whole series again.

 

Also... I can't imagine being one of those who started from the beginning. If I read 'The Gunslinger' in 1982, I would have been pretty sad 20 years later when the story had not yet reached its conclusion.

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I am a fan. I first read The Gunslinger and had a hard time following it and so didn't read more. Then I read The Eyes of the Dragon and when I got to the end of it, it bridged a gap that I guess I needed because The Gunslinger immediately came to mind and re-read it and that time really got into it. I know others of his novels are also referenced--particularly characters from them but The Eyes of the Dragon are almost a direct prequel and really helped me since The Gunslinger kind of starts off in the middle of things...lol

 

I really think a movie is a bad idea. An HBO series would be a great idea.

 

I first read the gunslinger in the early 90's and even then 10 years after its release there were only two or three books available in the series. I read every novel as they came out up to Song of Susanna after which I vowed not to read any more until it was all complete. But I kind of forgot about it so now I guess I need to get to it...lol

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A movie adaptation done right would be epic and possibly rival LOTR movies. Or even Star Wars, if you take the average or mean value of the entire series.

 

However, this one, will fail. And here's why.

 

The Gunslinger, aka Roland, is white. In the books, this actually propels the story significantly, since he pulls the black handicapped super-racist through a portal into his own world. Their relationship drives the story for much of the remaining chapters. Their character development is heavily invested in her racism and his "whiteness". Reversing their roles, such that he's black and she's white, would cause a lot of negative reactions. Removing that whole subplot from the story would create excessively shallow characters with no emotional attachment from the audience.

 

I'll likely still watch it, being a big fan of the books. But I'm going in with an expectation of disappointment.

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I really think a movie is a bad idea. An HBO series would be a great idea.

 

I first read the gunslinger in the early 90's and even then 10 years after its release there were only two or three books available in the series. I read every novel as they came out up to Song of Susanna after which I vowed not to read any more until it was all complete. But I kind of forgot about it so now I guess I need to get to it...lol

 

So Roland (by the way is your screen name a coincidence?).... I'm understanding that you've read Song of Susannah but not book 7? Wow... you've got quite a ride ahead of you my friend if that's the case. Wind in the Keyhole is a good read but not necessary by any stretch... It came later after the series had come to its conclusion, and is mostly just a re-visit back into Roland's universe. And I started reading well before the series was complete also, just not at the very beginning. I think Wizard and Glass was fairly new when I started, don't really recall what year it would have been but some time in the 90's I think.

 

EDIT: After re-reading your post, I see that you've not yet read Song of Susannah, either. I read that book literally the day it came out... Not started it, mind you, but read it. You'll like it, its short and a good piece of the story. But book 7 really brings it all to a close.

 

A movie adaptation done right would be epic and possibly rival LOTR movies. Or even Star Wars, if you take the average or mean value of the entire series.

 

However, this one, will fail. And here's why.

 

The Gunslinger, aka Roland, is white. In the books, this actually propels the story significantly, since he pulls the black handicapped super-racist through a portal into his own world. Their relationship drives the story for much of the remaining chapters. Their character development is heavily invested in her racism and his "whiteness". Reversing their roles, such that he's black and she's white, would cause a lot of negative reactions. Removing that whole subplot from the story would create excessively shallow characters with no emotional attachment from the audience.

 

I'll likely still watch it, being a big fan of the books. But I'm going in with an expectation of disappointment.

 

Lazer I have those same concerns about the movie adaptation. I really don't know how they're going to play that Detta Walker thing... That is such a crucial element to the plot. The problem with this entire story is that its of such a grand scale that it would have to be produced on the same scale as a LOTR (as you mentioned) to be effective... and likely this won't happen. Even more concerning... the movie (I'm assuming the first of multiple films) is listed on IMDB as coming out in January of 2017... and no cast member listed for Eddie Dean? Or Susannah, Detta? Or many other character's that just aren't coming to mind. Yet they do have cast listed for some players who don't even show up until very late in the story, like book 6-7.

 

Even with all that, I'm holding on to tiny hope that they're somehow going to pull off a miracle and do the story justice.... But also keeping my expectations grounded because it probably won't happen.

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You should read Roger Zelazny's Amber Chronicles starting with the Nine Princes of Amber.

 

The Amber series started in 1970 and Steven Kings started in 1987. I believe he copied a lot of the ideas from the original series and I believe the original is much better. Start reading the first book and you will see just how many ideas have been stolen and by many books and movies. The main character is an anti-hero and oh what an anti-hero!

 

Anyway check it out, you will at least think of thanking me :)

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You should read Roger Zelazny's Amber Chronicles starting with the Nine Princes of Amber.

 

The Amber series started in 1970 and Steven Kings started in 1987. I believe he copied a lot of the ideas from the original series and I believe the original is much better. Start reading the first book and you will see just how many ideas have been stolen and by many books and movies. The main character is an anti-hero and oh what an anti-hero!

 

Anyway check it out, you will at least think of thanking me :)

 

I will certainly give it a look! And FWIW, King pretty well acknowledged some heavy 'borrowing' on certain elements of the story... But I don't remember Zelazny's name being mentioned. As I recall, Tolkien was the one who king admitted borrowing some concepts from. At any rate, if the series is even worthy of being mentioned in the same paragraph as TDT, I'll give it a whirl when I can. With my new work schedule (12 hour night shifts) along with studying for various certifications, I don't know when that'll be though :)

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If you haven't read through book 7, ignore below this line:

---------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now that that's out of the way (don't most forums have spoiler tags?) Look at how book 7 ended. The Tower's beckoning call ends with the journey restarting, albiet slightly differently with the inclusion of Cuthbert's horn. If Roland has truly made the journey countless times, changing his skin color in one iteration of that version of that world isn't too far fetched. The way I see it, the movie is going to be different in a lot of ways, but with the same characters, similarly to how The Regulators and Desperation were done. Susannah may have legs, Eddie could be the CEO of a major corporation, and Jake might be an ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ bully.

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I did not read below the line....

 

I looked back at the books and realized that I only read through Wizard and Glass. I think I am just going to begin again from the beginning and read all them straight through.

 

I've read all the first chronicles of Amber books about Coren through twice. They are great books even if they are just shadows of the true novels.....

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TSBX, was gonna quote your message, then thought about the spoiler possibilities and it just got complicated :) BTW, there is a spoiler tag feature on this forum that I've seen used quite a bit, but I don't know how to use it.

 

That said, your take on the Roland ending and how it relates to the character being cast in the movie seems pretty legit to me.

 

I did not read below the line....

 

I looked back at the books and realized that I only read through Wizard and Glass. I think I am just going to begin again from the beginning and read all them straight through.

 

I've read all the first chronicles of Amber books about Coren through twice. They are great books even if they are just shadows of the true novels.....

 

Seriously???? Wizard and Glass is where you left off? Wolves of the Calla (the next) is one of my favorite books of the entire series. The last three books are all really good. If you start back from the beginning, however, you can't go wrong there either. It is a big time commitment, but in my opinion well worth it.

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The problem for me was that I read Wizard and Glass as soon as it came out. The wait for the next one was so long that I vowed to just wait to see whether he would ever finish. Now I just need to make good on that vow.

 

Same with George RR Martin. I read through Feast of Crows but won't continue until he's done.

 

Right now I want Rothfuss to get off his butt and finish.

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Wizard and Glass was a good one too. SPOILERS BELOW FOR WIZARD AND GLASS AND EARLIER...

 

 

 

 

 

At first I was annoyed at the 'prequel' qualities of the book, but as the story developed I really got drawn in. And of course the storyline from the end of book 3 got resolved at the very beginning of Wizard, with the whole Blaine the Mono deal. Pretty good stuff all around... And I was obsessed with riddles for like a year after reading that particular story line... There is power in a really good riddle that I never recognized until I read King's fictionalized riddling contest.

 

But anyway, I truly do hope you find time to revisit the story one way or another. I just re-read the entire series about 6 months ago, and it just never gets old for me. Finding a book, much less an entire series, that makes you turn the pages so quickly so many times over is rare.

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"Finding a book, much less an entire series, that makes you turn the pages so quickly so many times over is rare."

 

You just wrote the thoughts and hopes of maybe a billion people. Some books/series I force myself to read as slow as possible because I don't want it to end!

 

With a single spell - Lawrence Watt-Evans

Lord of the rings - J.R.R Tolkien

Stranger in a Strange land - Robert Heinlein

 

My mind is spinning thinking of the books that meant a lot to me. The books I read (not counting computer manuals) would fill a small bedroom waist deep, but the ones that really grabbed me to the point I regretted their ending would fill one (long-ish) book shelf.

 

Do you grok?

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  • 3 months later...

So I'll revive my thread here to note that the release date so far is still slated for February of 2017, and supposedly filming is done and they are in post production. I've got some opinions based on stuff I've read, but to talk about it I'll have to throw some spoilers out there, so stop here if you haven't read through the series.

 

 

So... from what I'm reading this movie is actually considered a sequel to the dark tower series. Odd, considering the actual series never made it to film... at first glance. But if you truly know the series and think about it, it all makes perfect sense. Here's where the real spoilers kick in, btw.

 

So as we know, Roland got to the top of the tower, but was hapless to finish his quest because he didn't have the horn of eld. And because of this, the story started back from the beginning in the desert. This ending pissed me off so much the first time I read it.... But over the years I've sort of grown to love it as I've read through the series again and again.

 

One would assume that the movie, being a sequel, will pick up right there at the end where Roland's back in the desert. In fact, chatter from the film studio and various twitter feeds from actors in the movie (and Stephen King himself) confirm this theory. I think this is splendid; brilliant, in fact.

 

Think about it: Those of us who know the book series and know how it ended don't have to be upset because some elements of the story don't add up or weren't included. The story started over, in effect... and this time I do believe Roland remembered the horn from the battlefield where Cuthbert was slain. So this time, the story will be different... some of the people in the journey might or might now even be the same. I can live with that; in fact I think its probably the only way they could have pulled this movie off. Had they tried a Tolkien style epic, it would have failed without an incredibly large budget, and even then would have been iffy. So as long as its well done, I'm on board.

 

Also, for those who haven't read the books, I believe this will still be a nice compromise. They will see the story unfold from the beginning, they just happened to not catch the first go-round. That said, I still believe everyone who reads should read the series.

 

So after all that hype, the downer... They're changing the story A LOT apparently. Eddie and Susannah don't even make an appearance in this movie. I suppose it must just be the gunslinger and Jake making the journey this time around.

 

Anyway, I'll be in the theater watching this movie the day it comes out (or as close as possible). I'm stoked. I'm sure I'll probably be let down, but I can't help my fanboyism.

 

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  • 3 months later...

Kind of necro but since the film isn't out yet, and The Dark Tower is one of my favorite series, I wanted to join in. It's Roland, Jake and the Man in Black, just like The Gunslinger. I'm excited to see it, and I'm re-re-re-re-reading the series while I wait. Currently on Wind Through The Keyhole.

 

By the way

 

Right Arm

 

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Left Arm

 

8iuqyin.jpg

 

Roland and the Tower.

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Yeah I've officially let myself get excited about it... I'm really afraid I'll be disappointed though. SK books just don't ever adapt well to film with a few notable exceptions. That being said, TDT is not like any of his other work (even though much of his other work is entwined in the Midworld universe in one way or another).

 

 

Nice ink, btw.

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Yeah I've officially let myself get excited about it... I'm really afraid I'll be disappointed though. SK books just don't ever adapt well to film with a few notable exceptions. That being said, TDT is not like any of his other work (even though much of his other work is entwined in the Midworld universe in one way or another).

 

Yeah, I know his stuff rarely adapts, but since this story is a cycle I'm willing to believe that they can make it at least a believable turn through the many, many deviations before Roland remembered to pick up Cuthbert's horn, or maybe one after that, before he gets it right.

 

Nice ink, btw.

 

I say thankee.

 

;)

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This series is on my to-do list. Next long trip, I'm grabbing the audio books.

 

I still have The Gunslinger and Drawing of The Three on audio cassette.

 

Kids, audio cassettes were a thing we listened to music on.

 

Stephen King actually reads Drawing of the Three, so if you can find that version, get it!

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