After about two years of reading, I am finally finished with Stephen King’s Gunslinger series. I remember beginning the first book at one of Robyn’s many pre-fertility treatment appointments back in 2005. I wish I could remember just what procedure it was, but there were so many, I just don’t recall. Overall, the series was pretty good although there were some really slow parts that I slogged through. At about half-way point, I decided I needed to take a break and I read a couple of other books to change things up, so it’s not totally fair to say that this took me more than two years.

The concept of ([b]this is a spoiler – select the text with your mouse to see it[/b]) [color=white] Stephen King being a character in the series[/color] was pretty unique and not something I saw coming until about the half way point when [color=white] Father Callahan was introduced and his part in Salem’s Lot explained[/color]. The sudden introduction of a few important characters in the final book was an odd choice, but they served their purposes in the coming together of the plotlines and overall story. The story definitely went places that I did not expect and touched on the varied genres in which King has written (What? He’s not a “horror” writer? If that’s what you think, then you are not a Stephen King fan, my friend!).

And of course, there is the ending and then THE ENDING which King asks, no begs us not to read through. Of course, I did and I think, overall, I would have been happy without having read it even though it did serve to bring the whole saga to a close…or did it? heheheheh.

If you’ve not read the books, I recommend that you do as long as you’ve got some time to kill and enjoy . Of course, you’ll read them in order, but the best of the bunch was undoubtedly book IV: [i]Wizard and Glass[/i]. The subplot that delved into Roland’s past would have made a fantastic story unto itself. I also really enjoyed the next book [i]Wolves of the Calla[/i] with it’s [b]Seven Samurai[/b]-esque action.

So, what am I onto now?
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[*][url=http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0553804715/bujinkanmartia0b/]Baltimore,: Or, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire[/url] – The cover illustration by Mike Mignola caught my eye as I was browsing through Border’s a month or so ago and I was excited to see that this tome is peppered with Mignola’s dark visions! I am borrowing this from the library and have read about 30 pages so far. It’s quite and interesting story….
[*][url=http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1933392797/bujinkanmartia0b/104-2095994-0695668]The End of America: Letter of Warning To A Young Patriot[/url] – There are so many political books critical of the Bush administration being released now that I spent about two hours a few weeks ago perusing them at Barne’s & Noble. This pamphlet style book was chock full of interesting and frightening facts about the current administration’s slow, but steady erosion of the American democracy and freedoms.
[*][url=http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0345494768/bujinkanmartia0b/]The Making of Star Wars[/url] – Worth the price of admission for the photos and artwork alone. If you are a Star Wars fan, you MUST own this book! It goes into never before seen detail about the making of the film including which scenes were shot on what days and also features great descriptions of the various screenplay drafts that Lucas wrote prior to the film’s production.
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