Wind Through the Keyhole: A Dark Tower Novel

by Stephen King

Publishers Weekly 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.

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Book list *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

From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

Library Journal King's new "Dark Tower" novel, which takes place between volumes four and five of the series that ended in 2004, is a story within a story within a story. Roland, Susannah, Eddie, and Jake, accompanied by Oy the billy-bumbler, are overtaken in their journey to Calla Bryn Sturgis by the Starkblast, a storm of catastrophic proportion. As they wait out the storm in a deserted village, Roland entertains the others with the tale of one his first quests as a young gunslinger, to capture or kill a shape-shifting "skin-man" terrorizing the inhabitants of the remote town of Debaria. The story leads seamlessly into the retelling of a tale told to Roland by his mother, a fairy tale so dark as to put the Brothers Grimm to shame. Both stories are filled with enough action, suspense, and even poignancy to fill a much larger work of fiction. Verdict In his foreword, which gives a brief series background that will allow even the uninitiated thoroughly to enjoy this book, King says that he was "delighted to discover my old friends had a little more to say," and for that we all say thankya. Fans will be lining up for this one. [See Prepub Alert, 10/23/11.]-John Harvey, Irving P.L. TX (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.