“I think telling stories is like pushing something. Pushing against uncreation itself, maybe. And one day while you were doing that, you felt something pushing back.”
I can’t believe I only have one book left in this series! It feels like I’ve been reading it forever, but also no time at all. (I read The Gunslinger last fall, and The Drawing of Three in December, which is when I really fell into Sai King’s world.) What it really feels like being inside this story, I suppose, is timeless. (Perhaps weirdly because it is so aware of time, and feels really specific, like all SK stories do, to a time and place? And that unfortunately includes some racially uncomfortable moments . . . )
I can see why some people don’t really like this one. Not a super lot happens in this book in terms of plot, at least in Susannah’s sections, but I was engrossed in it the whole time nevertheless. The short length and extended lead up to the birth of Susannah/Mia’s baby felt really tense and, well, expectant. And I thought the sections with Eddie and Roland (and “Stephen King”!) in Maine, were nearly perfect. Just the right combination of action, character moments, worldbuilding and revelations. Also, I super dug all the meta shit, the way he comments on art at the same time as moving his story along. If we have more of that to look forward to in the last book, I’m there.
All in all, just a super weird installment in this super weird series. No idea how it’s going to end (probably not well for any of our characters). What the heck is even going to happen.
[4.5 stars]