Got any Gushers for Gasher?

This week, Autumn Greer and Paddy Smith stop by to talk about the first portion of the climax of The Waste Lands. Instead of finding wise elves and dune buggies in the city of Lud, our ka-tet instead find teeming masses of raiders committing heinous acts beneath the victims of their sacrifices. We're introduced to Gasher, a singularly unpleasant character who breaks up our group by kidnapping Jake. Roland and Oy go after him, while Susannah and Eddie look for the fabled Cradle of Lud, and the fearsome Blaine.

Let's take a breather and get to know each other.

This week, Jeremy Greer and Paddy Smith come along to talk about what happens when a full ka-tet is formed. Jake is firmly in Mid-World, and he's even attracted a furry friend. This chapter is a much-needed break, as the gang finds their first friendly civilization and finally compares notes on where they came from.

This is what it's like when worlds collide.

This week, the Greer family (Jeremy and Autumn) tag along to talk about the convergence of Jake and Roland's realities. As Roland's crew crosses into Mid-World, Jake follows Eddie in the past to a haunted mansion. One heightened and violent scene later, our Ka-Tet is that much closer to completion.

Alive and dead at the same time, Jake Chambers finds comfort.

This week, Kole is joined by Jeremy Greer and Paddy Smith to talk about "Key and Rose", the chapter that looks at Jake's fate after the events of The Gunslinger and The Drawing of the Three. He's an ordinary boy living his life in Manhattan in 1977, but he's also a living paradox. Driven insane by the memories of events that never were, he leaves school to find a very, very important abandoned lot.

A brief period of calm gives way to action, insanity, and direction.

This week, I'm joined by Autumn Greer and Evan Jones Thorne to talk about the first chapter of The Waste Lands. After a whole book of sickness and struggles, Roland, Eddie, and Susannah have had a chance to recuperate and train in the woods. But there are two problems: Roland is losing his mind, and there's someone in the forest who wants them out.

She is Rosie, Rosie Real.

This week we take a small break from the Dark Tower series to look at Stephen King's Rose Madder, published in 1994. Autumn Greer and Evan Jones Thorne join me to talk about Rosie's flight from the terrifying and abusive Norman Daniels, one of King's scariest villains. We also look at the connections between Rosie's world and that of Roland. There are more than you might think.

A quick warning: This book contains some upsetting subject matter. Even more than you might usually find in a horror book written by Stephen King. So please, pause and think about whether or not hearing/reading about sexual abuse or domestic abuse might ruin your day.

The Drawing of the Three comes to a close as Roland gets the three things he needs: bullets, pills, and revenge.

This week, I'm joined by Jeremy Greer and Sean Wagoner to discuss the climax and conclusion of the second book in the series. Eddie is in peril, Roland is in the body of a serial killer, and Detta is holding all of the cards. Though this is a relatively short section of book to discuss, it's dense with action and has some defining scenes for our hero.

Threads of fate converge as Roland enters the mind of Jack Mort, the wildcard.

This week, Kole Ross is joined by Autumn Greer and Paddy Smith to get into the head of Roland's third, his "Death, but not for you." After struggling up the beach with Detta and reaching the ends of their ropes, Roland passes through the third door and finds himself in New York City in the 1970s, inhabiting the body of a truly loathsome man. As he gets his bearings, a weary Eddie gets caught off guard by Detta.

Links:

• Curtis Mayfield - Pusherman - YouTube — Unrelated.

Detta proves to be much more difficult to deal with than her nicer half, as Roland pushes her (and himself) to the very edge.

This week, Kole Ross is joined by Autumn Greer, Chase Greenlee, and Paddy Smith to take a long look at how Roland and Eddie cope with their second drawn friend. Whenever she falls asleep, there's no telling which one will wake up... The amiable but frightened Odetta Holmes, or the poisonous and violent Detta Walker. The trek up the beach is complicated by her physical disability and complete lack of cooperation, as Roland gets sicker, they all get hungrier, and the lobstrosities close in.

Links:

• Twin Humanities - YouTube

The march up the beach only gets worse when the second of the Three turns out to be real trouble.

This week, Kole Ross is joined by Chase Greenlee, Evan Jones Thorne, and Paddy Smith to introduce the second of The Three... an unassuming woman from the Civil Rights era who has a twisted hidden half. Let's learn about Odetta Holmes, the Lady of Shadows. And when things get uncomfortable, we can return to the Boyz on the Beach!