I found that conversation between the man in black and Roland fascinating. Particularly the way it seemed like to some extent the man in black was COMPELLED to share certain insights with Roland. It wasn't at ALL like he "wanted to help" Roland - in fact, he wants the exact opposite. He is committed to Roland's failure. But evidently there are "rules," and I'd have loved to have learned more about those.
Thank you for posting this online. I finished book VII in 2004 and didn’t look back, I was so pissed about the ending. I stopped reading for fun not long after, until I discovered my eyesight beginning to fail a couple months ago and started reading for leisure again, while I still can. I started reading the series again recently and was hoping to hat other people’s thoughts about this book specifically, but also for the series. This was a blast! Thank you.
How else could it have ended that would have had any sort of "significance"? Anything else would have been a lame box-check. The ending as King wrote it transformed Roland into a character of cosmic significance.
I think the tower is just the "seed pod" from which everything that exists grew. All worlds connect there, all minds connect there. Think Jung's collective unconscious, etc. It's the Tower that ties all those things together. If something happened to it, all that - everything that exists - would end.
You need to bring Keith Enterante in for one of the episodes. There is so much to the Dark Tower to discuss and you have to bring in the connections from other novels.
One thing that becomes evident later is that the world is spreading out. Places are becoming physically further apart, and given the slow ways they have to travel (mostly), that makes getting around take a lot of time. I think it ties in an interesting way to the expansion of the universe in our real world. Galaxies are pulling away from each other, but stars in galaxies are not - the gravity is strong enough to overcome the expansion. Our bodies aren't growing larger - the chemical bonds that hold us together are REALLY strong enough to block the expansion. But imagine that expansion force grew more aggressive. Push it far enough, and you could imagine (if you squint) the world getting bigger but us not. And in the series this is a symptom of things "moving on."
Oh, the mescaline was GREAT! And that wasn't THAT weird - the idea that mescaline "opens up your mind" is pretty reasonable actually. And yes - he WAS carrying that pill around for ages and ages. It did seem to be the only one he had, though, and we have no information at all on how he got it.
Roland's quest goes beyond just getting the people who caused hte problem. His dedication to that goal could be thought of as a strength, but his quest is also a weakness. He also hungers to have the secrets of the Dark Tower revealed to him. To him personally - not so he can accomplish something, but simply because he wants to know and feels he's worthy to know. It's a sin of pride. I won't say more here, since this video is only on The Gunslinger and not the whole series, but I think the whole thing makes great sense when looked at in a particular way.
How did Jake get there? Magic. The man in black cast a spell and it drew Jake there. You're right about the pathos of the world, but it hadn't always been like that. Even Roland remembered the final days of the glory that had come before. It becomes clear by book seven what's going on - (spoilers) the world is being deliberately "damaged" on an ongoing basis. It's stretching out, slowing down, coming unglued.
The Crimson King is not "God." God is called "Gan" in the series. Definitely a distinct character from the Crimson King. In some sense the Tower "belongs to Gan," but I suspect everything and everyone that exists is part of Gan, so in that sense it belongs to all of them.
Yeah, Roland's attraction to Sylvia was weird - I think the idea that she housed a succubus must be right. Because physically her description didn't seem attractive AT ALL.
Oh, please don't get all sensitive about the sex. That's one of the worst piles of poo we've fallen into as a culture. It's really not that big of a deal - it's just another need we have, like the need to eat, or breathe. And like all of those things, it can be overdone. When kept in balance it's a fine thing; let it get out of hand it it's a vice. And yes - Allie convinces HIM; she knew what she wanted. She was LONELY. It made total sense.
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I found that conversation between the man in black and Roland fascinating. Particularly the way it seemed like to some extent the man in black was COMPELLED to share certain insights with Roland. It wasn't at ALL like he "wanted to help" Roland - in fact, he wants the exact opposite. He is committed to Roland's failure. But evidently there are "rules," and I'd have loved to have learned more about those.
Thank you for posting this online. I finished book VII in 2004 and didn’t look back, I was so pissed about the ending. I stopped reading for fun not long after, until I discovered my eyesight beginning to fail a couple months ago and started reading for leisure again, while I still can. I started reading the series again recently and was hoping to hat other people’s thoughts about this book specifically, but also for the series. This was a blast! Thank you.
How else could it have ended that would have had any sort of "significance"? Anything else would have been a lame box-check. The ending as King wrote it transformed Roland into a character of cosmic significance.
The ending was GREAT, and I don't see any other way it could have ended that would have had any "significance" at all.
Thank you! It's the only way it could have ended! Plus he has the H****
I think the tower is just the "seed pod" from which everything that exists grew. All worlds connect there, all minds connect there. Think Jung's collective unconscious, etc. It's the Tower that ties all those things together. If something happened to it, all that - everything that exists - would end.
You need to bring Keith Enterante in for one of the episodes. There is so much to the Dark Tower to discuss and you have to bring in the connections from other novels.
One thing that becomes evident later is that the world is spreading out. Places are becoming physically further apart, and given the slow ways they have to travel (mostly), that makes getting around take a lot of time. I think it ties in an interesting way to the expansion of the universe in our real world. Galaxies are pulling away from each other, but stars in galaxies are not - the gravity is strong enough to overcome the expansion. Our bodies aren't growing larger - the chemical bonds that hold us together are REALLY strong enough to block the expansion. But imagine that expansion force grew more aggressive. Push it far enough, and you could imagine (if you squint) the world getting bigger but us not. And in the series this is a symptom of things "moving on."
Oh, the mescaline was GREAT! And that wasn't THAT weird - the idea that mescaline "opens up your mind" is pretty reasonable actually. And yes - he WAS carrying that pill around for ages and ages. It did seem to be the only one he had, though, and we have no information at all on how he got it.
Roland's quest goes beyond just getting the people who caused hte problem. His dedication to that goal could be thought of as a strength, but his quest is also a weakness. He also hungers to have the secrets of the Dark Tower revealed to him. To him personally - not so he can accomplish something, but simply because he wants to know and feels he's worthy to know. It's a sin of pride. I won't say more here, since this video is only on The Gunslinger and not the whole series, but I think the whole thing makes great sense when looked at in a particular way.
The thing is, though, he puts that "On Being Nineteen" preface in EVERY BOOK, and you really only need to read it once. 🙂
my favorite book series
How did Jake get there? Magic. The man in black cast a spell and it drew Jake there. You're right about the pathos of the world, but it hadn't always been like that. Even Roland remembered the final days of the glory that had come before. It becomes clear by book seven what's going on - (spoilers) the world is being deliberately "damaged" on an ongoing basis. It's stretching out, slowing down, coming unglued.
30:06 - LMAO... I like you guys; I really do. Be careful, though... big ideas you're dancing around here.
The Crimson King is not "God." God is called "Gan" in the series. Definitely a distinct character from the Crimson King. In some sense the Tower "belongs to Gan," but I suspect everything and everyone that exists is part of Gan, so in that sense it belongs to all of them.
29:09 - Resumption.
He was hit on the 19th damn. I think he also wrote DK the first at 19. I believe he says it the foreword
Yeah, Roland's attraction to Sylvia was weird - I think the idea that she housed a succubus must be right. Because physically her description didn't seem attractive AT ALL.
Great takes on the first book in one of my favourite series. Excited to hear you guys' thoughts on the rest!
Oh, please don't get all sensitive about the sex. That's one of the worst piles of poo we've fallen into as a culture. It's really not that big of a deal - it's just another need we have, like the need to eat, or breathe. And like all of those things, it can be overdone. When kept in balance it's a fine thing; let it get out of hand it it's a vice.
And yes - Allie convinces HIM; she knew what she wanted. She was LONELY. It made total sense.
I hate that King revised the gunslinger. I feel like it's not necessary and gives away too much.
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