Stephen King, The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah

Synopsis:

"Roland Deschain, gunslinger, hero, continues his perilous adventures in search of the key to the quest that will define his life. Roland's loyal followers, Jake, Father Callahan and Oy set out to break Susannah's date with destiny. She has used the power of Black Thirteen to transport her from the farming community of Calla Bryn Sturgis to New York, where she prepares to give birth to an unknown entity.

Meanwhile, Roland and Eddie brave the state of Naine in the summer of 1977. It is a frightful world, a real world, where bullets are flying. A world inhabited by the author of a novel called Salem's Lot".

Stephen King's novel "Song Of Susannah" is the sixth instalment of the seven part epic "Dark Tower" series. The novel runs for 427 pages out of the series total of 3712 pages. Unlike within the previous installations, the book does not include an introduction from King himself (Wolves Of The Calla delivered his last 'argument'). However, the book does finish with a two page afterward. Again, the hardback version includes some full colour illustrations (ten in total), this time by Darrel Anderson.

The story begins directly from where the previous novel left off, throwing the reader once again into the mysterious world King has created. From the very beginning, the tale picks up a fast pace, setting down clever twists and turns for each one of the main characters we have followed closely throughout this adventure. With a similar construction of the storyline to that of "Wolves Of The Calla", the fragmented plot lines that gradually draw together is a lot tighter within this action packed novel.

King develops upon the character of Susannah's multiple personalities, bringing out further layers to their rich personalities. Whilst the three separate tracks of the story weave their way through the book, King takes his almost surreal angle of bringing in the real world by introducing himself as a major character within the book. This brings a whole new and original approach to the saga, which tricky as it sounds, works surprisingly well. In doing this, the Dark Tower series becomes a more involved and personal adventure for King.

The novel draws to a close with a chapter constructed from the pages of the character of Stephen King within his own novel. These fictional accounts detail the real life of the writer in a way that reflects the parallel world from the series. Confusing as it sounds, it does work very well, bringing all the previous books tighter together and linking them to our own reality.

All in all, I found this instalment into the "Dark Tower" series one of the most rewarding and enjoyable reads of all the books so far. Short as it is compared with the previous books, "Song Of Susannah" is rich in its storyline and cleverly ties in almost all of the previous events, laying the ground for the final book to complete this epic journey. An absolute pleasure to read.

Stephen King, The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah - Follows on the story of the Gunslinger in his ultimate quest to find the dark tower.

Roland (the Gunslinger and last of his kind) is with his fellow travellers Jake and Eddy and newcommer Father Callaghan to try and track Susannah after she has taken Black Thirteen and gone to prepare for the birth of her baby.

The party splits into two with Roland and Eddy eventually coming across King (as in the writer) in a time many years before this book is thought of, who is startled to meet his characters from the tower book. After they leave, he ponders on continuing the series after having put it to one side for many years.

Jake and Father Callaghan meanwhile follow Susannah's trail and eventually reach The Dixie Pig where she will be helped to give birth.

The book leaves us on a cliffhanger with Mia/Susannah surrounded by 'The Bad Guys' and about to give birth.

The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah

Stephen King

Scribner (Grant), Jun 2004, $30.00, 432 pp.

ISBN: 1880418592

Instructed by the Crimson King's Low Men thugs and applying the power of the Black Thirteen, the demon-mother Mia, using the body of the body of Susannah Dean as her host, travels to Midtown Manhattan in the summer of 99. Mia understands that she must give birth at the right time at the right place to begin the end of the Dark Tower. Trailing her in order to prevent the event at the Dixie Pig are adolescent Jake, his talking pet Oy and Father Callaghan.

Meanwhile, in 1977 Enrico Balazar and his goons have traveled to East Stoneham, Maine where they plan to kill bookstore owner Calvin Tower. Gunslingers Roland and Eddie arrive at the bookstore also seeking Enrico as bullets fly and a frightened young author of a bestseller called Salem's Lot wonders when his fantasy world turned to deadly reality.

The sixth tale of the Dark Tower series continues the path towards the finish with two prime exhilarating subplots that will enthrall the audience. The ironic technique of King placing King inside the novel comes off as chutzpah that works especially the ending. Still the key to this rendition and the previous sagas remain that the characters hold true to their respective essence throughout the adventures. With the finale in this saga to be published soon, fans of Stephen King will rejoice this epic series maintains its' high standard throughout, but newcomers should start with the first novel.

Harriet Klausner