McAnally's (The Community Pub) > Author Craft
despite the flack I'm going to get....
MoSeS:
--- Quote from: neurovore on August 02, 2010, 04:00:53 PM ---I am entirely unconvinced they did figure anything out, though.
--- End quote ---
Ok ok....maybe figuring out was again another poor choice of words.
I guess what I meant was more to power to them for hitting what equates to the author's LOTTO.
MoSeS:
--- Quote from: Enjorous on August 02, 2010, 04:04:36 PM ---Well I'll say that King doesn't remember writing Cujo he was so messed up and he's admitted as much. As for the Tower, it is about the journey and it is about the cycle. "Ka is a wheel" and it comes full circle, with enough of a change that one could see that the end of the series is the beginning of the final journey. But a lot of his books do conclude the story arc, but are always somewhat open on the characters in them.
--- End quote ---
Exactly, but unlike the movie Ground Hog's Day (forgive the bad example) or Run Lola Run, we know that with each cycle, he or she get's closer and closer to getting it right.
However with the Dark Tower it's like we are only seeing day 3 of a 7 day book. (i am just using day figuratively here, could be week or month or year if you want, or any numbers)
And I get that it leaves something to the imagination, but I am not completely satisfied with that ending and I think it was kind of a cop-out ending.
The cool thing about Run Lola Run and Groundhog's Day is that we get to see where they make correction in the loop each time. With Dark Tower, King ingeniusly lets the reader imagine what happens so that King doesn't have to do the work.
I also get that sometimes endings are meant to be open ended, like the recent Inception, but in my heart I feel like King used it as a scapegoat to just get away from the series because he couldn't tie it up. Because honestly, what happens when Roland does get it right? I don't think King knows.
I think another flaw is why does the loop begin half into the story, it doesn't actually come full circle but more like a question mark shape. Therefore are we actually experiencing the very first occurance of the loop? since we experience the events before and outside of the loop. I think Dark Tower is riddled with fundamental story arc flaws. Not to mention I am not crazy about his heavy borrowing of artifacts from Marvel, Harry Potter, Star Wars, etc. I guess the are meant to make me go "awesome, light sabers" but for me it's more like " WTF, Light Sabers!?!"
Anyhow, I guess this discussion is probably better suited for some Stephen King forum, but I only care to write in the Jim Butcher forums. ;D
the neurovore of Zur-En-Aargh:
--- Quote from: MoSeS_ on August 02, 2010, 04:17:15 PM ---However with the Dark Tower it's like we are only seeing day 3 of a 7 day book. (i am just using day figuratively here, could be week or month or year if you want, or any numbers) And I get that it leaves something to the imagination, but I am not completely satisfied with that ending and I think it was kind of a cop-out ending.
The cool thing about Run Lola Run and Groundhog's Day is that we get to see where they make correction in the loop each time. With Dark Tower, King ingeniusly lets the reader imagine what happens so that King doesn't have to do the work.
I also get that sometimes endings are meant to be open ended, like the recent Inception, but in my heart I feel like King used it as a scapegoat to just get away from the series because he couldn't tie it up. Because honestly, what happens when Roland does get it right? I don't think King knows.
I think another flaw is why does the loop begin half into the story, it doesn't actually come full circle but more like a question mark shape.
--- End quote ---
Major Dark Tower spoilers:
(click to show/hide)The version of the story we are told is, I think, the last one before Roland succeeds. It loops back to him chasing the man in black because he's done better than he ever did before - that's why the horn, which he lost in the battle he flashes back to at the start of book 5, is suddenly in his pack at the end. He does not have to redo it from the very beginning, he has to redo it from the point at which he starts going off-focus.
His quest is to get to the Tower, recite the names of his companions, and blow the horn. It's not to enter the Tower. I think the way he wins, ultimately, is by letting having found a new family overcome his Tower obsession/addiction and learning to walk away once he has done what needs doing. I think that's all in the text; King does not need to spell it out because he's given the reader enough clues to put it all together.
MoSeS:
Oh, that sounds like a good theory.
To be honest, I kind of quit thinking about the deeper meaning because I was really turned off by many of the silly events.
I almost quit reading it after he put himself in as a character, but only because of the way he did it.
Really just a lot of other little things.
I also feel like a lot of the crap going on is pointless.
Like Mordrid, his role inevitably was pretty moot.
But enough about Dark Tower, this thread was suppose to be about.......well I don't remember now. :P
*Oh yeah, about Stephanie Meyer's book The Host
Enjorous:
I agree completely. It's probably why I liked the series so much, it wasn't tied up in a neat package, but it was a do it yourself kit so you could put together your ending.
@neurovore
(click to show/hide)I think it's also necessary for Roland to make it to the tower with the ka-tet of 19 and 99 intact.
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