Series....

I have realized that by reading Sci Fi novels and being a dork I have eternally doomed myself to series of series of books. I have recently decided that I like certain types of Sci-Fi (see previous post). Unfortunately, and fortunately for me at the same time, Sci Fi novels tend to come in book sets of at least 600 books with each book containing a total of 5200 pages. A prime example of this is the Discworld series. I went to Barnes and nobel to pick up a "Discworld" book (written by Terry Pratchett). Little did I know, that this book encompasses literally 32 seperate novels! Each novel is a different color with a different name that completely relies on every book before it. I spent about 15 minutes with the B&N people just walking around the giant Terry Pratchett section trying to locate the book which could be labeled appropriately in the series as "Book 1". "Oh, we have book 9 here...I remember my sister read this one, its good..." he said..."Too bad it relies on books 1-8 COMPLETELY." From my understanding if i was to pick up any Sci Fi novel of any kind, it would be like reading a book in French without the precursor novels. I try to imagine reading wizard and glass without a prior knowledge of Rolands personality and my almost explodes. Luckily there was this strange guy with no hair that looked like he played D&D WAY TOO MUCH in his time that had read the entirety of the collection. At the price of hearing all 42000 of his Sci Fi recommendations (41,999 of which were in some way shape or form related to dragons or Star Wars....or god knows how, both) I was able to get "The Color of Magic". Now I have read about 40 pages of this modest and small novel. I intend on finishing it in a couple of days. So far it is pretty funny already. The humor, like Hitchhikers is very British. So far I have found out that the world that this book exists in is a Disc that sits on the back of an elephant that rides on the back of a turtle that wanders around the galaxy looking for the other turles that have the other elephants on their backs so that they can mate and make other worlds (This is referred to rather humorously as the "Big Bang Theory"). We are met with the protagonist, an out of work magician who is stuck with the task of being at our guide to the Ambassador for an EXTREMELY wealthy neighboring country. It just so happens that this Emporer wants to explore every crevice of this country (although it is an EXTREMELY dangerous one). The protagonist is forced to help and aid this stupid Emporer guy around his city while saving him from his own idiot tourist type mannerisms. Imagine if you wrote a book about taking Jessica Simpson to the Slums of New York and told her to run around acting stupid and taking pictures...now imagine being the guy that is charge of making sure she doesn't get shot...you can see the humor that ensues here. I will give more of a review after I am done with this book though.

The real book I want to talk about is the Dark Tower series. This is the series that has most caught my attention recently. I just finished book 4, and have decided to take a break from it. I have read Books 1-4 in less than 2 months.

Dark Tower is set in the mystic Mid World (basically a world between all other worlds, which at the center holds the "Dark Tower"). The Dark Tower is essentially the nexus of all time, space, everything, nothingness all in one. Our hero (if you can call him that) is Roland. The story revolves around his epic style quest to find the ever crumbling dark tower (or so he think it is falling apart...as the world has "moved on"). Thought midworld he can access several doors (literally) that will take him from this world to the next. These worlds parallel our own but in different times. Restaurants are different, events are different, the year is different (Think SLIDERS but without the chubby fat guy that made it cool). Book 1 is mostly about Roland (who is known throughout the novel as "The Gunslinger" as he carries pistols and on of an elite few individuals who is trained to be so) and his chasing of the "Man in Black" across the desert. Book 1 was the toughest to get through and was only 300 pages, but set a solid ground work for the type of character that Roland is. He is by no means a hero in the eyes of anyone. He has been known to kill hundreds in his quest to reach the Tower, even his closest friends/loved ones. He is accompanied in this book by a small boy name Jake. SPOILERS AHEAD!. He eventually reaches the man in black, who tells him his future and tells him he will meet three others along his quest. Walter AKA Man in Black also tells him the concept of what the tower is and sets the stonework for the reader to get an idea of the scope of Rolands journey. Roland is of indeterminate age, but age is of no such matter in Mid-World. The crumbling of the Dark Tower itself has caused everything in its land to warp and die, including time itself.

Book 2 is basically about how he picks up some other friends along the way for his journey. I wont go into it too deeply, those who are reading this section have probably already read the book anyways. Roland uses the "doors" he finds on the beaches to "draw" Odetta Walker, Eddie, and Jake from their realms/dimensions (whatever you like). They discover the idea of "The Beam". The beam is a path that the must follow. There are several beams that all lead to the center of the (world?) and at this center lies the tower. All things follow the path along the beam...grass brows in a pattern, clouds split, etc....They follow the beam all the way to A city (which for the life of me has slipped my mind). Anyways on to book 3 we go (Book 2 is about 600 pages...they just get bigger).

Book 3 is the Wastelands. In the Wastelands we learn some of Rolands past. Most of the book is the story of Roland and his crew traveling to and from a city that is one of the last remaining cities in MidWorld. Here the people of the city are in Revolt. Most of them cannot procreate so everyone there is old and dieing of something (probably STDS). In short, they get into several bouts with these people, get captured by some important charecters that show up in book 4 (Tick Tock Man, Flagg, etc). They end off with Blaine the maniacle train that puts them out of the city and on a 1 way death track to suicide unless they can outriddle him (the trains computer system). Book 3 is about 600 pages

Book 4 is all back story. They get away from Blain and end up in "The Stand's" Kansas where Flagg has demolished the population with a virus. Thinnies (rips in time space ?) are all over the place. They are eluding and memorizing but ultimately are the aftermath of the Towers slow deterioration. Roland stops and tells the story of his past involving an epic 600 page Witch Hunt, Western, Romance Novel -esque thing. This part of the book divulges heavily into why Roland is what he is and does what he does. The crap that happens to Roland and his crew is REALLY screwed up. We also learn about the Wizards glass, which seems to me to be one of the most important elements thus far in the series. Everyone is out to get it. It has this Lord of the Rings type Golem effect in that anyone who has it kills to keep it, and dies from being obsessed with it. In it, Roland sees his fate for the Dark Tower and the fate of Susan Degaldo to be burned at the stake for "reap day" (essentially the local fair of Mejis, the town the story takes place in). Longest yet 700 pages

After book 4 we are left with our individuals back where they started, on the path of the beam. Headed to what they believe to be the town of "Thunderclap". The once hesitant individuals that travel with Roland are now determined to finish the quest, while the story telling Roland is exhausted and having second thoughts. As they continue their quest, Roland knows bit and pieces of their future, but only slightly and sometimes skewed...there is no telling what lies beneath...I hope the rest of the books suck me in like this one.

One of the greatest things about this series that I have honestly gotten to know the characters. It is unlike me to read a book over 200 pages. I am intrigued with every page to get to know Roland and his crew, and at the same time fear the day that I reach the end. I want to know what happens, but must take a break or I will ruin too much of a good thing. This series thus far is a MUST read for Sci Fi fans. I was never a fan of Stephen King in the past, but this set of novels has renewed my faith in him and given me the power to go back and reread some of his classics.