Eyes Only

The Man in Black belongs to me.

So in 1979 or thereabouts, I belonged to the Stephen King fan club. In those days kids, we got letters and updates via actual postal mail. We'd have to wait, oh so impatiently, for the end of the month and hope that our newsletter would be reasonably on time. That was how I first heard about "The Gunslinger". It sounded magical and I couldn't wait to read it. I raced to the library first, and needless to say, it was not in the card catalogue (there were no computers kiddies, just fabulous huge cabinets with a multitude of drawers with each drawer containing hundreds of cards; a card for each book, telling you where it was. One needed to know the Dewey Decimal System and I'm pretty sure we learned it in school) I know some of you weren't even born 35 years ago and maybe haven't ever heard of the Dewey Decimal System, but it's still in use today, sort of. Anyhow, reminiscing will be another story for another day.

So the library was no help to me, nor was the book store I had to phone. Fernie didn't have a book store, and the one in Cranbrook insisted that there was no such book. I knew it was out there somewhere, but my avenues were all exhausted. All two of them. 

A couple of years go by and during this time, Stephen King wrote 4 sequels to The Gunslinger, and none were available to me. However...in 1982 Mr. King decided to publish all five of the short stories into one novel called The Dark Tower - The Gunslinger.  I am now the owner of a (first edition I might add) book that would end up drawing me into its world for the next 35 years. Yes, 35 years!

I waited for 5 years for the second book to be published, during which time I re-read the first one over and over. Five years! These days authors crank out books every year, and if you're James Patterson maybe every month. (The man is nothing if not prolific)

So now I have two books. The years go by and each time a new book is released, I re-read all the previous ones again. In 2004 the last book was released. Three words. Worst. Ending. Ever. 

I can't even think about it. In the 13 years since then I have re-read the series a multitude of times, but only as far as the last half of the last book. I've made up my own ending and I will never read the end of the last book again. To be fair, Stephen King did warn his Constant Readers that they could either finish reading now, or continue to the end of the book. I continued. Big Error.

During the years between his first book, Carrie, in 1973,  and Sleeping Beauties, which will be released this September, I have purchased every one of his books. I'm the proud owner of a first edition of every one of them. They are quite literally some of the things I'd save in a fire. I reread them often, and I find new things every single time. There is something about his writing style that moves me and transports me.  

In 2012, Stephen (because I feel we are on a first name basis by this point) released another book that belonged to the Dark Tower series and "fits" between "Wizard and Glass" (book 4) and "Wolves of the Calla" (book 5), which makes it book 4.5. Awesome idea! (It's called "Wind through the Keyhole" in case you need to go and buy it)

Also, as his aficionados already know, all his books have a reference to another of his books, and all his books have a reference to The Dark Tower. Sometimes just a word or a name, or sometimes a huge connection. They all tie together somewhere....even ones that seem like a whole different genre such as "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption" and "The Body". What kind of a genius is he anyhow?  As a matter of fact, there is a woman in Australia who has made a Stephen King Universe Flowchart showing how all his books are interconnected in some way, be it large or small. She is a King fan's  Most Admirable Person.  Umm, if any of you reading this would care to purchase this for me, I'd  be most appreciative. Really...I'd owe you forever. So, it's on Etsy, thanks so much. Let me know when it arrives.

So, all this leads up to the Dark Tower movie. Thirty Five years since I first read that iconic line "The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed".  How am I going to react when I hear it in the theatre? Will I cry and get all goose-bumply? It's likely that I will you know. But who will say it? Who is going to be the voice over? Will it be Stephen himself? He is like Alfred Hitchcock in such as he almost always has a tiny cameo or picture of himself in his movies.  Will they even say that line? I've heard rumours that the movie isn't even going to start at that point. Well, that's discouraging. Or is it?

I've spent 35 years with images of Roland, Randall, Susannah, Jake and Eddie in my mind. I know what they look like and how they sound. I can't imagine seeing them looking like...I don't know...Matthew McConaughy? Do I even want to see the movie? I mean, some of his movies and adaptations are not even worthy of being on late night TV ("The Mangler" anyone? )what if this is one of them? Or what if it's awesome and everyone loves it? And then I'll feel jealous and possessive because I feel like it belongs to me. Me, and a few others who have read and reread and love that world. Bah to those who are jumping on the bandwagon at this late date.

Anyhow, that's my take on it all.

And oh, the first line, written June 19, 1970 was "The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed" and the last line, written April 7, 2004....3699 pages later is "The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed." 

Talk about a circle.