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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.  sturlington | Aug 9, 2009 |  The ka-tet is broken, as Eddie and Roland, Jake and Callahan, and Susannah and Mia are all off on their own, disconnected from each other in King's penultimate Dark Tower volume, Song of Susannah. In a different when, Eddie and Roland face another gunfight, only a day after their previous fight with the wolves and gather up more information on the tower, the quest, and the Tower/Deepneau pair. Then they meet an interesting character - Stephen King. Yes, that's right; one of the characters in Stephen King's Dark Tower series is Stephen King himself. While not playing a tremendously large role (at least, not yet), it is quite the move on King's part - rather ambitious, cliche, and it could easily be hit-or-miss to the reader. The Coda, however, is quite interesting and really illuminates how much the Dark Tower means to King. It is a collection of pages from his journal that are all tied together in that they are about the Dark Tower books and show how he feels, his thought process, and many other factors involving the series and his life. While more of a small (compared to the last two books, which were nearly twice as long) filler between Wolves of the Calla and The Dark Tower, Song of Susannah completes its task of setting up the final volume, and putting each character in place for what must eventually happen with the ka-tet, the Crimson King, and the Tower itself. (  ) deslni01 | Jun 28, 2009 | This is probably my least favorite of the series so far, but it wasn't terrible. I finally felt a little compassion for Mia, and it was good to get some more Susannah-time. Sadly the ka-tet is still split; hopefully they'll regroup in the last novel. An interesting scene with Jake and Oy in New York--the kid is really becoming a gunslinger! Now for the Stephen King part: I'm not sure if his writing himself into the story is literary genius or unequalled ego... but it is sort of... cool. At least he wrote himself as a normal guy and not as anything special; he even talked about his beer gut and some addictions that he probably shouldn't have. So yeah... kind of cool, kind of strange. Perfect Stephen King. I'm looking forward to the seventh and final book in the series! ( ) wispywillow | Apr 25, 2009 | A little strange in parts, but nontheless a masterpiece that goes along with the other volumes beautifully. Read the first 5 to understand to chronological order of things.... or this will seem altogether out there. (  ) beckylynn | Apr 11, 2009 | More real world cross overs. Susannah comes into her own. (  ) skinglist | Jan 11, 2009 | 
 Reading "Song of Susannah," the penultimate novel in Stephen King's "Dark Tower" series, is rather like taking on the third leg of a triathlon. It's no coincidence that Stephen King began the final sprint of his marathon "Dark Tower" epic shortly after the events of Sept. 11, 2001. What's now clear -- and certainly wasn't when some of us read "The Gunslinger," the first story in the sequence, more than 25 years ago -- is that this saga is more than just an unlikely mishmash of spaghetti Western, Arthurian high fantasy and post-apocalyptic sci-fi.  Reviewing the fifth volume of Stephen King's Dark Tower sequence, Wolves of the Calla, for this paper I suggested that this probably wasn't the best place for new readers to begin. Volume Six, Song of Susannah, however, almost works as a stand-alone novel, and is highly recommended for readers who enjoy the more metafictional side of King's oeuvre, and especially those who have been waiting for something along the lines of his greatest novel to date, Hearts in Atlantis.
Amazon.com Book Description (ISBN 0340827181, Hardcover)The next-to-last novel in Stephen King's seven-volume magnum opus, Song of Susannah is a fascinating key to the unfolding mystery of the Dark Tower. To give birth to her "chap," demon-mother Mia has usurped the body of Susannah Dean and used the power of Black Thirteen to transport to New York City in the summer of 1999. The city is strange to Susannah...and terrifying to the "daughter of none" who shares her body and mind. Saving the Tower depends not only on rescuing Susannah but also on securing the vacant lot Calvin Tower owns before he loses it to the Sombra Corporation. Enlisting the aid of Manni senders, the remaining ka-tet climbs to the Doorway Cave...and discovers that magic has its own mind. It falls to the boy, the billy bumbler, and the fallen priest to find Susannah-Mia, who in a struggle to cope -- with each other and with an alien environment -- "go todash" to Castle Discordia on the border of End-World. In that forsaken place, Mia reveals her origins, her purpose, and her fierce desire to mother whatever creature the two of them have carried to term. Eddie and Roland, meanwhile, tumble into western Maine in the summer of 1977, a world that should be idyllic but isn't. For one thing, it is real, and the bullets are flying. For another, it is inhabited by the author of a novel called Salem's Lot, a writer who turns out to be as shocked by them as they are by him. (retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:18 -0400) The first test round has been closed. Visit the Open Shelves Classification group for details. |
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Here it is, the sixth book in the epic saga of The Dark Tower, and in many ways, the most audacious and surprising installment yet. One thing that’s surprising is that it is such a short book, encompassing really only one day in the long journey of the ka-tet seeking the Tower. But in that day, Susannah and her hitchhiker demon Mia cross over into 1999 New York and labor pains begin, heralding the arrival of Susannah’s demon baby – a baby who is destined to kill his father, who, through some bizarre demon manipulation I won’t try to explain, is Roland. Father Callahan, Jake and Oy follow Susannah and prepare for a showdown with a whole lot of baddies, but not before stashing Black Thirteen in a storage locker in the World Trade Center (where else?).
Finally, in the most audacious twist of all, Roland and Eddie travel to 1970s Maine and meet Stephen King himself (who has written himself as a man with more than a few flaws). They learn that, as the author of their own story, King is one of the linchpins holding the Tower in place and must be protected at all costs. The short novel ends with the mother of all cliffhangers: a baby about to be born; a suicide mission about to begin; and we all know what’s going to happen to those Twin Towers (think the Crimson King might have been working with the terrorists?).
In the final, and even more audacious, twist, the story closes with the death of King himself after being hit by a van. What is real and what is fiction? I’ve lost track. Suffice it to say, Part VI is a very quick read, less a standalone book in its own right, but rather functioning as a bridge from The Wolves of the Calla to the final and most eagerly awaited installment. (