So once upon a time, a great and revered author wrote a series of books based in large on his love of language, and many years later, these books became a contemporary social movement take off point, and a cutural phenomenom, and then even more years later they made a trilogy of movies about them, and a TON of money, and a new generation became enthralled by the books again. Oh and Sean Astin became an actor again. Of course I am talking about "The Lord of The Rings" trilogy, and author J.R.R. Tolkien, a set of books, and an author who have become a household name, arguebly the best work of fiction of the twentieth century, and I am a fan. A big fan, since way back before it was "cool" to know what a Hobbit was, and where Mordor was located, and that Gollum was Smeagol, and a simple ring could have so much power. Have I recieved my medal of geekdom on this subject? Good, cause I'm about to piss off every single person who agrees with every word I have written so far.

LoTR, is an excellent series of books, and became (IMHO) a very good series of movies, but it's not the best, not quite. Another writer, a man who's reasons for writing were a bit different than the great Tolkien. This writer came from modest means, tried and tried before he was published, and pushed the envelope to places most had no idea existed. This writer wrote to squash his own fears (which were many) and to make a living, a man who once lived in a trailer with his wife and (then) two children, who got confirmation of his first novel being published via a telegram, cause his phone had been turned off. This man who went on to become a staple in the lore of Americana, and a horror visionary who has been the inspiration of many young (or old) aspiring writers (myself of course included). His greatest work a span of thirty years in the making, and possibly the work that could de-throne the great age of Middle-Earth, as the best piece of fiction in the second half of the twentieth century. I am of course talking about Stephen King, and his opus work of seven volumes: The Dark Tower.

If you are a fan of fiction, fantasy, and mystery there is no greater a story than that of the Gunslinger of Mid-World Roland Deschain. Who he is, why he is there, and exactly what his goals are, are fluid, and mysterious, what you know and don't know constantly morphs throughout the saga. Allies and enemies, so deeply developed that they become real in the minds eye. A world that once you get into, gets into you. I have personally read and re-read these books three times, (I am currently on my fourth) I do not re-read ANYTHING. That should speak volumes about how deep the expierence of these books are.

I emplore anyone who likes Stephen Kings books to read these, they will satisfy so many questions, although probably not the first time through. If you have no previous expierence with Kings books these are a great place to start, and of course if you are a fan of Lord of the Rings, before you throw the first "virtual" stone, give these a chance. I wirte this now, because recently it has been swirling around the rumor mill that Damon Lindelof and J.J. Abrams (Co-creators of Lost) have optioned the rights for film from Stephen King, (for $19.00 fans of the Dark Tower will get this.) The possiblity has been around for a long time of a film series based on The Dark Tower, while lingering in the abyss of question marks for most of this time, Abrams and Lindelof being connected could mean that in the next few years something may actually happen, and it would be great for people to read the books before the films come out. So I blog.