Would King have ever finished the series without the accident? *spoilers*

[Darkthoughts]

But just like Lisa said, imagine what the books would have been without his accident. I'm positive they would have been completely different.

For one, I don't think he would have written himself into them, but after the near death experience, he came out with a strange view of what "we" all are and what we are here for.

Are we puppetmasters or are we the ones on strings?

Yes, I had a similar thought. I wonder if he wrote himself into the story after the accident because he came to realise, or maybe just appreciate, that DT had taken his creative self over so much that he simply was part of the story.

All the things he wrote about himself in DT (his thoughts and his diary entries) seemed to be more factual than they were fictional to me.

[CyberGhostface]

According to King, he knew after writing the Waste Lands that he'd be writing himself in and that an accident would have been in the story...of course, it wouldn't have been THE accident...

[jayson]

According to King, he knew after writing the Waste Lands that he'd be writing himself in and that an accident would have been in the story...of course, it wouldn't have been THE accident...

That makes sense to me as King's use of himself in the story didn't seem forced or as if it came out of nowhere. It seemed to flow naturally, and not take me altogether by surprise. There have always been so many connections between his works. I am one of those that subscribe to the "all King stories are Tower stories" theory. They all happen on some level or another of the Tower as far as I see it, and if they are not all in the same world, they are in worlds very close to another. It therefore seemed perfectly natural that King himself would eventually be a part of the central work in the canon. Everything's eventual.

[Daghain]

[Darkthoughts]

I am one of those that subscribe to the "all King stories are Tower stories" theory. They all happen on some level or another of the Tower as far as I see it, and if they are not all in the same world, they are in worlds very close to another.

Of course! If you subscribe to the concept of the Tower at all, then this is the only logical conclusion

[CyberGhostface]

You quoted it wrong; R of G said that, not me.

[Darkthoughts]

No worries - tis sorted

[CyberGhostface]

In my mind, by introducing King as himself as well as bringing the actual Dark Tower books itself into the series it actually detracts from the series' realism. It just pulls you out from the fictional world that King created and goes "This is fiction! This is fiction!" even if King's intention was the opposite.

[Jean]

Please dear friends don't forget that if King's appearance in the book is going to be discussed further, it should be done in that thread.

[hisDudeness]

I don't know about that. All I know is that if he didn't finish the DT I would have killed myself

[TerribleT]

I've thought long and hard about this since King's near death experience, and since the release of the final three books. In the afterword of The Wastelands SK kind of apologizes for the book ending where it did. He says that these books are writing themselves, and he implies that finding the keys to Rolands world is difficult for him, and it requires him to "set his wits to it". He talks about Rolands world holding him "in thrall" maybe more than any of the other worlds he's created in his imagination. He alludes to this in the foreward of W&G as well. I think he meant for this to be epic, that maybe this was THE series of books which was the quilt that all his other books combined made up. That every single character he ever dreamed up lived someplace along the path of the beams. I think that SK, always had a basic outline for where Roland and his Ka-Tet were going, and what would happen to them, but that it took time for the stories to flesh themselves out, like a fine wine that must be allowed to sit and ferment. The first four books have a very different feel to them, than the last three books do. The first four books feel as though they've simmered to perfection. That they came when it was their time. The last three books have a lot more of an assembly line feel to them. They feel like that stew that's fresh off of the stove. It's good, but it'll be WAY better tomorrow, after it sits in the fridge overnight. I've also noticed a lot of the comments about the last three books seem to indicate that there is some discord for others here as well (Walters death). To sum it up, I kind of wonder if prior to his accident SK really allowed the books to simmer to perfection, and after the accident he rushed them. Didn't allow them to evolve completely in his mind, and pushed them to come out before they were really ripe. I'm kind of torn between wanting to know what Roland's fate would be, and King taking to time to allow each story to fully develop in his mind. I would almost rather he had taken the time to allow the books to "write themselves", and take the risk that we might not ever know the final fate of Roland.

[sarah]

The last three books have a lot more of an assembly line feel to them. They feel like that stew that's fresh off of the stove. It's good, but it'll be WAY better tomorrow, after it sits in the fridge overnight.

I agree.

personally, i feel that the last three books felt rushed. He did write them in 18 months. 18 months is a short time to crank out three books. It felt like he was just rushed to get it over with. Don't get me wrong, I really love the last three books, i just wonder how it would've flowed if he took longer for the last three.

[TerribleT]

The last three books have a lot more of an assembly line feel to them. They feel like that stew that's fresh off of the stove. It's good, but it'll be WAY better tomorrow, after it sits in the fridge overnight.

I agree.

personally, i feel that the last three books felt rushed. He did write them in 18 months. 18 months is a short time to crank out three books. It felt like he was just rushed to get it over with. Don't get me wrong, I really love the last three books, i just wonder how it would've flowed if he took longer for the last three.

EGGZACTLY!!!! 18 months is an ESPECIALLY short time to write three Dark Tower books. All of the other DT books took several years each to write.

[sarah]

yep. i sort of feel that king was over it all and just wanted to finish it and be done. Hey, I'm glad he did. who knows what he really felt about it all. He did say that he knew the ending ending since the beginning so at least there is that.

[obscurejude]

The last three books have a lot more of an assembly line feel to them. They feel like that stew that's fresh off of the stove. It's good, but it'll be WAY better tomorrow, after it sits in the fridge overnight.

I agree.

personally, i feel that the last three books felt rushed. He did write them in 18 months. 18 months is a short time to crank out three books. It felt like he was just rushed to get it over with. Don't get me wrong, I really love the last three books, i just wonder how it would've flowed if he took longer for the last three.

I agree. There is certainly a disparity between the last three books and the rest of the series. I am currently reading through the series for the third time and I am half-way through Wolves of the Calla. The battle of Jericho Hill seems a little forced and the emphasis upon the Horn of Eld seems misappropriated since they will symbolize Roland's damnation and possible salvation and it they have never been mentioned before. Its interesting to read the revised version of the Gunslinger which properly foreshadows these things, but they remain completely absent from the original yet pinnacle to the tale as revealed in the last three books. Don't get me wrong, I love the last three books, but they have a very rushed feeling. "Nineteen" is another example of what I am talking about. He may have finished the series without having the accident but I don't know...Wizard and Glass ends with very little resolve and even having read it four times I am still not sure at all about the green palace, what transpires there, and how the grapefruit places them back on the beam. Whether it was the car accident or a combination of Insomnia and Hearts in Atlantis, I'm glad he finished the series either way although it lacks cohesion at points. Its still the best thing I've ever read.

[Spencer]

Would King have ever finished the series without his accident?

How long would we have had to wair for?

I think not much longer than we did, probably in a few years as he approached 65, he'd have had the same urgency the accident caused, but not nearly with the same intensity.

[Wuducynn]

The last three books have a lot more of an assembly line feel to them. They feel like that stew that's fresh off of the stove. It's good, but it'll be WAY better tomorrow, after it sits in the fridge overnight.

I agree.

personally, i feel that the last three books felt rushed. He did write them in 18 months. 18 months is a short time to crank out three books. It felt like he was just rushed to get it over with. Don't get me wrong, I really love the last three books, i just wonder how it would've flowed if he took longer for the last three.

I agree. There is certainly a disparity between the last three books and the rest of the series. I am currently reading through the series for the third time and I am half-way through Wolves of the Calla. The battle of Jericho Hill seems a little forced and the emphasis upon the Horn of Eld seems misappropriated since they will symbolize Roland's damnation and possible salvation and it they have never been mentioned before. Its interesting to read the revised version of the Gunslinger which properly foreshadows these things, but they remain completely absent from the original yet pinnacle to the tale as revealed in the last three books. Don't get me wrong, I love the last three books, but they have a very rushed feeling. "Nineteen" is another example of what I am talking about. He may have finished the series without having the accident but I don't know...Wizard and Glass ends with very little resolve and even having read it four times I am still not sure at all about the green palace, what transpires there, and how the grapefruit places them back on the beam. Whether it was the car accident or a combination of Insomnia and Hearts in Atlantis, I'm glad he finished the series either way although it lacks cohesion at points. Its still the best thing I've ever read.

I don't agree. I think them coming out faster than the previous ones is what gave them the impression of being rushed. To me, the books feel like he finally got a lock on what he wanted to do with the rest of the series and decided to finish it.
Now, there were inconsistencies with Drawing the most I've noticed, but that was because at that point he was just getting into the ideas of where the overall series was heading.

[jayson]

I don't agree. I think them coming out faster than the previous ones is what gave them the impression of being rushed. To me, the books feel like he finally got a lock on what he wanted to do with the rest of the series and decided to finish it.
Now, there were inconsistencies with Drawing the most I've noticed, but that was because at that point he was just getting into the ideas of where the overall series was heading.

I agree with you Matt. A longer time in between each of the last three would likely have led to more inconsistencies between the works. Knowing King had no fixed outline for the series explains a lot of the incosistencies. When he wrote the last three I think he had a much clearer vision of the finish line than he had at any point previously and he wanted to just finish the story, once and for all. It could feel rushed to some because so much happens so fast in these last three books, but I prefer the series the way it is, finished, as opposed to waiting years for each new book to come along.

[Allie]

To put it this way: I'm glad I started reading the books after he had finished them all!

Me too!!

I've thought long and hard about this since King's near death experience, and since the release of the final three books. In the afterword of The Wastelands SK kind of apologizes for the book ending where it did. He says that these books are writing themselves, and he implies that finding the keys to Rolands world is difficult for him, and it requires him to "set his wits to it". He talks about Rolands world holding him "in thrall" maybe more than any of the other worlds he's created in his imagination. He alludes to this in the foreward of W&G as well. I think he meant for this to be epic, that maybe this was THE series of books which was the quilt that all his other books combined made up. That every single character he ever dreamed up lived someplace along the path of the beams. I think that SK, always had a basic outline for where Roland and his Ka-Tet were going, and what would happen to them, but that it took time for the stories to flesh themselves out, like a fine wine that must be allowed to sit and ferment. The first four books have a very different feel to them, than the last three books do. The first four books feel as though they've simmered to perfection. That they came when it was their time. The last three books have a lot more of an assembly line feel to them. They feel like that stew that's fresh off of the stove. It's good, but it'll be WAY better tomorrow, after it sits in the fridge overnight. I've also noticed a lot of the comments about the last three books seem to indicate that there is some discord for others here as well (Walters death). To sum it up, I kind of wonder if prior to his accident SK really allowed the books to simmer to perfection, and after the accident he rushed them. Didn't allow them to evolve completely in his mind, and pushed them to come out before they were really ripe. I'm kind of torn between wanting to know what Roland's fate would be, and King taking to time to allow each story to fully develop in his mind. I would almost rather he had taken the time to allow the books to "write themselves", and take the risk that we might not ever know the final fate of Roland.

Well put. I tend to agree with that. Dont get me wrong, I still love all the books, but I think maybe King realised he may not have had as much time as he thought after his accident and rushed things a bit.

[Matt]

Could be I suppose. I don't think the speed at which he wrote them should be a factor because he could have had pages of notes and outlines on all the books for years.

Could be the others could have been written much quicker if he hadn't been taking drugs.

[Letti]

I don't feel he rushed. Not at all. He just had it all in his head. Sometimes you need years to finish a short story that's in your head and sometimes you can finish it during only one afternoon and you just writewritewrite. The way I see it time is not a factor here.

[Matt]

I totally agree Letti. Just because it to forever to write some doesn't mean it always has to take forever.

[jayson]

I agree with you both. Let me add this as well... even if it does feel rushed, does that not add to the feel of the quest coming to it's "end"? There are several references to Roland feeling as if things have sped up now that he closes in on his Tower. The so-called "rushed" feel works fine for me. I'd already waited long enough between books as the series progressed. On to the damn Tower.

[Letti]

But why does it feel rushed at all?

[jayson]

i'm not sure i personally think it is rushed, but perhaps some do because a lot of things seem to be happening over a short course of time?