I think its interesting that someone brings up Vanilla Sky into the
discussion of the DT. I rented the special edition DVD of Vanilla Sky
when it came out for rent. If you watch some of the featurettes and
listen to some of the commentary, it becomes pretty apparent that
Cameron Crowe had no idea what the original movie was about. There was
a scene where papers are being lined up on teh floor and the second
unit director basically says that he has no idea what this scene means
in the context of the film. When Crowe is broached on the topic, he
basically says, "Well, it was in the original" The saving grace for
Vanilla Sky was a pretty killer performance by Tom Cruise, otherwise I
think Crowe would be taking a huge beating for that flick.
Moral of the story? Don't tell a story if you have no idea what you
are trying to say.
I cannot count the utter cheapness I felt when reading DT7. Eddie gets
killed pretty lamely. No blaze of glory. Nothing commersurate with the
depth of his character and how much time King spent on him. Does Eddie
die because it furthers the story? Or does Eddie die because at the
1/3 to 1/2 mark of the book, you need to start reducing the storyline
to something more managable. Hence Eddie died not for the sake of the
story, but for the sake of getting the story told in an economical
way. When Nick died in The Stand, that death meant something. There
was a point to it. The point was for Flagg's most formidable opponent
(arguably) would get eliminated and eventually force Larry to 'lead'
at some point. You felt bad when Nick died, you could see the buildup
of tension and its horrible conclusion. When Eddie died, it just
happened. Then Jake takes an equally lame death. Stephen Hunter said
it best once, "It's one thing to die to get the job done, but theres
no sense in just dying just to die."
I'm sorry but there are such writing techniques called building
tension and pacing that King discusses in On Writing. King doesn't
give us a 'story' with DT7, he gives us flat exposition. It's fucking
lazy.
Just as lazy as Roland having to do the whole damn thing over again
because he didn't want to pick up some horn.
This too is 'economical' King no longer has to explain what really
happens to Cort, Cuthbert and Alain in any detail. Yes, they all die,
but you never get the sense that their deaths equaled the time King
gave them in the series. No need to actually provide a true
'antagonist' for Roland to fight. Hey you can eliminate all flashbacks
to Roland's world and Jericho Hill and the fall of his civilization.
You know what would have been a decent ending? If Eddie, Susannah and
Jake sacrificed everything for Roland to get to the Tower. Then the
Crimson King could have given Roland passage at the cost of their
blood on the Tower's doorstep. To me, that would have true to the
characters and the story, the idea of Roland capping each of his Ka
Tet in the back of the head in his single minded pursuit of the Tower.
Would it have been that hard for King? To make the Tower a figurative
Moby Dick for Roland? And for as much as King loves this "Harry
Potter" homage, I think he fails to see the draw of the Harry Potter
stories. It's about an ordinary boy who becomes exceptional based on
his choices. That's its what we do, not what we are or what our legacy
is that defines us as people. It's Roland's choices that make him
tragic. Consider the first four DT stories
DT1 - Roland chooses the Man in Black over Jake.
DT2 - Eddie chooses to deny his addiction/ Susannah chooses to deny
her evil Janus
DT3 - Roland chooses to save Jake, cost be damned.
DT4 - Roland and Susan choose to love each other at an unbearable cost
Sacrifice. Regret. Consequences.
That's what develops a character. It's what makes you care about a
character. I still like to believe that a good story tries to
entertain but it also tries to make the reader consider a larger
question about the human condition.
I enjoyed almost everything in the first four books. But the ending to
DT7 is just plain fucking lazy in my book.
>> Stay informed about: new DT7 ending theory 
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