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timepiececlockStephen King must really have loved The Lord of the Rings. He makes allusions to it a few times in the Dark Tower books, at least once in Insomnia, at least twice in On Writing, and more than once in numerous other stories. Sometimes, like in Insomnia, the allusions are clear and easy to identify; other times, like a brief Gollum/precious reference in On Writing, catching it relies entirely on knowledge of LotR. I can't help but wonder how much Roland's ka-tet is like a fellowship, and how much the Tower is Roland's precious. Though the people involved are quite different (and more complex, thought not any less iconistic or archetype-like) than Tolkien's fellowship members, the overall quest idea and structure presented can be very well compared to The Fellowship of the Ring. Provided, of course, that all but Frodo died the first time around and now the Rinbearer is on his second set of friends, all of whom are insertions from our world and some of whom have Big Serious Bad Issues. Also providing that Gollum pushed Frodo (with his pretty youthful eyes) into the pit of Mount Doom at the end instead, and felt really bad about it.
One of the things I love about The Dark Tower books and King's books in general (I've read probably a mere quarter of them) is how he ties things together, and alludes to things, equally his own work and the works of others. I especially love how he doesn't just talk about them, instead half of his allusions seem to say that all these great things co-exist within the world he's giving you, if you only look hard enough. The Dark Tower books are the epitome of that, as the basic idea of the Tower states that all worlds and universes are connected, and that fits so nicely with the idea that all these worlds created in novels also exist somewhere on another level of the Beam, which is why legends and stories in our world might be history in Mid-World, and likewise. As a fan of sci-fi/fantasy in any medium, you can imagine the appeal this concept has for me, in the pure scope it presents.
Side note: my late grandfather was named Roland. Neat, huh?
One of the things I love about The Dark Tower books and King's books in general (I've read probably a mere quarter of them) is how he ties things together, and alludes to things, equally his own work and the works of others. I especially love how he doesn't just talk about them, instead half of his allusions seem to say that all these great things co-exist within the world he's giving you, if you only look hard enough. The Dark Tower books are the epitome of that, as the basic idea of the Tower states that all worlds and universes are connected, and that fits so nicely with the idea that all these worlds created in novels also exist somewhere on another level of the Beam, which is why legends and stories in our world might be history in Mid-World, and likewise. As a fan of sci-fi/fantasy in any medium, you can imagine the appeal this concept has for me, in the pure scope it presents.
Side note: my late grandfather was named Roland. Neat, huh?
