Black House (spoilers)
Jeff
First off, the omniscient second person point of view was rather
distracting. Instead of calling attention to the events in the story,
it calls attention to the fact that this *is* a story. Being
constantly reminded that I am reading made it incredibly hard to
suspend my disbelief and fall into the story - it makes the authors
the star of the show, not the plot.
In this case, the plot needed some extra support. It wasn't a terrible
storyline, but simply felt tacked together - a conglomeration of
events loosely related but all vying to be the true "story."
First, the plot introduces the most standard of King themes: children
in danger. This is not necessarily a bad thing, since it reflects a
primary fear in our culture. As usual, this is more than just a fear:
it is a primal force. Children generally represent the continuation of
our society. To place them in danger is to place society at large in
danger.
We are suitably impressed with the need to catch the Fisherman before
he strikes again: however, the plot never really makes us feel that
there is truly a danger. Because we enter the story after the fact
(after the death of the three children), we never have a chance to be
emotionally invested in the story. We never *knew* these kids: they
are simply names mentioned here and there.
Also, we never really even get to know the parents. Tanzi is a hollow
character. She is only given one real grief scene, in which King and
Straub try to pack an entire characterization. It falls flat, so all
we have is throw-away character who briefly enters the story and fades
away.
Similarly, Beezer never seems to grieve, nor does his wife, Beargirl.
They seem to be continuing their lives as if there never was an Amy.
So Beezer's motivation to catch the Fisherman seems little more than a
do-gooder lending a hand rather than a father raging against the
injustice.
Fred Martin and his wife Judy are treated a bit better. We see Fred
before and after the kidnapping of Tim, so our emotions do become
somewhat invested in their grief. However, just as quickly as we are
introduced to Fred, he is pushed aside in favor of his wife. Our
emotional investment fades as his character fades from the story.
In fact, it seems that the kidnapping of Tim becomes more a device to
introduce Jack to Judy, since the book focuses now on the Territories
and Jack's awakening instead of the horror and loss.
Now, the plot is suddenly full of robin's eggs - supposedly as a wake
up call from our old friend Parkus. But the scenes are jarring and out
of place, and Jack's journey to remembrance seems artificial and
quick, especially in contrast to the subtle ghosts of Henry's wife.
They are so subtle introduced that we never notice them until they
coalesce into danger.
Jack himself is a lonely character - isolated from a society he chose
to protect as a policeman. That is obviously the result of his
previous adventure. Having touched The Talisman has set him apart -
and he is of a singular nature in more than just the diminsional
sense.
But then Jack meets Judy. Suddenly, Jack is in love, and the plot
becomes about a man's journey from loneliness to love. In this case,
Jack's singular nature is compromised - he is no longer able to flip
between worlds. Luckily, he *can* remain in the world where he has a
chance for love.
In some ways, this plot seems Oedipal. Jack falls in love with Judy,
the "earthly" incarnation of the Queen of the Territories, and the
same role his mother's Twinner played in the previous book. In the
Territories, Jack is free to love the Queen, Sophia. It seems that the
boy has come full circle - back to his mother, just as he did in the
original novel.
The best things about this book is Henry Leyden, who is defined by his
blindness but not limited by it. He is the best delineated character,
given the richest history (well, besides Jack, whose history we
already know). Again, it is natural that someone should die - every
story needs an innocent sacrifice (in this one, we get plenty), but
Henry's death seems somehow special.
In fact, it almost seems as if the book is more about Henry than about
Breakers and the Crimson King. In fact, one of the main things I
noticed was that Henry lost the last two fingers on his right hand -
the exact same fingers that Roland lost. The scene with
Burnside/Munshun and the clippers, in fact, echoes the Roland's battle
with the lobstrosities in The Drawing of the Three. Events echo
throughout the Tower, after all, and we have proof that death in one
world doesn't necessarily mean death in the other (Jack didn't die
when his Twinner was murdered; Judy wasn't barren even though Sophia
was abused, et cetera). These facts, combined with the Crimson King's
sudden interest in Henry, make me wonder: is Henry Roland's Twinner?
Is Roland now single-natured, just as Jack is (was)? Does this affect
his ability to enter The Tower?
Obviously, The Tower is central to the book. We have the explanation
of the Breakers and the Role of the Crimson King (and we know that
there is only one Beam left operating, the one that Roland and company
are following). So now the plot becomes more about hindering the
Crimson King's efforts to destroy the universe.
So, at last, we come to the Fisherman, Burnside/Munshun. As usual, the
"bad guy" is a force of chaos: Burnside and Munshun are out to do more
than just kill children: they are out to destroy the town. So they
manipulate the townspeople - Tanzi in particular. The growing outrage
seems to boil down to one man: Wendell Green. And because of that, the
outrage rings hollow.
Yes, Burnside is a suitably horrible figure, made all the more
horrible because he is actually human and truly enjoys his horror. At
this point, the danger posed by Burnside seems more immediate.
Although we don't really have that much of an investment in Tim
himself, we do become more involved because Tim's (if that is his
name) escape from Burnside is very well-written and incredibly tense.
We feel his disappointment when Munshun captures him.
However, the plot fails us again, since Munshun just doesn't seem to
be that horrible a figure. He is a henchman for the real horror, but
he isn't well-defined, and just doesn't seem to be a threat. We just
don't know enough about him, so the the final showdown does little
more than make us feel good that good has defeated the bad once again.
However, despite this momentary rise, the book ends with more
tacked-together scenes: we never get a sense that old-what's-her-name
is *that* angry with Jack for arresting her husband (there's only one
scene for her, after all - a scene so full of cliches that it barely
registers).
Overall, the book is worthwhile simply because we are given a bit more
insight into the Dark Tower. The story is mediocre at best and fares
even worse when compared to its precursor, The Talisman, a vibrantly
alive narrative with rich characters, or even when compared to the
Dark Tower series itself.
As I read back, I seem to be incredibly hard on the story. My
reaction, overall, wasn't that negative. The book was suspenseful,
especially once the second person viewpoint was dropped in favor of
more direct narration, and events - those directly related to the Dark
Tower and Territories - start to unfold. I just never connected to the
story in the same way I connected to the Talisman.
flipp...@webtv.net
I awaited it eagerly having enjoyed the Talisman so much.
I mean....here was this chance to tie The Territories into this Dark
Tower web that has grown in such stature and importance since they
penned the first, and they dropped the ball!
A few snippets wrapped by a real snorer.
Jojje
> Sharing my thoughts on the books:
(Snipping your interesting review/thoughts)
A question: What was the Big Combination in your opinion? Other than a
huge, mechanical torture device for children, I mean.
Jojje
Jeff
reading.
A couple of theories:
1. There is a dual attempt at breaking the Tower: the Breakers are
trying to disrupt the *nature* of the tower, while the Children of the
Big Combination are trying to destroy the *physical* Tower. After all,
we know that the Crimson King has a dual nature - he is both trapped
in the Tower and free in End World (perhaps through the Twinner
phenomenon?), and it wouldn't do the CK to disrupt the Tower and fling
the universe into chaos unless he was truly free.
The only problem is that the Big Combination seems remote from the
Tower (there isn't a field of roses, and Munshun has to take the mono
to get Tim to the Crimson King). So maybe the Big Combination is
working on a Thinny that leads somehow to the Tower.
2. The Big Combination is a power plant of somekind. Whatever is being
generated here is being focused by the Breakers into something able to
destroy the Beams. In fact, the Big Combination could be nothing more
than a plant to generate electricity to power the lights used in the
prison of the Breakers.
In every case that Roland and company encounter technology, it is used
in evil or has turned evil (the Bear, Blaine and the computers under
the city, the oil pumps and tankers of W&G, the gas pump used as a
penis, et cetera - the only "good" use of technology was to make ice
and light. Also, someone somewhere said that the ways of the old
people are the ways of death).
As a power plant that powers technology, the Big Combination would be
the great evil. Again, it is a standard King theme that great evil
feasts on children (innocence lost). So, this great evil would
naturally have to incorporate children into its generation.
Jojje <johan...@NOSPAMbredband.net> wrote in message news:<3DB91776...@NOSPAMbredband.net>...
The Cat Guy
>2. The Big Combination is a power plant of somekind. Whatever is being
>generated here is being focused by the Breakers into something able to
>destroy the Beams.
I have listened to Black House on audio three times, and I have to say that I
highly favor this theory. It makes the most sense in light of the CK's
response to its demise. The loss of the BC AND Ty Marshall is the only thing
keeping the Tower up right now, and we'll see how Roland handles the race to
the finish line.
Mark
The Catman
isob...@aol.com
www.geocities.com/mark_rosengarten
Benghis
"The Cat Guy" <isob...@aol.comdelete> wrote in message
news:20021025162747...@mb-mq.aol.com...
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> >2. The Big Combination is a power plant of somekind. Whatever is being
> >generated here is being focused by the Breakers into something able to
> >destroy the Beams.
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> I have listened to Black House on audio three times, and I have to say
that I
> highly favor this theory. It makes the most sense in light of the CK's
> response to its demise.
Wait a second, what response are we talking about here? I don't recall the
CK doing anything at the end of Black House in retaliation or to recoup his
losses.
Jojje
> "The Cat Guy" <isob...@aol.comdelete> wrote in message
> news:20021025162747...@mb-mq.aol.com...
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>>>2. The Big Combination is a power plant of somekind. Whatever is being
>>>generated here is being focused by the Breakers into something able to
>>>destroy the Beams.
>>>
>> I have listened to Black House on audio three times, and I have to say
>> that I highly favor this theory. It makes the most sense in light of the CK's
>> response to its demise.
>
> Wait a second, what response are we talking about here? I don't recall the
> CK doing anything at the end of Black House in retaliation or to recoup his
> losses.
No, I can't recall anything either. I guess CK was angry but we were not
told about anything, or...?
>> The loss of the BC AND Ty Marshall is the only thing keeping the Tower up
>> right now, and we'll see how Roland handles the race to the finish line.
Finally I understood this sentence. If the BC was still standing and Ty
Marshall was still be in CK's possesion the Tower would have fallen.
Yes, that's probably true.
Jojje