Book #35

The Drawing of the Three
by Stephen King

This is a great book. It's one of my favorite series, because it is epic fantasy told by a master of supernatural horror whose strongest talent as a writer is his ability to depict realism, particularly realistic people and human interaction. Stephen King's books feel real, which is why his monsters and things are so very creepy, because they seem like they're actually happening -- and his other great talent is in picking monsters and evil events that, if they were to actually happen, it would be the worst thing imaginable: we'd have to confront some really nasty things about ourselves and our world. Take Storm of the Century, for instance. The worst thing about that isn't Legion (Though he's extremely cool in his badness -- another King talent is how well he understands cool), the worst thing about that is that, if it happened, that is exactly what people would do. That is what most of the people reading the book would do. And we know it. Most of us would be paralyzed with fear by It, most of us would either join Flagg or fail to live up to the requirements of being a hero in The Stand. Most of us would be completely sucked in by Needful Things -- hell, if you take it as an analogy for Wal*Mart, most of us have been completely sucked in by Needful Things. There's another couple of books I need to re-read, by the way.

Anyway, this book might just be my favorite in the series, though I need to do my second reading of the last three books, all of which I've only read once. I know I think Eddie's a good character, and I really love Roland in this one; I absolutely can't stand Detta, which is as it should be. I realized this reading that I really don't care for Odetta, either; she's way too prissy and privileged, way too soft. People should have that softness, but it shouldn't be all they have; they should have the strength, too. Like the fact that she had to stay in jail after their civil rights protest until she peed herself; she should have either peed on the floor, just to irritate the guards, or she should have recognized it as something totally beyond her control and been angered, not shamed. Detta would have peed on the guard, of course.

The lobstrosities are an incredible monster, and Jack Mort is a great bad guy; the scene where Roland uses Mort to get what he needs and then leaves him in front of a train, is one of my all-time favorites. This is a great action book with some wonderful characterization, and I loved it. Again.